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Chapter 222: The Fool's Brew
Chapter 222: The Fool's Brew
"How does it feel?"
Fred, George, and Lee Jordan collectively swallowed as they watched Albert take a cautious sip of the Felix Felicis. They were eager to taste the legendary luck potion themselves and experience the wonders of having everything go their way.
Unfortunately, there was only a small amount of Felix Felicis to go around.
"It's good, very good. Let's go, everyone!" Albert took light steps toward the gloomy and damp forest path ahead.
"Where are we going?" George quickly caught up with Albert's pace.
"Of course, we're venturing into the forest to try our luck." Lee Jordan stated the obvious.
"You're only half right. We're heading to Professor Kettleburn's cottage in the woods to try our luck," Albert hummed a tune as he explained casually.
"Why are we looking for Professor Kettleburn?" Fred frowned in confusion. To be honest, they weren't very familiar with the Care of Magical Creatures professor, and it wasn't a good idea to seek him out at the moment, especially since they had trespassed into the Forbidden Forest. Not getting docked points or detained was already a sign of the professor's good temper.
"Don't worry, the situation isn't as bad as you imagine." Albert smiled in reassurance, "We're not here to meet Professor Kettleburn; we're just wandering around his cottage in the hopes of finding something useful."
"Do you think there might be dandelion draught mushrooms near Professor Kettleburn's cottage?" George's eyes sparkled with curiosity, surprised that Albert had pinpointed a location so quickly.
The effects of Felix Felicis were indeed remarkable.
"Winter is coming."
"What does that have to do with winter?"
"Don't interrupt, let Albert finish speaking." Fred glared at Lee Jordan, signaling him to be quiet.
"Every year at this time, Hagrid and Professor Kettleburn feed the young night steeds that can't find food, helping them survive the cold winter. We need to find the feeding spot, and if we're lucky, we should be able to find dandelion draught mushrooms near the animal bones."
There was one more thing Albert didn't mention—since Professor Kettleburn kept a variety of magical creatures, there was a good chance they would find dandelion draught mushrooms if he disposed of the creatures' bones in one place.
On their way to the cottage, the four didn't forget to observe the surrounding forest, and indeed, they discovered some strange mushrooms. However, these mushrooms weren't the dandelion draught mushrooms they sought.
With the help of Felix Felicis, Albert easily found the cottage deep in the forest, guided by his memory. The four began wandering around, and sure enough, they stumbled upon the spot where Professor Kettleburn discarded bones—a spot now overgrown with mushrooms.
"I've found it." Albert frowned slightly, sensing that something was amiss.
Fred, George, and Lee Jordan took out the equipment they had prepared earlier and put it on, ready to capture the dandelion draught mushrooms. As for why they were capturing them instead of picking them? Well, that was because the mushrooms scattered in all directions at the slightest disturbance.
"By the way, don't you think there are too many dandelion draught mushrooms here?" Albert suspected that someone might be intentionally cultivating these mushrooms.
"There certainly are a lot of them." The three exchanged glances, not understanding Albert's implication.
However, with such a large quantity, they didn't have to worry about not being able to capture enough.
But if they charged in recklessly, the spore dust flying everywhere could cause them a lot of trouble. George picked up a stone and threw it into the midst of the mushrooms, intending to scatter them and then capture them individually. After all, they had done their research on capturing dandelion draught mushrooms, and rushing into the midst of them without a plan would likely result in a trip back to Hogwarts lying down.
Three, two, one.
Lee Jordan threw a stone into the midst of the mushrooms, and the next moment, they scattered in all directions, leaping and releasing large amounts of spores as they did so. Fortunately, the four had already moved a safe distance away before attempting this.
Thus, they avoided the unfortunate fate of inhaling the spores.
"Go!" Albert shouted, and Fred, George, and Lee Jordan rushed towards the mushrooms they had selected. These mushrooms were more agile than the ones in the greenhouse, and after a lively chase, the trio finally caught the mushrooms they had been pursuing.
"It's a shame about the rest." George gazed at the now-vanished mushrooms and sighed.
"There's no need to feel sorry for them. Three mushrooms are more than enough. Let's head back." Albert took out a cloth bag from his robe's pocket and stuffed the captured mushrooms inside.
"What are you doing here?"
"Uh," Albert turned towards the sudden voice and found that they had run into an acquaintance.
"Mr. Dagworth, what are you doing here?" Albert frowned slightly as he asked.
"I'm here to buy snake bird eggshells from Professor Kettleburn."
"Felix Felicis?" Albert immediately understood what Mr. Dagworth intended to brew.
"Yes, the Felix Felicis I brewed a few years ago has been used up, so I plan to brew another batch." Mr. Dagworth eyed Albert's group curiously and asked, "Why are you catching dandelion draught mushrooms?"
"You know there are dandelion draught mushrooms here." George blurted out the question.
"It was my suggestion to Professor Kettleburn to throw these bones here to cultivate dandelion draught mushrooms."
"Are you saying that all the dandelion draught mushrooms here belong to you?"
"Every year, I come to harvest a batch of mature dandelion draught mushrooms to use as ingredients." Mr. Dagworth nodded, "As a master potion maker, I have my own stable sources of ingredients. Just like I know that Professor Kettleburn keeps and breeds snake birds; if I need snake bird eggshells, I will either pay a high price or acquire them through other means, as they are also a rare material."
Albert and his friends exchanged glances, feeling a bit embarrassed. Had they just been caught red-handed by the owner of these mushrooms?
But Mr. Dagworth didn't seem to mind. He continued, "Why are you catching dandelion draught mushrooms?"
"To make the Befuddlement Draught," Albert replied honestly. "I heard it can help improve intelligence."
"The Befuddlement Draught?" Mr. Dagworth frowned, his tone turning stern. "You should be aware of the challenges of brewing the Befuddlement Draught. If it's not brewed correctly, it can be very dangerous. As far as I know, someone drank a poorly brewed batch recently and almost turned into an idiot. Moreover, the Ministry of Magic prohibits the private brewing of the Befuddlement Draught."
The thing was, the Befuddlement Draughts circulating in the black market were mostly defective and could turn the drinker into an idiot.
Fred and the others were, of course, aware of these facts, but hearing it from a master potion maker made them feel apprehensive and hesitant to proceed.
"If, if you truly want to brew the Befuddlement Draught, I can help you." Mr. Dagworth said to Albert, "But I want you to promise that you won't attempt to brew it recklessly and that you won't drink any Befuddlement Draught that hasn't been properly tested."
Mr. Dagworth didn't want Albert to accidentally turn himself into an idiot by drinking some strange potion.
Such cases had occurred in the wizarding world before.
Albert was taken aback for a moment, surprised by Mr. Dagworth's offer. However, he readily agreed, as having a master potion maker's assistance would make learning to brew the Befuddlement Draught much easier.
(End of Chapter)
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