Chapter 120: The Silver-Egged Bird
Chapter 120: The Silver-Egged Bird
Before leaving the Forbidden Forest, Hagrid made sure to dig up some pine mushrooms for Albert, though their scarcity meant he could only find a handful.
As soon as Hagrid opened the door to his cabin, his black dog Fang bounded out, happily running circles around the group and sniffing everywhere.
Albert crouched down to pet Fang's head and calm him down.
Hagrid emptied his pockets of the mushrooms, placing them all on the table. He picked one up and examined it, asking with skepticism, "Are you sure these will taste good when grilled?"
"Leave it to me," Albert replied confidently, his calm demeanor belying his assurance.
"If you want to go fishing," Hagrid said, pointing to a large wooden bucket in the corner, "I have some fresh meat you can use for bait."
"What's this?" Albert asked, raising an eyebrow as he caught a whiff of blood coming from the bucket.
"It's food for the Nightmares," Hagrid explained, scratching Fang's head affectionately. "In the winter, they have a hard time finding food, so I sometimes go into the forest to feed them, making sure the younger ones in the herd can survive the cold."
"Are you sure this is edible?" Lee Jordan asked, eyeing the mushrooms warily.
"Of course," Hagrid assured him, lighting the remaining kindling in the fireplace and placing a copper kettle on it to boil. He then went outside to draw a bucket of well water for Albert.
Albert fetched a paring knife from the kitchen and scraped the dirt off the mushroom stems, cleaning them thoroughly. He then drew his wand and, with a complex flourish, pointed it at the freshly cleaned mushrooms and cast a drying spell. Instantly, the moisture evaporated from their surfaces.
"You don't seem like a first-year student anymore," Hagrid remarked, watching Albert's deft spellcasting with quiet amazement. "Your command of magic is beyond what I would expect, especially considering your Muggle upbringing."
"I know, right?" George whispered. "I'd bet the two Sickles in my pocket that this guy knows more magic than a second-year student."
Albert paid no mind to their banter and asked, "Hagrid, do you have any olive oil?"
"There's some left. I'll get it for you if you need it."
"Please."
Albert focused on using the paring knife to slice the mushrooms into thin pieces.
"You're being awfully stingy!" Lee Jordan pinched a sliver of the mushroom with his fingertips and scoffed. "How are we supposed to taste anything with such a tiny portion?"
"They're thin so they'll cook better," Albert retorted, giving Lee a pointed look before brushing a thin layer of olive oil onto the mushrooms. He then transfigured a piece of wood into a grill and used a pair of fire tongs to place some partially burnt logs from the fireplace into a brazier. Setting the grill on top, he nodded with satisfaction and said, "Now this feels like a barbecue."
"I think you're making a big deal out of nothing," Fred remarked, rolling his eyes at Albert's busywork.
"Hmm, this smells nice," Hagrid commented, setting aside the sausages he had made and popping a still-grilling mushroom into his mouth. He chewed and nodded, "Very nice, but there's not enough of it."
Fred, George, and Lee exchanged glances and quickly devoured the golden mushrooms as soon as they were done grilling.
"These have a nice chew to them," one of them remarked.
"I think they'd be better with some salt, though," said another.
"I feel like they'd be better with a dip," the third one added.
"You idiots, you ate my share!" Albert exclaimed, glaring at the trio as he realized his freshly grilled mushrooms had been snatched away.
"George ate yours!" Fred and Lee quickly pointed at George.
"Ahem, there are still plenty left," George coughed, picking up a sausage and changing the subject. "How about we grill these sausages now?"
"Wait until I'm done with the mushrooms," Albert grumbled, glaring at the three of them as he continued his work.
The barbecue didn't last long, as there were too few mushrooms. Everyone only got a few slices, but they had to admit that the mushrooms were delicious and left them wanting more.
After that, they grilled the rest of Hagrid's sausages and drank a few cups of tea before reluctantly heading back to the Gryffindor common room.
As for Hagrid's homemade cookies, they all politely refused, knowing their teeth weren't up to the task of chewing those tough treats.
When they returned to the Gryffindor common room, the celebration of Gryffindor's victory was still going strong, although most of the cake and pie had been devoured, leaving only some toffee and a few vegetable pies.
"Where have you lot been?" Angelina asked, eyeing the four of them curiously as they entered.
"We went into the forest with Hagrid," George replied proudly.
"I can't believe the gamekeeper took you into the forest," Angelina said, clearly surprised.
"Albert managed to convince him," Fred explained. "We also heard that Professor Kettleburn, the Care of Magical Creatures professor, lives in the forest."
"You're joking!" Alicia joined the group, intrigued by the conversation.
"No, it's true," Lee said. "We just happened to run into a witch who was on her way to visit Professor Kettleburn, apparently regarding a bird serpent."
"What's a bird serpent?" Alicia asked, her curiosity piqued.
Lee froze, not knowing the answer, and turned to Albert for help.
"A bird serpent is a two-legged creature with wings, native to Asia," Albert explained. "It can freely shrink or expand its body, allowing it to fill any space or adapt to the available area."
"I'm curious how you know so much about bird serpents," George teased. "Have you memorized Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them or something?"
"Bird serpent eggs are also an ingredient in Felix Felicis," Albert said, slightly annoyed. "So, I made sure to look it up."
"By the way," Albert continued, looking around at the shocked expressions on their faces, "bird serpent eggshells are made of pure silver. Supposedly, the famous writer Gilderoy Lockhart once used bird serpent egg yolks to create a shampoo that could 'lock in shine.' However, due to the price and danger involved, the bird serpent egg yolk shampoo was never mass-produced for the general market. It was only sold on the black market for a short time before disappearing altogether."
"Why?" Alicia asked, puzzled.
"Because it was too expensive, of course," Albert said, as if it were obvious.
"No wonder Felix Felicis is so pricey," Fred mused.
"It's not so much the price, but the fact that you can't even buy it," Albert said irritably. "Later, when I looked into the ingredients of Felix Felicis, I realized why almost no one bothers to make it. The ingredients are just too expensive. And if you fail during the manufacturing process, it's a disastrous loss for any potion maker."
(End of Chapter)
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