The letter from Hogwarts was of great significance to any family. For Muggles, it could completely change their fate and open the door to the magical world.
For wizarding families, it could dispel their greatest fear—that their child might turn out to be a Squib.
So naturally, the Weasley family celebrated the entire day. Molly prepared a feast.
At noon, they set up a shed in the garden near the pond, ready to enjoy the breeze, the scenery, and the reflection on the lake during a proper garden party.
Arthur even suggested inviting all their neighbors, but Molly's feather duster quickly put an end to that idea—she always felt the Lovegoods were too eccentric, and the Fawcetts weren't close enough.
In the end, only the Diggory family was invited.
Amos Diggory, like Arthur, worked at the Ministry of Magic, in the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures—so technically, they were colleagues.
But Arthur's reason for inviting him wasn't out of politeness.
"That guy is infuriating!"
"Every time we meet, he goes on and on about his son Cedric, with that smug expression like no other child measures up!"
Arthur wore a deeply aggrieved look as he vented.
So, when Amos Diggory appeared at the Burrow with his son via Apparition, Arthur greeted them enthusiastically while pulling Vaughn along.
"Amos! Welcome to the Burrow. This is my son Vaughn—you've heard of him, haven't you?"
Amos, red-faced and bearded, as though he'd already had a few drinks, shook Arthur's hand while sizing up Vaughn.
Vaughn returned a polite smile, the kind older people liked.
"Yes, yes, Arthur. I've heard of your little potion genius. Is he the one who got the letter from Hogwarts today? What about Ron?"
Arthur's grin faltered. He hadn't expected Amos to go straight for the sore spot. His eyes darted around nervously. "Oh—Ron received his too…"
Amos's eyebrows rose. "Then why isn't he here? If you ask me, you should let Ron spend more time with Cedric. Our Ced is obedient and excellent in his studies—Professor McGonagall praised his Transfiguration. He's also a Seeker on the Quidditch team. Maybe he could help Ron improve a bit…"
Amos clearly had experience in this kind of 'casual bragging,' skillfully dodging others' strengths while targeting their weaknesses.
The childish competitiveness between adults nearly made Vaughn laugh out loud.
Meanwhile, Cedric Diggory, the boy beside Amos, looked both embarrassed and handsome.
When Arthur was pulled aside by Amos, Cedric walked over to Vaughn and apologized, "Sorry. My father doesn't mean harm—he just exaggerates everything."
As if to prove his point, Amos shouted from a distance, "Ced is always so modest and well-mannered! A true gentleman!"
"…" Cedric's expression stiffened. He quickly changed the subject.
He held out a hand to Vaughn. "Cedric Diggory. Mr. Vaughn Weasley, it's an honor. I've read several of your potion papers—some of your development theories are absolutely brilliant."
Vaughn shook his hand and smiled. "Thank you. Just some small tricks, really. There are still quite a few in the Extraordinary Pharmacist Association who criticize me for being unorthodox."
Where there are people, there will be disputes.
Over the years, Vaughn had made a fortune with his "Vaughn Beauty" line of potions, which naturally sparked jealousy among potion masters.
After all, creating a commercially mature potion product at just eight years old—before even entering Hogwarts—was unheard of.
If not for their remaining sense of shame (and the fact that Vaughn was pure-blood), those same potion masters might have tried to steal and reverse-engineer his formulas long ago.
Now that Vaughn had published multiple development papers and made a name for himself, "Vaughn Beauty" had become a well-known brand. The opposition could only vent their frustrations through newspaper debates.
Vaughn's calm and measured demeanor stirred Cedric's admiration.
He respected true talent and knowledge. Despite Vaughn being younger, Cedric humbly asked him questions about potion transformation.
"...I've never tried Polyjuice Potion. You know how hard it is to get a formula for such advanced brews. They say the Scarpin's Revela spell can reverse-analyze potion compositions, but it's a Ministry-restricted spell."
"I'm really looking forward to studying at Hogwarts. The library and professors there must have so much you can't learn on your own... Anyway, back to Polyjuice—while I haven't made it, I've looked into the ingredients. I'd suggest starting with low-risk tests using its primary components, like powdered bicorn horn…"
By midday, Cedric had become Vaughn's full-fledged fan.
He even ignored his father and made a point to sit next to Vaughn to continue their discussion. At one point, he paused and asked, "So you're saying the key to transformation in Polyjuice Potion lies in the bicorn?"
"No, the transformation mainly depends on the essence of Fluxweed," Vaughn replied. "But the bicorn introduces variability. Think about it—it's a creature that looks like a leopard, a cow, and even a human. It adds the ability to fully take on another's form, including gender. The depth of transformation it enables hasn't even been fully explored yet!"
Vaughn spoke with passion.
Since no one in his family shared his potion talent, he rarely had anyone to truly talk to. Even if Cedric's questions focused mainly on transformations, Vaughn was delighted to finally share thoughts with a like-minded person.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the garden table, Ron was having a miserable time.
Even though he had tried to stay quiet until dinner, he was eventually cornered by Mr. Amos, who poured flattery over Cedric while making sly comparisons at Ron's expense.
In desperation, Ron used Vaughn as an excuse.
"Cedric's asking Vaughn about potions. I want to listen in."
Amos immediately let him go. Which only made Ron feel worse, like his brother's shadow loomed over everything.
And when dinner began, things got worse.
Molly brought out the highlight of the feast: Maggie—a Muggle dish that Vaughn had 'recreated' for Arthur's "convenience at work." After years of enduring British cooking, Vaughn couldn't stand it anymore.
When the steaming maggie was served, Arthur, who'd been quiet until now, suddenly perked up and began boasting to Amos about Vaughn's culinary brilliance.
Ron slumped. He felt like even his appetite was being overshadowed.