Chapter 624: Preparations for the Journey
Chapter 624: Preparations for the Journey
Ever since Harry learned about the true effects of Felix Felicis, he had lost interest in the so-called "good luck" potion.
Alright! Harry actually found it expensive.
At a price of 30 Galleons per bottle, Felix Felicis was not cheap. But from the way Albert talked about it, even if one could buy it with money, the price would definitely be higher than that. It wouldn't be surprising if the prices were jacked up several times on the black market.
It was astonishing that a potion that couldn't bring true luck was sold at such a high price. Who would be willing to be a sucker and buy it?
At least, Harry wasn't willing.
Even though the Potter family had a substantial amount of Galleons stored in Gringotts, he couldn't afford to spend money indiscriminately. If he really spent all the money, the Dursleys would probably not be willing to give him even a single Sickle to buy magic books.
That was an experience Harry did not want to taste.
"Where did he get so many Galleons?" Ron muttered.
Recently, Ron's mentality had been a bit unstable. In the past, when everyone was penniless, Ron wouldn't have cared much about the fact that he was poor. After all, no one had any money. But lately, he had been stimulated by those around him several times, making him very sensitive about money.
"What?" Harry turned to look at Ron, having been lost in thought and not paying attention to what Ron was saying.
"Maybe Albert's family is very wealthy?" Hermione casually replied, "I heard he was accepted by Eton College, but he chose to come to Hogwarts instead."
"Eton?" Ron looked at Hermione in confusion.
"Eton College," Harry corrected. He felt that Eton College must be much better than the Smelting School that Dudley attended. After all, cousin Dudley wasn't much different from a pig, and the intelligence gap between them was probably even greater than that between humans and pigs.
"Students who can attend Eton College are all smart and usually need to have a certain economic..." Hermione didn't finish her sentence before Harry interrupted her.
"I remember Justin Finch-Fletchley from Hufflepuff saying that he originally planned to go to Eton College. How come he didn't get into Ravenclaw?"
"There are always exceptions. Isn't Albert in Gryffindor too?" Hermione said calmly, "And, aren't I also in Gryffindor?"
Ron didn't pay attention to what Hermione and Harry were talking about. His mind was filled with thoughts of Galleons. He knew that Fred and George planned to open a joke shop with Albert, and he could count with his fingers how many Galleons the Weasley twins had.
Opening a shop required a lot of money, and their family couldn't afford to help them. So, where would the money come from?
Did Albert pay for it himself?
But where did he get so much money?
Did his family provide it?
Even if his family was wealthy, they wouldn't let him spend it so freely.
Moreover, during the summer vacation, Ron had seen Fred and George working on their inventions, but their pockets were still quite full of Galleons.
Although there was no evidence, Ron suspected that the source of funding for the twins' research might be Albert.
Although it sounded absurd, it was very possible.
After all, Albert was willing to take out a dozen Galleons each year as the championship prize for the Wizard Chess competition.
Could it be that his family was really rich?
You have to know that even Draco Malfoy had limited access to Galleons.
Sigh, it's really enviable! "I'm going to the library. Do you want to come with me?" Hermione stopped at the corner and asked Harry and Ron if they wanted to join her.
"Your homework is already done, isn't it?" Ron didn't understand why Hermione was going to the library.
"Yes, I've finished it. But next semester, I plan to take Ancient Runes as an elective, and Albert suggested that I get familiar with it first so that I can better grasp this subject next year."
"That sounds difficult," said Harry.
"Fred, George, and Charlie didn't take Ancient Runes either. They said it's very difficult to truly master that subject," Ron said, having already decided to drop Ancient Runes when he was in his third year.
"You may not know this, but Albert is an expert in Ancient Runes." Hermione shared the information she had gathered with Harry and Ron. "Last time, I heard from some upperclassmen that Albert co-authored a book."
"Published a book?" Harry was very surprised.
"Yes, I have to go now, or there won't be any seats left later." After bidding farewell to Harry, Hermione headed toward the library alone.
"That guy is really a winner in life. By the way, why did he spend so many Galleons to buy Felix Felicis?" Ron looked at Hermione's departing back and said sourly, "Is it to avoid being attacked?"
Harry didn't pay attention to Ron's words as his attention was drawn by Filch's cursing voice.
At that moment, Mr. Filch was shouting loudly in the corridor because of the water on the floor.
Ron looked at Filch's departing back and said with glee, "It looks like Filch is in trouble!"
Ever since Mrs. Norris was attacked, Filch had been patrolling the area frequently. Many students passing by had been troubled by the caretaker for various reasons.
As Harry and Ron walked by, they understood the reason for Filch's anger.
Water was leaking from under the door of the girls' bathroom, flooding half of the corridor. As they approached, they could hear Moaning Myrtle's wails echoing inside the bathroom.
"What's going on with her now?" Ron wanted to take a detour because if they went straight, their boots and robes would surely get wet.
"Let's go and see."
Harry lifted his robe and waded through the water towards the door with the "Out of Order" sign. As usual, the two boys ignored the sign and the girls' bathroom and walked in.
If it had been anyone else, they would have been scared away by Myrtle's loud and piercing wails.
"What happened?" Harry asked, looking at Moaning Myrtle, who was sitting on the toilet and crying.
Moaning Myrtle wailed, "I was sitting here, thinking about how I died, when someone suddenly threw something at my head."
"I remember ghosts can't feel pain," Ron suddenly said. "Even if someone throws something at you, it will just pass through you."
Harry felt that they were in trouble.
The next moment, a stream of water shot out from the toilet and soaked Harry and Ron.
Moaning Myrtle put her hands on her waist and glared at them, shouting loudly, "Everyone, come and throw things at Moaning Myrtle! She can't feel a thing! Ten points if you hit her stomach, and fifty points if you hit her head!"
"Who threw something at you?" Harry took a few steps back and quickly changed the subject.
"I don't know..." Moaning Myrtle glared at them and said, "The thing is right there."
Harry and Ron followed Myrtle's gaze and saw a small, thin, black-covered book lying on the ground, wet from the water.
As Harry picked up the book from the floor, he realized it was a diary, and the faded date on the cover indicated it was fifty years old.
Just as Harry was about to open it, he heard a familiar voice behind him.
"What are you doing here?" Albert appeared at the entrance of the bathroom, frowning slightly as he looked at the two of them. "I just saw Filch. He's coming this way with a mop. If he knows you're in the girls' bathroom, he'll be very happy to find an excuse to put you in detention and let everyone else know about it."
Harry hurriedly left with the notebook, not noticing the gleam in Albert's eyes behind his glasses.
(End of Chapter)
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