Lesson One: The Basics of Potions PV Avery Chen Finished

As Avery went on to explain things to him, Kim nodded.

He wasn't entirely sure he got everything Avery was saying to him but he got the general idea.

These Cambridge and Oxford places must be similar to Hogwarts in wizarding society to muggles. "But they let you go in the end." Kim said as he let his eyes flicker over him.

"Mm. I think you'll do well here. You seem energetic and interested in learning. That's all you really need." Kim told him. As Avery spoke of how his parents must be open-minded, Kim grimaced. "Ah, you'd think so, right?" He said, averting his eyes. The only reason he hadn't been like all the other purebloods was because his parents had been too busy to look after him all the time. Or Kim might have turned out like the other purebloods.

As it was, he'd been left alone. But he hadn't felt alone. He knew his parents loved him and wanted to be with him all the time. But due to their jobs and their responsibilities they couldn't. As a result, Kim had learned how to be independent from an early age and had engaged in numerous activities and hobbies. Languages, sports, a few muggle activities that he'd managed to keep secret from them. He'd had a very productive childhood back at home.

Not to mention other places too.

He'd been allowed to do pretty much anything, with a caretaker looking after his safety.

When Avery held out his hand to shake, Kim shook it and turned back to his cauldron again. It was time for the next step of their game. He added 4 horned slugs to his mixture and then took the cauldron off the fire. Glancing around, Kim carefully picked up the 2 porcupine quills and added them as well. He stirred 5 times clockwise and then reached for his wand to wave it over the potion to complete it. "Done!" Kim exclaimed with a smirk at his progress.

The potion turned blue and a pink smoke emitted from the mixture.

He glanced over at Avery to see if he'd finished before him. Who would be the winner?

"But they let you go in the end," Kim observed, and Avery nodded. Indeed, they had let him go, but not without conditions; he would have to receive better than satisfactory grades, and he would have to keep up with violin practice. "They did, but I think they're just giving me a chance to prove I can do well here. I don't doubt they'd withdraw me if they think I can't keep up, or if they don't think this is the education I need," he admitted. Somehow, Avery didn't find it difficult to explain his circumstances to Kim, and he didn't feel inclined to keep a guard up.

"Thanks, man," he said in response to Kim's encouragements. He flashed him a smile, and was grateful for his supportive classmate. Perhaps he could even see them becoming friends.

Kim's doubtful response to Avery's comment about his family confused the small boy. Was Kim's family actually not as open-minded as the Gryffindor himself? He sensed that there was more to Kim's family than he realized, but it didn't seem as if the boy was willing to elaborate on that at the moment, so he let it go. Perhaps it was a conversation for another day. After all, Avery didn't hesitate to share things about himself due to his open nature, but he knew he didn't have to expect the same of others.

So, after they shook on their deal, the two boys went to work. Avery worked quickly to get his next ingredients into the cauldron, and watched the clock perfectly, reading through the instructions with detail over and over to make sure he did things correctly. For once, he found himself wholly engrossed by his task -- the edge of competition urged him to focus.

"Done!" He heard the exuberant announcement just as he was waving his own wand over the mixture to complete the potion. "Oh darnnit!" he exclaimed good-naturedly, his voice laced with a chuckle as he watched the blue potion emit a pink smoke a little too late. "You beat me by like two seconds, but you did it fair and square," he admitted. "Well, Master Kim Sato, what is it that you want me to do for you? I'm assuming my week of slavery starts after class." Anything the boy wanted, he would oblige, he decided. That's what made it fun.

Ha! Wasn't Kim clever, taking full advantage of the number of hours that he could command Avery. When the small boy heard that his week of service will begin tomorrow, he sighed. "Well, it sounds like you're going to take your time to come up with a whole list of things first, eh?" he smirked at Kim's cleverness. "Why don't you take the opportunity to rack your brains and think hard, because I'll be up for whatever challenges you throw at me," Avery said decisively. For sure, he was not one to back down.

There was no luck that Kim's potion wouldn't meet the professor's standards. After inspection and a successful pass for both their potions, Avery resigned to packing his bag. "Sure thing, Kim. I'll look out for your owl tonight. I'll probably send one back to let know just what I think of it. I'm good about agreeing to things, but I have a lot of opinions," he warned his potions partner.

He closed his bag just as Kim waved goodbye. "明天见! (See you tomorrow!)" he called back, throwing his backpack over his shoulder before leaving the classroom as well. Well, wasn't this an interesting start to the year. He wondered just how merciless Kim Sato would be, before shrugging and heading to his next class.