Chapter 176: Throwing Mandrake Leaves

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Since the start of the school year at Hogwarts, Albert's school life had returned to normal. He no longer stayed up late and went to bed on time, waking up at seven in the morning.

On rainy days, he occasionally indulged in laziness and stayed in bed.

Yesterday, the weather finally cleared up after a long time, but this morning it started drizzling again. Well, he definitely wasn't using it as an excuse for his laziness.

At eight in the morning, Albert joined his dorm mates downstairs for breakfast. The Gryffindor long table was already filled with plenty of oatmeal, pickled herring, sliced bread, plates of golden fried eggs and crispy bacon.

The pickled herring had not been fermented, and after being fried in a pan, the meat was slightly tough and a bit salty, perfect for pairing with oatmeal.

Of course, that's assuming you didn't add sugar and milk 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 in the chair opposite Albert.

This topic quickly piqued the interest of the surrounding students. Defense Against the Dark Arts was always a popular subject at Hogwarts.

"What's going on?" Albert asked.

"According to the Ravenclaw students, our first lesson is about how to deal with Boggarts," Angelina said as she added sugar to her oatmeal.

"You mean Roger? I just heard about it too. He's bragging about how he deals with Boggarts," George sneered. "As everyone knows, Boggarts are hardly a threat. The worst-case scenario is getting a little scare."

"Boggarts turn into creatures that people fear. It's said that when there are too many people, it doesn't know what to turn into," Albert recalled. It seemed that Lupin taught about how to deal with Boggarts in his third year. But thinking about that lousy Lockhart, who didn't use "The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection" to teach the whole semester, it wasn't hard to guess that the curriculum was falling behind.

"I suddenly wonder what I'm afraid of?" Albert took a bite of his homemade salted fish sandwich, pondering what he would be afraid of.

"Failing exams?" Cho raised an eyebrow and said.

"I think he's never worried about that kind of problem," Lee Jordan took a bite of a slice of bread and said unclearly, "I think it's about not having money, like becoming a beggar, yeah, becoming a beggar."

"I do like money, but I'm never afraid of becoming a beggar," Albert said irritably. After all, being a wizard and having a system, it was easy to make money.

"I think it's about not having books to read or becoming an ordinary person," Fred said without hesitation, "I bet a Knut."

"Then you'll definitely lose." Albert smiled and raised his hand to Fred. "A Knut, anyone else want to bet?"

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

"No, you're definitely going to lose," Albert said with a smile. "After all, what I'm afraid of, how could I not know?"

"You're cheating?" Fred feigned shock, causing everyone to burst into laughter.

"I think it's about having a busy job," George said. "After all, Albert lives a more comfortable life than anyone else. He definitely doesn't want to have a busy job in the future."

"Well..." Albert stroked his chin and shook his head. "If I have a lot of money, I wouldn't need to work, so I wouldn't have to worry about having a busy job. Why do most people work? Isn't it for money? People who work with their interests in mind are very rare in reality."

"So... George, give me the Knut." Fred smiled and said.

"Cough, speaking of which, when are we going to have Defense Against the Dark Arts class?" George coughed and changed the topic.

"Don't change the subject," Fred complained.

"I never said I wanted to bet," George protested. "You misunderstood."

"How could I misunderstand? We're twin brothers, what are you thinking? Do you think I wouldn't know?"

"Okay, but don't spread it around," Albert said mysteriously.

"There are rumors that the mysterious person stole the Ravenclaw diadem."

"Rumors say the mysterious person can communicate with snakes. They are a distant descendant of Slytherin."

"Rumors say the mysterious person is immortal."

"Rumors say the mysterious person opened the Chamber of Secrets."

"Rumors say the mysterious person was once the head of Slytherin House."

"Rumors say the mysterious person had the potential to become Minister of Magic."

"Rumors..."

"It feels like you're getting more outrageous," interrupted Cho. "Let's go, don't be late. We have Herbology class with the Hufflepuff students."

"Fifteen minutes should be enough," Fred said without thinking. "We can play a game of Wizard's Chess."

While Albert watched the two play chess, Charlie walked over and specifically reminded them, "We're having Quidditch tryouts this afternoon, don't forget."

"We know," everyone responded in unison.

After greeting everyone, Charlie hurriedly left.

"You still haven't bought a broom, have you?" the Weasley brothers looked at Albert together.

"Even if I order one, it won't arrive that quickly," Albert spread his hands helplessly.

After Fred and Lee Jordan finished playing another game of Wizard's Chess, they all went to the greenhouse together. They timed it perfectly, Professor Sprout was opening the door to the greenhouse. As for the Hufflepuff students who arrived before them, they had been standing in the rain outside the greenhouse for a while.

Albert and the others followed the crowd into the greenhouse.

"Today, we will be repotting Mandrakes," Professor Sprout brought out a large box containing over twenty pairs of earmuffs. She looked around and asked, "Who knows why we need these earmuffs?"

"Hearing the cry of a Mandrake can be fatal," Albert spoke up when no one answered. "Of course, the cries of young Mandrakes only cause a few hours of unconsciousness."

"Very good, Gryffindor earns five points," Professor Sprout nodded in satisfaction and continued, "Now, who can tell me about the characteristics of Mandrakes?"

She scanned the students in the greenhouse, finally landing her gaze on Albert.

"Mandrakes, also known as Mandrake roots, are a potent restorative," Albert recited the content from the textbook. "They are used to restore people who have been transfigured or cursed back to their original state. They are also an important component in many antidotes. However, Mandrakes are very dangerous. There was a wizard who used a Mandrake to defend against a Dark Wizard invading his backyard, but he accidentally threw a mature Mandrake, which resulted in the Dark Wizard's immediate death."

"Absolutely correct, Gryffindor earns another ten points. As Mr. Anderson said, Mandrakes are dangerous, and their cries can be lethal," Professor Sprout reassured them, seeing their unease. "Of course, the Mandrakes we have here are still very young, so hearing their cries will only cause a few hours of unconsciousness."

"Did you swallow the entire book?" Lee Jordan joked. He sometimes envied Albert's intellect.

"So you saw that," Albert pretended to be surprised. "How about it, do you want to try it? It would taste better with some soy sauce."

"No, thanks. I don't have the same appetite as you," he said grumpily.

The twin brothers chuckled nearby.

"Alright, everyone come and get a pair of earmuffs," Professor Sprout instructed.

Everyone rushed toward Professor Sprout, and Lee Jordan even helped Albert grab a gray pair of earmuffs.

Albert took the earmuffs and said, "Thank you."

"Now, when you put on the earmuffs, make sure to cover your ears tightly. I don't want anyone fainting because they didn't wear them properly," Professor Sprout said, raising both thumbs. "When it's safe to remove the earmuffs, I'll raise both thumbs, like this."

"The greenish-purple plants in front of you are Mandrake seedlings, and your task is to repot them," she pointed to a row of deep-bottomed trays. "Alright, now put on your earmuffs."

Once Albert put on the earmuffs, he couldn't hear any outside noise.

"I wonder if there are recording devices in the wizarding world," Albert murmured to himself as he looked at the Mandrake seedling in front of him. "If we could capture the sound of Mandrakes and store it, it would be an invisible weapon, more effective than a blasting curse."

In the wizarding world, some people might be wary of wizards with wands, but nobody would care if you were holding a hand grenade.

Of course, surely no one would pay attention if you were holding a recording device.

"Maybe I should find an opportunity to ask."

Professor Sprout had already put on her earmuffs, rolled up her sleeves, and firmly grasped the leaves of the Mandrake, pulling it out of the pot with force.

A chorus of screams erupted in the classroom.

Of course, because everyone was wearing earmuffs, no one heard each other's screams.

Instead of beet-like roots, what was pulled out of the soil was a baby with pale green skin, and Professor Sprout was holding onto its leafy head.

As soon as this little creature was pulled out, it started screaming at the top of its lungs.

Now everyone understood what Albert meant by the Mandrake's "cry."

Professor Sprout brought out a larger flowerpot and forcefully stuffed the Mandrake into it, quickly burying it with damp compost and soil, leaving only the leaves exposed.

She patted the dirt off her hands, raised both thumbs to the class, and then took off her earmuffs.

"Let me emphasize once again, make sure to wear your earmuffs later," Professor Sprout reminded loudly. "I don't think any of you would want to miss this class. Four people in a group—there are plenty of large flowerpots here—compost is in that bag over there."

Of course, Albert's group consisted of four people. They waited until everyone had put on their earmuffs before Professor Sprout signaled that they could begin.

Pulling Mandrakes out of the soil was quite a physically demanding task, not as easy as Professor Sprout made it look.

It was harder than pulling radishes from the ground, and the Mandrakes didn't want to be pulled out of the soil by anyone.

Lee Jordan struggled but couldn't succeed, and it was ultimately Fred who helped him pull it out. The worst part was that the Mandrake didn't want to go back in. It wriggled its body, kicked its feet, and waved its little fists, as if refusing to be put back in the pot like a living person refusing to be put in a coffin.

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

Luckily, he was wearing dragon-hide gloves.

George couldn't help but laugh at the sight.

Lee Jordan, on the other hand, wasn't laughing. He was struggling with the Mandrake, which was using its feet to block the opening of the pot and stubbornly refusing to be placed inside.

As for Albert, he resorted to brute force, forcefully shoving the Mandrake into the flowerpot and quickly burying it with damp soil and compost, successfully completing the first repotting.

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(End of this chapter)