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Chapter 269: Taking an Arrow to the Knee
Chapter 269: Taking an Arrow to the Knee
"Hey, Albert, I just had a brilliant idea."
In the Gryffindor common room one evening, Fred looked up from his homework and said.
"What idea?" Albert asked without lifting his head.
"It's inspired by those Lip-Lubing Salves."
"Lip-Lubing Salves?" Albert was taken aback by the name and frowned slightly. "Aren't you supposed to be working on your essay about the Freezing Charm?"
"Ahem... I mean, those Tongue Taffy candies," Fred said, popping a Beanboozle into his mouth and his eyes lit up.
"That's not very original," commented Lee Jordan.
"Shut up and let me finish," Fred glared at Lee Jordan and continued, "If we can add Swelling Solution, why not add something that inflates or an Engorgement Charm?"
"Engorgement Charm?"
Albert looked up at Fred, the simplest way would be to infuse the candy with an Engorgement Charm, similar to the effect of the spell. However, he wasn't sure if such a potion existed, let alone an Engorgement Charm. With their current abilities, it might be a challenge even for him to come up with a good solution immediately.
"So, you want me to help you with this?" Albert raised an eyebrow, questioning them.
The twins looked a little embarrassed, as that was indeed what they were hinting at.
"Aren't you two planning to open a joke shop? If so, you should figure it out yourselves and turn your ideas into reality. Otherwise, you'll never truly have a joke shop of your own," Albert advised, "After all, you'll need to create those interesting items for your shop, won't you?"
"Oh... alright," Fred deflated a little, responding half-heartedly.
"Tell me your idea anyway," George said, intrigued.
A few minutes later, Albert scoffed, "Why don't you just make the candy turn people into balloons?"
"I think the tongue effect is more interesting," Fred said, opening his mouth wide and sticking out his tongue, pretending to pant, "and the tongue should keep growing bigger and bigger."
"Are you some kind of devil?"
"Stop spraying your spit everywhere," Lee Jordan complained.
"I think turning into a balloon is more amusing," Albert added.
"Casting the spell directly would be simpler, but to incorporate it into candy, we might need to rely on potions or other methods," Albert said, "Also, have you considered the dangers of these prank items?"
"Dangers? What dangers?" George didn't seem convinced, "Most adult witches and wizards should be able to easily reverse an Engorgement Charm."
"Exactly, it's just a fun prank item. As long as it doesn't end up in the hands of Muggles, there shouldn't be any other problems."
Fred chimed in, "Magic is undoubtedly dangerous to Muggles, even a simple prank could spell disaster for them. Take the Swelling Solution, for instance; if someone were to be inflated, they'd be ruined for life without magical help. But for a wizard, it might just be a funny joke."
At that moment, Albert suddenly understood why the Ministry of Magic prohibited underage wizards from using magic outside of school.
"If something goes wrong, it could require the Ministry to come and clean up the mess. If it creates too much of a stir, it becomes even more troublesome. But in a wizarding family, the child's parents would naturally take care of such problems themselves."
"You guys didn't have anything to do with that, did you?" Angelina asked suspiciously, eyeing the group in front of her. Given their previous discussion, it seemed entirely possible. And that guy was the most suspicious of all.
Angelina gave Albert a doubtful look, but he remained absorbed in his brick-like book.
"By the way, did you know that the price of anti-swelling potions in the black market has gone up again?" Shanna suddenly changed the subject.
"Black market, darn it! Why didn't I think of that!" Fred exclaimed, annoyed that he hadn't thought of this money-making opportunity himself after hearing Shanna mention anti-swelling potions.
"Forget it, no one would dare to drink the potions you brew. If it was Albert, that would be another story, but I'm sure no one would buy yours. What if someone drank it and got poisoned?" Shanna retorted, giving Fred a sharp glance.
"My potions are quite good, actually," Fred immediately defended himself.
"I seem to recall you failing your last Potions assignment and getting detention from Professor Snape," Angelina cut in bluntly as she played a game of Wizarding Chess with Shanna.
"Has anyone really been poisoned by a poorly made anti-swelling potion?" Angelina wondered how one could turn a healing potion into a toxic concoction.
"Indeed, a potion can easily become poisonous if brewed incorrectly, and anti-swelling potions are no exception. Otherwise, the demand for them in the Hogwarts black market wouldn't be so high," Albert added nonchalantly. "Who knows how many unlucky souls have ended up poisoning themselves with their own brews?"
"Shut up, don't jinx it!" George exclaimed.
"Oh, it's too late now," Lee Jordan said, covering his face with his hand in mock despair.
"What's going on with you guys?" Alicia asked, looking confused at the trio's behavior.
"You know, Albert's words are more accurate than his prophecies," Fred explained. "Especially when it comes to bad things—he always seems to be right on the money."
As it turned out, Albert's words were indeed poisonous.
The next day, a third-year Hufflepuff student was sent to the school hospital with mild symptoms of poisoning after consuming a self-brewed anti-swelling potion.
Snape's nose twitched in anger upon hearing this, and he threatened to give the student a month's worth of detention once they recovered from their poisoning, caused by his potion.
That idiot had completely disgraced him.
"See, I told you so!" Fred said helplessly to the stunned Angelina, then turned back to his research on the anti-swelling potion, not giving up on the idea of selling it for profit.
"I think you should start chanting for Gryffindor's victory every day from now on," Angelina said earnestly to Albert.
"I think you guys won't win!"
"Shut up, you idiot! Don't jinx it!" George exclaimed, covering Albert's mouth to stop him from saying more.
"If we lose, it's definitely all Albert's fault," Fred added dramatically.
"Alright, that's enough," Albert interrupted the group before they could continue, "Give it up. There's already an abundance of anti-swelling potions in the black market, and even if you do manage to make some, you won't make much money. Don't bother with it anymore."
"How much does a bottle of anti-swelling potion cost?" Lee Jordan asked curiously.
"Three Sickles a bottle," replied Alicia, pulling out a glass bottle with the potion from her pocket. "These have been popular in the black market lately."
Ever since Madam Pomfrey revealed the secret behind the swollen sausage lips, many students had started carrying a bottle of anti-swelling potion with them to avoid embarrassment in case they accidentally fell victim to the prank.
"Why does this marking look so familiar?" Lee Jordan remarked, examining the bottle with the 'A.A.' marking.
"A.A.?"
Everyone turned to look at Albert.
"Yeah, I brewed a large batch last time, kept one bottle for myself, gave some away, and sold the rest," Albert admitted nonchalantly. He hadn't intended to sell the potions initially. However, after he himself fell victim to the prank and used the potion to reduce the swelling, others had asked him about it, and he ended up selling them at a set price.
Of course, the glass bottles were a product of Transfiguration and the Duplication Charm.
"Wow, how could you not tell us about the black market?"
There existed a black market within Hogwarts, where students occasionally traded prohibited items, such as Zonko's products, illegal potions, or prank items.
There were also Dark Magic books, and some students would request help with brewing intelligence potions from time to time.
However, such potions were easily detectable during exam periods, and every year, a few unlucky students would be caught and punished.
(End of Chapter)
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