Chapter 39: Potion Contest

July 10, 1976.

It was 3:00 pm and Severus had already registered for the potions contest by turning in the potion he had been creating along with the details of the potion in the morning.

Now Severus was strolling around the SWI campus along with Gwen, Hermione, and Freyja as he waited for the results of the contest.

"Severus, can't you tell me what this potion is that you've been working so hard on since you came to the institute?" asked Freyja making puppy dog eyes, something that always managed to convince Severus because of the resemblance they had to Lily's eyes and how cute they looked on Freyja.

"Come on Freyja, don't give me those eyes, I already told them that when they give the results they will find out."

"But I want to know now, I can't handle the intrigue, it's unfair" Freyja pouted.

"Come on prince, don't be like that, I know from my mother that it must be something to do with transfiguration since you were asking her so many questions. I feel left out, you could have consulted with me you know?" said Gwen feigning pain.

"I could, but knowing you it's likely that you would have tried to get all the information out of me about what I was doing the instant I asked you anything Gwen," said Severus nonchalantly.

"Don't be discouraged girls, he didn't want to tell me anything about it either, he kept it a secret the whole time. And that I offered to help him in making the potion, but no, he insisted that it was a project he had to do on his own" Hermione told them Hermione who had already resigned herself to knowing what potion Severus had made.

"You know prince, as your friends we have the right to know before everyone else what kind of potion it is" stated Gwen.

Freyja nodded quickly at Gwen's comment as she looked at Severus expectantly.

Hermione just smiled in amusement at Gwen's manipulation and Freyja's innocence that supported her plans.

"My friends should know to wait for the results of the contest, otherwise it loses the fun once I tell them."

"Well, I agree with Severus on that one" Hermione nodded but instantly regretted speaking because Gwen and Freyja gave her a look that said 'BETRAYAL'.

"Come, Hermione understands," said Severus amused at the situation.

"You..., don't make my situation worse" Hermione reproached him knowing that Severus was looking to throw the whole problem at her.

As the group was about to start another discussion, Ethan's voice was heard.

"Hey Grimprince, there you are."

"Sparky?" said Severus, causing Gwen, Freyja, and Hermione to look at Severus with amusement at the nickname.

"Tch, I told you that nickname is awful" complained Ethan.

"I never complained about the nickname you gave me."

"Because the nickname I gave you at least sounds good."

"The one I gave you fits perfectly too" stated Severus.

"You..., okay, never mind, I just came to tell you that they're about to give the results of the contest and I know you're participating, so unless you want to miss it hurry up," said Ethan as he turned around and left without even greeting Severus' group.

"Wow, what a nice guy" commented Gwen sarcastically as she saw how disrespectful Ethan was.

"Well, Severus didn't behave very well either" Hermione argued.

"Severus, isn't that the rude boy we passed on the boat when we first came to SWI?" asked Freyja.

"That's right Freyja, he may seem a bit irritable when you first meet him, but he's a good person all in all" Severus assured her.

'Because I feel like those same words I already heard somewhere else, oh right, from Lily when she was repeating what Remus Lupin was telling her about Potter's clique' Severus remembered and nodded not wanting to think about it anymore.

Freyja just nodded despite still having her doubts about Ethan.

"Oh, so this Sparky must also be the one you used to hang out with at school when you're not with us" Gwen commented as she located the young wizard who came to speak to Severus.

"Yeah, we share dorms, but we never talk much, only when I signed up for dueling classes did we get to interact more."

"You seem quite friendly, you even gave each other nicknames already, don't you Grimprince" Gwen scoffed.

"Don't blame me for the nickname, I didn't choose it as you may have seen and yes, you could say we get along quite well"

"Severus, Gwen, as much as I'd like to keep talking about Severus' new friends and their nicknames if we don't hurry we're going to miss the finalization of the contest results," said Hermione grabbing them both by the hand and dragging them to the main campus as Freyja quickly followed.

When they arrived at the main campus where the awarding of the best potion would be held, the four of them could see the group of judges sitting at a large round table in the center of the campus.

These judges were important potioneers from all over the world, from Russian professors of Koldovstoetz, the second most prestigious magical institution in potion making, to potioneers who were recognized for their inventions or published books.

All had been invited to examine and evaluate the potions of all those young magicians under the age of 27.

Potioneers classify the life cycle of wizards in different stages: childhood 5-10 years, adolescence 11-17 years, youth 14-27 years, adulthood 27-71 years, and old age 71 years and older.

So any wizard under the age of 27 is considered young.

The judges seemed to be in an uproar for some reason, all arguing amongst themselves and not seeming to come to a solution.

That's when SCoP Dean Stacy, who was part of the judging panel, calmed the situation and then stood up looking out at the audience.

"Very good afternoon everyone to the Salem Potions Competition, before we kick off the awards ceremony we would like to invite one of the contest participants to discuss a few final details" Dean Stacy began saying.

"Mr. Severus Prince, would you please come to the table for a few moments" called the dean, making the audience wonder what was going on with this participant.

Severus' group was also very confused by the situation.

"This..., Severus is everything okay?" asked a worried Freyja, while Gwen and Hermione looked expectantly at Severus.

"Don't worry, it shouldn't be anything to worry about, wait for me for a few moments, I'll be right back" Severus reassured them only to then walk towards the table in the center of the campus where the judges were.

"That kid is participating in the contest, he doesn't look a day over 16" commented one of the people in the audience.

"Yeah, he sure was looking for fame and did some kind of cheating."

"Exactly, as if a kid that age would be able to create some potion that would catch the judges' attention" scoffed another.

"Mmmm, maybe he plagiarized some other potion and passed it off as his invention."

"I agree when one is young one doesn't measure the consequences of one's actions"

"Poor kid, he doesn't know what's in store for him, he's not going to get away with cheating in such an important contest."

"He deserves it, one should not seek fame at the expense of others."

These were some of the many comments that began to be heard from the audience.

None of the comments were in favor of Severus, they were all speculations against him.

"They don't know anything, Severus would never cheat" complained Freyja.

"We know Frey, don't worry, I'm sure there must be another reason why they called him, isn't that right Hermione?" told Gwen reassuringly as she saw a saddened Freyja at the comments from the others.

"That's right, there's no way Severus could have done any of those things they say, if there's one thing he doesn't tolerate it's people who don't use their own merits to fend for themselves," Hermione said confidently, after all, she was the one who knew Severus best or so she thought at least.

"You see Frey, it must be nothing bad, this is Prince we're talking about," Gwen said again to Freyja as she hugged her tightly.

"Gwen smother me," said a tender Freyja trying to escape from Gwen's hands.

Severus on the other hand ignored the comments he heard as he passed through the crowd of people.

Arriving at the center of the campus he made his way to his dean Stacy.

"Mr. Prince, sit down for a few minutes with us at the table, there is something we would like to discuss with you."

Severus nodded without much trouble and took a seat next to the rest of the judges who stared at him.

Some were looking at him with curiosity, some with distrust, and some with amusement.

"Mr. Prince isn't it?" one of the judges who looked to be in his 70's addressed him.

"That's right sir..."

"Oh, what bad manners of mine, I'm Libatius Borage, nice to meet you, young man," said the old wizard with a South American accent.

"It's a pleasure to meet you Mr. Libatius, your book 'Advanced Potions: its making' has been very helpful to me over the years at Hogwarts" commented Severus.

"I'm glad to hear that," said with a smile Libatius.

"If at some point you have time, I would like to show you several notes I made at the foot of my copy of your book, I believe they could significantly enhance the effects of the potions" added Severus causing Libatius to lose his smile and look at him skeptically.

"Mr. Prince is a genius at modifying and improving potions, I can attest to that myself, so I assure you he will not waste his time," said the dean in support of Severus' comment, making Libatius look with great interest at the young man in front of him.

"I see, if so I would be delighted to see what you propose young man," said the old wizard again with a smile.

"Ahem, Libatius, how about we get back on topic" commented another one at the table.

"Oh right, I seem to have gotten a little lost in the conversation, very well, tell me young man, this potion you have submitted to the contest, is it really... well... real?"

"Excuse me, but aren't you present to test that yourselves?" asked Severus without fidgeting a bit in front of the judges' stares.

"Of course we are, you are absolutely right, but this potion you have presented is not something that can be tested in a simple way, that is why before we do anything we decided to make sure that you are sure that your potion meets what is detailed in your description" explained Libatius.

"What my colleague is trying to say is that a potion like yours has never been seen before and even though its completion seems successful we don't quite know its effects of it, so we can't do an analysis of it unless we do a physical test and doing that would involve some problems that we prefer to avoid in case you are not entirely sure about what you are doing," said one of the witches who were part of the jury.

"I understand and I can tell you that I am sure that the potion will comply with what is detailed, but I cannot give you proof since it has not been tested yet, but as a potioneer, I know very well when a potion is a failure or a success at the end of its elaboration, so I do not require to use it to prove it," said Severus nonchalantly.

The judges looked at him for a few seconds as they processed his words.

In fact, they thought the same as Severus, but in this case, none of them could assure or dared to even think that the potion could fulfill what was detailed.

For that very reason, they must test it before jumping to conclusions.

"Well, if Mr. Prince says that the potion has the effects he has said, then it must, but since many still have their doubts we will have to test it. Very well Mr. Prince you may leave, we will announce in a few moments the results for the entire audience" said the dean.

When Severus left, he could hear the judges still arguing.

The last thing he heard was that they were going to call the Ministry to ask for authorization to test the potion.

After all, if anything went wrong, it would be the judges' fault, not Severus'.

Severus actually already knew that all this was going to happen and in fact, he was taking advantage of this contest to see the final result of his potion.

That's because it was very difficult to see the results on his own, as he didn't have the means to do so easily and without consequences, and the judges did.

After returning to Freyja, Gwen and Hermione, he reassured them that everything had been finalized, that they just had some questions regarding the potion, and that he would find out later.

As they waited for the judges to give the results, some speculative murmuring could still be heard from people who didn't understand why the judges had called Severus.

After a while movement began to be seen at the judges' table.

Three of the judges walked off-campus.

"Attention everyone, due to some unforeseen circumstances the awards ceremony will be postponed to 4 hours from now, we apologize for the inconvenience" commented Dean Stacy causing the audience to start murmuring about what they thought had happened.

It was not until 7:00 pm that the three judges who had left the campus returned, but they were not alone, they were accompanied by four other people who seemed to be from the American Ministry of Magic.

They seemed to be very shocked and in a hurry as they quickly approached the table in the center of the campus where they began to talk to the rest of the judges.

The entire audience witnessed as the judges began to get restless, some even seemed to want to stand up and leave for some reason.

It was strange to see such prominent potioneers be so excited and restless for some unknown reason.

But apparently, the 4 men who had come from the ministry calmed the rest of the judges down.

After a while, everyone at the table stood looking around at the audience who were just as unsettled by the strange situation.

"We will now begin the awards ceremony for the Salem contest," commented the dean.