Chapter 215: A False Alarm
Chapter 215: A False Alarm
The afternoon Potions class was a real trial for the students. With Snape's gloomy face looming over them, everyone felt nervous and jittery, and some students even looked like they were on the verge of a nervous breakdown.
Many students feared Snape—they dreaded being singled out by him during their potion-making or being called upon to answer questions in class.
In the entire wizarding world, truly skilled potion-makers were rare, and masters like Snape were even rarer. So, expecting everyone to aspire to his level of mastery was unrealistic.
Fortunately, the two afternoon classes went smoothly. Snape taught the students how to brew a hair growth potion, which, in Albert's opinion, would be a godsend for middle-aged balding men. With a few modifications, he thought it could be a huge seller in the Muggle world.
"Anderson, stay after class," Snape said quietly, standing behind Albert as he brewed his potion.
"Hmm?" Albert mumbled in acknowledgment, shooting Fred and the others a quick glance to assure them that everything was fine. While he did feel a bit guilty when facing Snape, he was confident that the professor couldn't possibly see through him.
After all, he had already achieved level 3 in the Mind-Blocking technique. Even if Snape pointed his wand at him and attempted Legilimency, it was unlikely that he would be able to extract any useful memories.
When the dismissal bell rang, the students breathed a collective sigh of relief. They hastily handed in their potion samples before practically fleeing the Potions classroom.
"You added an excessive amount of ginger root to your hair growth potion," Snape remarked, eyeing Albert's sample critically.
"Added it twice, five slices in total," Albert replied with a slight smirk. "The effects of the potion are noticeably enhanced."
Snape stared at Albert for a long moment, a strange glint in his eyes. Then, he pulled a folded piece of parchment from his pocket and handed it to Albert, his tone odd as he said, "It seems you've become quite famous?"
Albert was taken aback, but he reached out and took the parchment. "Do you know what happened last night?" Snape continued.
"You mean the Slytherin student who was caught out after curfew?" Albert asked, his eyes lighting up as he diverted his gaze from the parchment. "What a shameful incident."
"Get out of my sight with your little tricks," Snape said, dismissing Albert.
Albert shrugged, stuffed the parchment into his pocket, and turned to leave the gloomy, chilly Potions classroom. He quickened his pace to catch up with the three friends who were waiting for him up ahead.
"Did that old bat do anything to you?" Fred asked worriedly, remembering the recent incident.
"Nah, nothing," Albert replied with a smile.
"Why did Snape want to talk to you?" George inquired curiously.
"He gave me a letter of introduction!" Albert explained, pulling out the parchment. "A famous potion-maker is interested in me, probably for a pen pal sort of thing."
"You've got quite a fan club going," Fred remarked, glancing at the parchment. "They want you to write for Practical Potioneer?"
"Must be because of Hector Dagworth-Granger," Albert speculated. It wouldn't be surprising if the editor of Practical Potioneer wanted to confirm through Snape whether it was true that Dagworth-Granger had mentioned him.
After all, it was common knowledge that many academic publications had connections with Hogwarts professors.
"Your future's looking bright," Fred commented. "The only question is when you'll become Minister of Magic."
"Minister of Magic? That's a pitfall if I ever saw one," Albert scoffed, rolling his eyes at his friends. "Anyone who wants it can have it."
They all laughed.
"That hair growth potion today was pretty good, by the way. You added ginger root twice, right?" As they walked, the four of them chatted on their way to the library on the fifth floor.
"Yeah, five slices," Albert confirmed. "If we can get rid of that unpleasant spiciness, I think it would sell like hotcakes in the Muggle world."
"The Muggle world?" Lee Jordan looked at Albert, perplexed. He knew his roommate had ideas about selling potions to Muggles, but this seemed like a strange notion.
"Muggles don't really have effective treatments for baldness," Albert explained with a smile. "Rich folks would be falling over themselves to buy it, and they certainly have the money to spare."
The three friends exchanged glances but refrained from commenting on Albert's idea.
Most wizards rarely had any use for Muggle money, even though they knew they could exchange it for galleons at Gringotts. In fact, most pure-blood wizards didn't even know what Muggle coins looked like, let alone consider using them to make money.
"You guys start by looking for information on the Dancing Umbrella Mushroom in the Encyclopedia of Poisonous Fungi," Albert instructed Fred and the others. "I'm going to write a letter to Hector Dagworth-Granger."
Albert wanted to discuss the possibility of further refining or diluting the hair growth potion with the master potion-maker, to ensure that it would work slowly and subtly on Muggles without arousing suspicion.
Of course, Albert also wanted to use Dagworth-Granger's connections to purchase dried mandrake root. Ever since he learned that mandrake root could be used to create powerful amulets, he had been eager to give it a try.
"Found it!"
Soon, George interrupted Albert's thoughts, placing the page with information about the Dancing Umbrella Mushroom in front of them.
"Let's see," Fred scanned the page, reading aloud, "When harvesting, be careful not to inhale too many spores, or you may fall into a state of confusion... It's best to wear dragon-hide gloves to avoid skin contact with the spores, which can cause redness and swelling... Make sure to take the whole mushroom, roots and all, or it will wither and rot easily..."
As a toxic mushroom, there were indeed quite a few precautions to take when harvesting the Dancing Umbrella Mushroom. One wrong move, and you could be in for some bad luck.
Of course, the ones cultivated in the school greenhouse would be much safer.
Hmm, the best way to catch wild Dancing Umbrella Mushrooms was probably by using food as bait.
"Looks like it's even more challenging than we thought!" Albert put down his half-written letter and joined the others in studying the information they had found. "The food bait method might be a bit tricky for us, so for now, we'll have to rely on luck during the rainy season in the forest."
If they couldn't find any, they would have to resort to buying them from the apothecary.
And anything dragon-related was expensive, including dragon claw powder.
Adding the cost of purchasing dried mandrake root would put a significant dent in his funds, Albert realized with a sigh. He needed to find a way to earn more galleons.
(End of Chapter)
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