Because his brain had been running on all cylinders, Charlie had a very clear sense of the timeline. The effects of the two-drop dosage of his experimental mixed chocolate lasted exactly until he finished his first homework assignment.
The clock read 10:13 PM.
This meant that, with the help of the Lunar-Lightning Chocolate, he had banged out a seven-inch essay in roughly twenty minutes.
His second assignment, a five-inch reflection on the desire and intent behind spellcasting, took another twenty minutes.
Neither assignment offered much mental resistance. It wasn't exactly advanced arithmancy, after all.
So, the Lunar-Lightning Chocolate didn't just amplify the brain's processing power. It heightened sensory perception as well. Back in the common room, Anthony had complained that Charlie was talking way too fast, and Hector had been baffled by how quickly Charlie was slamming down his chess pieces.
Rubbing his slightly throbbing temples, Charlie took a moment to recover before pulling out his Candy Notebook and flipping it open from the back.
Currently, the back section of the notebook only held two candy entries, detailing their recipes, effects, and flavor profiles.
"Page three," he muttered to himself, picking up his quill.
[Lunar-Lightning Chocolate]
He quickly jotted down the formula, the taste, and the vibrant color.
Effect...
His quill hovered as he searched for the right words. Cognitive acceleration? Lightning Time? Brain Overdrive?
Suddenly, a distinct, cool sensation tickled his upper lip. He casually wiped it with his finger, only to find a smear of bright crimson on his skin.
He didn't panic. His gaze remained perfectly calm as he stared at the blood on his fingertip.
A sharp, instinctual realization hit him. This was the inevitable consequence of popping two Lunar-Lightning Chocolates back-to-back.
So, there was a price to pay after all.
The Moon Dew merely acted as a bridge, a conduit allowing the abstract concept of 'Lightning' to enter and stimulate the brain. It offered absolutely zero physical protection. Therefore, the physical toll of channeling that hyper-fast energy fell entirely on his own nervous system.
Clearly, popping these like regular sweets was a terrible idea.
Furthermore, if he ever wanted to sell these as a commercial product, he desperately needed to lower the dosage. Since there was a heavy physical cost, he had to be precise.
He slowly lowered his quill back to the parchment.
Effect: Brain Overload!
Dosage: Two drops.
Duration: Approximately twenty minutes. The effect remains stable throughout the duration without noticeable fluctuation.
Side Effects: Consecutive use may lead to severe mental exhaustion and physical symptoms like nosebleeds.
He conjured a tissue, wiped away the blood, and unwrapped a standard Moonlight Chocolate for himself. As the candy melted on his tongue, a soothing, mint-like coolness washed over his mind, instantly alleviating his headache and making him feel significantly better.
A positive and negative feedback loop, he mused.
Modification Idea: Use a Lunar-Lightning extract mixed into the chocolate shell to trigger the cognitive overdrive, but fill the center with pure Moon Dew. Once the brain enters the overloaded state, the Moon Dew core will act as a mental coolant, providing external nourishment to sustain the overworked mind.
Potential Outcomes:
1. It might safely extend the duration of the overdrive state.
2. The pure Moon Dew might cancel out the Lightning extract, prematurely ending the effect.
3. The duration and effect remain the same, but the Moon Dew acts as a post-overdrive recovery supplement, eliminating the nasty side effects.
He flipped toward the front of the notebook to his random musings section. This was where he scribbled down bizarre flashes of inspiration or weird concepts he was terrified of forgetting. For instance, the 'magical Kinder Joy' idea he had brainstormed with Neville on the Hogwarts Express was documented right on the first page.
He scribbled down a few new hypothetical formulas.
"Sun Dew plus Lightning Extract... I wonder if that would trigger a physical bodily overload. Would it turn me into a speedster?"
"Mixing Sun, Moon, and Lightning... Would they violently clash?"
A few pages back, his notes detailed his holiday experiment of mixing Moon Dew and Sun Dew together. The result had been disappointing. One plus one was strictly less than two. The two pure extracts seemed to neutralize each other. He would have been better off just eating two separate chocolates. He hadn't found a workaround for that yet.
"For now, the primary feature of the Moon-Lightning extract is cognitive overdrive. I need to figure out if adjusting the dosage and tweaking the recipe can turn this into a safe, viable product."
Having finished his notes, he snapped the book shut, tucked it into his drawer, wrapped the remaining Lunar-Lightning Chocolates in wax paper, and locked away his candy-making kit.
By the time he finished, it was past eleven o'clock.
Anthony and Hector had finally finished their homework. The three boys lay in their respective beds, chatted about nothing in particular for a few minutes, and then the other two drifted off into a deep sleep.
Charlie lay staring at the canopy.
Damn it.
I was exhausted, I should have just gone to sleep.
Why did I eat that Moonlight Chocolate?!
He was wide awake. The soothing candy had entirely refreshed his mind.
Resigning himself to his fate, he crawled out of bed, carefully extracted his Moon Dew vial from his trunk, sat cross-legged by the window, and began silently drawing in the natural ambient magic from the moonlight.
***
The following two days of classes were significantly more relaxed.
Defense Against the Dark Arts was practically a free period. Professor Quirrell, wrapped in his ridiculous purple turban and smelling strongly of garlic, stuttered his way through lectures.
For once, Charlie didn't fight for a front-row seat. He opted for a spot in the middle, right next to a window. It was inconspicuous, perfect for reading ahead. Rather than listening to Quirrell stumble through highly questionable tales about African princes, Charlie preferred reading the actual textbook. At least the book contained practical information.
Charlie had actually been looking forward to their midnight Astronomy classes, mostly because he had never played with a real telescope before. Magical brass telescopes were incredible, enchanted to make the moon and stars appear breathtakingly crisp and clear.
Since Hogwarts was nestled high in the Scottish Highlands, the stargazing was unparalleled. Charlie had overheard Hermione Granger marveling at the sky, complaining that the thick smog back in London made seeing even a single star impossible.
That got Charlie thinking. He had never managed to harvest 'Starlight'. Was the starlight simply too faint to capture? Or was starlight already inherently mixed into the ambient magic of the Moon Dew? He decided he needed to pick a clear, starry night to experiment.
Astronomy ran until ten-thirty, leaving them with only a precious half-hour before curfew. Navigating from the Astronomy Tower all the way back to the Ravenclaw or Gryffindor common rooms was an absolute nightmare of shifting staircases and trick steps.
"If any of you decide to loiter in the corridors, Mrs. Norris will not be lenient," Professor Sinistra warned as she dismissed them.
Mrs. Norris was a scrawny, dust-colored cat with bulging, lamp-like eyes. She looked exactly like an angry, judgmental grandmother in feline form. The idea of that creature suddenly popping out of the shadows in a dimly lit, ancient castle was genuinely unsettling.
And right behind her was usually Argus Filch. The balding caretaker always wore an expression of gleeful anticipation whenever he looked at the first-years, desperately hoping they would toe out of line so he could hand out detentions. Charlie recalled the Sorting Feast, remembering how Filch had practically glared a hole through his pet, Alice. Charlie hadn't paid it much mind then, but it was starting to make sense.
As for History of Magic, that was a lost cause. Professor Binns, their resident ghost, was monumentally dull. During roll call, he spent five minutes calling out a name nobody recognized, only to slowly realize he was reading from a twenty-year-old class roster.
Charlie found himself highly amused, wondering what would happen if Binns accidentally called out the students' parents' names instead. Imagining Binns droning "Lucius Malfoy" while Draco sat there fuming was a highly entertaining thought.
Thursday afternoon arrived in a flash.
Today was the day of reckoning. A very important class was on the schedule.
"Potions," Anthony said, nervously wringing his hands at the lunch table. "The older students say Snape is a nightmare. I was asking around the common room last night. You guys know Slytherin has won the House Cup for years in a row, right? Word is, Snape is the main reason."
"You're joking," Hector said, his eyes widening.
"I'm serious! They say he heavily favors his own house and docks points from everyone else for breathing too loudly."
Both boys turned to look at Charlie.
"What?" Charlie asked, finally looking up. He was currently using his fork with surgical precision to debone a piece of fried fish. On the table next to his plate sat a perfectly smoothed bowl of mashed potatoes, a neatly sliced veal cutlet, and a measured portion of macaroni.
"I don't really care about house points," Charlie said with a shrug. "As long as he doesn't just spout utter nonsense like Quirrell. If Snape actually teaches us real, practical magic, I'll be thrilled."
Potions, after all, were incredibly important for his future candy-making endeavors.
The fish was perfectly deboned. He neatly arranged all his prepared food onto one plate.
It was time to eat.