Garlic Cross

Albert picked up the package Hagrid had sent and returned to the Common Room with his roommates.

As soon as Lee Jordan crawled through the hole, he reached out and took the package Albert handed him, asking with a puzzled look, "What are you planning to do with these things?"

"Garlic Cross." Albert decided to go back to his dorm first.

"You can make that thing?"

"Idiots, Albert even managed to make the Protective Bracelet." Fred looked at the two of them like they were idiots. "Why would you think he couldn't make Garlic Cross?"

"Of course I know," George muttered.

Nobody wants to admit they're stupid.

After the four hurriedly returned to their dormitory, Lee Jordan immediately took down the garlic that was hanging by the window to dry.

"First, you have to peel the garlic, then mince it, and soak it in alcohol to let the allicin in the garlic dissolve into the alcohol." Albert recalled the method and continued, "In the meantime, you also throw the cross made from the Guardian Tree into it. The process takes about... a day."

"I'll do whatever you say." Fred started helping to peel the garlic.

George then took out the mortar and pestle used in Potions Class, preparing to crush the peeled garlic.

"No, I have a better way." Albert quickly raised his hand to stop George, and under the watchful eyes of the three, he used his wand to Transfiguration a newspaper into a simple garlic press.

The three of them crowded around, staring in amazement at the contraption Albert had created using Transfiguration, and asked in unison, "What is this?"

"A garlic press," Albert explained casually. He put the peeled garlic cloves into the garlic press, pressed them directly into garlic paste, and then put the garlic paste into a wide-mouthed glass jar.

"Great stuff." George's eyes lit up, and he quickly took the garlic press from Albert, offering to help press the garlic into minced garlic.

After fiddling around for ten minutes, the group finally managed to crush all the garlic into garlic paste.

"What should we do next?" Lee Jordan asked, looking at the minced garlic in the wide-mouthed glass jar.

"Pour the alcohol into the minced garlic." Albert stirred with a glass rod to thoroughly mix the alcohol and garlic, then sealed the wide-mouthed glass bottle.

"That's it?" All three of them felt a little incredulous; it seemed simpler than they had imagined.

"Hmm, we'll deal with that tomorrow." Albert frowned slightly as he smelled the garlic in the air. "Next time, remember to remind me not to do this stuff in the dorm."

"I'm suddenly looking forward to seeing what kind of alchemical tools we'll create this time." George was a little excited; this was his first time participating in the creation of alchemical tools.

"Alchemy... tools?"

Albert ultimately didn't tell them that the so-called Garlic Cross wasn't an alchemical tool at all.

Indeed, we shouldn't shatter the children's innocent dreams.

The next steps are rather complicated. You need to melt the beeswax with warm water, add the alcohol (after separating it from the garlic) to the beaker, add an appropriate amount of olive oil, and throw in the crucian carp that has been soaking in the alcohol for a day to cook together.

Of course, they wouldn't dare do these things in their own dorm room. If they made the whole dorm room smell like garlic, how would they sleep in the future?

The next day, Albert and his friends moved the crucible to the lakeside. The strong smell of garlic emanating from the cooking pot deterred several curious students nearby.

"Anyone who wears this thing on their body will probably never get a girlfriend in their life." Albert pinched his nose and used tongs to take the garlic-smelling cruciform from the beaker.

"Would anyone really be willing to wear such a weird thing?" Lee Jordan was the first to express his doubts.

"I'm more curious whether this thing actually works?" Fred didn't want to get too close either.

"I guess they're using the smell to scare away the enemy," George muttered, stepping back a bit. "I didn't expect the smell to be so overpowering."

There was nothing that could be done about it; Albert had done it several times, concentrating all the essence of the garlic they grew and the garlic brought by the others onto it.

"Do you think we should give this to Filch?" Fred suggested, still harboring thoughts of revenge against Filch.

"Filch will definitely throw it away." Albert immediately rejected Fred's suggestion. Giving this to Filch would only result in him throwing it away, which would be a complete waste of everyone's hard work.

"If you want to get revenge on Filch," Albert said in a low voice, pointing to another small bottle, "The remaining beeswax also has a strong garlic smell. You can smear it on the corners of Filch's office, and I'm sure it will give Filch an unexpected surprise."

"That's a great idea!" The Twins ' eyes lit up, and they quickly picked up the bottle and opened it, only to be choked by the smell of beeswax.

"We'll get it done after the End-of-Year Feast," Albert reminded him.

"We know what to do." The Twins looked at each other and smiled maliciously.

"Alright, pack your things, let's go find Hagrid."

"What do you want with Hagrid?" Fred and George asked warily.

"Of course, we're going to test whether the amulets we made can effectively repel Dark Creatures," Albert said matter-of-factly. "Hagrid certainly knows where to find Dark Creatures that aren't too dangerous."

"Oh, that makes sense." All three of them understood.

After all, once the amulet is completed, it's natural to find a test subject to see if it's effective.

Albert took out a rope woven from a unicorn's tail, threaded it through the holes in the cross, and made it into a necklace. "Who wants to try it on?"

"Let's forget about it!" George shook his head repeatedly.

"Are you trying to suffocate us?" Fred couldn't help but roll his eyes at Albert.

Lee Jordan simply pretended he hadn't heard.

Seeing the three of them shake their heads in refusal, Albert, somewhat disappointed, stuffed the Garlic Cross back into the wide-mouthed glass jar and plugged the opening to block out the strong garlic smell.

After packing up their tools, the four headed towards Hagrid's Hut.

"What are you guys up to?"

Hagrid in front of the hut, smelled the strong garlic odor emanating from the four men from afar. He wrinkled his nose and looked at them with disgust.

"Garlic Cross." Albert shook the wide-mouthed glass bottle in his hand and asked with a smile, "We just finished this amulet, and we came here to see if there are any Dark Creatures that we can use to test its effects."

"Garlic Cross, what's that?" Hagrid took the wide-mouthed glass jar, opened it, and sneezed several times from the garlic smell emanating from it.

"A talisman that smells of garlic can protect the user from attacks by Dark Creatures."

"I don't know if it can protect the user from attacks by Dark Creatures, but as long as you wear this thing, I don't think any vampire would be willing to come within ten steps of you," Hagrid couldn't help but complain. He remembered the alcohol and beeswax he had sent to Albert earlier and roughly guessed what was going on.

"Do vampires really hate the smell of garlic?" Albert asked curiously.

"Yes, garlic is as disgusting to vampires as a cesspool," Hagrid explained dryly. "However, I think even non-vampires would stay as far away from this stuff as possible; its smell is just... awful."

"Then... what about the Dark Creatures?" Fred couldn't help but ask.

"You two aren't planning on taking this thing into the woods, are you?" Hagrid stared warily at the Weasley Twins. It was understandable that he would have such a thought, since these two guys often sneaked into the woods.

"No, we don't want to go into the woods for now. It's too dangerous there. What happened last time scared us half to death," Fred said, clutching his chest. He also secretly kicked George next to him, who immediately understood and quickly agreed that he wouldn't go into the woods again.

Hagrid stared at Fred and George suspiciously, clearly not quite believing their assurances.

"I don't have any Dark Creatures here, but I know where they are. Follow me!" With that, Hagrid led the four of them along the edge of the woods toward Kettleburn's cabin.

Kettleburn Sylvanus Kettleber, Care of Magical Creatures, is currently residing on the outskirts of the Forbidden Forest, where his carefully nurtured little creatures also live.

It is said that the school's Care of Magical Creatures also takes place on a clearing near Kettleburn's cabin.

When Hagrid brought Albert and the others over, Kettleburn was feeding the Snakes Bird with Flobberworm.

"Hagrid, is something the matter?" Kettleburn looked up and asked.

"Oh, it's like this, a few students made an amulet and hope... hope to borrow your Grindylow to test its effects," Hagrid said, glancing at Albert and the others behind him.

"Amulet? Could it be referring to garlic?"

Kettleburn glanced at the new students behind Hagrid; he could smell a strong odor of garlic from afar.

"This is the amulet, Kettleburn." Albert handed the bottle containing the Garlic Cross to Kettleburn.

It must be admitted that this is a fine work of art.

At least, it doesn't look too ugly.

"Oh my goodness!" Kettleburn finally realized what was causing the garlic smell on them. "Don't open it here, my little darling doesn't like this smell."

"Do you think it can protect me from attacks by Dark Creatures?" Albert asked hastily.

"The effect is probably only so-so," Kettleburn explained. "Some organisms do dislike the smell of garlic and will instinctively stay away from it, but this is not absolute."

"Even if it's made from a branch of the Guardian Tree, it won't work?"

"Yes, I think this stuff might work on vampires, but... don't get your hopes up too high for anything else." Even so, Kettleburn still lent them a Grindylow. As soon as Albert took the crucifix out of the bottle, the unfortunate Grindylow started moving away from Albert's Garlic Cross, apparently quite bothered by the smell.

"Congratulations, this amulet almost made Grindylow faint from the smell," Hagrid said, pinching his nose in annoyance.

"Thank you, I didn't expect this either." Albert couldn't help but exclaim, he now finally understood what the so-called amulet was all about.

"What are you planning to do with this thing?" Fred couldn't help but ask.

"I plan to create a Treasure Map and slip Treasure Map into a book in the library, so that the students who find the Treasure Map can dig for the treasure." Albert had already figured out how to deal with this thing.

"Now, this amulet is called ' Vampire Repellent,'" Albert announced to the public. "It is the legendary amulet that can protect you from vampires."

Upon hearing this, the faces of the group twitched involuntarily.

Albert had the audacity to say such a thing, even though such amulets might indeed be able to ward off vampires.

"I'm suddenly looking forward to seeing what kind of expression the guy who found the Treasure Map will have after he deciphers Treasure Map, digs up the treasure, and discovers that the legendary necklace that can protect him from vampires is actually this kind of thing." George suddenly found it very interesting.

"I find you have quite the twisted sense of humor," Fred muttered. "But I like it. I just wonder if that guy will faint from anger after he finally finds the treasure."

"I'll help too," Lee Jordan said excitedly. "Just say it's a treasure hidden by generations of Hogwarts students. I think a lot of people will be interested in it."

Hagrid listened in stunned silence. He never imagined that Albert would actually set a trap for the students at the school and give them a good thrashing.

Imagine one day you're borrowing a book and you find a Treasure Map hidden in a secret compartment. Even if you don't believe it completely, you'd still try to explore whether you can find the treasure.