Chapter 122: My Heart Hurts
Chapter 122: My Heart Hurts
"Hey, when do you think this garlic will be ready to harvest?" George asked as he fertilized and watered the thriving garlic plant.
"End of May," Albert replied casually, blowing away the wood shavings from the wooden bracelet he was carving Runic symbols onto.
"Are you planning to eat raw garlic?" Lee Jordan teased, popping a Beanboozle bean into his mouth.
"Why are you focusing on the wrong thing? You should be asking Albert how he knows when the garlic will be ready," George said, setting down his watering can to glare at Lee's bean, "That one's definitely bogey-flavored."
"It's soy sauce flavor," Lee shot back, giving George a dirty look for trying to gross him out. Nonetheless, he didn't eat it and instead tossed the bean back into the box.
"If you're going to eat it raw, I suggest soaking the garlic in soy sauce. I hear it tastes pretty good," Albert commented.
"Alright, stop derailing the topic." George huffed, "So, it's really the end of May?"
"That's what Hagrid said, and he grows his own vegetables, so he would know," Albert said, looking up from his bracelet, "If you want to make garlic cloves, the garlic you brought from home should be enough!"
"It feels more fulfilling to use garlic that we grew ourselves!" George stated earnestly.
His comment earned him a round of eye-rolling.
"Fine, suit yourself," he muttered.
"What about that pot you're growing? Are you going to throw it out since the branch has withered? It's definitely not going to survive," George pointed at another pot where Albert had attempted to grow wood betony.
"I'll leave it for now," Albert glanced at the pot, "When the weather gets warmer, I'll try planting it again."
"Why are you growing wood betony? Is it a hobby or something?" Lee Jordan asked, perplexed by Albert's train of thought.
This guy dabbled in so many things, learning pretty much everything, and excelling in all of them. What really got to Lee was how laid-back and relaxed Albert seemed despite his diverse interests.
At times, Lee Jordan couldn't help but feel a twinge of jealousy towards Albert.
"Wood betony has excellent healing effects and high medicinal value. If I ever get my own place, I'll definitely plant some in my garden. For now, I'm just gaining some planting experience," Albert explained.
In truth, Albert thought that wood betony's healing properties might be quite popular with Muggles, but he didn't voice this thought.
Sometimes, these unique plants could have remarkable effects.
These ideas often popped into his head ever since he started studying economics, and he found them intriguing.
"Your way of thinking is definitely different from ours," George remarked, finding Albert's thoughts rather odd.
"Is it?" Albert shrugged, unbothered, as he continued to focus on carving his Runic symbols.
This time, he was making a wooden bracelet adorned with an entire circle of Runic symbols, all of his own design.
He wasn't entirely sure if they would work, as he didn't feel anything particularly special while carving them.
Perhaps I should use yew, symbolized by the Eihwaz rune, as the material next time? Albert thought to himself, I'll make a note of that and see if I can find some yew wood next time.
"Ahh!"
A sudden scream pierced the air in the dormitory.
Fred, who had been reading a book, abruptly jumped off his bed and threw the book away as if it had burned him.
Albert's hand twitched, ruining the Rune he had been carving.
Lee Jordan, who had been about to cautiously taste a yellow Beanboozle bean, was startled and accidentally swallowed it.
George narrowly avoided being hit by the book Fred had thrown and leaped to his feet, only to bump into the table leg, leaving him hopping around and rubbing his knee.
"What's wrong with you?" they chorused, glaring at Fred.
"My heart... it hurts," Fred said, clutching his chest and putting on a show of being in the throes of a heart attack.
"What's wrong with him?" Jordan Lee mumbled, "Could he have been dumped? I didn't even know Fred had a girlfriend!"
"Should we take him to the hospital wing?" Albert suggested, putting down the carving knife. "Madame Pomfrey is probably still awake."
"My leg! Ow!"
"The book... that book..." Fred pointed with a raised finger to the book he had just thrown, his other hand still clutching his chest.
"What about the book?" George picked it up and glanced at the cover, "One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi". "Can't believe you read this stuff in your free time."
"Turn to page ninety-eight, it's about snow mushrooms," Fred grumbled impatiently, not sounding at all like a patient.
"Snow mushrooms?" George flipped to the page, his eyebrows furrowing in suspicion. "Let me see... here it is, snow mushrooms..."
"Ah! My heart!" A few seconds later, George suddenly clutched his chest and slumped onto the bed, looking utterly dejected.
Albert and Jordan were both drawn to their friends' reactions, intrigued by the mention of snow mushrooms.
Jordan curiously opened the book, glanced at the page, and slowly closed it, muttering something under his breath. He seemed reluctant to elaborate, instead thrusting the book into Albert's hands for him to see for himself.
Albert shot the three a curious glance, wondering what they could have seen. Upon opening the book, he immediately understood.
The illustration... hmm! It looked a bit like the matsutake mushrooms they had eaten recently.
Last time, he had found it strange that they could find matsutake in the middle of a snowy February.
"Snow mushrooms, also known as cedar mushrooms..." Albert quickly scanned the introduction, his expression turning sour. No wonder his friends had made those faces.
They grew only in the snowy winter and had extremely high medicinal value...
Putting aside the rest, just one ounce of snow mushroom powder was worth fifty Galleons! No wonder they were feeling the pain.
"That's definitely the most expensive thing we've ever eaten," Fred complained, his hand still on his chest. "Albert, you spendthrift! You just went and grilled those snow mushrooms without a care!"
"If we had sold them, we could have made a small fortune!" George chimed in.
"Hey, why don't we go dig up some snow mushrooms and make a profit?" Jordan suddenly proposed.
"That's a great idea!" The twins' eyes sparkled with the thought of Galleons.
"Are you guys... money-mad or something?" Albert's lips twitched.
In truth, he could understand their train of thought, but he poured cold water on their plans. "Forget it. We only found a little bit on our walk, and snow mushrooms are hard to preserve. Unless you know how to process them into powder, there's no point in digging them up. They lose their medicinal value over time and become worthless."
"But..."
"No buts."
"I have to admit, the Forbidden Forest does have its fair share of treasures. It's essentially an untouched primeval forest, but I need to remind you that even if we got our hands on snow mushrooms now, we wouldn't have a way to sell them," Albert said, fixing them with a serious gaze. "Who would you trade with? Do you think others would deal fairly with you just because you're a kid? They're not your dad; any promises they make are just tricks to fool children."
"Aren't you tempted at all?" George asked, unable to resist.
"Of course, I am, but I know what I should do. And I don't think there are that many snow mushrooms there anyway. Plus..." Albert trailed off, "...you need to understand that snow mushrooms are non-trade items; they're not that easy to get rid of."
"There are two types of prohibited trade items: those of extremely high value or those of extremely high danger. As a result, the Ministry of Magic strictly forbids their trade. If you want to deal in them, you'd have to go through the black market, and the chances of a child profiting from that are slim to none. So, forget about it and get some sleep."
(End of Chapter)
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