Chapter 580: Unforeseen Incident
Chapter 580: Unforeseen Incident
On Monday morning, Colin Creevey's roommates noticed that he had not returned late last night, so they mentioned it to Professor McGonagall and learned that their roommate, Colin, had been attacked last night.
Most of the Gryffindor students couldn't keep this news to themselves, and soon the news of Colin Creevey's attack spread throughout the school.
Rumors abounded in the school, and everyone was suspicious.
Fear spread quickly throughout the castle, and most students moved in groups, afraid to be alone and become the next target of an attack.
However, someone was ready to take advantage of the fear caused by the attack incident to make a big profit.
Kenneth Towle took the opportunity to introduce the amulets made by Albert and demonstrated their powerful "effects" in the common room:
Reflecting the Dark Curse (making Harry use the Dark Curse on himself); Expelling Dark Creatures (performing by putting his hand into the tank containing the Grindylow).
The powerful effects of the amulet were unanimously praised by everyone.
However, the high price of the amulet made many students hesitate.
It was undeniable that compared to other amulets and exorcism items circulating on the black market, the high-end amulets introduced by Kenneth Towle were undoubtedly more reliable.
Neville Longbottom even spent a lot of money to buy himself an amulet, even though the Gryffindor students thought that he, being of pure blood, would not be attacked.
Neville was still extremely anxious, as everyone had heard about Filch's experience, even though the victim was just a cat.
While many people couldn't afford the amulet, few complained about the price.
Whether it was Harry's or Neville's amulet, they both looked high-end, and the powerful effects of the amulet made everyone feel inexplicably reassured.
After all, most Hogwarts students couldn't even cast a simple Shield Charm properly.
Many students wanted to make reservations with Kenneth Towle.
Unfortunately, they didn't have any galleons.
However, in order to capture the remaining market, Kenneth Towle, following Albert's suggestion, introduced amulets with mediocre effects—the Patronus Amulet, amethyst pendants, and obsidian bracelets.
These small pieces of jewelry soon became popular throughout the school. While they didn't have the powerful effect of reflecting the Dark Curse, they were cheap and provided some protection against dark creatures.
At the very least, they were more popular than the foul-smelling onions, rotting newt tails, or other bizarre amulets.
Albert made a small fortune from this venture.
"By the way, can the school really handle such a large order?"
Albert put down the parchment, looking at Kenneth Towle with a strange expression. This guy had just handed over the galleons he owed and also placed a custom order for amulets with very detailed requirements.
Albert had a good idea of the purchasing power of the Hogwarts students.
Initially, he had agreed to collaborate with Kenneth Towle mainly for the task, to get free materials to practice with, and to make some extra money on the side.
"I know what you're thinking, but I've been busy lately and probably won't have time to make all these items for you." Albert narrowed his eyes and shook the parchment, "If you really want them, you can get them engraved, and then bring them to me for the final step of processing. The price remains the same."
Albert couldn't be bothered with Kenneth Towle's little schemes, but if he wanted to take advantage of him, he'd have to offer something in return.
Kenneth Towle smiled good-naturedly and didn't get angry. This guy was becoming more and more adept at doing business, understanding that keeping customers happy was good for business, and readily agreed.
In fact, Kenneth Towle also wanted to monopolize this deal, but the wizard he found could only make inferior products at a high cost, so he gave up on the idea.
Albert pocketed the bag of galleons, listening to the pleasant sound of metal clinking together, feeling quite pleased.
He didn't lack for galleons, but he never turned them down.
Moreover, Albert had never been one to accept a loss.
Upon returning to the common room, he overheard Fred and George conspiring to cheer up Ginny.
"Your plan won't work,"
Albert interrupted their silly idea: trying to suddenly jump out and make Ginny laugh by acting silly in front of her.
Cough, cough.
Ginny Weasley was a real headache! What she needed was psychological counseling, not some weird pranks.
Ever since Colin Creevey was attacked, Ginny had become increasingly anxious. She discovered that she had lost her memory of that night, and a troubled Ginny suspected that she might be the one who attacked Colin Creevey.
She was terrified that someone would find out, that she would be expelled from school, and so she kept it all bottled up inside, never daring to confide in anyone. And to make matters worse, her Riddle's diary, which she had been using to pour out her heart, had gone missing, adding to her worries that her privacy would be exposed to whoever found the diary.
"We know you have a way, right?"
Fred and George looked at Albert expectantly, seeking his help. Aside from coming up with silly ways to make people laugh, they really had no better ideas.
"Your sister, Ginny, probably has something on her mind, which is why she seems so worried all the time." Albert paused and continued, "In the Muggle world, this is called a psychological illness, and it requires a psychologist to provide counseling."
"Psychologist, what's that?" Lee Jordan had never heard of such a strange profession.
"It's a doctor who treats psychological illnesses. I'm not exactly sure about the details, but I guess it's someone who listens and allows the patient to talk about their troubles." Albert summarized, "Your sister needs someone to listen to her worries."
The three boys looked at each other, unsure of what to do.
Neither Fred nor George thought they could get Ginny to open up to them, so they could only resort to their usual methods of trying to make her laugh.
And so, one day, Albert witnessed Fred turning into a large, feathered bird in front of Ginny.
They tried many times, but unfortunately failed each time.
Later, Fred and George gave Ginny a candy laced with a tiny amount of Aliotto leaf, causing her to laugh hysterically for a while, but they had obviously made things worse.
Percy was so furious when he found out that he couldn't speak coherently, he just yelled at them.
The next day, Fred and George received a letter from Mrs. Weasley, who scolded them harshly.
"Is there really no better way?"
Fred and George were both worried about their sister, Ginny.
Compared to their other brothers, the twins were more attentive in this regard.
"Actually, if you're looking for someone to listen to her, Potter would be a good choice."
"Harry?"
The twins looked at each other.
"After all, Ginny has always admired Potter, but Potter doesn't know how to take care of others right now, so you can't count on him." Albert thought for a moment and added, "Of course, the Cheerful Charm should also work on Ginny. I remember we learned it in our third-year Charms class, and Felix Felicis can also make people temporarily feel happy."
"That's right, how could we forget about the Cheerful Charm." Fred and George were excited, "You should've told us earlier."
"This only treats the symptoms, and the effect will only last for..."
"We'll see you later." Fred and George ran off quickly.
"Are they really okay?"
Lee Jordan wasn't very reassured about the clumsy Fred and George.
"Who knows!"
(End of Chapter)
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