Chapter 214: A Season of Mischief

"What on earth... happened?"

Severus Snape opened his blurry eyes and woke up from his slumber. Before him was the familiar room, and he closed his eyes again, trying to recall some fragmented memories.

"Last night... it seems like... I had a nightmare?" Snape furrowed his brows, trying to remember what happened last night. He vaguely remembered hearing a strange crying sound, and then... everything else was a blank.

It couldn't even be called a memory; Snape only vaguely remembered the crying sound before losing consciousness. What on earth had happened?

As Snape was pondering the reason, he caught sight of the mechanical clock in the corner of the room and suddenly sat up.

He had actually slept until half-past nine in the morning?

As a meticulous Potions Master, this was an unforgivable offense.

Snape hurriedly got up, changed into his robes, and rushed to the Potions classroom.

Without a doubt, the Potions Master was late for class.

The news of Snape skipping his class spread quickly throughout Hogwarts.

It was a rare piece of big news, and everyone found it hard to believe that someone like Snape could be late for class.

It was simply a once-in-a-decade event.

This incident was almost fully circulated throughout Hogwarts in less than half an hour, even more sensational than the news of the stupid Slytherin student getting caught for wandering around at night.

However, no one dared to openly discuss the matter.

No one wanted to be caught by Snape and become the chicken used to scare the monkeys. Moreover, everyone noticed the dark expression on Snape's face, as if he was owed ten thousand Galleons. Naturally, no one wanted to invite trouble.

"What an eventful day!" Albert yawned, eating a piece of toast spread with jam, and at the same time, he listened to a group of gossip-loving girls talk about interesting things.

Last night, the haunting in the castle's underground was a hot topic. Some said that the strange crying sound came from a crying Mandrake in the second-floor bathroom, while others believed it was a prank by Peeves the Poltergeist. Of course, there were other theories... In any case, there were various speculations, and Albert was quite happy to see it. A bunch of smoke bombs was not a bad thing.

As for the unlucky Slytherin student who was caught red-handed by Filch, most people just enjoyed watching the show. After all, not many students from other houses liked Slytherin, so when Slytherin House lost points in large quantities, students from the other three houses naturally felt great relief, as if they had drunk a large bottle of Butterbeer.

As for Fred and the others, who knew the truth, they were holding back their laughter. They knew very well that the unlucky Slytherin student had undoubtedly become Albert's scapegoat.

Of course, they were happy to see this scene, as there was nothing more enjoyable than seeing a disliked person suffer misfortune.

"When do you think Snape will realize that he's missing something?"

At this moment, Fred and the others were huddled together in the Room of Requirement, examining the pot of Mandrakes that Albert had obtained from Greenhouse Three.

Beside them, George was already unable to contain his laughter as he clutched his stomach.

"Not that soon." Albert casually explained, "But Snape will probably start to suspect in a while. Unless they discover that a Mandrake is missing from the greenhouse, but I don't think Professor Sprout will notice that so quickly. After all, she has too many magical plants to take care of, and she has to teach students every day. How could she have the time to remember exactly how many pots there are?"

"That makes sense." George wiped away the tears from the corner of his eyes and nodded. "If Professor Sprout only cultivated those Mandrakes, she would definitely notice, but she has too many things to take care of. I mean, Professor Sprout can't possibly remember everything in detail."

"Are you planning to return this Mandrake back?" Li Jordan suddenly asked. With Albert's abilities, he could definitely sneakily return the Mandrake without leaving any trace.

As long as the Mandrake was returned, there would be no loopholes in this matter. Even if Snape suspected that the crying sound came from the Mandrake, he wouldn't have any evidence.

"No, I still need this thing." Albert was planning to turn this Mandrake into a Dark Magic item. As for the salt problem, he believed he could resolve it easily.

It's not ancient times, and edible salt is not expensive.

"What if Snape figures it out?" George couldn't help but ask. He believed that Snape wasn't a fool. With the castle's rumors, combined with a visit to Professor Sprout, they would soon connect the dots. Maybe not in the first two days, but it would definitely be discovered.

"He can't use Legilimency on every student, and ordinary students don't have the ability to sneak into the greenhouse silently and knock out Snape. Snape has protective spells on his office. Do you think a second-year student can break through those protective enchantments and enter his office?"

"And, it rained yesterday, right? There were no footprints on the ground." Albert winked at the three of them and said with a smile, "Moreover, Madam Pomfrey wasn't around last night. Even if Snape suspects it was a Gryffindor student's doing, he can't obtain any evidence from Madam Pomfrey about a Gryffindor student leaving the dormitory at midnight."

"Unless Snape uses Veritaserum on every student, but the Ministry restricts the use of Veritaserum, and the ingredients it requires are precious. Even if he wants to make more, it's difficult."

"My goodness, you've considered all of these?" Fred couldn't help but exclaim.

"Of course." Albert thought for a moment and continued, "Now, you three are the only loophole. You have to pretend that you know nothing and don't discuss it. In short, don't attract Snape's attention. This is very important."

"We know what to do." The three of them looked at each other and grinned.

"If we can't find the culprit, Snape will definitely go crazy." The four of them burst into laughter.

"By the way, when are we going to find the Bouncing Bulbs?"

"This week, I guess. We'll look for them if it rains. After Potions class this afternoon, let's go to the library to find information about Bouncing Bulbs."

In the book "Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi," there was some information about Bouncing Bulbs, but it wasn't complete. They needed to find a book called "Comprehensive Guide to Poisonous Fungi" in the library to obtain relatively safe methods for picking and storing them.

Before leaving the Room of Requirement, Albert reminded them again, "Remember, you know nothing, don't let Snape notice you."

There was no other way; they were going to have Potions class later.

"We know," the three of them said seriously, but then they all burst into laughter again.

"Alright, alright, you'd better have your fun here before going out," Albert said helplessly, raising his hand to cover his cheeks, a faint smile on his lips.

The Ministry strictly prohibited the abuse of Veritaserum, and it was rarely used even in interrogations.

Legilimency was limited if not directly cast on the person, and the information obtained would be quite limited, especially when the two parties' gazes didn't meet. A skilled Legilimens could judge if the other person was lying through familiar conversation.

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(End of this chapter)