Chapter 90: Planting Garlic

(Vote plz)

Since Albert showed talent in Potion-making, Snape hadn't bothered him anymore. It was safe to say that Snape completely ignored him.

In the morning, after the Potions class ended, Albert and George took advantage of the free time before lunch to visit the library. They returned the book "Simple Alchemy" and borrowed a book on Alchemy titled "Extraction, Separation, and Potions."

Albert initially thought the book was related to Potion-making, but as he flipped through its contents, he was surprised to find that it was about Alchemy and its relationship with Potions.

Although Potions and Alchemy were not the same, they still had a significant connection and some overlapping aspects.

Some ingredients used in Potions required alchemical processing, and there were even some Potions that were obtained directly through alchemical methods.

Currently, the most representative example was the Essence of White Freshness.

The Essence of White Freshness was something obtained directly by extracting a herb called White Freshness. It was an effective medicinal potion for treating wounds. Using the Essence of White Freshness to treat wounds was much more effective than using White Freshness directly or using it to prepare Potions.

In the book "Extraction, Separation, and Potions," there were detailed instructions on how to extract White Freshness. This reminded him of the Garlic Cross recipe in "Simple Alchemy"... cough cough. Albert quickly shook off the strange thought in his head and refocused his attention on the description of extracting the Essence of White Freshness.

Fred and Lee Jordan returned from the kitchen empty-handed. They sat dejectedly in chairs next to Albert, looking helpless. As Albert had expected, they obtained nothing. The house-elves didn't allow them to take any garlic from the kitchen.

This meant that the twins' plan had already failed before it even started.

"I told you so," Albert looked at the discouraged trio and suggested, "Maybe you can send a letter home and ask your family to send you some garlic."

"Are you crazy?" Fred couldn't believe what he was hearing from Albert. His voice raised a few notches, "If we dare to do that, we'll surely get a good thrashing with a broom when we go home for Christmas vacation."

"No, I think Mom might just tell you not to come back to school and stay at home to continue growing garlic," George couldn't help but comment sarcastically.

Obtaining garlic from home was not a viable option, even if they claimed it was for research on Dark Magic defense.

"Do you have any good ideas?" all three of them looked at Albert with hopeful eyes, as if he was their only hope.

"Give up!" Albert shrugged his shoulders. "Of course, if you really don't want to give up, I suggest you order some garlic through mail order in Diagon Alley."

Upon hearing Albert's words, the three of them instantly felt disheartened. If they had Galleons, would they still need to worry about this?

"So, let's just give up," Albert said nonchalantly, flipping through the book in his hand. "Whether it's Potions or Alchemy, they're just money-draining endeavors."

"What's wrong with them?" Shanna glanced at the three dejected individuals and asked.

"It's nothing, they're just a bit down. We don't need to pay attention to them for now," Albert replied.

"Don't pay attention to us unless you can help us get some garlic," George waved his hand toward Shanna.

Shanna looked puzzled but decided to ignore the twins and started discussing the homework from today's Potions class with Albert. She asked him when he would be available to go to the library together and work on their essay about Monkshood.

The difficulty of most essays lies in finding the relevant information. It's quicker when more people search together, and as for assembling the gathered information into an essay, it depends on each individual's writing skills.

Albert pulled out the assignment sheet from his backpack and agreed on a time with Shanna. Then he redirected his focus back to the book.

To be honest, Albert was hoping to find the method of producing a developing potion for magical photographs and learn about the world of magical photography from the book "Extraction, Separation, and Potionmaking."

In Albert's view, magical photographs were undoubtedly related to Alchemy. Fortunately, he found a section in the table of contents that covered this topic.

Just as Albert was searching for the recipe and correct usage of the developing potion, he suddenly noticed a new task being activated on the quest board.

Moving Magical Photographs.

You have discovered the secret of making magical photographs move and have attempted to learn the art of creating them. Why not give it a try?

Create three magical photographs.

Reward: 500 experience points, acquisition of Alchemy skill.

Albert pondered throughout lunch whether he should make time to prepare the developing potion and give it a try. The experience points rewarded by the task weren't significant, but gaining the Alchemy skill directly would be nice. After all, lighting up the Alchemy skill was required for the Magic Lamp quest.

Just as he passed through the hallway, Albert suddenly heard someone calling his name. He turned his head and looked at the three individuals, asking, "What's the matter? I didn't catch it earlier."

"We plan to go to the neighboring village and try our luck," the three seemed to have reached a decision. They wanted to go to Hogsmeade and see if they could get some garlic to bring back and plant.

"Oh, good luck then," Albert patted Fred's shoulder and said, "Actually, Hagrid probably has some. If you want..."

"What is it?" a sudden voice interrupted.

"It's nothing," Fred felt a bit awkward. They weren't familiar with Hagrid, so they didn't plan on bothering him in this matter.

Even though they jokingly mentioned borrowing the vegetable garden from Hagrid earlier to grow garlic, it was simply a jest. Hogwarts was so big, finding a place to dig some soil and plant garlic wasn't difficult.

"Garlic, we want to study whether garlic can ward off dark creatures," Albert changed the topic and asked, "Do you have something to do? It's rare to see you entering the castle."

"I have some business with Dumbledore," Hagrid surveyed the group skeptically, heading towards the headmaster's office. Before leaving, he turned back and said, "If you need garlic, I can provide you with some."

The three watched Hagrid's departing figure, looking at each other in surprise. They hadn't expected that they were racking their brains on how to get garlic, but Albert solved it for them with a casual remark.

"That doesn't seem right," George said.

"Hagrid often cooks for himself, and he has a vegetable garden. He definitely has garlic," Albert glanced at the slightly embarrassed trio and said, "This Christmas, help me think of what to give him as a Christmas gift!"

"Yeah, sure!" The three nodded repeatedly, indicating that they would help come up with ideas for Christmas.

"However, I need to remind you that the amount of garlic he can provide won't be enough," Albert added. "You should take some time to grow your own. Planting garlic is quite simple."

That was their original plan anyway. As for where to plant it, all three of them had already figured it out. It wouldn't be in Hagrid's vegetable garden but rather near the Forbidden Forest, a bit farther from Hagrid's cabin.

After listening to the three's plan, Albert fell silent.

In fact, planting some garlic was easy. They could simply use a flowerpot to grow it themselves. As for fertilizer, wasn't the ash from the fireplace the best option?

However, Albert had no intention of reminding the three. Let them figure it out on their own!

You can read +50 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)

=> Sailing with Whitebeard: Starting with a Question

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

(End of this chapter)