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Chapter 208: Ulterior Motives
Chapter 208: Ulterior Motives
After concluding their Quidditch practice, the trio once again ventured to the Room of Requirement to conduct their dreaded experiment, causing them to miss dinner. Thus, they had no choice but to resort to the kitchen for their evening meal! Of course, these were merely excuses they concocted for themselves.
Arriving late in the Great Hall, they found that indeed, most of the food had already been devoured. So, Albert struck up a discussion with Fred and the others, deciding to sneak into the kitchen for their meal.
After all, the food there was still hot, and they would be warmly attended to by the house-elves.
"What are you thinking about?" Fred, his mouth stuffed with fried potato chunks, looked at Albert with confusion as the latter paused mid-air, deep in thought, knife and fork in hand.
"It's nothing," Albert mumbled, taking a bite of the fried potato before continuing, "I was just considering whether to ask the house-elves to make some potato and egg pancakes."
"What kind of food is that, Mr. Anderson?" one of the house-elves inquired curiously.
"Pancakes, it's a rather simple dish, Kara," Albert replied with a smile as he shared the recipe with the house-elf. "You can try mashing boiled potato chunks and mixing them with eggs, flour, and other spices. Then, add a little oil to the pan and pour the batter in, frying it until both sides turn golden."
"If Mr. Anderson enjoys it, Kara will certainly give it a try!" the house-elf exclaimed excitedly, bowing to Albert.
"Then thank you, Kara," Albert encouraged, "I believe you can do it."
"Are these potato and egg pancakes tasty?" Lee Jordan asked, unable to resist his curiosity after finishing his pumpkin pie. He hadn't touched any other food since, evidently eager to sample the pancakes Albert had mentioned.
They all remembered how delicious the scrambled eggs with onions that Albert had asked the house-elves to make had turned out.
Soon enough, the house-elves brought out the freshly made potato and egg pancakes.
"You can spread some blueberry jam or your favorite sauce on top," Albert suggested as he began spreading some sauce on his pancake and took a bite, savoring the familiar taste of the potato and egg pancake.
"Delicious," he murmured softly.
Whether it was Kara or the other house-elves, they all wore broad smiles on their faces.
Albert cut his pancake in half and placed one portion on another plate, offering it to Kara, "Here, taste the food you made."
"I'll share mine as well," Lee Jordan said, cutting his pancake in half and placing it on a plate with a smile directed at the house-elves.
"You couldn't finish yours, could you?" Fred rolled his eyes at Lee Jordan, his own mouth stuffed with potato and egg pancake, the taste indeed quite delightful.
"It's... it's... wonderful, thank you, Mr. Anderson, and you too, sir," Kara said, her voice trembling as she held the plate. At that moment, not just Kara but several other house-elves nearby were deeply touched, struggling to find the words to express their gratitude.
"Sir?" Fred felt like laughing.
"If it were you, you'd be 'sir' as well," Lee Jordan shot a glance at Fred and George, his tone slightly annoyed.
"Ahem, who would've thought Albert would be a connoisseur of food as well," George coughed lightly, steering the topic in a different direction. Although they had learned about it previously, witnessing it firsthand still left them astonished.
After dinner, as they were politely escorted out of the kitchen by the house-elves, Albert suddenly turned to his companions and asked, "What do you think about me giving Kara some yarn balls as a Christmas gift?"
"Why did you suddenly come up with this idea?" Fred frowned slightly, as such a precedent was virtually non-existent in the wizarding world.
"They can knit things for themselves, right? House-elves are quite adept at household chores," Albert pondered, continuing, "Of course, I'm aware that owners shouldn't give house-elves clothing, as that implies freedom. But it doesn't mean that house-elves can't acquire other things for themselves, since it's not clothing given by their owner."
"While what you say makes sense, I need to remind you," George warned, "Don't mess with the house-elves' way of thinking, or they might lose their motivation to cook, and we'll end up starving!"
"It seems like you have some intentions regarding the house-elves, don't you?" Lee Jordan suddenly interjected.
"Why do you say that?" Albert asked in return.
"Instinct," Lee Jordan replied without hesitation.
"Well, there is something I'm planning," Albert readily admitted, "After I graduate, I intend to try and bring a house-elf back with me from Hogwarts to serve me."
The trio stared at Albert, their eyes wide with surprise.
"I can pay some galleons, and of course, I'll only do so with the house-elf's consent. I believe Dumbledore won't object," Albert continued, "As you know, ordinary wizarding families rarely have house-elves, and they are incredibly helpful and loyal. Having one would save us a lot of time."
"Your ideas are truly shocking," Fred said, covering his face, "However, I must remind you that most house-elves serve only one family throughout their lives."
"Of course, there might be exceptions, right?" Albert didn't seem too concerned about these matters and shifted the topic, "Tomorrow is Halloween, and next week, let's make a trip to Hogsmeade together. Let's see if we can find the black market merchant. Hagrid mentioned a place called the Hog's Head pub. We also need to find time to venture into the forest to look for leaping toadstools. Oh, and we should visit the library to research how to handle them."
"Aren't we supposed to raid Snape's private potion ingredient warehouse?" George asked, perplexed.
"Would you dare to make potions with ingredients taken from Snape and sell them?" Albert looked at George as if he were a fool, "If we succeed in making the potions and sell them, Snape will soon realize it was us. If he targets us, we'll be in deep trouble. You don't want him coming after you, do you? Moreover, what if his private warehouse doesn't have what we need? Always leave yourself an out."
"No, we don't want that," the trio shook their heads in unison. Being singled out by Snape was not something they relished.
"So, we're not going?" Fred asked.
"Of course, we are, but I'll handle it personally," Albert explained casually, "I've already mastered the Legilimency ward. Even Snape won't be able to easily see through my thoughts. But you guys can't. Without the ward, you won't be able to lie to Snape. So, the best approach is to ensure this has nothing to do with you."
The three exchanged glances, unable to comprehend Albert's line of thinking.
While Snape would undoubtedly be furious and might use Legilimency on students during class, he wouldn't openly cast the spell to probe a student's memories. Snape's use of Legilimency was typically limited to trivial matters, such as determining whether a student was lying.
However, since it wasn't them who took the ingredients, the answer Snape would get from them would be truthful. And indeed, they hadn't taken anything, as they were merely accomplices.
(End of Chapter)
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