Chapter 158: Falling into a Pit
Chapter 158: Falling into a Pit
Albert had never seen the Gryffindors so united before. Perhaps they had all been suppressed by Slytherin for too long! Now, everyone was working hard to earn points for their house, and even if they couldn't earn points, they tried their best not to give others a reason to deduct points.
Most Gryffindors would pause and take a few extra glances at the hourglass that recorded the house points, and even Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs hoped to see Slytherin lose the House Cup.
The atmosphere in the castle had changed; it felt like a storm was brewing.
The tradition of Slytherin was to do whatever it took to win, and this was why they had dominated the Quidditch Cup and House Cup for so long.
They wouldn't give up easily.
The most direct change was in Snape's classes, which had become more solemn and oppressive. The potions master would pace back and forth during lessons, using his stern gaze to pressure students with weaker mental fortitude into making mistakes. Everyone knew that Snape was looking for reasons to deduct points.
The best way to deal with Snape's nitpicking was to admit your mistakes sincerely, not argue, and not say too much. That way, he wouldn't have much of a reason to deduct many points.
Ever since Gryffindor won the Quidditch Cup, the tension between them and Slytherin had been increasing. Albert wouldn't be surprised if a fight broke out between the two houses any day.
However, for the sake of the House Cup, everyone was forcibly enduring and refraining from causing any conflicts that would give Snape a chance to deduct points.
Because if a fight broke out, Gryffindor's meager lead in points would be wiped out.
"They've done this to Ravenclaw before," the student council president warned in the Gryffindor common room. "If you have any grievances, keep them in until after we've won the House Cup, then we can settle things."
The conflict between the two houses was being suppressed to the lowest level. Privately, everyone was itching for a fight, but for the sake of the House Cup, they endured. Only a fool couldn't smell the tension in the air.
However, as the end-of-term exams approached, everyone's attention was diverted, and the tense atmosphere eased a little.
As the days went by, many people had no choice but to bury themselves in studying in the muggy weather. When they didn't have classes, they even had to rush to the library to secure a seat.
However, since the end of May, Albert rarely went to the library. He disliked cramming into the library with everyone else in such hot weather.
In this muggy weather, Albert missed ice cakes, cold drinks, and air conditioning.
"Aren't you going to review for your exams?" Hagrid greeted him.
"I have my exam cheat sheet." Albert waved his notebook, which recorded the key points that the professors had covered in class. He would glance through it and then recall the relevant content, thanks to his extraordinary memory.
Anyway, Albert wasn't worried about the exams at all.
"Cheat sheet?"
"Hagrid, do you know any magic that can make ice or cool things down?" Albert asked Hagrid about cooling spells after tucking his notebook back into his pocket.
"No, what are you planning to do?" Hagrid shook his head. After the previous incident, their relationship had returned to normal, and neither of them mentioned those things again.
"Of course, I'm going to make some cold drinks for myself. It's too hot in this damned weather," Albert said matter-of-factly.
"Cold drinks? Come on, I'll treat you to some chilled butterbeer. Let's celebrate early for Gryffindor winning the House Cup." Hagrid slapped his large hand on his head and invited Albert to his place for butterbeer.
Hagrid's idea of chilled butterbeer wasn't far off from what Albert had guessed.
Hagrid threw an oak barrel of butterbeer into the well, and when he picked it up to drink, it actually tasted pretty good. Although it wasn't very icy, it was undoubtedly a pleasure in the hot summer.
Seeing the garlic in his vegetable garden, Hagrid suddenly asked, "I remember you guys were planting garlic."
"It's growing well, and we'll be able to harvest it soon."
Albert found this matter quite amusing. Initially, they had talked about making garlic crosses, but what happened in the end?
After some time, the group in the dormitory had forgotten all about it.
Albert wasn't surprised. Children's patience was always limited, and it was already good that they still remembered to water the garlic.
"By the way, Hagrid, can you help me get some alcohol?"
"What do you want alcohol for?" Hagrid asked in confusion.
"To purify garlic essence."
"What's that?" Hagrid was even more confused after hearing Albert's explanation.
"It's nothing. It's just for extracting garlic... garlic essence. You know, we're planning to make a garlic-flavored amulet, so..." Albert briefly described their initial reason for planting garlic. "Yeah, that's the situation. I'll also need some beeswax."
"As you know, vampires hate garlic, and many dark creatures dislike the smell of garlic as well. So, we plan to use the protective tree and garlic to make a garlic-flavored amulet and see if it can effectively repel dark creatures."
Hagrid was left stunned after hearing Albert's explanation. A garlic-flavored amulet? Who would've thought of that?
"Well... if you want alcohol, I can help you ask around. If Diagon Alley doesn't have it, we can try our luck in Knockturn Alley."
"Knockturn Alley?" Albert asked tentatively.
"Knockturn Alley is right next to Diagon Alley. It's a place where all sorts of people and businesses mingle... including many Dark Magic shops," Hagrid suddenly realized something and looked at Albert seriously. "You're not allowed to go to Knockturn Alley!"
"Alright, Hagrid. Actually, I already knew about Knockturn Alley before coming to Hogwarts," Albert said. "Thanks for helping me with the alcohol."
As he spoke, Albert took out a few Galleons and offered them to Hagrid, but the latter refused to take them.
Seeing that Hagrid didn't want the money, Albert didn't insist. Hagrid probably didn't lack money. Although his house looked a bit rundown, there were indeed many valuable things in the Forbidden Forest.
It could be said that Hagrid had become accustomed to his current lifestyle.
...
After leaving Hagrid, Albert didn't plan to return to the castle right away. Instead, he slowly strolled downhill and headed to the lake, sitting under a tree to enjoy the breeze.
Not far away, a large squid lay in the warm shallow water, basking in the sun.
"Now this is what I call a summer," Albert sighed, feeling the cool breeze from the lake. "It's a pity there's no comfortable hammock."
After some unknown period of time, footsteps approached, and a figure was reflected on his face.
Albert opened his drowsy eyes, blinked, and looked at the girl leaning over him.
"What's up?" he asked.
"You're quite relaxed, aren't you? I guess that's what you'd expect from a genius," Katrina said sarcastically as she watched Albert lying in the shade of the tree.
"I'm doing alright," Albert replied casually. "I've reviewed everything I need to. Worrying about the exams won't change anything, so I might as well relax and adjust my mindset for the upcoming tests."
"Everyone is working hard, and you have the nerve to say something so callous?" Katrina glared at Albert, suddenly turning serious. "I think if the people in the library heard you, they'd want to punch you."
"I practice karate; they wouldn't stand a chance against me."
"I heard you have an exam cheat sheet?" Katrina sat down beside him, enjoying the cool breeze from the lake, and suddenly asked.
"Cheat sheet?" Albert couldn't help but laugh out loud, guessing that his previous conversation with Hagrid had been overheard.
"What are you laughing about?" Katrina frowned, annoyed.
"You don't want to see it too, do you?" Albert took out a notebook from his pocket and waved it in front of Katrina.
"What's wrong with that?" Katrina was indeed curious. She snatched the notebook and flipped through its contents, only to frown even more. The notebook only contained notes on the essential topics the professors had mentioned in class, with only the titles written down.
"So?" Albert countered.
"Is that it?" Katrina suddenly felt like she had been toyed with.
"Of course," Albert said matter-of-factly. "As long as you understand the topics the professors marked as essential, you're guaranteed to score well."
"I thought you wanted to get full marks." Katrina had lost interest in the so-called cheat sheet.
"Why would I bother with full marks? I've never intentionally pursued that. Getting an 'Outstanding' is enough for me." Albert wasn't concerned about getting full marks. After all, the school graded students as 'Outstanding,' 'Exceeds Expectations,' etc., and getting full marks was still graded as 'Outstanding.' So, he saw no point in obsessing over it.
Katrina suddenly felt irritated. The guy in front of her didn't seem to consider her a competitor at all.
"What's wrong?" Albert sensed that Katrina's aura had shifted.
"Do you want to bet on who gets better term-end grades?" Katrina proposed.
"No." Albert flatly refused.
Even though he had the comprehensive crushing task, he didn't want to entangle with her in this aspect.
"Why not?" Katrina questioned, "Are you scared?"
"There's no reason." Albert completely ignored her attempt at goading him. "I just feel that it's tiring to compare like that."
"Tiring?" Katrina couldn't understand Albert's way of thinking. How could he refuse her with such a reason?
"If you want to bet..." Albert thought for a moment, intending to change the subject, "Why don't we bet in a different way!"
"What kind of bet?" Katrina asked immediately.
"You need to answer a riddle to enter the Ravenclaw common room, right?" Albert said with a smile, "If you can answer a hundred riddles, you win, and I'll admit that you're better than me..."
"Answer a hundred riddles?" Katrina's voice rose in pitch as she sized Albert up, wondering if he was making fun of her.
"Why don't I answer a hundred riddles instead?"
"Of course." Albert tempted her, "If you win, I'll give you a gift worth around ten Galleons."
"Do you have money?" Katrina eyed Albert doubtfully, asking in return.
"Yes, I won a hundred Galleons last time when we bet on who would become the Minister of Magic." Albert almost patted his chest to assure her. In truth, Albert didn't mind spending some money on the Eagle Ring riddles. Any problem that could be solved with Galleons wasn't much of a problem at all.
Katrina fell silent. She realized that the guy in front of her seemed surprisingly rich, casually mentioning ten Galleons.
"So, do you want to bet?" Albert smiled slyly.
"Your smile is so fake." Katrina said, "What if I lose?"
"If you fail, you can try again." Albert continued, "Anyway, I'm not asking you to do anything. Of course, there's a precondition that during this period, you shouldn't come and compare other things with me."
"Will you really give me a prize if I win?" Katrina asked again.
"You can find an impartial witness, like your house ghost, or I can ask Nearly Headless Nick." Albert added, "Of course, when you challenge the Eagle Ring, I need to be there. You have to answer a hundred riddles to win."
"Won't it be a dungbomb?" Katrina eyed Albert suspiciously.
"Then I'll give you ten Galleons directly and admit that you're better than me."
"Of course, I'm better than you. I don't think you can answer a hundred riddles." Katrina suddenly said, "If you can answer ten riddles, you win, and I'll give you a gift. Of course, I'm not as rich as you. But you can only try once and must do it before me."
"Okay, I agree." Albert had just agreed when he suddenly changed his mind, "I give up; I probably can't answer any of them."
"No." Katrina said seriously, "You must try. I don't believe you can't answer even one."
"Alright, alright." Albert placated her.
"Let's go find Ms. Grey now." Katrina took Albert to the west side of Hogwarts Castle and found Ms. Grey at the end of a corridor.
Katrina briefly explained the situation to the teacher and asked her to be the witness for their bet.
Ms. Grey agreed, finding the idea amusing.
Even Ravenclaw students rarely answered a hundred riddles in a row. As for students from other houses, it was even more challenging for them to answer ten riddles consecutively.
"Do you want to start now?" Ms. Grey asked.
"No, I think Miss McDougal should have more time to prepare. We can do it after the exams or next semester." Albert wasn't in a hurry. He needed Katrina to provide him with the questions and answers, ensuring she was well-prepared. Otherwise, Miss McDougal might give up after a few questions, making the whole thing pointless.
As for the outcome?
Albert didn't care at all.
At that moment, he wanted to pat himself on the back for his cleverness.
Indeed, this method was excellent.
Simple, easy, and convenient to solve the Eagle Ring problem.
Katrina didn't like the calculations going on in Albert's mind, but she walked away cheerfully, intending to beat Albert in this bet and win ten Galleons.
However, before that, she needed to practice hard. Katrina wouldn't allow herself to fail.
(End of Chapter)
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