Chereads / TTLDC - Hogwarts University / Chapter 13 - Home, Herbology, Potions and Dans

Chapter 13 - Home, Herbology, Potions and Dans

(A.N. The address is a 24/7 spa for 'gentlemen only' since the mid-90s. When I chose the address I looked for a non-commercial place on Google Maps, and happy coincidence I ended up choosing this establishment by accident.

Traditional people hate bohemian areas, a Wizard of Asian origin in the 70s with supremacist inclinations would definitely hate the place.

Also the protagonist being in a place known for being a red light district provides a joke since he can't have sex with muggle girls.

In my opinion the creation of a magic core after the body matures can cause serius trauma in this world and he is in a situation that one time is not enough).

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Arriving at "home" I finally understood the probable reason why my father had joined the Dark Lord.

He certainly bought it without knowing that Soho was the most famous red light district, much less that it was in the heart of London's gay community.

The building had not been taken care of, probably since the death of my beloved parents.

But in the end the house was big. With three floors above ground and one below, it was equipped with a large kitchen, dining room for more than twenty people, three bathrooms, five bedrooms and a suite.

The first thing I did was start shooting Scourgify at everything I saw, even though it would take me a few days to get the house even remotely decent.

And that's exactly what I spent my first few days of vacation from Hogwarts doing.

The restaurants around the house were good and very diverse. Talking to the employees, I discovered that the region underwent changes from the 80s onwards and was no longer populated by adult establishments.

This was very fascinating to me, after having lived 18 years in the Wizarding World finding such a less inhibited place was welcome.

When I finally found myself with a livable place to live, my mind turned to other problems.

My body mainly.

I would need to research the herbs and materials of this world and make recipe adaptations to create Dans to fix the years of abuse I had received.

I would need a constant supply of Yin for months to be able to deal with these issues to just be a normal person. That's why I chose to do this research and create Dans to strengthen my body as quickly as possible.

I wanted to at least be able to create:

Bone Forging Dan

Body Refining Dan

Marrow Cleansing Dan

With these three I would be able to live a calm life without having to worry about the fact that with each passing day the amount of Yang inside my body increases.

My late father's personal library included many books on rituals, which are banned in British lands, some on Charms, Hexes, Curses and Jinxes. And almost nothing related to herbology, magical creatures or potions.

Needing to equip myself with knowledge, I made the decision that I needed to go to Diagon Alley.

First visiting Flourish and Blotts I started researching which books I would need and the prices started to accumulate in a terrifying way. Just the basic Herbology books would cost over 1000 Galleons.

I wouldn't get a job until I finished my years at Hogwarts, so I needed to find a quick solution.

Walking down Diagon Alley I spotted an apothecary.

As much as I hated what I was about to do, I needed money.

I walked into Mr Mulpepper's Apothecary.

"Good morning, how can I help you young man?" – asked the clerk.

"Good morning, I am here representing a Potion Maker, he is in need of money to continue his research and asked me to check if any of the apothecaries in Diagon Alley were in need of any potions." – I said in a serious tone so as not to be completely dismissed.

The man at the counter seemed surprised by my words.

"There is always a need for Potions. But first we need a sample of the work." – he said probing.

I nodded.

"Of course, my representative will always produce an extra potion to be evaluated, every time a new potion is requested." – I said confidently.

"Wait here for a while, I'll check the potions we need right now." – said the man, seeming satisfied with my condition

He got up and walked deeper into the establishment, disappearing from sight.

A few minutes later he returned with a scroll with five potions listed.

"These are the potions we need right now and the prices we are willing to pay for them." – declared the clerk.

I took the parchment and read the potions he needed.

"If you have all the ingredients I would like to buy them now." – I said without seeming intimidated.

The clerk gave a half smile.

"Of course, a set of each costs 130 Galleons." – he declared.

I nodded

"I brought little money with me today, 9 sets please." – I asked.

Raising his eyebrow, the clerk looked surprised, but pleasantly surprised.

He could probably sense that I was lying.

He's selling the ingredients, so he's earning and if I happen to make a decent potion he'll buy it using my money.

With the transaction done, I go out to look for books that contain the other recipes, as my current one only has one of them.

At the second-hand book store I managed to purchase a book with another one of the recipes, but after that my luck ran out.

So I started a production cycle.

I studied the potion books at my disposal to find out a little more about the characteristics of the ingredients and then I started production.

Each of the recipes in the books was archaic in my view, so after successfully producing the first potion I dedicated a few hours to reconstructing the steps to better extract the characteristics of the ingredients.

After a week of producing two of the recipes, I headed to deliver.

Entering Mr Mulpepper's Apothecary, the clerk gave me a surprised look.

"You're back early, young man." - he said.

I gave him a half smile.

"The Potion Maker told me to deliver some of the potions he made, it would have been sooner if he hadn't gotten excited about remodeling the recipes." – I declared, injecting some truths into my lie.

The clerk almost snorted in disdain.

"Let me see what your friend produced." – he asked.

Taking my bag I put seven bottles of Draft of Peace and seven more of Dreamless Sleep Potion.

The clerk took one of each jar and began to analyze them.

He opened each one of them and with an eyedropper he took a little of each and took it to a podium near a closet.

First he dripped Draft of Peace.

After a few seconds he nodded his head positively.

Then he pulled out the wand to cast Scourgify on the equipment to test the Dreamless Sleep Potion.

Again he seemed satisfied.

The clerk came back to me visibly friendlier.

"With potions like these your friend isn't far from becoming a Potion Master." – he declared.

I simply smiled without showing much of what was going on in my head.

Of course I was confident in the quality of what I had made, I just think that my time making those potions was almost wasted. If I could do my research I could create Dans much more effective and probably much cheaper than those monstrosities.

He then opened the cash register and took out a pad of paper.

"Here, a money order. You can cash it at Gringotts." – he said satisfied.

I was a little bothered that he didn't pay me right away, but it's not like I had much choice.

The payment order for those 14 potions was 300 galleons.

I would get back almost a third the money I had spent here.

"There is no friend, I'm right?" – asked the clerk.

This took me by surprise.

"From how much you are thinking looking at the payment order, I can deduce that it was you who made the potions." – he explained.

I decided to abandon my acting.

"Yeah." – I replied, trying to be succinct.

"You haven't found the other recipes yet, that's why you haven't made them, right?" – he asked curiously.

I nodded.

The clerk smiled.

He went to the back of the store and when he returned he was carrying a stack of books.

"Here are all the potions books I have, if you commit to producing more potions of the same quality as you brought me today I will lend them to you." - he said.

I didn't need to think much.

"So I believe we have a business, sir?" – I started confidently, but then I realized I didn't know his name.

"Jonathan, Jonathan Mulpepper." – he replied.

In the end, the clerk was the owner of the apothecary.

I extended my hand and with a firm handshake we sealed our deal.

With some money in hand as well as more books to study, I set out to buy books about herbology and materials.

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