Chapter 85: The Setup
Chapter 85: The Setup
The process of administering the potion went surprisingly smoothly this time.
Without even needing to ask, Michael took the potion bottle with the number on it and, after seeing it, drank it all in one go, "gulping" it down.
From his gradually distorted expression, it was clear that the taste of the potion was still indescribable, but Michael didn't waste a drop of it.
He even smacked his lips after finishing and exclaimed, "Good medicine."
Of course, it would have been better if his expression had been a little less distorted when he said this.
Instead, his face turned greenish-black, and his features seemed to be squeezed together, making it seem like he was a poison appraiser when combined with his previous exclamation of "good medicine."
In any case, Kyle found it hard to understand his current thoughts; this was probably a case of pain and pleasure.
...
As the weather gradually warmed up, the Quidditch matches were already halfway through.
Currently, Gryffindor was leading in both wins and points, closely followed by Hufflepuff, with a very small gap between the two.
Slytherin, having been covered in custom-made filth bombs during the previous match, had been subconsciously gagging whenever they saw a flying broomstick for some time afterward, so they were trailing far behind in points and were in third place.
However, after the Christmas break, they gradually recovered and, in the recent matches, went on a scoring spree, trying to narrow the gap with the top two.
As Slytherin's signature move, they certainly wouldn't miss the opportunity to play dirty during the matches.
In a recent game, Gryffindor's Chaser, Angelina, was knocked off her broom by them.
"This isn't over, Rozier," Charlie said sternly as he escorted Angelina off the pitch, "We'll see about this."
However, Rozier just gave Charlie a provocative look, seemingly not taking it seriously.
But that very evening at dinner, over twenty packages shaped like flying broomsticks were delivered to the Slytherin table by owls.
Rozier's face turned green on the spot.
The Gryffindors didn't hide their actions, and under the leadership of Fred and George, they even shouted for Rozier to open the packages and see the surprise they had carefully prepared.
This incident quickly caught the attention of Professor Snape, who, after hearing about what had happened in the Great Hall from the messenger owl, rushed over, flapping his large cloak.
"Filth bombs? I don't know what you're talking about, Professor," Charlie said innocently.
"They're just fireworks we customized to celebrate the Slytherin team's victory in today's match."
"Just fireworks?" Snape clearly didn't believe it.
"Of course, Rozier is a worthy opponent, and he won beautifully. I must congratulate him."
Charlie smiled, "What, doesn't Rozier like this gift?"
He will graduate and go to Romania next year, so he naturally wouldn't be as nervous as others when facing Snape.
Snape's face turned somewhat gloomy. He took out his wand and, in front of everyone, opened the packages.
Just as Charlie said, there were indeed fireworks inside. After the packaging was opened, the golden-red fireworks shot up to the ceiling and then exploded with a "boom," forming the word "Victory" in the air.
However, Snape still deducted ten points from Gryffindor.
The reason was for making a ruckus in the Great Hall and disrespecting a professor.
But the Gryffindors didn't seem to mind.
After all, their current House points were almost in single digits, and unless they could add five hundred points at the end of the term, there was little hope for the House Cup.
So the Gryffindor students collectively decided—to slack off!
As the saying goes, slacking off once is fun, but slacking off all the time is even better.
The Gryffindor students suddenly realized that life at Hogwarts was so enjoyable.
Just like now, even if Snape deducted ten points for such an absurd reason, their hearts remained unperturbed.
George even went as far as to say, "I think it's a serious mistake to disrespect a professor, you should deduct thirty points from us."
His idea was simple: if they couldn't get first place, they might as well go against the grain and aim for the lowest score instead.
After all, black and red are both shades of red.
...
Snape's expression grew even darker.
He really wanted to fulfill George's request, but unfortunately, there was only a thin layer of sand left in Gryffindor's hourglass, probably enough for just twenty or so points.
He couldn't just deduct all the points, could he?
He still had to consider Professor McGonagall's face.
Besides, the requisition form for potion ingredients needed the deputy headmaster's signature, and he had to think about his private storage room.
"You're right, Mr. Weasley," Snape said with a cold stare at George, "but there's no need for deductions. Just go to Detention."
"You'll go to the Potions classroom tonight and clean all those old crucibles.
Remember, you're to wipe them by hand, and no use of wands is allowed. Filch will be watching you."
George's smile froze on his face.
The correct version is available on the 69th book bar! 6=9+book bar, the first release of this novel.
Even after Snape left the Great Hall, George remained in a daze.
"Merlin's socks, why am I getting detention!"
"Because he's a professor," Fred said sympathetically, patting George's shoulder. "Cheer up, one night will pass quickly."
"You'll help me, right?" George asked hopefully.
Fred fell silent, clearly unwilling.
"Percy?"
"..."
"Charlie!"
"..."
Not a single person responded.
In the face of detention, the brotherhood of over a decade seemed so fragile.
George almost burst into tears, feeling like the world had suddenly turned black and white.
"Ahem..."
Just as George was getting more and more into his act, Charlie impatiently patted him on the head.
"Enough of that, don't think I don't know you and Fred secretly hid an Automatic Cleaning Kit."
The tears that were about to flow from George's eyes instantly disappeared, and a familiar smile appeared on his face, showing no signs of sadness or sorrow.
"You're no fun, Charlie."
As the ones who had been to detention the most, Fred and George were naturally well-prepared.
The Automatic Cleaning Kit was their secret weapon, specifically for dealing with detention tasks like cleaning.
Crucibles were also included.
"But speaking of which, your method is really effective." Charlie looked at the packaging scraps and said, "I never thought that Rozier would be so scared that he'd throw away his plate. What's the reason behind this?"
"That's a secret."
George and Fred winked, not revealing too much.
Fortunately, Charlie wasn't overly curious. Seeing that the twins didn't want to say more, he didn't ask further.
As long as he knew that this trick could be used against Slytherin, that was enough.
(End of Chapter)
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