Chapter 1025: Time for a Potion
Chapter 1025: Time for a Potion
Fred had just climbed out of bed when he shivered and quickly put on his clothes. As his eyes casually scanned the dormitory, he noticed that one of the beds was already empty.
"Did Albert not come back again yesterday?" Fred put on his robe and muttered, "I think he doesn't really want to stay at school anymore."
"If you're envious, just go ahead and woo him." George pushed the window open, letting the outside breeze blow in to disperse the stagnant air in the room. "After everyone graduates, it will be much harder to pursue him compared to now."
"Damn it, it's so cold. Could you guys close the bloody window before I get up?"
Lee Jordan, who was just about to get out of bed, shivered from the cold breeze and quickly dove back under the covers.
Ever since November arrived, the temperature in the castle had dropped significantly. Even though today was a rare day of fine weather, it was still frighteningly cold outside, and the trees were frosted with a thick layer of white.
"Sorry, sorry, I thought you'd be getting up later." George closed the window, picked up his wand, and tapped the kettle on the table. He boiled the water again and poured a cup for Lee Jordan.
"What about you?" Fred turned and asked, "Do you have a girl you like?"
"Not really," George shrugged, not particularly concerned. Sensing Fred's suspicious gaze, he quickly changed the subject. "I just hope today's Quidditch match will end quickly. I'm a bit worried that Ron won't be able to handle the pressure."
"Don't worry, as long as Harry uses that thing, I think the match will end soon. What you should be concerned about is whether Harry is willing to use it." Lee Jordan wasn't ashamed of the fact that they were about to cheat their way to victory. He believed that if Slytherin had gotten their hands on such an item, they wouldn't hesitate to use it either. After all, Slytherin was known for their win-at-all-costs mentality.
"It's fine as long as Harry doesn't find out."
George already had a plan in mind. He casually poured himself a cup of hot water and smiled as he clinked his cup against Lee Jordan's. "At that time, I'll prepare a winning pumpkin juice for them to drink before the match."
As he spoke, he held the cup and gently tapped it against Lee Jordan's.
After a quick wash, the three made their way to the Gryffindor common room, where they were enthusiastically welcomed by the students. Everyone was eager to see the Gryffindor team defeat Slytherin and humiliate those detestable Slytherin students as the victors.
After all, the Slytherin students had been up to no good lately.
As they left the common room through the secret passage, Fred suddenly said, "What do you think will happen if we lose?"
"They'll probably be very disappointed!" George glanced at Fred and said confidently, "We've never lost to Slytherin, and we won't this time either. Besides, do you think we'll lose?"
"I always feel like Slytherin is up to something. They always like to play dirty outside the game." Fred raised an eyebrow. "Not to mention, having a toad among us."
"Are you talking about Albert's prophecy?" Lee Jordan asked.
"You suspect that Harry's suspension happened because of that toad recently." George understood.
"If that toad wants to cause trouble, we should just find an opportunity to knock her out." Fred said without hesitation.
This was a tactic they had learned from Albert—it was best not to expect any reasoning with her.
Sending her to the hospital was a sure way to solve many problems at the source.
"Be careful not to get caught," George warned.
The atmosphere in the Great Hall was even more lively, though the tension was thicker than before.
Students from Gryffindor and Slytherin houses wore their house scarves, gathering in small groups to discuss the upcoming match.
Upperclassmen who had opened gambling pools were walking back and forth between the houses, trying to convince more students to place bets. Both Gryffindor and Slytherin were their potential customers, and even students who didn't like gambling would symbolically bet a few Knuts on their own house winning.
As the three passed by the Slytherin table, several Slytherin students gave them malicious smiles and even stuck out their feet in an attempt to trip them, a clear act of provocation.
"Their last desperate struggle."
Fred looked at the boy's feet with an odd expression, and the three quickly exchanged glances. In unison, they raised their own feet, ready to send that idiot to the school hospital.
The outstretched foot quickly retracted.
"If all the Slytherins were like this, it would be great." Fred mocked in a loud voice, "Stop glaring at Montague, your eyes are about to pop out of their sockets."
"Wow, look what I've found!" George's eyes fell on the royal-looking silver badges that some of the Slytherin students were wearing, and he quietly read the words: "The Wesley is our king, what an honor."
"To be honest, I prefer this." Fred smiled as he took out his wand and waved it at the badge on the chest of the boy next to Montague, changing the words "The Wesley is our king" to "The Wesley is our dad."
"Look, that's much better." Fred put away his wand and nodded in satisfaction.
"Although it's frustrating to have a bunch of good-for-nothing sons, we'll try our best to educate you so you don't go astray." The twins looked at each other and said in unison.
The neighboring Gryffindors couldn't help but laugh, as they enjoyed seeing the Slytherins collectively embarrassed.
Without giving the furious Slytherins time to react, the three happily walked away.
Montague angrily threw the badge at the Wesley brothers, but Fred caught it.
"I'm your dad." Fred smiled as he put the badge back in his pocket.
"What do you think they're trying to do?" George didn't think this would lead to anything good, especially since it was coming from Slytherin.
"Who knows." Fred shrugged.
"I know who's behind this." Lee Jordan gestured for the two of them to look over, and they saw Draco Malfoy distributing the badges to the Slytherin students while humming a light tune.
"Wesley was born in a dumpster..."
"I knew it wouldn't be anything good."
If Albert were here, he would probably turn all the Slytherin badges into something like what he had just done to Montague's. That would definitely be interesting.
Unfortunately, Fred's transfiguration skills weren't up to that level yet.
"Do you have that thing with you?" Fred muttered.
"Just make sure Ron doesn't hear about this." George warned as he quietly took out a small ball from his pocket. He let the little sphere roll on the ground and towards Malfoy's feet.
"Your younger brother not only lacks experience and confidence, but he also has poor mental fortitude." Lee Jordan glanced at Ron, who was not far away, his face pale and his eyes blank. He shook his head, feeling that Ron was too useless. When he had been a commentator, his mentality had been much stronger than Ron's.
Suddenly, black smoke erupted from the Slytherin table, causing a commotion.
Draco Malfoy, who had been excitedly talking, was now covering his mouth and coughing uncontrollably. His whole body was covered in a layer of black, and the two students next to him were also unlucky enough to be splashed.
After a brief moment of silence in the Great Hall, laughter soon erupted.
Watching the trio leave in a huff, the three friends exchanged pleasant smiles.
"Good morning, Harry," Fred said as he sat down next to Harry, greeting him with a smile. "What's up with Ron?"
"He's just a bit nervous," Harry said helplessly.
"I can't fly at all," Ron mumbled.
"You're really embarrassing us," George said, taking a bite of his toast. "Maybe you should get some more practice. I suggest you play hide-and-seek with Filch tonight to toughen you up."
"Or you could go hang out with the giant spiders in the Forbidden Forest; that'll really build your mental fortitude," Fred chimed in as he spread marmalade on his toast.
"Can't you two just shut up for once?" Ginny glared at Fred, George, and Lee Jordan, clearly annoyed.
"They're just making excuses for their own rule-breaking," Hermione said, seeing through their antics.
"He's like this because he lacks discipline," Lee Jordan butted in. "He should be more like us and develop a strong mental game and a thicker skin."
"The only thick skin here is yours," Fred said, clearly trying to distance himself from Lee Jordan's behavior.
"Ginny, how was your tryout?" George quickly changed the subject.
"It went well. I plan to sign up next year. With Angelina and Alicia graduating, the Chaser position will be open," Ginny said confidently, believing in her Quidditch skills.
"That's great," George said, pulling out a bottle of pumpkin juice from his pocket and grinning at Harry. "This is some good stuff I got from Albert."
"A bottle of pumpkin juice?" Hermione raised an eyebrow in curiosity.
"It's the kind that can bring us victory," Fred added.
"You didn't put anything in it, did you?" Hermione asked suspiciously.
"That's not allowed, Hermione," George said, turning to Harry. "I remember you have some Calming Draughts, right? Give Ron one to calm him down; he won't be able to play like this."
"I almost forgot about this." Harry pulled out a bottle of Calming Draughts from his pocket and poured out two pills. Usually, one would be enough, but given Ron's state, two might be necessary.
Hermione was speechless. She had noticed that Harry seemed to be relying on the Calming Draughts a lot lately, often taking a pill himself.
"Here, Ron, take these Calming Draughts, and you'll feel better," Harry said, handing the pills to Ron.
"Also, take this with it," Lee Jordan said, pulling out two vials from his pocket and handing one to Ron. "It's a Vitality Tonic."
"What's that?"
"It's to boost his energy. We figured Ron's weak mental game would make him too nervous to eat, so we prepared this for him," George explained, gesturing for Lee Jordan to give Harry one as well.
"Won't this break the rules?" Hermione asked curiously, knowing that Albert had created quite a few candies with odd effects.
"Of course not, and we're not taking them during the game anyway," George assured her.
"Come on, Ron, take this."
Ron stared blankly at the pills Harry had handed him, hesitated for a moment, and then popped them into his mouth and swallowed.
The effects were noticeable, as Ron's previously pale complexion improved slightly, although he still looked dazed.
"Are you feeling better?"
Harry looked at his own vial and then at Ron, confused. Usually, one pill was enough to calm him down, but Ron had taken two, and the effects didn't seem very strong. He wondered if the Calming Draughts Ron took were fake.
"Yeah, a little," Ron mumbled.
"Once everyone's ready," Angelina said, shooting a disgusted look at the Slytherin table, "we should head straight to the pitch and not fall for any of their tricks."
"We'll go in a bit," Harry agreed, following Angelina's gaze and nodding. "Ron needs to eat something first so he has the energy for the game."
"I'm such a waste of space."
"Don't worry, Albert is a master at making the most of waste," George said, assessing Ron's condition. "Give him a few more Calming Draughts and some more Vitality Tonics. He probably won't be able to eat anything else this morning."
"Are you sure he'll be okay?" Hermione asked worriedly, concerned about Ron's well-being.
"Of course," George replied confidently.
The Slytherin students clearly had no intention of letting their opponents escape, as they started humming "The Wesley is Our King" again, causing Ron's slightly improved complexion to turn pale once more.
"Ignore them," Angelina shouted. "We'll beat them and shut them up for good."
"Let's go eat over there, then," Harry said, standing up and grabbing a few slices of toast and a cup of juice. He stuffed the toast into his pockets and, taking Ron by the arm, started to walk away, planning to give Ron a few more Calming Draughts.
Fred and George were right about Ron's weak mental game.
As they watched the group walk away, Hermione turned to Malfoy and said with disgust, "You're all so nauseating."
Hermione stormed off, feeling irritated. She knew that Ron wasn't as bad as he seemed; he just needed to overcome his stage fright.
"Instead of resorting to underhanded tricks, let's make a bet," George said, looking at the Slytherin team members with a smile. "Twenty Galleons on our respective college teams winning. I don't think anyone would bet against their own college, would they?"
"That's a brilliant idea. We'll use the losers' Galleons to throw a victory party. I can't think of anything more delightful," Fred chimed in. "So, are you in, or are you too scared?"
"How do we know you won't back out and renege on the bet?"
Montague narrowed his eyes, sensing a trap. Any proposal from the Weasley twins was bound to be suspicious, and if he didn't agree, it would make him look weak in front of his team.
However, twenty Galleons was a substantial sum for most students, and he didn't want to lose that much spending money.
"We can give the Galleons to someone trustworthy, like Diggory, to ensure that the winner gets the money," George said, his malicious intent clear. "What do you say, Diggory? Will you hold the money for us?"
Lee Jordan turned to the students behind him and said, "Who wants to join in? We'll cover any shortfall ourselves."
Quite a few students were willing to chip in, as Fred had predicted. There was nothing more satisfying than using the losers' money to throw a victory party.
More importantly, they wouldn't have to contribute much themselves, and they could thoroughly humiliate the Slytherins in the process.
As for losing, the twins had never lost to Slytherin, and they weren't about to start now.
Seeing the enthusiastic response from the Gryffindors, Montague's expression darkened. He turned to consult with his teammates and then shouted, "Who's in? We'll cover any shortfall ourselves."
They had to join, even if it was a trap. They couldn't lose face, and no one expected to lose anyway.
(End of Chapter)
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