A summer morning in Devon.
The cool breeze of dawn swept across the fields outside Ottery St.
Catchpole, crossed over White Otter Hill, and rustled through the vast reed beds beyond.
The dense reeds swayed back and forth like endless rolling waves.
The residents of Ottery St.
Catchpole had always believed there was nothing out there but wilderness and reeds.
But the wind knew better.
Hidden within that sea of reeds lived a wizarding family.
They had a sizable garden, where a small pond rippled gently in rhythm with the swaying reeds.
The main building was a tall, ramshackle-looking house.
Only the first floor appeared sturdy and properly built.
Though the paint had faded with age, it was well maintained.
Hanging beside the front door was a wooden sign engraved with the words “The Burrow.” It seemed to tell the story of a young couple who had settled here more than twenty years ago, pouring all their passion for life and hopes for a warm home into that modest little house.
Unfortunately, life had clearly thrown them more surprises than they had expected.
As their children kept arriving one after another, the house continued growing upward.
Until it became the strange structure it was today.
At the very top of the Burrow, the attic that had once been occupied by a ghoul years ago had been completely renovated.
Rows of herb racks lined the walls, stacked with crates, bottles, and jars.
The place looked cluttered and cramped, with only a small open space cleared in the center.
A simple workbench stood there, neatly arranged with various instruments used for brewing potions.
A fire crackled beneath a cauldron, and the potion inside bubbled steadily.
Standing before it was a red-haired boy.
Vaughn Weasley carefully processed the final ingredients before checking the heat of the potion one last time.
“Lacewing flies, African tree snake skin…
hmm, and just a little fairy wing powder…” He lowered the flame and waited for the cauldron’s temperature to drop before adding the final ingredient in his hand.
“Lastly, Fluxweed, to provide the body with the flexibility needed for the Beautification Potion…” As he muttered to himself, he watched the potion’s changes with complete focus.
As the Fluxweed dissolved, the temperature gradually declined in a controlled manner.
Then, when the final bubble burst, a remarkable reaction occurred inside the cauldron.
The thick, pitch-black liquid rapidly cleared.
Within moments, it resembled freshly melted rock sugar syrup before caramelization, crystal clear and fragrant with a sweet aroma.
“Success!” Vaughn hurried over to a seemingly chaotic shelf and accurately pulled out a box of empty bottles.
Waving his old wand, he levitated the potion into the air and carefully filled bottle after bottle.
Finally, he attached handwritten labels to each one: [Vaughn’s Beautification Potion (Anti-Wrinkle Formula)] [Apply externally with massage.
Banish your wrinkles and restore healthy, firm skin.] After finishing everything, Vaughn stretched deeply.
His bones crackled comfortably as he looked out the attic window at the endless sea of reeds swaying like waves beneath the morning breeze and the brightening sky beyond.
For a moment, he felt somewhat dazed.
It had already been eleven years since he was reborn into this world.
Ever since birth, he had known his surname was Weasley.
He knew he had five older brothers named Bill, Charlie, Percy, Fred, and George.
And he also knew that the twin brother born five minutes after him—because Vaughn had kicked him while they were still in the womb—had been named Ronald Bilius Weasley.
Ron.
How could Vaughn possibly fail to recognize what world he had arrived in?
Harry Potter.
Although eleven years had passed, his memories from his previous life remained fairly clear from revisiting them so often.
But after living in this world for so long, the past had inevitably begun to fade.
Shaking his head, Vaughn stopped dwelling on it and silently called out: “System.” As the thought appeared, a panel invisible to everyone else materialized before his eyes.
[User: Vaughn Weasley] [Magic Power: 370 (Average Adult Wizard: 500)] [Talents: Charms 7, Dark Arts 6, Transfiguration 7, Potions 10, Herbology 6, Divination 2 (Maximum Value: 10)] [Spells: Occlumency LV5 (MAX), Shield Charm LV3 (2/8), Disarming Charm LV2 (2/4), Levitation Charm LV2 (0/4), Petrification Curse LV2 (0/4), Flame Charm LV2 (1/4), Illumination Charm LV2 (0/2)…] [Potions: Elixir to Induce Euphoria, Invigoration Draught, Blood-Replenishing Potion, Hair-Smoothing Potion, Hair-Growth Potion, Beautification Potion (Master Level, includes multiple formulas)…] [Fame Points: 12] The system had awakened the moment Vaughn was born.
Having read the novels and watched the films, he knew full well that the world would only become more dangerous in the future.
The fact that he hadn’t simply given up and coasted through life from birth onward was largely thanks to the confidence the system had given him.
His gaze lingered on the words [Potions 10] in the talent section.
Even after seeing it countless times, it still gave him the satisfying feeling of scratching a persistent itch.
All his other talents were innate.
Only Potions had come from the beginner gift package granted when the system awakened.
The reward had been: Max-Level Occlumency.
And one randomly selected talent raised directly to its maximum value.
Over the past eleven years, Vaughn had gradually figured out how the so-called Fame System worked.
Up until now, it had never issued quests.
There was no shop.
No lottery system.
Its core function was exactly what its name implied.
Every month, it awarded Fame Points based on how widely Vaughn’s reputation had spread.
Those Fame Points could be used to level up spells.
The numbers shown in parentheses beside each spell represented the Fame Points required to reach the next level.
More difficult spells naturally required more points.
Of course, spells could also be improved through practice.
But that demanded enormous amounts of training and talent.
After understanding the system’s functions, Vaughn was extremely grateful that his random max-level talent had landed on Potions.
There was no denying that Potions was a vast and profound field.
At the same time, however, its entry barrier was surprisingly low.
As long as one had ingredients, a recipe, and a cauldron, any wizard could begin brewing.
Some simple potions didn’t even require wand movements at all.
Among all magical disciplines, none suited a wandless young wizard like Vaughn better.
Vaughn had always been a cautious person.
He knew that both his identity as a transmigrator and the existence of the system were enormous secrets.
As a child, he never deliberately displayed anything unusual.
It wasn’t until he turned four that he began constructing his “genius” persona.
Whether it was reading, writing, or drawing, he completely outclassed Ron in every basic subject.
Then, at age seven, he gradually extended that genius image into his beloved field of Potions.
Starting with the simplest brews, he spent four years learning.
At first, he sought guidance from Bill and Charlie while stumbling through the basics.
Later, he began improving recipes on his own.
Now, he had already become a moderately well-known potion maker.
In the field of Beautification Potions especially, several papers he had published and the various improved formulas he had developed had practically earned him the titles of “Beauty Potion Specialist” and “Miracle Boy of Magical Cosmetics” within the wizarding world.
As for why he specialized in beauty products…
The answer was simple.
They were easy to build a reputation with.
And they sold extremely well.