Chapter 268: Protection from Fire, Theft, and Peeves
Chapter 268: Protection from Fire, Theft, and Peeves
Towards the end of January, the weather remained stubbornly cold without any signs of warming up.
One morning, as Albert walked towards the Great Hall with Fred and George, the sky was still dreary and gray, with occasional snowflakes drifting down. Listening to the twins' casual conversation, Albert couldn't shake the feeling that something unpleasant was about to happen.
As he ate his bread and corn soup, chatting with Lee Jordan about signing up for the Wizarding Card competition, he suddenly noticed Charlie hurrying towards them, clearly looking for Fred and George, who had been confined to the school grounds multiple times.
"You've missed quite a few Quidditch practices," Charlie said, glaring at his younger brothers. "There aren't many practices left before the next match. We lost once, and if we lose again, we're out of the running for the year..."
"Charlie, it's not like we did it on purpose," George said, setting down his spoon and looking up at Charlie with a helpless expression.
"We had no choice," Fred quickly added. "If we had our way, we'd much rather be training on the Quidditch pitch than facing Snape."
For some reason, that statement was peculiarly convincing.
"Alright, but you can't miss the next practice," Charlie relented, somehow persuaded by the twins.
Few students wanted to be confined by Snape, not even Slytherins, as they too had to deal with the formidable task of facing their Head of House.
"We'll be there, we promise," Fred and George said in unison.
"You guys won't believe what I just saw!" Wood panted as he ran over, eager to share some interesting news.
"What did you see?"
"I just ran into Marcus Flint, and his lips... they were swollen like a sausage for some reason. He was covering his mouth with his hand, looking like he wanted to hide. Ah, let me laugh for a moment."
"Where is he?" Charlie asked, curious to witness the misfortune of his old rival.
"He ran off to the hospital wing with his hand over his mouth," Wood managed to stop laughing and waved his hand in front of his face, vividly portraying Marcus Flint's unfortunate state.
There was nothing more satisfying than seeing someone you disliked having a streak of bad luck.
Just then, the hall fell silent, and Albert followed everyone's gaze to a Hufflepuff girl who was covering her mouth and rushing out of the Great Hall.
After a brief moment of laughter, whispers filled the hall as students discussed who could be behind these pranks.
Albert, having finished his steak, glanced at George, who was sitting across from him, equally expressionless. George seemed to sense Albert's gaze and shrugged, innocently indicating that he and his brother were not involved this time.
"So, you actually succeeded?" Albert was curious as to how Fred and George had managed to tamper with Marcus Flint's food.
"It was Peeves, nothing to do with us!" Fred looked as innocent as could be, insisting that he and his brother had nothing to do with it and that they didn't even have the capability to pull off such a prank.
"You convinced Peeves?" Albert asked, raising an eyebrow.
"We promised Peeves some interesting little toys," Fred blinked his innocent eyes. "Anyway, it doesn't matter who the target is, as long as there's a prank. You get it, right?"
Albert was left speechless. Indeed, to Peeves, all students of Hogwarts were the same; there was no distinction between the four houses.
As it turned out, Albert's guess was correct. In the following days, many more students found themselves with comically swollen lips after eating in the Great Hall.
The unknown cause left the students of Hogwarts uneasy, each fearing that they might be the next victim.
Professor Sprout even inspected the school kitchens, but it was clear that the house-elves were not to blame.
Then, one day, the truth was finally uncovered.
As they ate their steaks, they noticed Peeves humming a strange tune while sprinkling a mysterious seasoning onto their food.
Many students witnessed their peers' lips swelling up like sausages shortly after consuming the seasoned steaks.
And that's when things escalated.
Students began to protest against Peeves' pranks, but to no avail. This was far from the first time Peeves had caused trouble.
Filch, the caretaker, saw this as an opportunity to get rid of Peeves, who often opposed him, but he failed just like all the other wizards before him who had tried to expel the poltergeist from Hogwarts.
"How much of that stuff did you give Peeves?" Albert asked, glancing at Fred, who had also fallen victim to the prank. He whispered the question when no one was paying attention.
He, too, had suffered the same fate earlier. Thankfully, Albert had anticipated this and prepared a swelling reduction potion, putting a swift end to the problem.
"Just that bottle, and it should be almost gone by now," George replied, unsure.
"We didn't think that bottle of seasoning would last so long," Fred added, frustrated. He had accidentally ingested the seasoned food a few times in the past few days.
It was a case of karma, really.
When Peeves went on a rampage, it was truly unbearable.
"Don't forget, according to your agreement, you still owe Peeves a pack of Dungbombs," Lee Jordan reminded the twins glumly, his own lips having swollen as well.
"Aren't you worried that the professors will investigate who gave Peeves that bottle of seasoning?" Albert asked, exasperated as he looked at the twins. Peeves' methods had become more sophisticated, making it nearly impossible to guard against.
However, as it turned out, Albert's worries were completely unnecessary.
The students of Hogwarts never once suspected another student of being involved in this matter. They were all driven crazy by Peeves, constantly on edge while eating, fearing they would consume food tampered with by the mischievous poltergeist.
Adding to the list of victims was Madam Pomfrey, who was close to being driven insane herself. Swollen-lipped students kept flooding into the hospital wing, prompting her to request large quantities of swelling reduction potions from Professor Snape. She even reminded students that they could collect the potion from the hospital wing if they noticed any swelling.
Now, everyone knew that the embarrassing sausage lips could be easily remedied by taking a small dose of the swelling reduction potion as soon as they realized they had been affected. They no longer had to worry about Peeves' pranks.
While the hospital wing had its supply of the potion, it could only be obtained after one had already been affected. In truth, many wizards were capable of brewing the potion, but their mediocre potion-making skills often resulted in concoctions they dared not consume themselves.
Thus, in the black market of Hogwarts, the swelling reduction potion suddenly became a hot commodity.
(End of Chapter)
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