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Chapter 396: The Targeted Scarf
Chapter 396: The Targeted Scarf
"Don't you think Professor Quirrell has been giving us some odd looks lately?"
Fred, George, and Lee Jordan discussed their recent encounter as they made their way towards the Great Hall.
"I would probably do the same if I were him," Lee Jordan, walking alongside the Weasley twins, chimed in. "Why?"
"Why?" Lee continued, covering his face as he spoke. "His gaze towards you two has been suspicious ever since you tried to sell him those garlic cross amulets. He might have thought you were making fun of him."
"But..." Fred interjected, confused.
"There are no buts," Lee quickly cut in. "If someone pulled a prank on you, how would you feel? The twins might not have meant it that way, but that doesn't mean Quirrell won't take it personally."
"But... doesn't Professor Quirrell want to get rid of the vampire's entanglement? Fred was perplexed, recalling Albert's suggestion about... wait, where is that guy? He turned to look around, not seeing Albert with them, and asked, "Where's Albert?"
"You just noticed now? He disappeared a while ago," George said, his expression suggesting that this was a common occurrence. Albert would always turn up eventually.
"Have you noticed that the strange smell on Professor Quirrell seems to have gotten stronger?"
"Of course!" Fred raised an eyebrow and lowered his voice. "It's a shame Peeves didn't succeed last time."
"After taking so much from us, he just got away with it?"
Lee Jordan was displeased whenever he thought about Peeves. The poltergeist had taken a lot of dung bombs and stink pellets from them but failed to accomplish the task.
"Peeves said Quirrell was prepared, so it was impossible to succeed," George explained.
"Are we just going to give up, then?"
Everyone was curious about what lay beneath Professor Quirrell's large scarf—was it filled with garlic, or garlic crosses?
"It's best to let it go. Everyone has secrets they don't want others to know," Albert suddenly reappeared, joining the conversation.
"Where did you go just now?" Lee Jordan asked.
"What were you guys talking about?" Albert asked, clearly trying to change the subject.
"Never mind, I know you won't tell," Fred said, deciding to drop the subject and instead filled Albert in on Peeves' failed attempt.
"I already know," Albert replied. "I heard Quirrell put a charm on his scarf to prevent anyone from pulling it off."
"What did Albert find out?" Albert chimed in, steering the conversation in a new direction.
"You found out about that?" The trio was surprised that Quirrell had used such a tactic, ruining their original plan to lure him in.
"I heard it from someone else, so I'm not sure if it's true," Albert replied nonchalantly.
"Should we ask Peeves to try again?" suggested Lee Jordan, still upset about the poltergeist's failure. He felt responsible for providing the items and the botched execution of their plan.
Albert's face twitched slightly as he admired the trio's boldness, knowing full well the potential consequences should Voldemort, parasitically attached to the back of Quirrell's head, be exposed. "How long are you prepared to be in detention? If you're willing to take the risk, I can try to make a curse-breaking fish hook for you," he offered.
"Well..."
"We could ask Peeves..."
Before Lee Jordan could finish his sentence, Albert interrupted with a raised hand.
"Peeves won't listen to you unless you offer him something else," Albert stated matter-of-factly.
"Never mind, then." The trio didn't have the same financial freedom as Albert to keep wasting their prank supplies on failed attempts.
Changing the subject, Albert quickly added, "By the way, I heard someone dug up the treasure from the last map. Did any of you secretly leak the location?"
The trio unanimously denied sharing the treasure's location with anyone.
However, Harry's treasure map was just one of the many Albert had created, and they all required decryption to find the treasure. According to Fred, George, and Lee Jordan, Albert never intended for the treasure hunt to be easy.
"Impressive that Harry managed to solve the puzzle. By the way, have any of you seen his treasure map?" Albert asked, successfully diverting the topic.
"Yeah, it was the one near Hagrid's pumpkin patch. I think the treasure was... that garlic-scented cross," Lee Jordan replied uncertainly.
Fred nudged his head in a particular direction. "Why don't we just go and ask them?" he suggested, as the trio spotted Harry and Ron dining in that direction.
"Heard you guys got your hands on a treasure map last time. So, did you find the treasure?" Fred approached Harry, casually resting his hand on Ron's shoulder.
Brushing off Fred's hand, Ron replied, "We found it, but the treasure was weird. There was a strong-smelling bottle with a strange garlic-scented vampire amulet inside."
Later, Harry gave that thing to Professor Quirrell."
"No wonder!" The four boys exchanged glances, exclaiming in unison.
"No wonder what?"
"Nothing," Fred said offhandedly. "Just be careful not to wander into the Forbidden Forest. Last time, we got our hands on one of those maps, and we ended up in the Forest. We barely made it out."
"Who are you trying to scare?" Ron scoffed, clearly not buying their story.
"Do you know who ALFG is?" Harry suddenly asked.
"ALFG?" George diverted the topic. "You mean Flag?"
"No, ALFG." Harry handed the treasure map he had received from Hagrid to George, who managed to keep it from being eaten.
"Ours didn't have a signature," George pointed out.
"This wouldn't happen to be... one of your pranks, would it?" Ron eyed the trio suspiciously, feeling that they were capable of such a stunt.
"We don't have that kind of ability," Fred said, pretending to study the map.
Of course, they weren't lying.
After all, the treasure maps were Albert's handiwork, and they had nothing to do with it.
"What's the program for Halloween this year?" Albert casually brought up a light-hearted question as they sat down to eat.
"I think it was the choir last year!"
"This year, it's a pantomime." George replied. "I heard Percy will be performing too, playing a musical instrument."
"Being a Prefect sure is tough!"
"Pantomimes were banned at Hogwarts a long time ago," Albert interrupted. "Apparently, a long time ago, there was a wizarding fairy tale called 'The Lucky Spring' that was adapted and performed at Hogwarts. The pantomime ended up causing a huge fire, and since then, pantomimes have been completely banned at Hogwarts."
"This year's Halloween will feature a circus performance!" Wood walked over to the group and greeted them. "Remember Mario, Danny, and Jack."
"The Acrobatics Trio?" Albert asked tentatively.
"Yes, that's them. After graduating, those three guys actually formed a circus troupe. I heard they're about to start their world tour, with Hogwarts as their starting point."
"I can't believe they really established a miniature circus!" Fred and George were surprised. It wasn't easy to put together your own team.
Miniature Circus?
Indeed, it referred to wizarding buskers. Mario, Danny, and Jack didn't have the funds to support the initial investment in a circus, so they could only slowly accumulate galleons.
(End of Chapter)
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