Chapter 236: A Wealthy Scapegoat

"Fred and the others should have gone back by now." Albert climbed off the sofa and looked out the window at the hazy sky, yawning and covering his mouth. He remembered how he had been talking with Daggworth about the field of potions, and when his brain felt tired, the house-elf had arranged for him to rest on the sofa.

Mr. Daggworth is really a good person!

The master potion-maker treated Albert well, not like an ordinary person would treat a child. Moreover, Daggworth himself was a renowned master potion-maker.

Perhaps this is what they call academic boundaries that don't recognize nationality, personality, or age!

Of course, Albert was completely unaware that Daggworth valued him so highly for other reasons. It was mainly because Albert had directly made Daggworth compromise and left him with nothing to say. Moreover, his exceptional talent in potion-making made Daggworth subconsciously ignore his age and treat him as a peer.

Daggworth was also a genius, and as someone who had already reached the pinnacle of the field, he lacked nothing. After discovering Albert's talent, he was willing to give him a helping hand, as Daggworth also knew that the development, improvement, invention, and innovation of potions were not something that he alone could achieve.

"By the way, the Babbling Beverage is really amazing!" Albert put on his cloak again and looked at the long box on the table. Inside was a dried mandrake root that he had bought from Daggworth, which cost him twenty galleons.

"With this, there shouldn't be any other problems with the ingredients. But ancient magical scripts..." Albert opened his skill panel and, among many skills, spent a few minutes finding the Ancient Runes skill. He still needed more than eighteen hundred experience points to reach level three. Originally, Albert had planned to accumulate experience points slowly and rely on his own abilities to break through to level three.

However, it seemed that he couldn't wait any longer!

Just then, footsteps could be heard in the corridor.

"Mr. Anderson, are you awake?" The house-elf's slightly sharp voice came from not far away.

"I'm already up." Albert smiled at the slightly nervous house-elf. "Can you please take me back to Hogwarts Castle?"

"It's my honor!" The house-elf bowed slightly and extended its hand. "Are you ready?"

"Oh, yes." Albert picked up the box and reached out to grab the house-elf's hand, allowing it to apparate him back to Hogwarts.

The house-elf's apparition wasn't much different from wizards', as the principle seemed to be the same. However, because the house-elves' magic system allowed them to ignore the spells that prohibited apparition, they could apparate freely.

They appeared in a remote corner of Hogwarts; no one would notice that someone had suddenly appeared here.

The hazy sky was still fluttering with snowflakes. It was cold outside, and Albert immediately tightened his cloak and looked at the shivering house-elf. "Go back inside, don't catch a cold."

"Goodbye, Mr. Anderson." The house-elf disappeared with a blink of its eyes.

Albert watched the spot where the house-elf had left, then turned and went back to the castle.

Before long, he found Fred and the others in the Great Hall. The three of them were discussing the club meeting tomorrow, as they tried to help Albert share the pressure as much as possible.

"I have some good news for you." Fred waved to Albert as he walked over. "We already have thirty-two participants for the club tournament."

"That's really good news!" Albert sat next to George, not reaching out to take the list handed to him by Lee Jordan. Instead, he curiously asked, "Why did so many people suddenly join the tournament?"

"Someone said you're a wealthy scapegoat and believed that the champion's prize would definitely not lack galleons, so..." Fred shrugged at Albert, "you know."

"A wealthy scapegoat?" Albert was taken aback and repeated in a murmur. He felt that the person who said such things probably was someone who had gotten galleons from him before. So, it was likely one of the MacDougal sisters.

Albert sighed softly, unable to help but feel emotional, "So, in everyone's eyes, I'm a wealthy scapegoat!"

"I think it suits you." George grinned, "At least, I've never seen anyone waste galleons like you. By the way, what's in the box you have?"

"Mandrake root," Albert casually explained.

"Where did you get it?" Fred opened the box and took a glance inside. It was indeed a dried mandrake root. This kind of thing was not common; the mandrake root in potion shops was usually processed.

"I bought it from Daggworth," Albert blinked and said, "It cost me twenty galleons. I'm planning to use it to create a new version of protective wristbands, version 2.1."

"I think they're right. You really are a wealthy scapegoat," Fred and the others couldn't help but cover their faces. They couldn't believe Albert spent twenty galleons on this, just to make protective wristbands. They didn't know what to say.

Was this really how you should spend money when you have it?

"Don't worry, I never make unprofitable deals." Albert tried to reassure them. Even if he was making magical items, he could use the leftover materials for other things. After all, mandrake root itself was a medicinal herb, and Albert knew many ways to reuse it. There would be no waste.

"Oh, by the way, I almost forgot. Should we set rewards for second and third place?" Lee Jordan changed the subject and asked.

"And a consolation prize," Fred added.

"The first-place winner can choose between ten galleons and a set of wizard cards. As for the second-place prize, it's a barrel of Butterbeer, and the third-place winner will get a brand-new quill. There's no consolation prize."

Fred, George, and Lee Jordan all looked at each other. They thought Albert would use galleons as a replacement, but...

"Is there a problem?" Albert noticed the surprise on their faces and asked in return.

"No, nothing."

"But what do you mean by 'wizard cards'?"

"The cards we're going to sell in the future!" Albert explained, "We plan to release an initial set of cards for sale, and then players can obtain card packs through other means. Each card pack contains different cards, and the number of cards is limited. For example, rare cards like Dumbledore will be limited to a thousand copies. Each card will also have a unique number on the back, similar to galleons for anti-counterfeiting. As for the future plans, I need to keep them confidential for now."

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(End of this chapter)