Chapter 428: The Philosopher's Stone Formula
Chapter 428: The Philosopher's Stone Formula
Hearing Albert mention that he intended to sell the formula for the improved Swelling Solution 2.0, Isabelle didn't pay it much mind. She wasn't particularly concerned about Galen's issue. Having given up the chance to become the heir of Wilde Smith, she had already forsaken a substantial fortune.
"When do you plan to release Swelling Solution 3.0?" Isabelle had always wanted to tease him about these names. Albert's naming skills were rather mediocre, and most of his creations were named in this simplistic manner.
"Not anytime soon."
"Not anytime soon?"
Given her understanding of Albert, she found it hard to believe that he would give up on the Swelling Solution so easily. Making only 500 galleons from it was undoubtedly a losing deal, and Albert was never one to accept a loss.
"There will be a Swelling Solution 3.0 in the future." Albert replied without hesitation.
"Just as I thought." Isabelle leaned in and kissed Albert's cheek before heading towards the door of the Room of Requirement with her bag already packed. "I have to go now. Remember to call me if you need me."
"I will."
Albert took out his pocket watch to check the time, and after Isabelle left, he took out the Time-Turner and turned back time by one hour.
After leaving the Room of Requirement, Albert made his way towards the Great Hall. Lee Jordan was already having his meal, his mouth stuffed with beef, and he greeted Albert unintelligibly before continuing to eat.
"Where are Fred and George?"
Albert served himself a large bowl of beef stew and sat down next to Lee Jordan.
"The Gryffindor team has a Quidditch practice today." Lee Jordan swallowed his food and looked up sympathetically, "Their luck doesn't seem to be too good."
Albert knew what he meant by bad luck. It had been rainy and gloomy lately, and it was still raining on the ceiling of the Great Hall. Having Quidditch practice in the rain was undoubtedly challenging.
"Yeah, it's tough."
Albert replied and stuffed a piece of beef into his mouth, quietly enjoying his meal.
"I'm off to the library. See you later." Lee Jordan ended his dinner in a hurry and left.
He wasn't going to the library to study diligently; he still hadn't finished his homework for the week. If he didn't work hard on it now, he would have to stay at school to finish his homework instead of going to Hogsmeade in mid-February.
The Weasley brothers were in a similar situation. Due to Wood's devilish training, they also had a pile of unfinished homework. Next time, they might not have the time to go to Hogsmeade.
How pitiful.
It seemed that not joining the Quidditch team was indeed the right choice.
Just after dinner, as Albert was passing through the entrance hall, he happened to meet the Gryffindor team returning to the castle after their training.
George looked a bit miserable, covered in dirt as if he had just been pulled out of the mud. If Filch were here, he would have been delighted to accuse them of defiling the castle.
"Did you fall off your broom?" Albert asked jokingly.
"How did you know I fell off?"
Albert was left speechless. Did you really fall off your broom? "Did you fall off on purpose?"
"No." George deliberately lowered his voice, as if he were about to say something terrifying, "I heard Wood say that Snape is going to be the referee, and I accidentally fell off my broom."
"That's bad news."
Albert didn't feel much about Snape being the referee. He took out his wand and helped George clean off most of the mud and water.
"He'll definitely find all sorts of excuses to deduct points from Gryffindor!"
It wasn't just George; the others didn't look too happy either.
"It's unfair. I really don't understand what Professor McGonagall was thinking. Does she really believe that Snape can be an impartial judge?" Fred couldn't help but complain.
Expecting fairness from Snape was like expecting him to hand out candies on Halloween.
"Any suggestions?" Wood asked Albert.
"How about putting a laxative in his food so that he can't make it to the match tomorrow?" Albert suggested with a mischievous smile.
"That's a brilliant idea!" Fred and George almost raised their hands and feet in agreement. In fact, all the team members except Wood agreed with Albert's plan.
"Stop it." Wood interrupted.
"I think you should try to end the game as quickly as possible, so Snape won't have much time to favor Hufflepuff." Albert patted Harry's shoulder, "You'll need to step up your game."
"I'd love to catch the Golden Snitch quickly." Harry said helplessly, "But it's not that easy."
"Don't worry too much. Tonight's dinner is beef stew with potatoes. If you're late, there might only be potatoes left." Albert casually comforted them and prepared to head back to the common room. He had eaten too much and felt too lazy to do anything else.
"Let's go eat first!"
Wood cast a Drying Charm on everyone to remove the water stains, and they all headed straight for the Great Hall, not wanting to miss dinner.
On his way back to the common room, Albert ran into Hermione, or rather, Miss Granger, who was waiting for him there.
"You want to ask about that old piece of parchment, don't you?"
When Albert saw Hermione, he already guessed what she wanted to talk about.
Hermione felt a bit embarrassed as her little secret was seen through, and she nodded slightly.
What a coincidence!
Professor Quirrell, who had originally intended to take a detour, seemed to change his mind and walk towards them upon hearing Albert mention the Philosopher's Stone.
"What's the Philosopher's Stone?" Hermione asked, confused.
"You can look up the information yourself in the library." Albert took out a piece of parchment he had prepared earlier from the Changeling Lizard's belt and handed it to Hermione.
"Thank you."
Hermione took the parchment and quickly browsed through it before heading straight to the library to look up information on the Philosopher's Stone.
Professor Quirrell, who had been eavesdropping on their conversation, also hurried away.
The formula for the Philosopher's Stone was highly enticing to Professor Quirrell, who had his eyes set on stealing it. The idea of making his own Philosopher's Stone if he couldn't steal it even crossed his mind.
Of course, Professor Quirrell was aware of the stone's value and rarity, and he knew it wouldn't be easy to create one. But a little hope was all he needed, and he didn't mind spending some time trying.
And so, when Albert met Hermione again, she had already forgotten about the Philosopher's Stone, and the parchment containing the formula had also disappeared without a trace.
There was no doubt that Professor Quirrell had quietly taken the formula from Hermione and cast a Forgetfulness Charm on her to erase her memory of the Philosopher's Stone formula.
(End of Chapter)
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