Chapter 158: Fell into a Pit

********

In the novel's synopsis, there is a YouTube link of my channel provided.

if we reach 50 subs,

i will upload 10 extra chapters.

We are 90% there.

*********

Albert had never seen Gryffindor students so united before. Perhaps it was because they had been suppressed by Slytherin for too long!

Now, everyone was working hard to earn points for the house. Even if they couldn't earn points, they tried their best not to give any reason for deducting points.

Most Gryffindor students would stop and take a few more glances when they passed by the giant hourglass that recorded the house cup points. Even Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff students hoped to see Slytherin lose the house cup.

The atmosphere in the castle changed, signaling an impending storm.

Slytherin's tradition was to win at any cost, which was why they had held onto the Quidditch Cup and the house cup for so long.

They would not easily give up.

The most immediate change was in Snape's class, which became more serious and oppressive. The Potions professor would pace back and forth in the classroom, using his stern gaze to pressure students with weak wills into making mistakes. Everyone knew Snape was looking for reasons to deduct points.

The way to deal with Snape's nitpicking was to sincerely admit mistakes, not argue or say too much. That way, he wouldn't be able to deduct more points.

Since Gryffindor won the Quidditch Cup last time, the tension between Gryffindor and Slytherin had been increasing. If a fight broke out between the two sides, Albert wouldn't be surprised at all.

However, for the sake of the house cup, everyone restrained themselves from conflicts and avoided giving Snape any opportunities to deduct points.

Because once a fight broke out, Gryffindor's slight advantage would be deducted.

"They used to do this to Ravenclaw," the head of the student council cautioned everyone in the Gryffindor common room. "If you have any grievances, keep them until we win the house cup and then deal with them."

The conflict between the two sides was kept to a minimum, but everyone was secretly preparing. However, for the sake of the house cup, they held back. Anyone with common sense could sense the tension between the two sides.

However, as the end-of-term exams approached, everyone's attention became scattered, and the tension faded.

With each passing day, many people had to bury themselves in studying in the hot weather. Even when they had no classes, they had to rush to the library to secure a spot.

However, since the end of May, Albert rarely went to the library. He disliked squeezing in the library with everyone else in the hot and stuffy weather.

In the sweltering heat, Albert missed ice cream, cold drinks, and air conditioning.

"Aren't you studying for exams?" Hagrid greeted him.

"I have my secret exam guide here," Albert waved his notebook. This notebook contained key points from the lectures. He would look at it and then recall the related content. It was really thanks to his exceptional memory.

Anyway, Albert wasn't worried about the exams at all.

"An exam guide?"

"Hagrid, do you know any magic for making ice or cooling things down?" After putting the notebook back in his pocket, Albert asked Hagrid about cooling spells.

"I don't know. What are you planning to do?" Hagrid shook his head. After the incident last time, their relationship had returned to normal, and they both tacitly avoided bringing up those matters.

"Of course, I'm going to make some cold drinks for myself. This weather is too hot." Albert said matter-of-factly.

"Cold drinks? Come on, let me treat you to some chilled butterbeer in advance to celebrate Gryffindor winning the house cup." Hagrid slapped his head and invited Albert to have some butterbeer.

Hagrid's "chilled" butterbeer was not far off from what Albert had guessed.

Hagrid threw an oak barrel filled with butterbeer into a well and retrieved it. When he took a sip, it actually felt quite good. Although it wasn't very cold, it was still a pleasure in the scorching summer.

Seeing the garlic in his vegetable garden, Hagrid suddenly asked, "I remember you guys were growing garlic."

"They're growing well, and we can harvest them soon."

Albert found it somewhat amusing when he thought about it. They had planned to make a garlic cross, but what happened?

As time passed, the people in the dormitory forgot about that matter.

Albert wasn't surprised at all. Children's patience had always been limited. It was already good enough that they remembered to water the garlic.

"By the way, Hagrid, can you help me get some alcohol?"

"What do you need alcohol for?" Hagrid asked puzzledly.

"To purify allicin."

"What's that?" Hagrid became even more confused.

"It's nothing. It's used to extract allicin from garlic... You know, we're planning to make a garlic-flavored amulet. So... " Albert briefly described the reason for growing garlic to Hagrid. "Yeah, that's the situation. We also need some beeswax."

"You know, vampires hate garlic, and many dark creatures also dislike the smell of garlic. So, we're planning to combine a Devil's Snare plant with garlic to create an amulet with a garlic flavor and see if it can effectively repel dark creatures."

After hearing this, Hagrid was dumbfounded. An amulet with a garlic flavor? You really come up with unique ideas.

"Well... if you want alcohol, I can ask around for you. If they don't have it in Diagon Alley, you can try your luck in Knockturn Alley," Hagrid suggested.

"Knockturn Alley?" Albert asked tentatively.

"Knockturn Alley is adjacent to Diagon Alley and it's a shady place with a mix of dragons and snakes. There are many dark magic shops there..." Hagrid suddenly realized something and looked at Albert with a serious expression. "Don't go to Knockturn Alley!"

"Alright, Hagrid, actually, I knew about Knockturn Alley even before coming to Hogwarts," Albert said. "Thanks for your trouble with the alcohol."

Saying that, Albert prepared to give Hagrid a few Galleons, but Hagrid didn't take them.

Albert saw that Hagrid didn't want them and didn't insist. Hagrid probably wasn't short on money either. Although the house looked a bit rundown, there were indeed many valuable things in the Forbidden Forest.

It could only be said that Hagrid had become accustomed to his current life.

...

After leaving Hagrid, Albert didn't plan to return to the castle. Instead, he leisurely walked downhill and arrived at the lakeside, sitting under a tree to enjoy the breeze.

Not far away, a giant squid was sunbathing in the warm shallow water.

"This is how summer should be." Albert felt the cool breeze blowing over the lake and couldn't help but sigh, "Unfortunately, I'm missing a comfortable hammock."

After some time passed, footsteps could be heard in the distance, and a figure appeared, casting its shadow on Albert's face.

Albert opened his drowsy eyes, blinked, and looked at the girl who was leaning forward and staring at him.

"Do you need something?" he asked.

"You seem pretty relaxed." Katrina looked at Albert, who was sleeping under the shade of the tree, and sarcastically commented, "Should I say you truly live up to being a genius?"

"Not bad!" Albert replied casually. "I've already reviewed everything I needed to, so worrying about exams won't do any good. It's better to relax, adjust your mindset, and face the upcoming exams calmly."

"Everyone is studying hard, and here you are, making fun of the situation," Katrina stared at Albert's face and suddenly said seriously, "If the people in the library heard you, they'd probably want to beat you up."

"I've practiced karate, they can't beat me."

"I heard you have an exam guide?" Katrina sat down beside him, feeling the cool breeze blowing over the lake. Suddenly, she asked, "Is that true?"

"An exam guide?" Albert couldn't help but chuckle at the mention of it. He guessed that the conversation he had with Hagrid just now must have been overheard.

"What's so funny?" Katrina frowned unhappily.

"Why, do you want to see it too?" Albert took out a notebook from his pocket and waved it in front of Katrina.

"Is that it?" Katrina suddenly felt that she had been fooled by the other party.

"What else did you expect? As long as you understand the important topics mentioned by the professors, you're bound to get high marks," Albert said matter-of-factly.

"I thought you wanted to get a perfect score," Katrina lost interest in the so-called exam guide.

"Why would I? I've never pursued that. Getting an Outstanding is enough since the school grades are divided into Excellent, Good... that sort of categories. A perfect score is just one form of excellence. Since they're both excellent, why bother getting worked up about it?"

Katrina suddenly felt a bit angry. The guy in front of her didn't see her as a competitor at all.

"What's wrong with you?" Albert felt that there was something off about the girl's aura.

"Do you want to compete with me to see who gets a better final grade?" Katrina proposed.

"No." Albert bluntly refused.

Although he had the task of completely surpassing her, he didn't want to get entangled in this aspect with her.

"Why not?" Katrina questioned. "Are you afraid?"

"There's no particular reason." Albert completely ignored her provocation. "I just feel that this kind of thing is tiresome."

"Tiresome?" Katrina felt completely unable to understand Albert's way of thinking. He actually rejected her with that reason.

"If you want to gamble..." Albert thought for a moment and changed the topic, preparing to set a trap for her. "How about we wager in a different way?"

"What kind of bet?" Katrina immediately asked.

"You need to answer riddles to enter the Ravenclaw common room, right?" Albert said with a sly smile. "If you can answer one hundred riddles, then you win. I'll admit that you're better than me..."

"Answer one hundred riddles?" Katrina's voice raised a pitch as she scrutinized Albert, as if she wanted to know if he was intentionally teasing her.

"Why don't you answer one hundred riddles instead?" Katrina asked.

"Of course," Albert lured her. "If you win, I'll give you a gift worth around 10 Galleons as a prize."

"Do you have money?" Katrina suspiciously sized up Albert and asked.

"Yes, I do. Last time we bet on who would be the Minister of Magic, and I won 100 Galleons," Albert boasted confidently. In truth, Albert didn't mind spending some money on riddles. Any problem that could be solved with Galleons was not a problem at all.

Katrina fell silent immediately. She realized that this guy in front of her seemed unexpectedly rich. Just one smile and he offered 10 Galleons?

"How about it, want to bet?" Albert smiled and asked.

"Your smile seems insincere," Katrina asked, "What if I lose?"

"If you fail, you can continue to challenge me," Albert continued. "But during that time, you shouldn't compare yourself to me in other matters. Of course, there's a condition: I have to be present when you challenge the riddles, and you can only be declared the winner if you answer one hundred riddles correctly."

"Is it going to be a dung bomb?" Katrina suspiciously eyed Albert.

"In that case, I'll just give you 10 Galleons and admit that you're better than me."

"I'm certainly better than you. I don't think you can answer 100 riddles," Katrina suddenly said, "If you can answer 10 riddles correctly, then I'll consider you the winner. I'll give you a gift, of course, I'm not as rich as you. But you can only try once, and it must be before me."

"Alright, I agree," Albert initially agreed to the proposal, but then changed his mind. "Actually, I give up. I don't think I can answer a single one."

"No, you can't." Katrina said earnestly, "You have to try. I don't believe you can't answer a single one."

"Fine, fine," Albert said half-heartedly.

"Shall we go find Professor McGonagall now?" Katrina took Albert to the west side of Hogwarts Castle and found Professor McGonagall at the end of a corridor.

Katrina briefly explained the situation to her and asked her to act as the witness for this bet.

Professor McGonagall agreed. In her opinion, this was undoubtedly an interesting event.

Even Ravenclaw students rarely managed to answer one hundred riddles in a row. As for non-Ravenclaw students, it was even more difficult for them to answer ten riddles in a row.

"Are you planning to start now?" Professor McGonagall asked.

"No, I think we should give Miss MacDougal more time to prepare. We can wait until after the exams or the next semester," Albert replied. He wasn't in a hurry. He needed Katrina to provide him with the questions and answers, so she needed ample preparation. Otherwise, it wouldn't make much sense if Miss MacDougal only managed to ask a few questions.

As for the outcome?

Albert didn't care at all.

At this moment, he suddenly wanted to give himself a thumbs-up for his wit.

Yes, this method was truly good.

Simple, easy, and convenient for dealing with the riddle problem.

Katrina had no idea about Albert's calculations as she happily walked away. She was determined to defeat Albert in this challenge and win 10 Galleons.

But before that, she needed to practice hard. Katrina would absolutely not accept failure.

You can read +118 advanced chapters on my P@treon page for just 4$ !!

P@treon.com/young_sunlight

Check out my Other Projects Too:-(Advanced chapter on P@treon)

=>The most wasteful fruit among pirates(**New**)

=> Marvel: All the famous scenes were exposed by me

(End of this chapter)