3 Chapter 3 - Forget!

Seeing that Hermione had walked away, Ron turned his attention to that book he had tucked under his arm.

Upon opening the first page, one name began to reveal itself like magic in front of Ron: 'The Lost Spectral Potions'.

Ron's eyes sparkled at that moment. Turning the pages quickly, there was nothing written, but when he stopped on one of them, the page slowly revealed itself.

He thought that maybe, if he placed the book in the middle of the stack of books, Molly would end up not even noticing its presence, since she must buy a lot of books for a lot of children.

Ron noticed Molly entering the shop behind Ron, along with Percy, Fred, George and Ginny.

"Where were you?"

Molly said irritably, while the others were enjoying some sweets, except Percy.

"I was picking up my books from the list."

Ron replied calmly, pointing to a small pile of books on top of the table.

"Oh, did you get everything yet?".

Molly said, calming down, but a little taken aback by Ron's attitude.

Percy glanced over at the books Ron had picked up, noticing there were a few more books than he knew would be included this year, but he guessed that the teachers just hadn't told them about the first year books.

"Come on, hand me your lists. I'll look for the extra books you need!"

Molly held out her hand to Fred and George, who handed over their slightly candy-stained lists.

Some time later, Molly bought all the books without checking Ron's list again and they left.

Already at night and at home, Ron had put all the books on top of the shelf and started to study some spells to prepare for classes. It was then that, noticing that everyone was sleeping, he decided to go through the dusty book in the library.

Upon opening the book, the words again slowly began to reveal themselves. A strange shiver went through Ron's body.

At first, the book talked about the greatest potion master that ever existed in that world. It quoted Severus Snape, which made Ron a little more excited. Severus Snape was someone admired by Ron, for the ambition and intelligence that Snape had.

But as Ron turned the pages, the words took even longer to appear, to the point where none appeared at all.

On the pages he could read, the potion recipes seemed to be simple, showing how to make potions to cure colds and even change someone's hair color.

That left Ron a little despondent. It felt like an ordinary book with no new stuff. Maybe that's why it should have been abandoned in the middle of the library shelves, because no one cared enough to take the book away.

So, Ron decided to take the potions book for the first year of Hogwarts and study it as much as possible. He spent hours reading those long and tiring pages that appeared to him. Every detail was essential. There were recipes for delicate potions along with extensive explanations of why those results worked.

A few days passed, and the only thing Ron did was read the books.

"Why are you so worried about studying so suddenly?".

Ginny appeared in the room, asking Ron, who didn't take his eyes off his book.

"I've never seen you so far from your wand since you received it..."

She said, approaching the shelf and taking the wand in her hand.

"The poor wand is even dusty."

Ginny completed, running her hand over the wooden handle, trying to get anything that was dust, but it was squeaky clean.

"What an exaggeration!"

Ron replied, closing the book briefly.

"Huh? Tell me! Are you trying to impress someone?

Ginny asked mischievously, sitting on the edge of the bed.

"I only found it interesting after I started reading. That's all.".

Ron answered shortly.

"I should do the same!"

He finished and handed her one of the books that was positioned at the headboard.

Ginny looked at him a little frustrated, but took the book from Ron's hand and sat on the floor, trying to look for what was so interesting about it, but in less than 10 minutes, Ginny was already yawning.

It didn't take long before she fell to the floor and started snoring next to Ron, disturbing his reading.

Ron glared at her, irritated by the noise.

"Ginny! Wake Up!"

He stretched his foot up to Ginny's shoulder and gave it a light push, trying to get her to wake up.

"What is it?"

Ginny said sleepily, stretching.

"You're disturbing me! If you want to sleep, go to your room."

Ron said seriously.

Ginny scrambled to her feet, rubbing her eye, and still yawning, leaving the room without question.

It was Ginny's habit to always show up at Ron's room at alternate hours to disturb the boy. But he was always busy reading, not paying attention to her, so that ended up making her visit less frequently.

The days passed and Ron had already memorized more than half of the Hogwarts book.

He felt it was time to start practicing his skills. This would help in knowing how the evolution is going and if the learning is working.

Looking around the room, he realized he needed a cauldron. The former owner of the body didn't seem to be interested in that kind of thing, so nothing related to potions was in his room, but probably, there should be some cauldrons lost in Fred and George's room, since their specialty was pulling pranks. Potions was the subject they frequently practiced.

Ron thought about just asking them, but they weren't going to give it to him so easily. The best way now would be to take it without them noticing. Due to Ron's past life, this was the thing he was most comfortable doing.

So he waited until morning to break into the brothers' room when they weren't around.

That day was colder than usual, so Ron put on a warm sweatshirt and went downstairs for coffee before putting his plan into practice.

The brothers came down soon after.

The two seemed more agitated that morning, making more plans than they would do that day. That was great for Ron as they were briefing him on the entire routine.

After having breakfast, Fred and George put on warm coats and ran outside to torment the gnomes that always invaded the garden.

Ron got up and walked unnoticed up to the second floor, arriving in Fred and George's room.

As he approached the window, he could see the two brothers running around the garden, poking some gnomes with some sticks, who tried to beat their shins.

Ron meticulously looked around the room, noticing without much difficulty the presence of the cauldron hidden in the corner of the room, with a few pieces of clothing thrown over it.

He removed the clothes from inside the cauldron, putting them exactly where they were, so it wouldn't be clear that the cauldron was stolen, and walked towards his room, looking in all directions, making sure no one noticed his presence.

Upon reaching the bedroom, Ron quickly locked the door so Ginny wouldn't disturb him and placed the cauldron on the floor.

He sat down next to the cauldron and opened one of the high school potions books for Hogwarts. He preferred to test his skills with one of the not so complicated potions, as he would find the ingredients easier.

The name of the potion was: Oblivion Potion

It boiled down to a potion that would cause anyone who drank it to forget the most recent memories. The forgetting time would vary according to the amount of ingredients that would be placed.

The ingredients were:

- 2 drops of Lethe river water.

- 2 valerian roots.

- 4 bags of visco

Ron thought he could go out and buy the ingredients, but he didn't have the money, so the best option would be to rummage through cupboards looking for ingredients.

As the Weasley family was once well known for creating potions, finding what he needed didn't seem impossible.

Ron hid the cauldron under his bed and went down to the first floor. He searched all the kitchen cupboards and found the mistletoe berries in a glass jar at the back of the cupboard. Water from the River Lethe was stored in some labeled bottles in the fridge. All that remained was to find the roots of Valerian.

Through the kitchen window, Ron could see some Valerian plants planted in the backyard garden.

Valerian is a common plant in the Muggle world and, coincidentally, it was a plant that grew near where Ron lived in his past life.

He ran outside with a small knife in his pocket, preparing to cut, but before he could touch them, a small gnome appeared in front of him.

"What do you think you are doing?"

The grumpy gnome approached Ron. He looked aggressive.

The gnomes were already used to getting into trouble with the Weasley children, as they always teased the little creatures with silly pranks.

Ron looked the little being up and down, ignoring his presence, and returned his attention to the plants. He gripped the handle of the plant and took the knife out of his pocket.

"I'm talking to you!"

The gnome said irritably, in a slightly higher tone.

Ron continued tinkering with the plant, not caring about the gnome's lines.

"You are very ugly. Aren't you ashamed of being so ugly? You dumbass!"

The gnome yelled, trying to provoke Ron, who continued to ignore him.

Then, the very angry gnome, ran towards Ron, planning to jump on him so they could fight, but when he was only a few inches away from Ron, Ron quickly took his wand out of his pocket.

"Petrificus Totalus!".

He shouted towards the gnome who was instantly immobilized, only his eyes moving from side to side, not understanding what had happened.

Ron pocketed his wand and turned his gaze to the blueprint. He cut off the bottom of the valerian, separating it from the roots. Ron pocketed the roots and tossed the dead valerian near some bushes, trying to keep Molly from noticing and scolding him for destroying the garden plants.

When he finished, he walked into the house, without even looking at the gnome, who remained paralyzed in the same place for a few more hours until the other gnomes helped him.

Inside his room, Ron pulled the cauldron closer and opened the book beside it.

The recipe said that he should add 300ml of water before starting to add the ingredients.

Ron carried the cauldron into the bathroom, filling it with tap water to speed up the process. Later, when he returned to the room and put the cauldron in its place.

"Ebublio!"

Causing the water in the cauldron to start bubbling within seconds.

The recipe said:

Add 2 drops of water from the River Lethe to the cauldron, tipping gently.

Heat over medium heat for 20 seconds.

Stir 3 times clockwise.

Let cook for 45 minutes.

Add 2 valerian roots to the cauldron.

Add 4 mistletoe berries to the mortar.

Crush to a fine powder using a pestle.

Add 20g of the crushed berries to your cauldron.

Stir 5 times counterclockwise

Ron followed the steps meticulously. Following a recipe that the measurements need to be followed exactly was not complicated for him, since Ron was used to messing with the production of drugs in his past life.

Nearly an hour later, Ron finally finished the potion.

It had a purplish-purple color and a bitter smell, like a medicine for a stomach ache, as it said in the school cookbook.

It was all right. Now he just needed a test subject.

As it was an extremely runny potion, he could mix it with something to disguise it. Probably none of the brothers would accept taking the potion for free.

Ron poured the potion into a small vial and went downstairs. He then started rummaging around the place, looking for some appetizing drink. Upon opening the old refrigerator, he took the bottle of milk and decided to make a chocolate drink.

While preparing, a familiar voice appeared.

"Where did you learn that spell?"

Percy came up behind him with a suspicious expression.

"What spell?"

Ron pretended not to understand as he poured the milk into the mug.

His victim had just been chosen.

"I saw you using Petrificus Totalus on that gnome. Since when do you know these spells?"

Percy asked, crossing his arms. He spoke authoritatively.

"Ebublio!"

Ron said, pointing to the mug.

That spell was an ordinary spell, so Ron already knew it even before mastering the new body. That didn't freak Percy out.

"Do you want a mug of chocolate milk?"

Ron asked looking at Percy seriously as he reached for two mugs from the cupboard.

That cold day was perfect for a nice warm mug of chocolate milk. That was one of Percy's favorite drinks.

Percy nodded in agreement, but the distrustful expression kept dominating his face.

Ron carefully poured the hot milk into each mug. When he went to mix the chocolate milk, he took the potion out of his sweatshirt pocket silently and put it in the mug without Percy noticing.

"You walk differently. You're more studious, learning new spells… You know, I noticed that extra book you picked up."

Then, he mixed the liquids, making the color unnoticeable, and made sure to add a little more sugar to Percy's mug, so the taste wouldn't be too noticeable either.

"The school must have included one more book this year.".

Ron replied, bringing out the mug that was steaming hot from the inside, but still, very tasty.

With the tips of his fingers, he pushed the prized mug towards his brother, who was standing, looking at him.

"Better drink it soon before it gets cold!"

Ron said, taking the mug from him and raising it to his lips, drinking it nonchalantly.

Percy walked over to the table and took the mug, not taking his eyes off Ron, who was doing the same.

Then, not noticing that the tint was a little different than the liquid would normally be, Percy blew on the chocolate milk, removing the excess heat, and the drank the hot beverage

Ron watched the scene curiously, not blinking so as not to miss anything.

A few seconds after Percy finished his drink, Ron noticed that he looked a little confused. He looked at his own mug and then looked at his watch.

"Who put this chocolate milk here?"

Percy asked, looking at Ron.

"I just gave it to you, did you forget?

Ron asked, sounding a bit childish, trying to sound naïve about the situation.

Percy continued to stare at the dirty glass for a few seconds.

"I think… I better go upstairs."

Percy said, placing the mug on the table and slowly turning around. He still had a confused expression on his face, as if he was trying to hide what happened.

Unbeknownst to Percy, Ron smirked proudly at having gotten exactly what he wanted.

While other wizards needed months to finally learn a simple potion, Ron, with the knowledge of drug creation he had acquired in the previous world, already meticulously knew how to carefully manage ingredients so that every recipe had the effect he desired.

The study of the effects of potions was extremely similar to the manufacture of drugs, but it was incredibly broader, being able to create things that Ron had always imagined.

Any little mistake he made with drugs could cause his clients to die a slow and painful death, which would see his reputation go to waste. So messing around with harmless potions was pretty easy for Ron.

That was just the beginning.

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[ Author's Notes:

I plan to develop Ginny's familial relationship with Ron further down the line (and with the other family members). For now, he can't get affection for her, as he's been without a family for many years, so she's just a random kid to him. This will change over time. ]