Disclaimer: I don't own anything. This is not meant to infringe upon copyrights.
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This time, the potion-giving process went exceptionally smoothly.
Without even a word, Mikel, upon seeing the numbered bottle, readily took it and gulped it down.
His increasingly contorted expression clearly showed that the potion's taste was still indescribable, yet Mikel hadn't wasted a single drop.
He even smacked his lips after finishing, remarking, "Good potion."
Of course, it would have been better if his expression had been more natural when he said that.
Instead, his face was ashen, his features almost contorted, and coupled with his earlier comment of "good potion," anyone who didn't know better would have thought he was some kind of poison appraiser.
Anyway, Kyle couldn't understand his current thoughts; it was probably a case of bittersweet pleasure.
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As the weather gradually warmed, the Quidditch matches were already past the halfway point.
Currently, Gryffindor led in wins and points, with Hufflepuff close behind, the difference between the two sides being very small.
Slytherins, having been smeared with specially made dung balls in their faces last time, developed a habit of instinctively gagging at the sight of flying broomsticks for a while, causing them to fall far behind in the standings and rank third.
However, after the Christmas holidays, they gradually recovered and have been frantically trying to close the gap with the top two in recent matches.
As is customary for Slytherins, they inevitably resort to dirty tricks during matches.
In a recent match, Gryffindor's Chaser Angelina was knocked off her broomstick.
"This isn't over, Rosier," Charlie said menacingly as he escorted Angelina off the field. "We'll see."
However, Rosier merely gave Charlie a defiant look, seemingly unconcerned.
Yet, at dinner that day, over twenty broomstick-shaped packages were tossed onto the Slytherin table by owls.
Rosier's face immediately turned green.
The Gryffindors didn't hide their actions either, and led by Fred and George, they loudly demanded that Rosier open the packages to see the surprise they had prepared.
This quickly alerted Professor Snape, who, after learning of the events in the Great Hall from the messenger snake, stormed over, waving his cloak.
"What nonsense! I don't know what you're talking about, Professor,"
Charlie said innocently. "Those were just fireworks we specially ordered for the Slytherin team to celebrate their victory in today's game."
"Just fireworks?" Snape clearly didn't believe him.
"Of course, Rosier is a respectable opponent, he won beautifully, and I certainly congratulate him."
Charlie grinned. "What, doesn't Rosier like this gift?"
He was graduating and going to Romania next year, so he wasn't as nervous as the others when facing Snape.
Snape's face darkened. He took out his wand and opened the packages in front of everyone.
Just as Charlie had said, it was indeed full of fireworks. After the packaging was opened, golden and red fireworks shot straight to the ceiling, then exploded with a "boom," forming the word "Victory" in mid-air.
However, Snape still deducted ten points from Gryffindor.
he reason given was making a loud noise in the Great Hall and disrespecting the professor.
But the Gryffindors didn't care.
Anyway, their house grades were almost down to single digits, and unless they could add five hundred points at the end of the term, they basically had no hope of winning the House Cup.
So the Gryffindor students collectively decided—to start a house party! As the saying goes, a house party is fun for a while, and even more fun if you keep partying.
The Gryffindor students suddenly found life at Hogwarts to be so enjoyable.
Just like now, even with Snape deducting ten points for such an absurd excuse, they felt no unease.
George even went so far as to say, "I think disrespecting the professor is a very serious mistake, you should deduct thirty points from us."
His thinking was simple: since they couldn't get first place, they might as well do the opposite and get the lowest score.
It doesn't really matter, right?
Snape's expression darkened further.
He really wanted to grant George's request, but unfortunately, the Gryffindor hourglass was almost empty, holding only a thin layer of sand, probably around twenty points.
He couldn't just deduct all the points. He had to consider Professor McGonagall's feelings.
Besides, the order for potion supplies needed the Deputy Headmistress' signature; he had to think about his own private storage.
"You're right, Mr. Weasley," Snape said, giving George a sinister look. "But no need to deduct points, just put him in detention."
"Tonight, go to the Potions classroom and clean all those old cauldrons.
Remember, wipe them by hand the whole time, no wands allowed. Filch will be watching you."
George's smile froze.
He remained in a daze until Snape left the Great Hall.
"Merlin's floral socks, detention? Why!"
"Because he's a professor." Fred patted George on the shoulder sympathetically. "Take it easy, the night will pass quickly."
"You'll help me, right?" George asked hopefully.
Fred was silent, clearly unwilling.
"Percy?"
"…"
"Charlie!"
"…"
No one responded.
Faced with detention, their brotherhood of over a decade seemed so fragile.
George was almost in tears; he felt the world suddenly turn gray.
"Ahem…"
Just as George was getting more and more into character, Charlie smacked him on the head in annoyance.
"Alright, stop pretending. Don't think I don't know you and Fred secretly hid an automatic cleaning kit."
George's tears vanished instantly, replaced by a familiar smile, showing no trace of sadness.
"You're so boring, Charlie."
As the ones who had been in detention the most, Fred and George naturally weren't unprepared.
The automatic cleaning kit was what they had prepared, specifically for dealing with "cleaning things" as part of detention.
The crucible was naturally included as well.
"But then again, your method really works." Charlie looked at the crumbs and said, "I didn't expect Rosier to be so scared that he threw his plate. Why is that?"
"That's a secret."
George and Fred blinked simultaneously, not revealing much.
Fortunately, Charlie wasn't a particularly curious person, and seeing that the twins didn't want to talk about it, he didn't press further.
He just needed to know that this trick worked on Slytherin.
[End of the chapter]