Chapter 1077: Their Easter Holidays
Chapter 1077: Their Easter Holidays
Albert had been staying at the Rose Manor with Isabelle ever since the Easter holidays began, enjoying their time as a couple.
The reason he didn't stay in Hogsmeade Village was that, as a Secret-Keeper, it would be risky for him to remain there for extended periods.
As for the upcoming N.E.W.Ts exams, Albert wasn't too concerned. Isabelle's first-hand experience and exam tips would be a great help to him. Moreover, with his own abilities, he was confident in the practical aspects, and the powerful memory granted by his skill panel would aid him in the theoretical exams.
However, Albert wasn't as carefree as he seemed. He never underestimated the Death Eaters and Lord Voldemort, and he certainly didn't want to end up like the Potters.
After all, it was always wise to err on the side of caution when it came to one's life.
"What are you up to?"
As Albert emerged from his laboratory, he found Isabelle directing the house-elves in the kitchen as they prepared something that resembled Fire Dragon eggs, made with chocolate and sugar coating.
"Easter eggs!" Isabelle presented her morning's work to Albert, expecting praise.
"They look great." Albert examined the eggs, popping a piece of broken shell into his mouth. He smiled and hugged her slender waist. "But it feels a bit odd for you to be making Easter eggs for me."
"Odd?" Isabelle tilted her head in curiosity. "I assume no one sent you any Easter eggs this year?"
"That's true, but having you make me Easter eggs makes me feel like a kid," Albert admitted, crunching on the sugar shell. "Why don't we send this one to Katrina instead?"
"You don't want it?" Isabelle looked a little disappointed.
"All I need is you." Albert spoke softly. "Let me help you. What candies are you planning to put inside?"
"If it's for Katrina, then Chocolate Frogs and Honeydukes' Exploding Bonbons," Isabelle replied, knowing her sister's preferences well, as they were quite similar in taste.
"I'll have Dobby get some candies from Honeyduke's later," Albert said, admiring the Easter egg before him. He quite liked it, but having Isabelle make him an Easter egg made him feel a bit childish.
"I don't mind if you're childish." Isabelle nuzzled Albert's ear and gently blew into it.
"No Legilimency." Albert feigned sternness and gently pinched her nose.
"You didn't conceal your thoughts very well. They were easy to guess," Isabelle said with a smile.
"Then... let's keep this one for ourselves, since you spent the whole morning on it." Albert hesitated before continuing, "We can enjoy it together later. As for Katrina's Easter egg, let's have Cara make another one for her."
"Okay!"
Isabelle beamed, even happier, and asked Albert to help her take off her apron.
As expected, a boyfriend was more important than a sister.
...
In the Ravenclaw common room, Katrina stared complexly at an Easter egg she had just received via owl. The sender was Isabelle.
To be honest, Mrs. McDougal was always busy, and the sisters rarely received Easter eggs. Sometimes, they even forgot each other's birthdays.
Katrina glanced at the envelope in the package and then at the candies inside the egg, falling into a brief silence.
She had a pretty good idea of how this had come about.
Isabelle had probably made an extra Easter egg for her while making one for Albert, and the appearance of the egg suggested that house-elves had likely helped in its creation.
She took a deep breath and carefully read the contents of the letter on the parchment. Most of it consisted of Isabelle's N.E.W.Ts exam experiences and tips to help Katrina ease her exam stress.
Ever since the Easter holidays began, the atmosphere of exam preparation at Hogwarts had intensified. Everyone knew that this was the best time to study before Umbridge returned to school.
Katrina picked up a Chocolate Frog and popped it into her mouth, softly chewing. For some reason, she felt that the cream inside tasted a bit sour, as if someone had added lemon juice to it.
Ignoring the noise around her, Katrina refocused on her books, determined to study diligently for the upcoming N.E.W.Ts exams.
While she had thoroughly lost in certain aspects, she wasn't ready to concede defeat when it came to the exams. This was Katrina's last stand.
"It's too noisy here. Let's go to the library," she muttered to herself, sighing softly as she gathered her books to head to the library.
However, before leaving, Katrina decided to take some Chocolate Frogs with her to aid in her revision. As long as she didn't get caught by Madam Pince, everything would be fine.
In fact, many students did the same, and only the foolish ones would openly eat in the library and risk being chased out by Madam Pince's feather duster.
...
In the library at that moment, Fred and George Weasley looked glum as they whispered to each other. Their recently invented Surprise Easter Eggs hadn't been well-received, resulting in unsold inventory. Fortunately, they had only released a trial version to test the market, so the financial loss wasn't significant. Nonetheless, this failure had dealt a blow to their confidence.
"It's normal. Not everything we create will be welcomed by everyone," Lee Jordan consoled them. "After all, when it comes to Easter eggs, people care more about the candies inside. Your prank Easter eggs aren't that surprising."
"I think the idea is fine. There should be Easter surprise eggs, but where did we go wrong?" The Weasley twins didn't think there was anything wrong with their concept.
"You can write it down and ask Albert later. He might have some good ideas!" Lee suggested. "As for your surprise eggs, remember to keep one for Albert, and get rid of the rest."
"I thought you'd suggest sending them to someone as a gift," Fred mumbled.
"Don't do that unless you plan to refund the people who bought them," Lee advised.
After gathering their things, the three of them left the library, which was too crowded for private conversations.
"I really envy Albert, that guy always comes up with ways to make money." Fred lowered his voice, ensuring no one was around.
"We definitely need to talk to Albert about this," George nodded, closing his notebook, "and about our farewell gift."
"Farewell gift?" Lee Jordan looked at the two, puzzled.
"Yeah, we want to leave a deep impression on everyone before we graduate!" George explained to Lee Jordan, "If we just leave like this, it won't be as good publicity for the joke shop as if we do something big and target Umbridge directly. She's a perfect target."
"You've discussed this with Albert?" Lee Jordan was envious, knowing that the two rascals were planning to sneak off.
"Yeah, and he agreed," Fred shrugged, "Anyway, with our current abilities, we'd probably just get a bunch of crappy N.E.W.Ts results. What use are those? Might as well put them to good use and advertise our shop here at Hogwarts. I bet this will be something people will talk about for years."
"Put them to good use?" Lee Jordan repeated, his expression strange, "But, it does seem like... perhaps it's a good choice. It's also a way to squeeze the last bit of use out of Umbridge before we leave."
As long as Umbridge remained at Hogwarts, people would remember the twins' heroic deeds.
"So, what are you planning to do?" Lee Jordan asked, suddenly curious about their farewell gift.
"We've made a lot of fireworks, and we're going to use them all up. They're our special fireworks, so they'll definitely make an impression," Fred said, exchanging a glance with George, "Hopefully, Umbridge will bring some surprises when she returns. But even if she tries to act innocent, no one will believe her crap after what happened last time."
Lee Jordan silently mourned for Umridge in his heart for a second.
...
Meanwhile, Harry Potter had just come out of Professor McGonagall's office, with a small package in his robe pocket. It was said to be an important item that Sirius Black had entrusted to Professor McGonagall to give to Harry.
As soon as he left Professor McGonagall's office, Ron and Hermione immediately approached him, asking about the reason for McGonagall's meeting with Harry.
"This isn't a good place to talk. Let's find somewhere else," Harry said, lowering his voice as he noticed a student walking towards them.
Seeing Harry's mysterious demeanor, both Hermione and Ron realized that something important must have happened, so they didn't ask further questions and headed straight for the Room of Requirement, only to find it occupied. Left with no choice, Harry took them back to the dormitory.
Once the dormitory door was closed, Harry took out the package that Professor McGonagall had given him, which contained a small bottle of golden potion.
"This is... Felix Felicis."
Both Ron and Hermione looked up at Harry, startled.
"Why did Professor McGonagall give you Felix Felicis?" Ron asked, puzzled.
"If this really is Felix Felicis, it could... bring a long period of good luck," Hermione said, frowning, feeling that there was something she didn't know.
"It looks like there's something else in the package," Ron said, handing Harry a chain and pointing to the piece of parchment inside, "That should be a letter from Sirius."
Harry carefully read the letter, then took a deep breath and put on the rough-looking chain.
"This is an emergency contact device, with the same effect as Hermione's magic coins," Harry explained to his two best friends.
"So, Sirius..." Hermione looked at Harry, "Are you hiding something from us?"
"I just didn't have time to tell you," Harry briefly explained what he and Sirius had discussed earlier.
At that moment, he saw the fear and anxiety on Ron and Hermione's faces.
"Harry, I think..." Hermione grabbed Harry's hand, but he interrupted her before she could finish.
"It's useless, some things can't be avoided, and I think this is also an opportunity. Obviously, others think so too," Harry said, "With the help of Felix Felicis, I don't think there will be any major problems, and the members of the Order of the Phoenix will come to reinforce me as soon as they're notified."
As he spoke, Harry lifted his wrist, showing the chain, which was the contact device. Once it was triggered, the rest of the Order would know that the plan was in motion.
"Call me when it's time, I've never tasted Felix Felicis before," Ron said, his voice trembling slightly, but he didn't back down.
"Isn't this too risky?" Hermione still felt that using Harry as bait was very dangerous, and Felix Felicis couldn't bring true luck or guarantee success.
"I think it's worth it," Harry said, determined, "Not only can we solve Voldemort's obsession with the prophecy, but we can also get rid of his influence on my mind, help me and Dumbledore clear our names, get Fudge out of the way, and boot Umbridge out of Hogwarts. I really can't find a reason not to do this," Harry continued, "With proper preparation, the chances of success are high, and we might even be able to take care of a bunch of escaped Death Eaters at the same time."
Hermione and Ron looked at each other, unable to find any reason to convince Harry to give up on this plan.
"But I still suggest you talk to Albert about it, he..."
"He's the one who hinted at this idea to me," Harry shrugged, "He gave me a nudge, and I came up with this plan, so I think Albert must also be very optimistic about it."
"Okay, count me in, then!" Hermione certainly wasn't going to let Harry and Ron go on this adventure alone.
Just then, there was a knock on the dormitory door.
"Who's in there? Open the door." It was Neville's voice.
Harry carefully put away the Felix Felicis, and Ron opened the door after Harry had put everything away.
"What are you guys up to?" Neville asked, looking at the three of them curiously.
"Just discussing some personal matters," Harry explained.
"Oh, by the way, I think there's a package for you. It should be Easter eggs," Neville said, not prying further, "It's in the common room."
"Oh, thanks, Neville!"
"Harry, can we learn something else first? I think practicing the Patronus Charm is a waste of time. We might as well practice on our own when we have free time," Neville suggested eagerly.
"You're right, we just discussed this and decided to teach something else first," Harry said, and headed towards the common room, leaving Neville standing at the dormitory door, watching their departing backs.
(End of Chapter)
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