Seasoning with Additives

This is really tough! Fred, George, and Lee Jordan have been feeling unlucky lately, encountering all sorts of misfortunes since the Christmas Holiday ended.

The holiday homework was never-ending, and because he failed it, he was put in solitary confinement by Professor McGonagall and Professor Snape, making them miss dinner.

Fred and George were in an even worse situation. Because they were put in solitary confinement, they missed several Quidditch training sessions. Charlie not only threw a tantrum about this, but also wrote a letter home to tell them about it. Mrs. Weasley wrote a letter sternly warning the two that if it happened again, she would take away all their meager allowance.

Of course, Fred and George already had very little pocket money.

"Look what I've found!"

As soon as Fred entered the dormitory, he was drawn to a delicious aroma. His eyes were fixed on the steaming egg and potato pancakes on the table. He couldn't help but swallow hard, handed the meat pie he had just taken a bite of to George beside him, and then appeared at the table with extraordinary speed.

All right!

The three of them moved very quickly and had already surrounded the food on the table.

"Where's Albert?" Lee Jordan asked in a low voice.

"Probably... taking a shower!" Fred said uncertainly.

"Was this a late-night snack he specially prepared for us?" George took a bite of the meat pie, lifted it up to compare with the still steaming egg and potato pancake on the table, and decisively threw the meat pie in his hand aside.

"That must be it."

The three exchanged glances, all understanding the meaning in each other's eyes: hurry up and finish it before Albert returns! Compared to the meat pie, the steaming hot egg and potato pancake was more appetizing, and the aroma made them feel even hungrier.

So the three of them quickly scraped the food clean.

Then...

When Albert returned from his shower, he saw Fred, George, and Lee Jordan with their lips swollen like sausages, and couldn't help but burst out laughing.

"What's wrong with you all!" Albert asked, feigning surprise, though his face was still trembling slightly as he tried to suppress his laughter.

"We just ate the food on the table..." Fred's tone was resentful and his voice was muffled.

"And then, this is what happened!" George pointed to his lips, feeling as if his whole life had turned gray.

"I must be dreaming, yes, I must be dreaming." Lee Jordan looked very sad; he had indeed been having a lot of bad luck lately.

"You're not dreaming. Cough cough, let's go find Madam Pomfrey first, she can definitely heal your lips." Albert coughed lightly, trying not to laugh out loud, and led the three of them to the School Hospital.

Fortunately, it's already night, otherwise it would have attracted a lot of attention.

Madam Pomfrey was clearly unhappy about being disturbed during her break, but considering the three men's swollen lips, she gave them some medicine... Well, in less than thirty seconds, Madam Pomfrey had removed the Sausage Lips from the three men's lips and then asked them to leave the School Hospital.

Of course, she used Anti-Swelling Potion.

"Did you put something weird in that egg and potato pancake?"

As soon as they returned to the dormitory, Fred and his two companions began interrogating Albert.

No matter how you look at it, it seems like this guy is playing a prank on the three of them. After all, Albert prepared the food, so he's naturally the prime suspect.

"Ahem, that was a midnight snack I just got from the kitchen to share with you guys. Who told you to eat it first and finish it all?" Albert couldn't help but roll his eyes at the three of them, looking smug. "Luckily, you guys ate it first, or I would have been in trouble with you."

At that moment, the three of them blushed, but quickly recovered.

Wait a minute! Albert must have anticipated they'd steal the food, and then...

Hmm, thinking about it, it really is something he would do.

Oh no, I've fallen for Albert's trick! But that egg and potato pancake was far too small; I'm still not full! "Tell me honestly, how did you do that?" George's eyes gleamed with excitement.

"This is such a fun thing, and you didn't tell us!" Fred also wanted to know how Albert had managed to get them infected so inexplicably. Did he really put something in their food? No!

They didn't notice anything wrong while eating the egg and potato pancakes! But all three of them were certain that this was definitely Albert's trick.

"Well, okay. I just put some seasoning on it, I didn't expect it to have such an effect." Albert took a small bottle of seasoning out of his pocket and placed it in front of the three of them.

"What is this?" Lee Jordan asked first.

"Seasoning with Additives," Albert said. This stuff was actually an experiment he had come up with during Snape's Potions Class.

Since Love Potion can be added to chocolate, Swelling Solution are naturally no problem either. During Potions Class, there was some leftover modified Swelling Solution, which Albert diluted and mixed into the seasonings to make this thing.

Of course, the amount of Swelling Solution was actually very small, otherwise Fred wouldn't have waited until he finished eating to find his lips swollen like sausages.

"However, this seasoning is quite good." Fred recalled the egg and potato pancakes he had just eaten, and suddenly remembered something very interesting.

"You all say..."

"No way, if you're going to get yourself killed, don't drag me down with you." Albert refused without waiting for Fred to speak.

"I haven't finished speaking yet," Fred couldn't help but complain.

"If all the students in the school acted like this, do you think you could escape it?" Albert glared at Fred, annoyed.

"This stuff has been laced with Swelling Solution, right!" George had figured out what was going on and couldn't help but admire Albert's methods.

"The Swelling Solution is much more effective than this," Lee Jordan cautioned.

"This was made after dilution, so its effect is greatly weakened!" Albert did not deny this.

"By the way, when did you create it?" George became even more curious.

"While you were in solitary confinement," Albert scoffed, "Who gave you permission to spread rumors? Don't think I don't know it was you who did it."

"That's Fred's fault," George, readily shifting the blame to his Twins brother.

"I swear on the Galleon in my pocket, this has nothing to do with me," Fred immediately swore to prove his innocence.

"Don't be silly, you don't have Galleon in your pocket."

"That's what Lee Jordan said."

"Hey, don't drag me into this! I didn't say anything!" Lee Jordan couldn't help but protest.

The three of them started arguing amongst themselves.

Albert glared at them, put away the spice bottle, and prepared to stuff it into his cupboard. He knew exactly what those three bastards were up to.

"No, lend it to me for a second!" Fred screamed in agony. He had originally planned to use that thing to prank a few annoying guys.

"Make it yourself." Albert said with a sneer, "The Swelling Solution isn't difficult to make."

"We're going to hand it over to Peeves!" Fred said without hesitation. "Peeves will be happy to see other people suffer."

"Be careful not to screw yourself over." Albert snorted and tossed the method to Fred, letting them modify it themselves.