Chapter 176： Throwing Mandrake

Chapter 176 Throwing Mandrake

 Since the start of Hogwarts, Albert's school life is back on track.

 He no longer stays up late every day, goes to bed on time, and wakes up at seven o'clock on time in the morning.

 On rainy days, I occasionally stay in bed and be lazy.

 Yesterday, the weather finally cleared up, but this morning it started to rain lightly again. Well, he was definitely not making excuses for staying in bed.

 At eight o'clock in the morning, Albert went downstairs to have dinner with his roommates. The long Gryffindor table was already covered with large amounts of oatmeal, pickled herrings, and slices of bread, as well as plates of golden fried eggs and fried bacon.

 The pickled herring has not been fermented. After being fried in a pan, the meat is hard and a little salty, so it is suitable for oatmeal porridge.

Of course, that’s assuming no sugar or milk is added to the oatmeal.

“Good morning. Have you heard about the Defense Against the Dark Arts class?” Angelina picked up a bowl of oatmeal with milk and sat on the chair opposite Albert.

This topic quickly aroused the interest of the surrounding students, and the Defense Against the Dark Arts course has always been a popular course at Hogwarts.

 “What’s the matter?” Albert asked.

“According to the Ravenclaw students, our first lesson is learning how to deal with boggarts.” Angelina was adding sugar to her oatmeal.

"You mean Roger? I heard it just now. He was still bragging about how he dealt with Boggarts." George curled his lips disdainfully, "As we all know, Boggarts basically pose no threat. The worst-case scenario is Shocked."

"The Boggart will turn into a creature that others are afraid of. It is said that when there are too many people, it won't know what to turn into." Albert thought about it. It seemed that Lupine only talked about how to do this when Potter was in third grade. Deal with the Boggart. However, considering that Lockhart was a cheater and didn't use "Dark Powers: A Guide to Self-Defense" in his lectures throughout the semester, it is not difficult to guess that the progress is behind.

“I suddenly wondered what I was afraid of?” Albert took a bite of his homemade salted fish sandwich and thought about what he might be afraid of.

 “Failed the exam?” Shanna raised her eyebrows and said.

"I don't think he has ever worried about this kind of problem." Li Jordan took a bite of a piece of bread and said inarticulately, "I think it's because he has no money, that is, he becomes a pauper. Well, yes, he becomes a poor man. Poor guy."

"It's true that I like money, but I'm never afraid of becoming a poor man." Albert said angrily. After all, it is easy to make some money by becoming a wizard and having a system.

"I think it's because I have no books to read, or I have become an ordinary person." Fred said without thinking, "I bet on a Nat."

"Then you must lose." Albert smiled and spread his hands towards Fred, "With Nat, who else wants to bet?"

Fred slapped Albert's hand away and complained dissatisfiedly, "I haven't lost yet."

 “No, you lose.” Albert said with a smile. "After all, how could I not know what I was afraid of?"

 “Are you actually cheating?” Fred pretended to be shocked, making everyone laugh.

“I think it’s busy work.” George said: “After all, Albert lives a more comfortable life than anyone else, and he definitely doesn’t want to be busy with work in the future.”

"This..." Albert touched his chin and shook his head in denial: "If I were rich, I wouldn't have to work, and I wouldn't have to worry about busy work. Why do most people work? Isn't it for money? In reality, there are very few people who work with interest.”

“So…George, Nat brings it,” Fred said with a smile.

“Ahem, by the way, when will we have the Defense Against the Dark Arts class?” George coughed dryly and changed the subject.

 “Don’t change the subject,” Fred said dissatisfied.

"I didn't say I wanted to bet." George protested, "You just misunderstood."

"How could there be a misunderstanding? We are twin brothers. Don't I know what you are thinking?"

“The first period in the afternoon is the Defense Against the Dark Arts class.” Angelina took out the course schedule from her school bag, “However, I am a little worried that this professor will not teach for a long time.”

"That's for sure. A smarter professor would have resigned before finishing teaching the Defense Against the Dark Arts course." Albert said matter-of-factly, "No one wants to be cursed and bring a lot of bad luck to themselves."

“What’s going on with this curse?” Shanna asked curiously. "do you know?"

"You want to know?" Albert smiled maliciously, "I have heard some rumors."

 “Say it, don’t keep it secret.” Angelina urged.

 “I heard it is related to the mysterious man.” Albert said softly.

"The mysterious man put a curse on that position." Everyone's eyes widened in surprise, "You can't talk nonsense about this kind of thing."

 “How do you know?” Li Qiaodan asked curiously.

“They’re all just rumors.” Albert pretended to be mysterious and said, “There are many more rumors about the mysterious person. Do you want to listen?”

"Tell me." Fred was also curious. He knew that Albert had a wide range of friends, so it was not surprising that he would know a lot of messy things.

 “Well, you don’t want to spread rumors.” Albert pretended to be mysterious and said:

 “It is rumored that a mysterious man has stolen Ravenclaw’s diadem.”

"It is rumored that the mysterious man can communicate with snakes and is the great-great...grandson of Slytherin."

 “It is rumored that the mysterious man is immortal.”

 “It is rumored that a mysterious man once opened the secret room.”

 “It is rumored that the mysterious man once served as the student union president of Slytherin.”

“It is rumored that the mysterious man was once expected to take the position of Minister of Magic.”

 “rumors…”

“It feels like you are getting more and more outrageous.” Zannah interrupted, “Let’s go quickly, don’t be late, the morning Herbology class is with the Hufflepuff students.”

"Fifteen minutes is enough." Fred said without thinking, "We can still play a game of wizard cards."

While Albert was watching the two playing cards, Charlie walked towards this side and specifically warned, "There will be a Quidditch selection this afternoon, don't forget it."

 “Got it.” Everyone said in unison.

 Charlie said hello to everyone and left in a hurry.

 “You haven’t bought a broom yet, have you?” The Weasley brothers all looked at Albert.

"Even if you order, it won't be that fast." Albert spread his hands helplessly.

 After Fred and Li Jordan played another round of wizard cards, everyone headed to the greenhouse together. Their timing was just right, Professor Sprout was opening the greenhouse door. As for the Hufflepuff students who arrived before them, they were caught in the rain outside the greenhouse for a while.

 Albert and others followed the crowd into the greenhouse.

"Today we need to repot the mandrake." Professor Sprout brought a large cardboard box with more than twenty pairs of earmuffs of different colors inside. She looked around the crowd and asked, "Who knows why we need it?" These earmuffs?”

"Hearing the cry of Mandrake can kill people." Seeing no one answer, Albert took the initiative to say, "Of course, young Mandrake will only make people comatose for a few hours."

"Very good, five points from Gryffindor." Professor Sprout nodded with satisfaction and continued to ask, "Now, who can tell me the properties of Mandrake?"

 She glanced at the students in the greenhouse, and finally landed on Albert.

"Mandrake, also called mandrake root, is a powerful restorative," Albert simply recited the content from the textbook. "It is used to heal people who have been transformed or people who have been cursed. Restored to its original state. It is also an important part of most antidotes. Of course, mandrake is dangerous. It is said that a wizard once used mandrake to defend against the dark wizard who invaded his yard because he threw What came out was mature mandrake, which directly caused the dark wizard to die on the spot."

"Absolutely correct, plus ten points. As Mr. Anderson said, Mandrake is very dangerous, and its sound can be fatal." Professor Sprout saw everyone's uneasiness and comforted: "Of course, we The mandrake here is still very small, and you will be unconscious for a few hours at most if you hear its cry."

“Did you eat the book?” Lee Jordan joked, saying that he sometimes envied Albert’s mind.

"You actually saw it." Albert pretended to be surprised and said, "How about it, do you want to try it? It will taste better with some soy sauce."

“No, thank you, my appetite is not as good as yours.” He said angrily.

 The twin brothers were snickering nearby.

“Okay, everyone, come here and get a pair of earmuffs.” Professor Sprout said to everyone.

Everyone rushed to Professor Sprout's position, and Li Jordan even helped Albert grab a gray earmuff.

 Albert took the earmuffs and said thank you.

"Now, I suddenly understand why Professor Sprout's card effect is to throw mandrakes at the enemy." Li Qiaodan muttered in a low voice, "However, your effect should be changed. Maybe it should be changed to appearance." Afterwards, it would be more appropriate to directly kill the entire audience."

 “You are destroying the balance of the game.” Albert couldn’t help rolling his eyes.

"When I ask you to put on earmuffs, be sure to cover your ears tightly. I don't want anyone to faint because they didn't wear earmuffs properly." Professor Sprout said, giving two thumbs up and continued. : “When it’s safe to take the earmuffs off, I’ll give a two-thumbs-up look like this.”

“These green and purple plants in front of you are mandrake seedlings, and your task is to repot them.” She pointed to a row of deep-bottomed plates and said, “Okay—now put on your earmuffs. "

 After Albert put on the earmuffs, he could no longer hear the sounds outside.

"I wonder if there is a tape recorder in the magic world." Albert looked at the mandrake seedlings in front of him and murmured in his heart, "If the sound of the mandrake can be stored, it will definitely be an invisible massacre. It's more effective than a blast bomb."

In the wizarding world, some people may be wary of wizards holding wands, but absolutely no one cares whether you are holding a grenade.

Of course, no one will care if you have a tape recorder.

 “How about I ask you when I have a chance.”

Professor Sprout has put on earmuffs, rolled up his sleeves, firmly grasped the mandrake leaves, and pulled it out of the pot.

 Screams suddenly erupted in the classroom.

Of course, because they all wore earmuffs, no one could hear anyone else’s screams.

What was pulled out of the soil was not a root like a beet, but a baby with light green skin, and Professor Sprout was clutching the leaves on its head.

The little guy was yelling at the top of his lungs as soon as he was pulled out.

Now everyone knows what Albert refers to as the "cry" of the mandrake.

Professor Sprout took a larger flower pot, stuffed the mandrake into it, and quickly buried it with moist compost and soil, leaving only the leaves exposed.

 She patted the mud on her hands, gave everyone a two-thumbs up, and then took off her earmuffs.

"I stress again, you must wear earmuffs later." Professor Sprout reminded loudly: "I don't think you want to miss this class. Groups of four - there are many big students here." Flower pots—the compost is in the bag over there.”

Of course, Albert was in a group of four. After everyone put on their earmuffs, Professor Sprout signaled that everyone could start.

Plucking mandrakes from the soil is a physical job, and it is not as easy as Professor Sprout did it.

This is harder than pulling up turnips in the field, and mandrakes don't want to be pulled out of the soil.

Li Qiaodan tried his best but failed. In the end, Fred helped to pull it out. The worst thing was that this guy didn't want to go back after he came out. He twisted his body, kicked his feet, and waved. Holding his small fist, he looked like a living person who didn't want to be stuffed into a coffin.

"It's really interesting, isn't it?" Fred smiled and poked Mandrake's cheek with his finger, only to be bitten on his finger.

 Fortunately, he was wearing dragon skin gloves.

 George couldn't help laughing when he saw this.

Li Qiaodan didn't smile. He was fighting with the mandrake that was blocking the mouth of the basin with his feet and refused to be stuffed into the basin.

As for Albert, he directly took violent measures and forced the mandrake into the flowerpot, and quickly buried it with moist soil and compost, successfully completing the first repotting.

 (End of this chapter)