A Day of Happiness

"How many times has this happened?"

On their way to Charms Class, Albert and his friends encountered Flint and his companions being carried horizontally into the boys' restroom. Albert blinked and turned to ask his companion.

This is the fourth time.

George gave a thumbs-up to the sixth-year student directing the Hufflepuff students to move Flint, grinned maliciously, and replied, "Ever since Flint and his friends were stopped a few times, they haven't dared to put a single coin in their pockets."

"Actually, they just refuse to pay back the money no matter what." Fred said with a sneer. "Last time, that bastard even had the nerve to go to Snape, which caused Truman to get a beating from Snape, lose twenty points, and be put in solitary confinement."

"I reckon Flint doesn't have much money left." Albert could guess without even thinking. Even if the two hundred Galleon were divided equally, most people's allowances wouldn't be enough to cover the debt. Without asking their families for money, they probably wouldn't be able to pay it back.

Kenneth Toller only managed to fill the hole left by the Baruffio's Brain Elixir by getting money from his family.

"Of course we know Flint has no money, but we've given them a week to raise it, and we haven't asked them to pay back the Galleon immediately. But those guys just have the nerve to say they have no money, and their attitude is quite rude." George has absolutely no sympathy for Flint, not to mention that Gryffindor students have never had a good impression of Slytherin students.

"They're trying to renege on their debt," Lee Jordan said angrily. "How can that be allowed?"

A bunch of people thought they'd struck it rich, only to find their bets and winnings were gone. How could they not be furious? "And then?" Albert asked. "I don't think Truman did nothing."

"Later, Truman and his men knocked Flint unconscious, pulled down his pants, and exchanged him for a Galleon with Kenneth Toller."

When they talked about it, all three of them were laughing so hard they could barely stand up straight.

"Truman really pulled down Flint's pants?" Albert felt he might have corrupted Truman.

"Damn, you didn't even know about this? It was the day after he got points deducted by Snape and was put in detention." Fred wouldn't tell Albert that it was actually their suggestion to Truman, and even the location to ambush Flint was provided by the Twins through the Marauder's Map, in preparation for teaching the arrogant Slytherin Team a lesson.

"You didn't see it back then, Flint wearing his underwear. It's a real shame we couldn't take a picture." George's face was full of regret. "If a Slytherin student hadn't gone back to his dorm and brought him a pair of pants, that guy would probably have been the source of all the laughs at Hogwarts for a whole year."

"Actually, quite a few people wanted to take their underwear off them, but Kenneth Toller refused to take it. You know, ever since they stopped carrying money on their person, we've basically had no chance of getting any money from them anymore."

The three of them talked back and forth, Albert basically figured out what the current situation was.

The main reason for surrounding Flint and his gang was to force them to pay back the money.

After all, if the other party really wants to renege on their debt, there's not much they can do. It's better to take some more aggressive measures; even if they ultimately fail to get the money, they can at least vent their anger. They can't let the debtor have it easy.

Does owing money make you the boss? That doesn't apply if you're stronger than the other person.

Although he hadn't encountered anything like this in his past life, Albert was well aware of it. That's why he sent Fred, George, and Lee Jordan to join forces with others to cause trouble for the other side.

"When do you think they'll finally give up and have to pay back the money?"

All three hoped that Albert could give them some good news. Although it was fun to cause trouble for Flint, they still wanted to get back the Galleon they had risked to win.

"Have no idea."

"Aren't you also owed a large sum of Galleon?" Lee Jordan said. "As far as I know, you are their number one creditor."

"I've already written that debt down in my notebook, and they'll have to pay it back sooner or later," Albert said calmly. He wasn't worried that Flint would be able to endure two years of harassment without paying back the money.

If all else fails, we can take it back when he has money in his pocket.

"When dealing with a wicked person, you just need to be even wickedrash," Albert shrugged. He couldn't be on guard all the time.

I like what you said.

They couldn't help but chuckle.

"What are you guys laughing about here? It's really creepy!"

"Nothing!"

When Albert entered the Charms Classroom, he found a group of people discussing the incident where Flint's pants were pulled down. Even the girls seemed very interested in it, showing no embarrassment whatsoever, and were simply using it for amusement.

"A lot of people already know?" Albert asked as he found an empty seat.

"Many people already knew about this, and I suspect even the professors might have some idea." Lee Jordan looked Albert up and down, and couldn't help but ask, "What have you been doing lately that you didn't know about this?"

"I'm busy with so many things, I don't have time to pay attention to these things," Albert replied casually. He had indeed been very busy lately, with a lot of things to research, time to date Isobel, several club activities, occasional letters to old friends, and homework every day— Twelve Subjects in total. Once he got busy, he simply didn't have the extra time or energy to pay attention to anything else.

Professor Flitwick soon appeared in class, and everyone stopped talking about Flint taking off his pants to pay off his debt.

Yes, rumors always deviate from the truth.

Today's Charms Class continued with the Happiness Charm from the previous lesson. At the beginning of the class, Professor Flitwick used the Happiness Charm on each student individually. He believed that letting everyone experience the effects of the Happiness Charm firsthand would help them master them more quickly.

When Professor Flitwick cast the Happiness Charm on him, Albert felt a great sense of satisfaction fill his body, and he felt very happy, with a smile gradually appearing on his face.

"This is the effect of the Happiness Charm. When casting the spell, you need to think about happy things to eliminate the tension and anxiety in the heart of the person being spellred."

"Is it based on the same principle as the Patronus Charm?" Albert asked.

"The principles behind both are similar, but the Patronus Charm has higher requirements, while the Happiness Charm requires controlling and eliminating inner tension and anxiety. If done too excessively, the person being charmed will fall into hysterical laughter."

Instead of having everyone practice the spell immediately, Professor Flitwick began explaining the knowledge and principles of the Cheering Charm, and hinted that this lesson was very important, meaning it would be on the final exam, and that the fifth-grade O. W. Ls might also be on it, so everyone took notes very seriously.

The effects of the Happiness Charm didn't disappear until the end of class, and everyone spent the Charms Class in a good mood.

"The Happiness Charm works well; it can relieve people from sad feelings."

Albert is considering the feasibility of using Happiness Charm to create magical items, or making them into sweets that can keep people in a good mood when eaten.

"Laughing Toffee?" Fred and George replied without hesitation. Keeping someone in a good mood might be difficult to control, but if you go too far, there's no need to worry about control at all. Candy that makes people laugh hysterically after eating it is simply wonderful.