A Potions Class Full of Smells

Large, dark clouds swirled above the Great Hall ceiling, and a light drizzle fell from the sky. Below, at the Gryffindor table, Albert, Fred, George, and Lee Jordan huddled together, whispering amongst themselves, the latest issue of Incredibles magazine in front of them.

Professor Smith's Boggart research was published in this issue of The Incredibles magazine, and Albert also made an appearance at the end of the article.

However, that's how it ended.

No one will pay special attention to this matter; it's like a grain of sand thrown into a lake, not even causing a ripple.

While the result was somewhat unexpected, it was actually within expectations. The Britain Wizarding World only has so many people; what else can they expect?

"What's the significance of such a discovery?" George stared at the picture in the magazine, looking at Albert with a puzzled expression. "Will it solve a thousand-year-old mystery?"

"I guess... I guess so!"

Albert didn't know what to say.

"What are you talking about, an unsolved mystery that's been around for thousands of years?" Shanna asked casually as she sat down opposite the group.

"This..." Fred handed the magazine "Incredible" to Shanna, who looked up after reading it and stared at Albert in surprise.

"You're in a magazine again?"

Albert's lips twitched, and he changed the subject, asking, "Do you have classes this afternoon?"

"There are two Potions Class this afternoon," Shanna asked, puzzled. "By the way, why don't you seem happy at all? If it were me, I would definitely try to collect all the books and magazines that mention me."

"I don't have that habit," Albert said.

"By the way, I asked the Hufflepuff students at noon, and they said that Potions teaches Weedkiller Potion, and there will be some unexpected surprises."

"Weedkiller Potion? That's unbelievable."

"What's wrong?" The group looked at Albert in confusion, not understanding why he was so surprised.

"The smell of Weedkiller Potion is nauseating," Albert said, frowning. "Can you imagine what it would be like to mix such awful-smelling Weedkiller Potion in a basement classroom?"

"I don't think so, do you?" Upon hearing this, everyone started to fill in the blanks with their own imaginations.

"Probably not." Albert thought this was probably Snape's perverse sense of humor; he couldn't possibly be unaware of the problem with the smell of the Weedkiller Potion.

George and the others began discussing whether they could escape the ordeal by asking for leave, while Shanna flipped through "Magical Drafts and Potions" and began previewing the textbook.

"You're not worried at all?" Fred admired Shanna's composure.

"What's the use of worrying?" Shanna turned her head and asked.

The three were speechless.

Yes, since we can't avoid it, what's the use of worrying? After chatting with Albert for a while and marking a few key points, Shanna suddenly said, "Could I borrow your paper for a moment?"

"That's no problem." Albert pulled a parchment from his bag and handed it to Shanna, who began to read it intently, comparing it to her own copy to find any shortcomings.

Since discovering that completing homework diligently can significantly increase experience, Albert's attitude towards homework has become much less casual than before.

At least, for the sake of skills and experience, they will complete the assignments diligently, thereby accelerating their skill upgrades.

"What homework?" Fred asked, turning his head.

"A research paper on the Flobberworm Mucus," Albert said.

"Merlin's beard! I had completely forgotten about that." Fred's expression froze for a moment, then he stood up in horror. It wasn't hard for him to imagine himself being locked up by Snape for failing to produce a decent paper.

George winked at Fred and said calmly, "I'm already done."

"When did you finish?" Fred asked, his eyes wide.

"Last night, I even had you work with me through the night to finish this," George reminded him. "Back then, you said you'd still have time by noon tomorrow."

"Let's quickly copy one now!" Albert told Shanna to give her paper to Fred so he could copy some parts from his own paper and then piece some together from Shanna's. A cobbled-together paper was soon ready.

Fred picked up his Quill and began to work diligently on the parchment.

Before Potions Class, Angelina brought bad news.

"Quidditch practice this evening?" George repeated. "But isn't today Hufflepuff Team's practice time?"

The teams from Hogwarts ' Four Houses would take turns booking the Quidditch Pitch, and Gryffindor's training sessions were always on Wednesdays and Saturdays.

"Charlie said the Hufflepuff team had some last-minute issues, so he switched positions with us," Angelina said, looking at Fred with a puzzled expression. "What is he doing?"

"Do your homework."

"Will we make it in time?" Angelina shook her head. "I remember I have Potions Class soon."

"It's definitely too late!" Lee Jordan said with a gloating expression.

"Shut up, I'm sure I'll make it in time," Fred complained while copying the homework. "Can you guys be quiet? I can't concentrate."

"Quidditch training is really tough, having to train outdoors in this terrible weather." Shanna looked up at the dark clouds and rain overhead, then turned to Albert and suddenly asked, "You don't mean you don't want to join the Quidditch team because of this, do you?"

Albert noticed many eyes staring at him and shrugged helplessly, saying, "I'm busy, I don't have time to train."

"It's really strange to hear you say that," Lee Jordan couldn't help but complain.

"Every day I have to read books, do homework, practice magic, join clubs, write letters to others, and occasionally go to other professors' offices for tea and a chat." Albert raised his palm and listed the items one by one. "If I were to participate in Quidditch training, even if I were split into two, it wouldn't be enough. Besides, a person's energy is ultimately limited."

"You seem to be living a more comfortable life than any of us." Shanna looked Albert up and down suspiciously. "I've never seen you busy."

"I'm very busy every day."

This statement was completely ignored by everyone.

"By the way, did you succeed with that Lumos Charm you practiced last time?" Shanna asked again.

"I've barely mastered it." Albert thought about the spell he had been practicing recently; he had reached level one, but only level one.

"Alright!" Fred suddenly interrupted their conversation, excitedly waving the parchment in his hand.

"Can this really fool me?" Shanna took the parchment and glanced at it, clearly not believing that this method could fool Snape.

"Definitely not, but Snape won't say anything. There are plenty of papers worse than Fred's." Albert took the parchment from Shanna, glanced at the paper on it, and casually picked up Quill to make a few corrections for him.

Before the school bell rang, the group hurried to Snape's underground classroom, which was even colder and more gloomy than the castle above, with a faint chill in the air.

Of course, that eerie chill could also have come from Snape's gaze from the podium, especially after he had just glanced at the collected homework and then his eyes fell directly on Albert.

"Today, we're going to concoct a very common Potions: Weedkiller Potion." Snape turned his gaze back and introduced the Weedkiller Potion to everyone. "This potion is used to kill or remove plants, and it's not for drinking. Of course, I've never seen any fool drink Weedkiller Potion. As for why, you'll soon find out."

At that moment, Albert sensed a malicious smile creeping across Snape's lips.

"... Note: If you're careless when adding the ingredients, it will cause problems during the brewing process... So you need to pay attention to your steps, ingredients, and brewing time..." Snape explained while using his wand to write down the points to note when preparing the potion on the blackboard. He then turned to the group and said, "You have one hour. Begin!"

The Weedkiller Potion doesn't have a disgusting smell at first, but if the ingredients are added to the crucible in a strict order and in the correct amounts, the smell will start to emanate from the crucible during cooking, causing many people to cover their mouths and noses.

As Albert said, the Weedkiller Potion Snape made them concoct was not for any good, and the Potions Classroom was soon filled with a nauseating smell.

"This is like killing a thousand enemies while losing eight hundred of your own," Albert muttered under his breath as he took out a handkerchief, wet it, and covered his mouth and nose.

I really don't understand how Snape could stand the smell of the Weedkiller Potion.

"Ugh, why didn't I learn the Bubblehead Charm?" Fred retched over his cauldron. "Ugh! Disgusting, I feel like throwing up."

Lee Jordan muttered, "I doubt anyone's going to want to use this thing."

"Has no one tried to get rid of this smell?" George also covered his mouth and nose with a handkerchief, just like Albert, while stirring the Potions in the cauldron clockwise with a spoon.

"Eliminate the smell?"

Albert, recalling the gains from upgrading the Potions, said, "Adding some ground daisy root and nettle might eliminate the smell."

"Are you sure?" Fred dared not change the recipe casually; who knew what would happen if he did?

"You'll know once you try it." Albert took out the herbs from his medicine box and began grinding the two materials in a certain ratio.

In fact, Albert wasn't sure what would happen if he did it, but his intuition told him that it should work.

As for the exact amount and ratio to mix in, you'll have to experiment to find out.

At this moment, the students in the Potions Classroom were all holding their breath, their faces flushed, wishing they could rush out of the Potions Classroom immediately and find a place to breathe in fresh air, lest they suffocate here.

Before they could even put it into practice, they saw Snape wave his wand and sweep away the terrible smell from the classroom.

Although the classroom still smelled strongly, at least it didn't suffocate them.

Shortly after, Snape appeared silently beside Albert, staring at the potion in the cauldron, and asked, "Anderson, tell me, what's in your cauldron?"

"Weedkiller Potion, sir," Albert replied.

"Then why does your Weedkiller Potion smell so faint?" Snape had noticed that Albert's Weedkiller Potion smelled very faint, as if it had been diluted with water.

"Well, before I added two drops of Flobberworm Mucus to the crucible, I added something else," Albert explained, "... to make the Weedkiller Potion smell less unpleasant."

"You want to say that you improved the Weedkiller Potion?" Snape's tone was soft, but loud enough for the students in the classroom to hear clearly.

"I think so," Albert said.

At that moment, everyone looked at Albert and began to whisper among themselves. Some people sneered, ready to see Albert make a fool of himself.

"Well, since Anderson thinks he has successfully improved the Weedkiller Potion, then..." Snape waved his wand and produced a flowerpot from somewhere, which was covered with weeds.

Snape scooped up a spoonful of Weedkiller Potion, diluted it with water, and sprinkled Weedkiller Potion directly onto the weeds.

A few seconds later, the weeds in the flowerpot turned yellow and withered almost at a speed visible to the naked eye, just like they had been exposed to the hot sun for too long and died quickly.

There is no doubt that Albert successfully improved the Weedkiller Potion.

The Slytherin students who had initially wanted to see him make a fool of himself were now filled with disbelief. Some even pinched their friends hard to make sure they were dreaming.

"Very good." Snape glared at Albert.

No one knows who started clapping, Gryffindor students all began to clap, and the classroom was filled with applause.

"Quiet!" Snape shouted.

The applause gradually subsided.

"Gryffindor, deduct ten points," Snape said coldly. "Mr. Anderson, you seem to have forgotten that I warned you last semester not to do your damn experiments in my Potions Class."

At that moment, the Gryffindor students were stunned, but their expressions were quickly replaced by anger.

If it were any other professor, adding 20 points wouldn't be unreasonable, but Snape not only didn't add any points, he even found an excuse to deduct 10 points from Gryffindor.

"I think a big reason why people don't like using Weedkiller Potion is the smell," Albert said, unconcerned about losing points. "An improved Weedkiller Potion would definitely be more popular. Maybe some people would even be willing to pay for the formula."

"Nobody will pay for your formula," Snape sneered. "Normally, nobody uses Weedkiller Potion."

"Then why do we need to learn how to concoct this kind of Potions?" Shanna raised her hand and asked.

"Quiet." Snape was annoyed by the girl's unauthorized question, but he still answered her question. "Sometimes, we use Weedkiller Potion to deal with some dangerous plants, or to clear a space. Nobody would spray it in a flower bed, because that would kill Weedkiller Potion flowers there."

After Snape announced the end of class, everyone packed up their things as quickly as possible and hurried away from the Potions Classroom. No one wanted to linger in the smelly classroom.

"Are you really going to sell the Weedkiller Potion formula?" Fred felt like he was dreaming.

"Sell, why wouldn't we sell?"

"You didn't see the Old Bat's expression just now," George winked at Albert and said excitedly. "He was completely stunned."