Chapter 767: The Moving Parcel
Chapter 767: The Moving Parcel
As Easter drew closer, the workload of the Hogwarts students intensified. The professors constantly reminded them in class that their final exams were approaching.
What made matters worse was that the professors seemed to doubt their students' dedication to reviewing for the final exams. They assigned a mountain of homework to be completed before the Easter break.
Most students were already swamped just dealing with the holiday homework, leaving them little time to prepare for the upcoming end-of-term exams.
The majority of the fifth-year students could feel the pressure of the looming O.W.Ls, and their visits to the library had become more frequent than ever. They often had to rush to the library right after class to secure a good spot.
The stress of the O.W.Ls caused quite a few students who were about to take the exams to develop some minor issues.
While everyone was diligently working on their homework in the library, Patricia Stinson of Hufflepuff suddenly fainted, causing a stir.
"To be honest, I wish I could just collapse too," Fred said enviously, gazing at Patricia Stinson as she was being sent to the school hospital. He whispered to George beside him, "Why don't we use that thing and pretend to faint as well?"
George disliked Fred's idea. "Don't be stupid," he snapped. "You'll never escape holiday homework, unless you want to be confined to the school grounds right after the Easter break."
"I'm just saying," Fred sighed, looking at the essay he had just started writing. He turned to Lee Jordan, who had just sat down, and teased, "You didn't have diarrhea, did you? Why did it take you so long?"
"I ran into Kenneth on the way. That guy is no longer selling Pepper Up Potion; he's switched to selling dragon claw powder now," Lee Jordan informed the Weasley twins about Kenneth's black market dealings.
"Dragon claw powder? Is that stuff even reliable?" George joked. "Don't tell me Kenneth is clipping his own nails, grinding them into powder, and selling it to others?"
"He doesn't have enough nails to clip and grind into powder."
"He could just find a few more people, and he'd have plenty," Fred remarked, having no illusions about Kenneth's character. For all they knew, he might have mixed other things into the dragon claw powder.
"I tried a little bit just now, and it does work. A lot of seventh-year students are buying it from him," Lee Jordan admitted. He had also considered asking Kenneth for some, and after taking a small amount of the dragon claw powder, he felt energized and mentally sharp.
"Forget it. It's too easy to get caught using dragon claw powder during exams. You might even have to repeat a year. I'd rather do poorly on the O.W.Ls than be held back by the school," Fred said, abandoning his essay and starting to copy the holiday homework.
"It doesn't have to be used for cheating on exams," Lee mumbled.
"Do you really believe that yourself?" George asked through a mouthful of candy, reminding him vaguely, "And dragon claw powder isn't cheap."
"I remember Albert bought some last time. I think it was ten galleons a pint. It's probably more expensive on the black market," Fred added.
Lee Jordan dropped the subject.
Indeed, dragon claw powder was expensive, and he didn't have enough galleons in his pocket to afford it.
"If you want, you can ask Albert. I remember he mentioned making some candy that would make people smarter," Fred recalled.
"Don't be silly. The intelligence-enhancing candy is still on parchment. But I think Albert might have some extra intelligence potions. You can ask him for a bottle," George suggested without looking up from his work.
"What's intelligence candy?" Ron asked, curious about the conversation his friends were having.
"It's a type of candy that can make people smarter for a short time," George explained.
"There's such a thing?" Harry thought he could use one of those candies too. The pile of holiday homework in front of him was making him feel exasperated.
"It's still in development. If you want some, you might have to wait a few years. Most of Albert's magical candy series are still on parchment, waiting to be developed," George said.
Of course, George didn't tell them that Albert was planning to use those candies to make a profit from pure-blood wizards, and they would be priced quite high.
"If you have time to chat, come and help me look up some information. I'm almost done with Snape's essay," Angelina said, annoyed by their hushed conversation.
Fred, George, and Lee Jordan exchanged glances. They felt embarrassed to admit that they were planning to 'borrow' ideas from Albert's essay.
After all, Albert still had to write his Potions essay, and in Snape's words: "Even if you win the Potions Championship, don't expect me to exempt you from writing your Potions essay."
"I'm more curious about why the professors don't teach us the key points," George said, awkwardly changing the subject.
"I think if all the professors could teach us the exam topics like Albert does, and if we worked hard for two more months, everyone would be able to pass the O.W.Ls with excellent results," Fred said.
"They will, but you'll have to wait until the end of May."
"Shan'na put down her quill and blew on the potion essay in her hand. 'I asked the current sixth-years,' she said to the group, 'and they told me that the professors will only stop all classes towards the end of May, giving us the entire month of June to review.'"
"That's cutting it a bit close," George commented, feeling that the professors weren't very reliable.
"So, don't expect to cram at the last minute," Shan'na said. "That time is actually for the professors to help us fill in any gaps in our revision and make sure we don't miss any exam points."
"I really envy Albert. He never has to worry about O.W.Ls," Fred said.
"Have we decided when the next gathering will be?" Angelina asked Shan'na. "By the way, where's Albert? I don't see him here."
Lowering his voice, George replied, "I don't know. He's been MIA a lot lately. Probably off on a date with his girlfriend, who's graduating soon."
"Their relationship is so stable," Shan'na said, feeling envious of the couple.
"Yeah, it's very stable," Fred chimed in. "I heard they even went on a vacation abroad together. Maybe in a few years, you'll be receiving their wedding invitation."
He realized the room had suddenly fallen silent.
Changing the subject, Alicia asked, "Oh, there's something I almost forgot to ask about. Last time we went there, how did that hidden room behind the painting disappear, and why was there a secret passage instead?"
"What were you guys doing there?" Lee Jordan inquired.
"We went there to study. Haven't you noticed that the library is getting more and more crowded lately?"
"That hidden room only appears during our gatherings," George said mysteriously. "Also, it's best not to let unrelated people know about its existence. You don't want your gatherings to be disturbed, do you?"
"It only appears at certain times?" Alicia clearly didn't buy into this ghost story.
"There are still many unknown secrets waiting to be discovered in Hogwarts Castle," George said, passing his Herbology essay to Fred as he grumbled, "I really wish Albert would put some effort into the holiday homework so we could have it easier."
"He only says that homework has to be done by oneself," Lee Jordan said, popping a candy into his mouth and getting back to copying his homework.
"You guys can totally look for information and do the holiday homework together," came Albert's voice from behind them as he placed a hand on each of their shoulders. "Haven't we done it that way before?"
"Could you stop scaring people like that?"
"When are we starting the gatherings?" Shan'na asked. "I think the Easter break would be great since everyone will be free then, and we can have more frequent sessions."
"I agree," Angelina said.
Taking out his half-written essay, Albert said, "Don't forget, we still have a ton of homework to do."
"It's 'we,' not 'you,'" Angelina corrected.
"If you want to have gatherings, you'd better finish your holiday homework quickly so you'll have enough time to attend," Albert said, flipping through his notes to check how much homework the professors had assigned for the Easter break.
"What gathering?" Ron popped up out of nowhere.
"In Albert's words, it's an O.W.L.s Defense Against the Dark Arts exam cram session," Fred explained to Ron. "The purpose of the gathering is to help everyone get high scores in the Defense exam. If you're interested, you can join too."
"Sorry, didn't mean to interrupt," Ron said, withdrawing his head. The O.W.L.s seemed far away to him at the moment, as he was overwhelmed by the mountain of homework.
"Can I join too?" Hermione asked.
"Sure, if you want to join the Defense Association, keep an eye out for the next gathering time," George replied.
"Defense Association?" Hermione queried.
"It's just a name, don't mind it. Albert calls it a Defense Against the Dark Arts cram session," George explained with a smile. "Anyone can join as long as they don't cause trouble."
"You have more homework than us, and you still have time for clubs?" Ron thought Hermione had gone crazy.
"It won't hurt to get a head start on the O.W.L.s now. We'll have to face that exam eventually," Hermione said calmly.
"Can Slytherins join too?" Harry asked curiously.
"Of course, anyone can," Albert replied.
"What if they cause trouble during the gathering?" Harry asked further.
"We'll work together to throw them out," Fred said without hesitation. "In fact, we're looking forward to having some Slytherins as our practice targets."
At that moment, Kenneth Towle hurried over with a parcel in his hand, placing the violently shaking package in front of Albert. "This is for you. There's also a letter."
"Why is this parcel moving?" Albert asked, puzzled.
"Don't ask me, I have no idea," Kenneth Towle shrugged.
Everyone's attention was drawn to the gently shaking parcel, curious about what was inside.
(End of Chapter)
Chapter end
Report
