ALFG's Trick

It took Harry a while to calm Ron down; he knew how Ron was feeling.

Harry was also very poor before, with hardly any pennies in his pocket, and his Uncle Vernon was never willing to spend an extra shilling on him.

Later, Harry inherited a large sum of money from his parents, but he didn't have much of a concept of money and didn't need to spend it much. Most of the Galleon he took from Gringotts last time were still in his pocket, except for the things he needed.

"I really don't know where they got so Galleon," Ron muttered under his breath. He certainly wasn't stupid enough to think that Albert had paid for it himself.

"I think I know why," Harry said after a moment's thought. "Remember that flyer on the bulletin board?"

"What ad?" Ron asked.

"It's that ' Communication Card, Keeping People Closer' ad," Harry said. "I remember seeing Fred and George putting up the ad there last time, and Percy even warned them about it. The contacts were Fred, George, and Lee Jordan."

"You mean they made that much Galleon selling those so-called Communication Card!" Ron's eyes widened, his face filled with shock, he simply couldn't believe what Fred and George had actually sold.

"Probably that Mr. Anderson asked them to help sell things, and then gave them money," Harry explained to Ron, as he knew something about it.

After all, Harry had always lived in the Muggle World, and Albert's actions were all too common in the Muggle world.

"But why doesn't he sell it himself?" Ron simply couldn't understand it. If it were him, he would definitely sell it all by himself...

"I'm not too sure either, maybe..." Harry didn't know much about Albert, but he'd heard that Albert was a very talented genius and also quite wealthy, "...maybe he...didn't want to waste his time!"

Harry didn't think there was anything wrong with Albert's actions. He probably would have done the same, provided he could have thought of that.

"Why am I not the one making the money?"

Ron immediately had this thought, and although he knew why, he was still annoyed.

Harry pulled a piece of parchment from his pocket. It was a Treasure Map with a line written in ornate calligraphy, "Younger generations, congratulations on finding our treasure. Go and find it; we've left all our treasure there. —ALFG." "ALFG?" Harry murmured, turning to Ron beside him. "This guy must have a really bad sense of humor."

Ron examined the Treasure Map carefully, frowned slightly, and asked, "Where did you get this thing?"

"I found it in a book I borrowed from the school library when I was doing my homework last time!" Harry didn't intend to hide it.

At that time, he found several pages of parchment pasted together, and upon closer inspection, he discovered that the Treasure Map was hidden inside.

"Maybe they're playing a trick on us." Ron frowned as he looked at the old parchment. "This summer, Fred and George were bragging to us that they found Gryffindor's Secret Treasure through a piece of parchment."

Speaking of this, Ron couldn't help but look at it with disdain. Anyone with a brain would know that it was impossible, not to mention that Fred and George had boasted to him that they had defeated Troll and giant spiders, and that they had gone through many trials to find the treasure hidden by Gryffindor.

It's obviously fake just by listening to it.

However, considering the old Treasure Map in Harry's hand, it all seems a bit strange.

Could it really be true? Ron put his not-so-thoughtful brain to work and finally came to the conclusion: nonsense.

Let's go together!

Harry thought for a moment and then extended an invitation. He didn't want Ron to continue being upset about what had just happened, and he always felt that treasure hunting was a very interesting thing.

"Um."

Ron agreed, and since Harry wanted to go treasure hunting, he would go with him.

"But what does this mean?" Harry pointed to the markings on the other side of the Treasure Map, which looked like a map.

"I don't know." Ron looked at the map, feeling frustrated. "It might be a map of somewhere in the castle."

"What do ghosts have to do with toilets?" Harry looked at the few simple drawings next to the map, puzzled.

"And... this thing looks like a pumpkin?" Ron guessed. "Ghosts and pumpkins, could it be referring to Halloween?"

"I don't think so. And what does 'toilet' mean? The toilet in the washroom?" Harry was even more confused; he was completely bad at solving puzzles. "Also, is this a map of the castle?"

"It should be... a map of the second floor of the castle!" Ron said after careful observation.

"If this is a map of the second floor?" Harry said, "But are there any restrooms upstairs?"

"It seems... there isn't. Hmm, wait, there seems to be a malfunctioning restroom?" Ron's eyes lit up, feeling like he had guessed something.

"But what do the ghost and the pumpkin mean?"

"Hagrid's Pumpkin Field?"

Harry often went to Hagrid's place. He remembered that there was a large Pumpkin Field next to Hagrid's Hut, and those pumpkins were specially prepared for Halloween.

"So, what does 'ghost' refer to?"

Harry felt his brain wasn't working properly; he was really bad at riddles. However, he decided to try his luck on the second floor first—maybe he'd encounter a ghost or something.

However, after wandering around the second floor of the castle, the two did not encounter any ghosts.

In the end, they decided to go to the malfunctioning washroom to see if they could find any clues.

"You can't go in."

Ron stopped Harry as he reached for the brass handle to push the door open.

"What's going on?" Harry asked, puzzled.

"This is a Girls' Washroom," Ron said, pointing to the sign and frowning. He also heard footsteps approaching.

What are you planning to do?

Hermione stopped Ron and Harry, who were about to barge into the malfunctioning Girls' Washroom, and gave them a very strange look.

"We're treasure hunting." Harry was a little embarrassed and quickly stepped back to explain to Hermione why he had gone into the Girls' Washroom; he didn't want to be misunderstood.

"Don't think you can do this just because you have an excuse. If you dare to do it, I'll tell Professor McGonagall." Hermione looked at the two of them with disdain and said, "Last semester, a student in our house did this and almost got expelled."

Harry and Ron opened their mouths, unsure of what to say.

"I hope the next time I see you guys packing your bags and getting ready to leave?"

After saying that, Hermione turned and left.

"Really?" Harry asked, dumbfounded.

"How would I know? What do we do now?" Ron looked at Harry anxiously. If he were expelled because of this, his mother would definitely kill him.

"I'll go in myself!" Harry said through gritted teeth. "You stay here and warn me if anyone comes."

"Fine, I'll go in with you!" Ron didn't want to stay outside; what if people misunderstood? The two had just pushed open the door to the Girls' Washroom when they encountered Moaning Myrtle.

"I think the ghost refers to her," Ron said to Harry, pointing to the Ghost Girl in front of them.

"I know I'm dead, you don't need to tell me again." The Moaning Myrtle glared at the two students who had intruded on her territory.

"Do you know where the treasure is?" Harry asked bluntly, not wanting to stay here a moment longer if he could.

"Oh, I know, I know. Someone once told me that if someone comes here looking for something, just tell him 'fifteen.'" The Moaning Myrtle suddenly giggled.

"What do you mean?" Ron asked, confused.

"I don't know," Myrtle said cheerfully.

"Who told you to say that?" Harry asked curiously, knowing that the ghost must have been the creator of the Treasure Map.

"A handsome young man," Myrtle chuckled. "He won't let me tell anyone his name."

After saying that, the ghost floated away.

What do you think the number fifteen means?

"We'd better get out of here," Ron said uneasily. "We don't want anyone to see us going into the Girls' Washroom."

Harry agreed with Ron's point. Just as they stepped out of the Girls' Washroom, they heard footsteps approaching again.

The two felt a pang of anxiety, and when they looked up, they found that it was someone they knew.

"Harry, Ron, what are you doing here?" George looked up at the room they had just come from and raised an eyebrow.

"What are you doing in the Girls' Washroom?" Fred asked in surprise.

"No, no, we!"

"Alright, I got it. You guys should leave now, so no one else sees you," Albert interrupted. "I remember last year Marcus McLagen be stupid and tried to break into the Girls' Washroom, but the girls caught him red-handed. His reputation was ruined, and no girl wanted to date him anymore." Lee Jordan gave him a look that said, "You should learn your lesson."

"This... we are not..."

The two of them blushed deeply, unsure of what to say.