Ever since Albert demonstrated his talent in potions, Snape had stopped bothering him and essentially ignored him completely.
In the morning, after Potions class, Albert and George took advantage of the free time before lunch to go to the library, return the book "Simple Alchemy," and then borrow another book on alchemy.
The book is called "Extraction, Separation, and Magic Potions".
Albert initially thought the book was related to potions, but after reading through its contents, he was surprised to find that it was a book on alchemy, specifically about the relationship between alchemy and potions.
Although potion-making is not the same as alchemy, the two are still closely related and have some overlap.
Some potion ingredients need to be processed through alchemy, and some potions are even obtained directly through alchemy.
Currently, the most representative example is succinate flavoring.
Dictamnus extract is a substance obtained directly from the extraction of an herb called Dictamnus. It is an effective medicine for treating wounds. Using Dictamnus extract to treat wounds is far more effective than using Dictamnus directly or using it to concoct potions.
The book "Extraction, Separation and Potions" contains a detailed record of how to extract senna extract, which reminded him of the creation of garlic crosses in "Simple Alchemy"... cough cough, Albert quickly shook off the strange thought in his head and put his mind back on the description of extracting senna extract in the book.
Fred and Lee Jordan returned empty-handed from the kitchen, sitting listlessly on the chairs next to George, shrugging helplessly.
As Albert had predicted, the two found nothing; the house-elves wouldn't allow them to take the garlic from the kitchen.
This means that the twins' plan had already failed before it even began.
"I warned you before," Albert said, looking at the three dejected men. "Perhaps you could send a letter home and ask them to send you some garlic."
"Are you crazy?" Fred stared at Albert in disbelief, his voice rising several decibels. "If we dare to do that, we'll get a good beating with a broom when we get back from the Christmas holidays."
"No, I think Mom might just make you stop coming to school altogether and stay home to keep growing garlic," George couldn't help but complain.
Getting garlic from home is simply not an option, not even for research purposes related to defense against dark magic.
"Do you have any good ideas?" The three of them looked at Albert in unison, their eyes shining with hope, as if that was their only hope.
"Give up!" Albert said, shrugging. "Of course, if you really don't want to give up, I suggest you go to Diagon Alley and order some garlic by mail."
Upon hearing this, the three immediately deflated. If they had Galon, would they still need to worry about this?
"So, let's just give up." Albert flipped through the book in his hand and said indifferently, "Whether it's potions or alchemy, they're all money-burning stuff."
"What's wrong with the three of them?" Shanna asked, glancing at the three listless people.
"It's nothing, just a little annoyed. Let's ignore them for now," Albert said.
"Ignore us unless you can get us some garlic," George said, waving his hand at Shanna.
Shanna looked completely bewildered and stopped paying attention to the twins. Instead, she chatted with Albert about the homework from Potions class that day, asking him when he would be free to go to the library together to finish the paper on aconite.
The difficulty of most papers lies in finding information. It's faster to find information together with more people. As for how to piece together the found information into a paper, that depends on each person's writing skills.
Albert pulled the worksheet out of his bag, agreed on a time with Shanna, and then turned his attention back to his books.
To be honest, Albert hoped to find the methods for making developing potions and magical photographs in the book "Extraction, Separation and Potions".
Albert believed that the magical photographs were undoubtedly related to alchemy, and to his delight, he actually found information about it in the catalog.
Just as Albert was searching for the recipe and correct way to use the developing solution, he suddenly discovered that a new panel quest had been activated.
Animated magical photos.
You've discovered the secret to how magical photos move and are trying to learn how to make them. Why not give it a try?
Create three magic photos.
Reward: 500 experience points, and the Alchemy skill.
Even after lunch, Albert was still thinking about whether he should take some time to try making a developing potion. The quest didn't give much experience, but it would be good if he could directly obtain the alchemy skill, since the magic lamp quest required lighting up the alchemy skill.
Just as Albert passed through the foyer, he suddenly heard someone calling him from the side. He turned around and looked at the three of them, asking, "What is it? I didn't hear you clearly."
"We're planning to try our luck in the next village." The three seemed to have already reached a decision: to go to Hogsmeade and see if they could get some garlic, then bring it back and grow it themselves.
"Oh, good luck then." Albert patted Fred on the shoulder and said, "Actually, Hagrid definitely has some, if you want…"
"What is it?" a voice suddenly asked.
"Nothing?" Fred was a little embarrassed. They weren't familiar with Hagrid, so they didn't intend to bother him in this regard.
Even if he had joked about borrowing Hagrid's garden to grow garlic, it was just a joke. Hogwarts is so big, finding a place to secretly turn over some soil and plant some garlic wouldn't be difficult.
"Garlic, we want to study whether garlic can ward off dark creatures." Albert changed the subject and asked, "Is there something you need? It's rare to see you in the castle."
"I need to speak with Dumbledore," Hagrid said suspiciously, glancing at the group before heading towards the headmaster's office. He turned back before leaving and added, "If you need garlic, I can provide you with some."
The three men stared at Hagrid's departing figure, exchanging bewildered glances. They hadn't expected to be racking their brains trying to figure out how to get garlic.
Albert solved the problem for them with just a casual remark.
"Isn't this a bit inappropriate?" George said.
"Hagrid cooks for himself all the time and has a vegetable garden, so he definitely doesn't lack garlic," Albert said, glancing at the three embarrassed men. "This Christmas, just help me think of what to get him!"
Uh-huh!
The group nodded repeatedly, indicating they would help come up with ideas for Christmas.
"However, I need to remind you that that amount of garlic isn't enough," Albert added. "You can spend some time growing your own; growing garlic is quite simple anyway."
This was their original plan. As for where to plant it, the three of them had already decided: not in Hagrid's vegetable garden, but on the edge of the Forbidden Forest, which was a bit further away from Hagrid's hut.
After hearing the three men's plan, Albert fell silent.
Actually, you can just grow some garlic yourself in a vase. As for fertilizer, isn't the ashes from the fireplace the best fertilizer?
However, Albert didn't intend to remind the three of anything; he'd let them figure it out themselves.