Astonished

At this moment, Filch carried an oil lamp and walked down the corridor leading to the castle's underground. Not long ago, a strange crying sound came from below the castle. He didn't know what the crying sound was, but Filch's intuition from years of being a caretaker told Filch that something must have happened.

"Who's there? Stop! I see you!" Filch suddenly shouted, quickening his pace to catch up with the person ahead.

After a chase, Filch finally cornered the student at the corner. He panted as he raised the oil lamp, his gaze falling on the uneasy face of a student. A malicious smile crept across his lips. The student in front of him was a Slytherin student.

As the saying goes, curiosity killed the cat, and that's absolutely true.

This Slytherin student was unlucky. He had just heard the Mandrakes crying and sneaked out of the Common Room to find out where the sound was coming from. But he was caught by Filch as soon as he stepped out of the Slytherin Common Room.

"Tell me, was that strange crying sound you made just now?" Filch's mood instantly brightened, and he asked sternly.

"No, I just heard that sound..." the student explained with a mournful face.

"Don't even think about escaping, come with me." Filch led the student to knock on Snape's office, but Snape had already been knocked unconscious by Albert's Mandrakes and was naturally unable to get up and open the door.

After knocking on the door to no avail, Filch had no choice but to take the student to Professor McGonagall, the vice dean.

Professor McGonagall, wearing a cloak, opened the door and looked at Filch, then shifted her gaze to the uneasy Slytherin student, asking, "Argus, what's going on?"

"I suspect he was the one who made that noise," Filch said softly, recounting what had just happened.

"This has nothing to do with me," the Slytherin student quickly replied.

"What's going on?" Professor McGonagall frowned slightly, her gaze gradually becoming stern.

The Slytherin student swallowed hard and began to recount what he knew.

The Mandrakes's cries didn't travel very far; only a few Slytherin students who hadn't fallen asleep yet and Filch heard them. The one Filch caught was the one who had come out to find out what was going on with the crying.

Then, he got into trouble.

Just as Professor McGonagall was harshly deducting points from Slytherin's grades, Albert was telling his roommates about what had just happened in Snape's office.

"You actually..." The three of them stared in disbelief at their roommate who had just been freed from the Disillusionment Charm, after hearing that Albert had actually used Mandrakes to knock Snape unconscious.

Then, with a look of resentment, he grumbled, "Damn it, you didn't even take us along for something so interesting."

"Isn't this convenient for our operations?" Albert covered his yawn and said with a smile, "I've already got my hands on the Graphorn egg. As for the Dragon claw powder, I'll write to the pharmacy in Diagon Alley tomorrow to buy it. Snape will never guess that we're going to concoct Baruffio's Brain Elixir."

"What a pity!" Fred said with a regretful expression, while also admiring Albert's courage for actually daring to knock Snape unconscious.

"What do you think will happen to Snape when he wakes up tomorrow?" George asked, lying back on the bed in a strange tone.

"Of course I thought I had a nightmare," Albert said without hesitation. "Alright, get some rest, don't be late tomorrow morning."

Despite saying that, Fred and the others were so excited they couldn't sleep. No one could sleep after hearing such news.

Albert didn't care whether Fred and the others were asleep or not; he closed his eyes and began to collect the reward for his first encounter with Mandrakes.

The so-called 《Mandrakes Basic Knowledge》 is indeed not much different from Albert's guess; it is knowledge about Mandrakes, only the scope of this knowledge is very broad. If a paper on Mandrakes were to be written, it would probably be a book as thick as a brick.

Albert slowly flipped through the pages of his so-called attempts and was genuinely shocked.

Mandrakes is one of the ingredients in the Elixir of Life.

Mandrakes roots can be brewed into wine through a special process. This wine is said to be beneficial for fertility and has a certain aphrodisiac effect.

In fact, Mandrakes roots is also one of the ingredients in Love Potion.

What's most astonishing is that Albert actually found the recipes in his memory, whether it was the Elixir of Life or Mandrakes roots wine.

However, what's most astonishing is that Mandrakes roots can also be transformed into anti-aging potions through complex Potions processes.

If mature Mandrakes roots are dried and carved, they can be made into various very precious amulets that can ward off disease, protect against Dark Magic, and ensure women's fertility.

If dried Mandrakes roots are carved into human figures, they can also be used for Divination.

Incidentally, Mandrakes roots is also an ingredient in a flight ointment.

The so-called 《Mandrakes Basic Knowledge》 completely astonished Albert. This part of the knowledge was a comprehensive analysis of all the various uses of Mandrakes, whether it was the grass or the root, it had at least a hundred uses as a raw material for various alchemy and potions.

Of course, in addition to these, they can also be made into items of Dark Magic.

If you Mandrakes in salt for three months, it will become a dangerous Dark Magic item.

Well, in Albert's own understanding, the Mandrakes died with its eyes wide open. After being pickled in salt for three months, hatred would remain on the pickled Mandrakes. When it was taken out of the salt, the Mandrakes would become incredibly deadly. Its cries would curse all the creatures around it, causing them to faint or even die. The salt that had buried the Mandrakes would then become the best way to break the curse.

"This...this is absolutely fantastic!" Albert murmured excitedly. He realized that he probably wouldn't be able to return the Mandrakes, and that he would likely have to cultivate Mandrakes in large quantities in the future. Of course, Albert wasn't worried about the cultivation method, because the 《Mandrakes Basic Knowledge》 also contained the best cultivation method, which was better than Pomona Sprout's method.

"What's so amazing?" a voice suddenly asked from the side.

"Felix Felicis," Albert said with delight. "Its effects are amazing. I'm sure I can learn how to make Felix Felicis."

"You don't mean you plan to drink it every day, do you?"

"When things are going wrong, drink some Felix Felicis," Albert said with a smile. "While too much can make one arrogant, there's no denying that a small amount can make everything perfect."