Chapter 89: Garlic... and a Crucifix
Chapter 89: Garlic... and a Crucifix
In the dormitory, a group of students who had just finished their astronomy class were now huddled around George's bed, poring over a book titled "Basic Alchemy" and discussing its contents.
Albert never expected that Fred, George, and Lee Jordan would be so captivated by this book. Perhaps it had something to do with the fact that the author, Zonko, owned a joke shop.
Despite its title, the content of the book was far from basic for first-year students. It required a substantial amount of prior knowledge to fully understand and comprehend what was written within its pages.
In Albert's opinion, the reason Fred, George, and Lee Jordan were so enthusiastic about "Basic Alchemy" was that they associated alchemy with Zonko's prank items.
He wondered what a real alchemist would think if they knew about this.
Albert's skepticism towards the book stemmed mainly from the fact that, despite reading it cover to cover, no alchemy-related skills had appeared on his panel.
Usually, when he listened to, read about, or actively learned new knowledge, related skills would appear on the panel. The absence of any skills suggested that either the book was not about alchemy, or that the knowledge it contained was insufficient to form a skill.
As Albert pondered this, he stirred the milk tea in front of him, glancing up at the trio whispering to each other. He took a small sip from his cup.
This was a decent start, he supposed. A gentle nudge in the right direction, and now he was curious to see how things would unfold.
"You're not eating?" Albert asked, waving the half-eaten biscuit in his hand. "By the way, can you understand that book?"
"Barely," Lee Jordan replied, sounding impressed. "I didn't expect Zonko to be an expert in alchemy."
"I wouldn't go that far, but he does know a thing or two about it, otherwise he wouldn't be able to make those prank items," Albert said, finishing his biscuit and downing the rest of his milk tea. He stretched and prepared to turn in for the night.
"So, you've finished the book?" Fred asked, coughing slightly and reaching for a biscuit from the plate. He offered one to Lee Jordan, then took a bite, only to start choking as he tried to speak.
"Yep, I'll return it to the library tomorrow," Albert said, pouring a glass of water for Fred. "If you want to come with me, you can borrow it yourself."
Fred gulped down the water to soothe his throat.
"Sure, I'll come with you tomorrow," George said, taking a biscuit from the plate Lee Jordan was holding out to him. He took a bite and then asked, "Have you ever thought about..."
"No," Albert interrupted.
"I wasn't even finished—" George began, looking exasperated at his roommate.
"Your little scheme is easy to guess," Albert said, a hint of amusement in his voice as he continued, "Alchemy is at least third-year material. It's too advanced for you right now. I'd wager you didn't even understand most of that book."
"Oh yeah? Then how come you read the whole thing?" Fred challenged, his lip curling slightly.
If it were truly incomprehensible, Albert wouldn't have bothered finishing it. Reading a book you don't understand is a painful endeavor, and the boy across from him clearly didn't have that particular masochistic tendency.
"Being able to read it and understanding it are two different things," Albert pointed out. "Alchemy isn't as simple as you think. That book is more of a joke than anything else."
"We never said we wanted to master alchemy," Fred said, his eyes glinting with mischief. "We just want to..."
"Alright, if you want alchemy..." Albert trailed off, reaching into his robe pocket and pulling out a crude-looking crucifix. He tossed it to George. "This is a talisman I made. It will protect you from dark creatures. If you want to learn, first practice the Cutting Curse, and then I'll teach you."
"You're pulling our legs again!" Fred exclaimed, his face full of disbelief. "And honestly, isn't that crucifix a bit ugly?"
"This item is worth two galleons," Albert said, completely serious.
"Two galleons?" Fred and George exclaimed in unison, their voices rising in pitch as they examined the rough crucifix, trying to figure out why it was priced so high.
"You really think you can sell this, huh?" Lee Jordan chimed in, rolling his eyes at Albert. After a month of sharing a dormitory, he had come to understand his roommate's character. When it came to pulling one's leg, Albert's words were about sixty percent truth and forty percent fiction, leaving the unsuspecting listener completely bewildered.
"Of course," Albert replied. "This talisman has the same effect as the one described in the book. It's made from guardwood. Most talismans on the market are made from the same material; they just have fancier designs and better craftsmanship. But in terms of function, they're all pretty similar."
"Does it work?" Fred asked, his tone skeptical.
"On the contrary, it's extremely ineffective," Albert said, his voice heavy with sarcasm. "According to the book, if you soak the crucifix in garlic, take it out to dry after a few days, and then repeat the process several times, you'll end up with a crucifix that reeks of garlic."
"That's a great idea! You can just make me one, since you can easily make a bunch of them," George said, reaching for the crucifix.
"But where would we get the garlic?" Fred asked, his interest clearly piqued. A garlic-flavored crucifix? He had heard that garlic was effective against dark creatures.
"You can write it down on parchment for now and try it out during the Christmas break," Albert said, his mouth twitching. He had only been joking, but these guys were taking him seriously.
He certainly didn't want them stinking up the entire dormitory with garlic.
As for what the twins got up to during the Christmas break, well, that was their business.
"There must be garlic in the school kitchen!" George exclaimed suddenly. "Maybe we can get some from the house-elves!"
"If you want to eat garlic, the house-elves will gladly give you some," Albert said, a mischievous smile spreading across his face. "But if they knew you wanted it for this..." He trailed off, his smile turning wicked. "Would you even dare waste it like that?"
"Okay, fine," Fred muttered, shrinking back a little. If Professor McGonagall found out they were wasting the school's garlic, their families would probably receive howlers.
"We can get garlic from the kitchen and then borrow Hagrid's vegetable patch to grow our own garlic, so we don't have to worry about running out," George suggested, his eyes sparkling with excitement.
"That's a brilliant idea!" the others chorused, nodding enthusiastically.
What on earth was this scheme?! Albert was stunned as he listened to their plans to grow garlic. For the first time, he felt like his roommates were operating on a completely different wavelength.
"You're really going to grow your own garlic?" he asked, his eyebrows shooting up.
"Of course," the twins replied in unison.
"Do you even know how to grow garlic?" Albert asked, his tone skeptical.
"No, but Hagrid will," they replied.
Albert's face twitched a couple of times, but he decided not to pursue that line of questioning any further. He had a feeling Hagrid wouldn't appreciate them messing around in his vegetable patch.
(End of Chapter)
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