Since Hogwarts opened, Albert's school life has returned to normal.
He no longer stayed up late every day, went to bed on time, and woke up at seven in the morning.
On rainy days, I sometimes stay in bed and be lazy.
Yesterday, the weather finally cleared up, but this morning it started to drizzle again. Well, he was definitely not making excuses for staying in bed.
At eight o'clock in the morning, Albert went downstairs with his roommates to eat. The long table of Gryffindor was already filled with a lot of oatmeal, pickled herrings, sliced bread, and plates of golden fried eggs and fried bacon.
Pickled herring is not fermented. After being pan-fried, the meat is hard and a bit salty, making it suitable for eating with oatmeal.
Of course, the premise is that no sugar and milk are added to the oatmeal.
"Good morning. Have you heard about the Defense Against the Dark Arts class?" Angelina picked up a bowl of oatmeal with milk and sat in the chair opposite Albert.
This topic quickly attracted the interest of the surrounding students. Defense Against the Dark Arts has always been a popular course in Hogwarts.
"What's the matter?" Albert asked.
"According to the Ravenclaw students, our first lesson is to learn how to deal with Boggarts." Angelina was adding sugar to her oatmeal.
"You mean Roger? I just heard him bragging about how he dealt with a Bogut." George curled his lips in disdain. "As we all know, a Bogut poses no threat at all. The worst that can happen is that it scares you."
"Boggarts will turn into creatures that others fear. It is said that when there are too many people, they don't know what to turn into." Albert thought back and it seemed that Lupin only talked about how to deal with Boggarts when Potter was in his third year. However, thinking about that idiot Lockhart, who didn't use "Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Defense" to teach for the whole semester, it is not difficult to guess that he fell behind.
"I'm suddenly looking forward to what I'm afraid of." Albert took a bite of his homemade salt fish sandwich and thought about what he was afraid of.
"Failed the exam?" Sana raised her eyebrows and said.
"I don't think he's ever worried about this kind of problem." Lee Jordan bit a piece of bread and said incoherently, "I think it's because he has no money, which means he has become a pauper. Yes, that's right, he has become a pauper."
"It's true that I like money, but I'm never afraid of becoming a pauper." Albert said unhappily. After all, as a wizard with a system, it is easy to make some money.
"I think it's because he has no books to read, or he becomes an ordinary person." Fred said without hesitation, "I bet on Nat."
"Then you definitely lose." Albert smiled and spread his hands towards Fred. "Who else wants to bet with a Nat?"
Fred slapped Albert's hand away and complained unhappily, "I haven't lost yet."
"No, you're doomed," Albert said with a smile. "After all, how could I not know what I'm afraid of?"
"You're cheating?" Fred pretended to be shocked, causing everyone to laugh.
"I think it's busy work." George said, "After all, Albert lives a more comfortable life than anyone else, and he certainly doesn't want to be busy at work in the future."
"This..." Albert touched his chin and shook his head to deny it: "If I were rich, I wouldn't have to go to work and wouldn't have to worry about busy work. Why do most people work? Isn't it for money? In reality, there are very few people who work with interest."
"So...George, Nat, bring it." Fred said with a smile.
"Ahem, by the way, when are we going to have the Defense Against the Dark Arts class?" George coughed dryly and changed the subject.
"Don't change the subject." Fred said unhappily.
"I didn't say I wanted to gamble," George protested. "You misunderstood."
"How could there be a misunderstanding? We are twin brothers. Don't I know what you are thinking?"
"The first class this afternoon is Defense Against the Dark Arts." Angelina took out the schedule from her schoolbag. "However, I'm a little worried that this professor won't be teaching for long."
"That's for sure. The smarter professor would have resigned before finishing the Defense Against the Dark Arts class." Albert said as a matter of course, "No one wants to get cursed and bring themselves a lot of bad luck."
"By the way, what exactly is this curse?" Shanna asked curiously. "Do you know?"
"You want to know?" Albert smiled maliciously, "I've heard some rumors."
"Go ahead and don't keep us in suspense," Angelina urged.
"I heard it's related to a mysterious man." Albert said in a low voice.
"The mysterious man has cursed that position." Everyone's eyes widened in surprise. "We can't just talk about this kind of thing."
"How do you know?" Li Qiaodan asked curiously.
"It's just a rumor." Albert said mysteriously, "There are many rumors about the mysterious man. Do you want to hear them?"
"Go ahead." Fred was also very curious. He knew that Albert had a wide circle of friends, so it was not surprising that he knew a lot of messy things.
"Okay, don't tell anyone." Albert said mysteriously:
"Rumor has it that You-Know-Who stole the Ravenclaw diadem."
"Rumor has it that You-Know-Who can communicate with snakes and is the great-great-great… grandson of Slytherin."
"It is rumored that the mysterious man is immortal."
"It is rumored that a mysterious person once opened the secret room."
"It is rumored that the You-Know-Who was once the Head Boy of Slytherin."
"Rumor has it that You-Know-Who was once expected to become the Minister of Magic."
"Rumor has it..."
"You're getting more and more ridiculous," Shanna interrupted. "Let's go. Don't be late. You have a Herbology class with Hufflepuff students in the morning."
"Fifteen minutes is enough," Fred said without hesitation, "We can also play a game of wizard cards."
While Albert was watching the two playing cards, Charlie walked over and reminded him, "There will be Quidditch tryouts this afternoon, don't forget."
"Got it." Everyone said in unison.
Charlie said hello to everyone and left in a hurry.
"You haven't bought a broom yet, right?" The Weasley brothers looked at Albert together.
"Even if we order, it won't be that fast." Albert spread his hands helplessly.
After Fred and Lee Jordan played another round of wizard cards, everyone went to the greenhouse together. Their timing was just right, and Professor Sprout was opening the greenhouse door. As for the Hufflepuff students who arrived earlier than them, they stayed outside the greenhouse in the rain for a while.
Albert and his companions followed the crowd into the greenhouse.
"We need to repot the mandrake today." Professor Sprout brought a large cardboard box with more than 20 pairs of earmuffs of different colors. She looked around and asked, "Who knows why we need these earmuffs?"
"Hearing the cry of a mandrake can kill people." Seeing no one answered, Albert took the initiative to speak, "Of course, young mandrakes will only make people unconscious for a few hours."
"Very good, five points for Gryffindor." Professor Sprout nodded with satisfaction and continued to ask, "Now, who can tell me the properties of Mandrake?"
She swept her gaze toward the students in the greenhouse and finally landed on Albert.
"Mandra, also known as Mandrake root, is a powerful restorative agent," Albert simply recited the contents of the textbook, "used to restore people who have been transformed or cursed to their original state. It is also an important component of most antidotes. Of course, Mandrake is very dangerous. It is said that a wizard once used Mandrake to defend against a dark wizard who invaded his home yard. Because he threw a mature Mandrake, the dark wizard died on the spot."
"Absolutely right, ten points more. As Mr. Anderson said, mandrakes are very dangerous, and their cries can be fatal." Professor Sprout saw everyone's uneasiness and said comfortingly, "Of course, the mandrakes here are still very small, and hearing their cries will make people unconscious for a few hours at most."
"Did you eat the book?" Lee Jordan joked. He sometimes envied Albert's brain.
"You actually saw it." Albert pretended to be surprised and said, "How about it, do you want to try it? It will taste better with some soy sauce."
"No, thanks, I don't have as good an appetite as you do," he said unhappily.
The twin brothers were laughing nearby.
"Okay, everyone come over and get a pair of earmuffs," Professor Sprout said to everyone.
Everyone rushed to Professor Sprout's seat, and Lee Jordan even helped Albert grab a gray earmuff.
Albert took the earmuffs and said thank you.
"Now, I suddenly understand why Professor Sprout's card effect is to throw Mandrakes at the enemy." Li Jordan muttered softly, "But, you should change that effect. Maybe it should be more appropriate to make it kill everyone instantly after it appears on the field."
"You're destroying the balance of the game." Albert couldn't help but roll his eyes.
"When I tell you to put on the earmuffs, make sure they cover your ears tightly. I don't want anyone to faint because the earmuffs are not worn properly." Professor Sprout said, raising his two thumbs and continued: "When it is safe to take off the earmuffs, I will raise my two thumbs, like this."
"The green and purple plants in front of you are young mandrakes. Your job is to repot them." She pointed to a row of deep-bottomed plates and said, "Okay, now put on your earmuffs."
After Albert put on his earmuffs, he could no longer hear any sound from outside.
"I wonder if there are recorders in the magic world." Albert looked at the mandrake seedling in front of him and murmured in his heart, "If the sound of the mandrake can be stored, it will definitely be an invisible weapon of mass destruction, more effective than a stun bomb."
In the wizarding world, some people may be wary of wizards holding wands, but no one will care if you are holding a grenade.
Of course, no one will care that you are holding a tape recorder.
"Or, find a chance to ask."
Professor Sprout had already put on his earmuffs, rolled up his sleeves, and grasped the mandrake leaf firmly, pulling it out of the pot with force.
There was a sudden scream in the classroom.
Of course, because everyone was wearing earmuffs, no one could hear anyone else's screams.
What was pulled out of the soil was not a root like a beet, but a pale green baby, with Professor Sprout grabbing the leaves on its head.
As soon as the little guy was pulled out, he started screaming at the top of his lungs.
Now, everyone knows what Albert meant by the "crying" of the mandrake.
Professor Sprout brought a larger flowerpot and stuffed the mandrake into it, quickly covering it with moist compost and soil, leaving only the leaves exposed.
She brushed the mud off her hands, gave everyone two thumbs up, and took off her earmuffs.
"I emphasize again, you must wear earmuffs later." Professor Sprout reminded loudly, "I don't think you will want to miss this class, so you can go in groups of four. There are many large flower pots of compost in the bags over there."
Of course, Albert was in a group of four, and after everyone had put on their earmuffs, Professor Sprout signaled that everyone could start.
Pulling mandrakes from the soil is a physically demanding job, and it's not as easy as Professor Sprout makes it out to be.
This is harder than pulling turnips in a field, and mandrakes don't want to be pulled out of the soil.
Lee Jordan tried very hard but failed, and finally Fred helped to pull it out. The worst thing was that after it came out, it didn't want to go back. It twisted its body, kicked its feet, and waved its little fists, like a living person who didn't want to be stuffed into a coffin.
"It's really funny, isn't it?" Fred laughed and poked the mandrake's cheek with his finger, but was bitten on the finger.
Fortunately, he was wearing dragonhide gloves.
George couldn't help laughing when he saw this.
Li Jordan didn't laugh. He was struggling with the Mandrake that was blocking the mouth of the basin with its feet and refused to be stuffed into the basin.
As for Albert, he resorted to brute force and stuffed the mandrake into the pot. He quickly covered it with moist soil and compost, thus successfully completing the first repotting operation.