Unveiling the Cover-Up

"You were too impulsive just now."

There was a hint of reproach in Professor Slughorn's voice. "You offended the Judges Panel. They'll definitely deliberately lower your score, and it won't do your future any favors."

"Impulsive? No, I've been very calm." Albert spoke evenly. "Some things can't be compromised on. Otherwise, all you'll face is even worse oppression. And do you think they wouldn't do that if I gave in? No, they would—at least that president would. I have no plans to become a Potions Master in the future."

Professor Slughorn had nothing to say. Suddenly, he found that he could not quite understand the boy before him.

Albert had the ability to win the Golden Cauldron through his own skill, yet the Potions Tournament had never been a fair competition. He had clearly seen through that, which was why he had been so angry.

After resting for a while, Albert went to process the potion ingredients he had gathered earlier. Most potion ingredients used by wizards underwent preliminary processing.

For Albert, the biggest difficulty in brewing a Shrinking Solution was obtaining a Rat Spleen. Dissecting a rat was a technical task: he had to locate the spleen and remove it intact, rather than simply cutting out some random organ.

He washed, dried, and chopped the daisy roots, then peeled the Shrivelfigs. Albert quickly finished preparing the ingredients for the Shrinking Solution, arranging them neatly on the table before leisurely brewing the potion. The key was not to add too much Leech Juice or Rat Spleen.

It took him over an hour to successfully brew a perfect cauldron of Shrinking Solution, but perhaps as an aftereffect of having just confronted the Judges Panel, he ultimately received only 73 points.

Of course, everyone was watching.

Even if the judges were dissatisfied