Chapter 459: A Helping Hand
Chapter 459: A Helping Hand
The castle's grand hall resonated with laughter as everyone celebrated the successful conclusion of the Wizarding Chess tournament.
Hermione and Ron sat among the crowd, sipping butterbeer and discussing the intense match they had just witnessed.
"Where's Harry?" Hermione wondered aloud, realizing their friend was missing.
"I saw him hurrying out of the hall a while ago," Neville replied, answering Hermione's query.
Hermione and Ron exchanged a glance, then set down their drinks and made their way out of the bustling hall.
It didn't take long for them to find Harry, lurking surreptitiously around a corner, up to something unbeknownst to his friends.
Ron and Hermione approached him, Ron patting Harry's shoulder and asking with a frown, "What are you up to, Harry?"
Startled, Harry turned to see his two friends and breathed a sigh of relief. "What is it?"
Hermione craned her neck to peer around the corner, her confusion growing as she saw nothing. "What's going on?"
"Shh!" Harry quickly shushed them, raising a finger to his lips and gesturing towards a classroom in the distance. "I suspect Snape is pressuring Professor Quirrell again, trying to get him to reveal the secrets of protecting the Philosopher's Stone."
"You mean..." Ron's eyes widened in shock.
"What are we going to do?" Hermione asked, her brow furrowed in concern.
"We have to do something!" Harry asserted resolutely.
"But... what can we do?" Ron scratched his head, equally at a loss for a solution.
"Maybe we should interrupt them," Hermione suggested.
"If we do that, Snape will definitely find a way to deduct points from Gryffindor," Harry said, recalling the recent loss of ten points.
"But we can't just do nothing," Hermione insisted, her brow creasing further. "If Professor Quirrell can't handle the pressure..."
"You're right," Harry said through gritted teeth. "We can't let Professor Quirrell face Snape alone. We have to offer him support..."
"This is a truly terrible idea, isn't it, Potter?" A calm voice interrupted them from behind, causing the trio to jump in surprise. They turned to see Albert, who knew not when he had appeared.
"When did you..." Hermione began, but Albert raised his hand to stop her.
"Just as Potter here was about to charge in and meddle," Albert said gently, "Very brave, but also very reckless and foolish.
"Well, what do you suggest we do then!" Harry exclaimed, feeling a sense of urgency to take action. Ron nudged Harry discreetly, not wanting his friend to get into a spat with Albert.
Albert was generally an amiable person.
Of course, if you wore a scowl on your face, don't expect him to give you the time of day.
"Here, take this!"
Albert retrieved a Transfiguration Lizard Belt and pulled out a rat-shaped object from within.
"Give its tail a tug, and it'll scurry about on its own. After about fifteen seconds, it'll emit a loud noise. Good luck." Albert handed Harry a decoy rat he had crafted recently.
"Remember to cover your ears."
As he said this, he made an ear-covering gesture and added mysteriously, "And remember to keep this under wraps."
Harry eyed the lifelike rat in his hand skeptically, then glanced at Albert as he turned to leave. Sharing a look with Hermione and Ron, Hermione snatched the decoy rat from Harry's hand, pulled its tail, and tossed it onto the ground.
The contraption scurried like a real rat, eventually sneaking into the classroom where Snape and Quirrell were.
After a few seconds, a piercing noise accompanied by a cloud of noxious smoke wafted out of the classroom, leaving Harry, Ron, and Hermione stunned.
Hermione was the first to snap out of it, pulling Harry and Ron along as she took off running.
Just as the trio made their exit, angry curses and shouts erupted from the classroom, followed by Snape and Quirrell storming out, scouring the area for the culprit behind the commotion.
However, their search yielded nothing.
Realizing the conversation had come to an impasse, Snape watched Quirrell's departing back, then returned to the classroom to inspect the scene for any clues left by the perpetrator.
Minutes later, Snape discovered the cause of the ruckus—a battered decoy rat that looked remarkably like a real rat.
As Snape lifted the rat by its tail, the remaining intact head of the rat suddenly exploded, engulfing him in a cloud of black smoke that left him covered in soot and looking utterly disheveled.
"Damn it, if I find out who did this, I'll make sure they're expelled," Snape coughed, stomping out of the classroom in a huff.
Harry, Ron, and Hermione watched in amazement as Snape's retreating figure disappeared from view, the impact of Albert's prank toy still sinking in.
Harry's mouth hung open in disbelief; he had never seen Snape looking so disheveled.
"Brilliant!
Ron couldn't hold back his laughter any longer after Snape disappeared around the corner.
"I wonder if Albert has any more of those," Harry muttered.
"Don't even think about it," Hermione interjected, remembering the communication signet incident. "And even if he does, we'd have to pay for it."
"Oh, I hope it's not too expensive," Harry murmured, recalling the remaining Galleons he had from Gringotts.
Ron opened his mouth as if to say something, but ultimately thought better of it.
...
Unbeknownst to Albert, he had just gained a new customer. As he checked his panel, he noticed that the "Helping Hand" mission had progressed to 1/5 completion.
It seemed that he could indeed trigger missions involving the trio.
Albert was in high spirits, and as he looked up, his eyes met with Isabell's. He shrugged and admitted, "Okay, I admit, I really don't like Snape. If I can stir up some trouble for our Potions master, all the better."
"Snape can Legilimens," Isabell reminded him gently. "Harry Potter and his friends are not Occlumens. If Snape decides to probe their minds, your involvement won't stay hidden for long."
"I know," Albert replied calmly, "but what of it? Snape has been a thorn in my side before, and this involves a mission. I don't mind giving him a few unexpected surprises."
While the reward for the "Helping Hand" mission wasn't high, completing it would effectively increase the trio's favor by 15 points, which would benefit his plans for the future.
As the two entered the Ever-Ready Shop, Isabell suddenly said, "I have this feeling that you're plotting something big!"
"I'm investing in the future," Albert began, "and you have no idea what I wanted to become..."
"Come now, we've known each other long enough," Isabell interrupted. "I think you're up to something dangerous."
"Why do you say that?" Albert asked.
"Harry Potter is the Boy-Who-Lived," Isabell said, looking directly into Albert's eyes. "He's trouble incarnate, and especially with your connection to him, I don't believe it's a coincidence that the artifact in the fourth-floor restricted section ended up there."
"Indeed, you always were perceptive, Isabell," Albert acknowledged admiringly.
"Enough of that," Isabell said with a smile. "I won the Wizarding Cards tournament, and I've been promoting your cards as well. Don't you think you should reward me for that?"
"What kind of reward do you...?" Albert started, but before he could finish, his mouth was abruptly covered.
(End of Chapter)
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