A Season for Causing Trouble

"What exactly... happened?"

Snape opened his drowsy eyes, waking from his deep sleep. The familiar room came into view. He closed his eyes again, trying to recall some fragmented memories.

"Last night...I think...I had a nightmare?" Snape frowned, trying to recall what had happened last night. He remembered vaguely hearing a strange crying sound, and then...and then he couldn't remember anything else.

That doesn't really count as a memory. Snape only vaguely remembers hearing crying before he lost consciousness. What on earth happened?

While Snape was still pondering the reason, he suddenly caught sight of the mechanical clock in the corner of the wall and abruptly sat up in bed.

I actually slept until 9:30 in the morning?

For a Potions Master demands the utmost of himself, this is an unforgivable sin.

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

Without a doubt, the Potions Professor was late.

The news of Snape standing up his students quickly spread throughout Hogwarts.

This is quite a big news story. It's hard for anyone to imagine that someone like Snape would ever be late for class. It's a rare occurrence, something that happens only once every ten years.

The news spread throughout Hogwarts in less than half an hour, causing even more sensation than the earlier news of the foolish Slytherin student being caught for a night out.

There's nothing we can do; it's just that no one could have imagined such a thing would happen.

Of course, no one dared to discuss this matter openly.

Nobody wanted to be caught by Snape and become the chicken to scare the monkey. Besides, everyone noticed Snape's gloomy expression, as if someone owed him ten thousand Galleon, so naturally no one would dare to do anything reckless.

"What a lively day!" Albert covered his yawn, ate a slice of bread with jam, and listened to the group of gossipy girls next to him talking about interesting things.

Last night, the haunting of the castle's basement was the talk of the town. Some said the eerie crying was actually coming from Moaning Myrtle in the second-floor bathroom, others said it might be Peeves's prank, and of course, there were others... Anyway, opinions were divided, but Albert was quite happy to see this; a bunch of Smoke bombs weren't a bad thing.

As for the Slytherin students caught red-handed by Filch, most people were just watching the show. Everyone disliked Slytherin anyway, and with Slytherin losing a lot of points, the students from the other three houses were naturally very happy, as if they had drunk a big bottle of Butterbeer.

Fred and the others, who knew the truth, struggled to suppress their laughter. They all knew that the unfortunate Slytherin student had undoubtedly become Albert's scapegoat.

However, they were happy to see this scene; nothing is more delightful than seeing an annoying guy suffer misfortune.

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

At that moment, Fred and the others were gathered in the Room of Requirement, examining the Mandrakes that Albert had obtained from Greenhouse 3.

George, standing next to him, couldn't help but burst into laughter, clutching his stomach.

"Not so fast," Albert explained casually. "However, Snape should get suspicious in a while. Unless they find a Mandrakes is missing from the greenhouse, but I don't think Professor Sprout will find out so quickly. After all, she has too many magical plants to take care of, and she has to teach her students every day. She doesn't have time to keep track of how many there are."

"That makes sense." George wiped away the tears from the corner of his eyes and nodded. "If Professor Sprout only planted those Mandrakes, she would definitely find a problem, but she has too many things to worry about. I mean, Professor Sprout can't possibly remember everything clearly."

"Are you planning to return this Mandrakes?" Lee Jordan suddenly asked. With Albert's abilities, he naturally had a way to return the Mandrakes quietly.

Once the Mandrakes is returned, the matter will be virtually flawless. Even if Snape suspects the crying came from the Mandrakes, he has no evidence.

"No, I still have a use for this." Albert was already planning to turn the Mandrakes into Dark Magic Item. As for the salt problem, he was confident he could solve it himself.

It's not like ancient times when salt wasn't expensive.

"What if Snape figures it out?" George couldn't help but ask. He believed Snape wasn't stupid; as long as he connected the rumors about the castle and confirmed them with Professor Sprout, he would soon link the dots. Perhaps it wouldn't happen in the first couple of days, but it would definitely be discovered eventually.

"He couldn't possibly use Legilimency on all students, and ordinary students simply don't have the ability to quietly bring a pot of Mandrakes from the greenhouse and knock Snape unconscious. Snape has a protective spell on his office; do you think a second-year student could break through those spells and enter his office?"

"Besides, it rained yesterday, didn't it? There weren't any footprints left on the ground." Albert winked at the three of them and laughed. "Moreover, the Fat Lady wasn't here last night. Even if Snape suspected it was Gryffindor student, he couldn't possibly get any evidence from the Fat Lady that Gryffindor student had left the dormitory in the middle of the night to go out for a stroll."

"Unless Snape uses Veritaserum on every student, but the Ministry of Magic restricts the use of Veritaserum, and the ingredients required for Veritaserum are very precious, so even if he wanted to make more, it would be difficult."

"My God, you've taken all of this into account?" Fred couldn't help but scream.

"Of course." Albert thought for a moment and continued, "Now, the three of you are the only weakness. You must pretend you know nothing and not discuss anything. In short, don't attract Snape's attention. That's very important."

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

"If they can't find the murderer, Snape will be furious." The four of them couldn't help but burst into laughter.

"By the way, when are we going out to look for the Flobberworm?"

"This week, if it rains, go out and look for the Flobberworm." Albert thought for a moment and said, "After Potions Class this afternoon, go to the library to find information about the Flobberworm."

The book "One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi" does contain an introduction to the Flobberworm, but it is not complete. They need to find a book called "The Complete Book of Venomous Fungi" in the library to obtain relatively safe methods for picking and storing it.

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

There was no other way; they had Potions Class later.

"We know," the three said seriously, then they all burst into laughter.

"Alright, alright, I think you'd better laugh your fill here before you leave." Albert helplessly raised his hand to cover his cheek, a faint smile appearing on his lips.

The Ministry of Magic prohibits the misuse of Veritaserum, and it is rarely used even when interrogating criminals.

If the incantation isn't directly applied to a person Legilimency, the information that can be obtained is very limited, especially when the two parties are out of sight. A skilled Legilimens can determine whether the other person is lying by observing their conversational patterns.