Chapter 411: Being a Good Person
Chapter 411: Being a Good Person
People are forgetful creatures.
After a while, when Flint noticed that no one was specifically targeting him anymore, he finally relaxed, no longer having to constantly be on guard against potential ambushes and sneak attacks. The large sum of Galleons he had lost in the gambling bout last time was almost an unpayable debt for him. Unless Flint was willing to take money from his family, there was no way he could repay this debt.
Flint had no intention of asking his family for money to pay off the other students who had bet against him.
He believed that he and his friends had been played! That gambling bout had been a conspiracy against them from the very beginning.
If not for Kenneth Towle's provocation, how could they have offered such unreasonable odds?
Of course, Flint would never admit this. He continued to spread these words, blaming others for what had happened. At the time, they had been furious and overly confident in their own abilities, hoping to make a quick fortune, which was why they had offered such outrageous odds.
Flint had never forgotten the humiliations he had endured, nor did he plan to let things slide. In fact, he had already prepared to take revenge on the other troublemakers who had caused him grief.
At the top of his list were the Weasley brothers, who had led the charge to rob him of his Galleons, followed by Truman, who had sneak-attacked and pulled down his pants. He also hadn't forgotten about the two senior students from Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff who had repeatedly led their houses in ambushes against him.
The person who incited the most anger in Flint was Kenneth Towle. He couldn't believe he had fallen for his provocation. This Slytherin Quidditch captain wholeheartedly embraced the fine tradition of blaming everyone else and believed that his unfortunate situation was entirely due to Kenneth. Flint was already planning to find an opportunity to pull down his pants and hang him up in the school entrance hall for everyone to see.
However, Albert Anderson, the mastermind behind all of this, was completely overlooked by Flint, almost as if by instinct.
It wasn't difficult to understand why Flint would ignore Albert. As the person owed the most money, Albert hadn't caused them any trouble, and very few people would want to provoke him. Past incidents had proven that those who messed with Albert usually didn't fare too well afterward.
That guy was not only smart and incredibly powerful but also extremely cunning and treacherous, making him a very formidable opponent.
But Flint had no idea that the very person he instinctively ignored was conspiring with his friends, plotting against these indebted Slytherin students who refused to pay up.
Flint and his partners' attitude of refusing to pay back the money had infuriated not just Fred and George but also all the students who were owed money.
However, this matter was ultimately a private gambling bout, and it wasn't something that could be easily brought to light.
The problem with private gambling bouts like this is that sometimes, when people want to welch on their debts, there's not much one can do about it.
Nevertheless, those Slytherin bastards were sorely mistaken if they thought they could get away with it by being so shameless.
Under the suggestion of Albert, the big creditor, a debt-collecting squad led by Fred and George was ready to raid every Galleon from those bastards' pockets during the upcoming December trip to Hogsmeade.
Since the other party was unwilling to repay the Galleons, they had no choice but to take matters into their own hands.
Everything else was secondary; reclaiming the Galleons they were owed was the main priority and the core purpose of this debt-collecting squad.
Albert believed that those guys would definitely bring money with them to Hogsmeade. Otherwise, how would they shop? To ensure the success of this debt-collecting operation, everyone agreed to temporarily stop harassing Flint so that he would let his guard down, feel safe, and bring money to Hogsmeade for a day of fun.
Hermione, who had been eavesdropping from the side, was completely shocked to hear Albert conspiring with others to rob the pockets of Hogwarts students.
"Miss Granger, is there something you need?" Albert turned to look at Hermione, who had been standing there since earlier, now staring at them in astonishment.
"You...guys," Hermione was so stunned by Albert that she couldn't get a full sentence out.
"When dealing with villains, there's no need for courtesy," Albert said indifferently.
"It's called 'let the villains suffer at the hands of other villains'," George said solemnly.
"When dealing with villains, you have to be even more villainous than them. Only then will they be afraid, submit, and admit their mistakes," Jordan Lee nodded in agreement, "and only then will they mend their ways and become good people."
"To make them mend their ways and become good people, we don't mind being the bad guys for a while," Fred raised his hand and high-fived his two companions. They had all been deeply influenced by Albert.
After shifting his gaze from his three goofy partners, Albert turned to Hermione and asked, "What did you want to see me about?"
"It's French.
Albert glanced at the text on the ancient parchment and calmly replied, "Of course, I know what this is."
"Can you help me translate it? They say you're very talented with languages." Hermione looked at Albert expectantly and handed him the parchment.
"That's not a problem, but I'm quite busy at the moment. You might have to wait a while," Albert agreed, taking out his wand and tapping the parchment to create a copy for himself. He then looked up at the stoic faces of Fred, George, and Jordan, before putting the parchment away.
The three boys were doing their best to suppress their laughter, not wanting to give away their secret.
Undoubtedly, what Hermione Granger had found was one of Albert's creations from the previous year—a parchment with the recipe for the Philosopher's Stone.
However, this particular version was in French.
Albert wondered how excited Harry Potter would be when he realized that the treasure on the fourth-floor restricted corridor was the Philosopher's Stone and that he now had the recipe for it.
Albert decided to put this matter off until after the Christmas holidays.
Come to think of it, he should also give a copy to Professor Quirrell and see the joy on his face. Perhaps the professor would even attempt to create the stone himself.
After Hermione left, Fred whispered, "I didn't expect someone to find what we hid so quickly."
"It's more fun when they do," Albert replied nonchalantly. Creating those treasure maps had been a form of entertainment for him, a way to play a prank on future students who would go on a wild treasure hunt. This was similar to the prank with the parchment containing the recipe for the Philosopher's Stone.
It was all just a game to him.
As for the students who fell for these pranks, well, they just weren't clever enough.
Meanwhile, back with Harry, Hermione's return prompted him to ask, "Will Anderson help us?"
"Did he say what this thing is about?" Harry asked further.
"No, he didn't," Hermione shook her head.
"I hope it's not another trick," Ron muttered from the side, still feeling sore from the last time they were misled by a treasure map.
"It probably... won't be," said Hermione.
(End of Chapter)
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