October had just arrived when Hogwarts Castle was already shrouded in gales and torrential rain.
The heavy rain that lasted for several days caused the surrounding temperature to plummet. A chill permeated the air beneath the rain curtain, silently seeping into the castle.
After realizing he had caught a cold, Albert immediately went to the school hospital and obtained a stimulant from Head Nurse Mrs. Pomfrey. The effect was immediate after drinking it. However, there was a downside: anyone who drank this stimulant would experience a burning sensation in their ears for several hours.
The twin brothers even gloated over this.
Before long, the two twins' ears started smoking. However, this seemed to be a source of amusement for the Weasley twins, who even deliberately made train whistle sounds, causing everyone to burst into laughter.
Outside the window, the rain was still falling.
The common room in Gryffindor was brightly lit, with a roaring fire in the fireplace, warm and cozy. At that moment, Albert and his roommates sat by a window doing their homework.
"Do you think the garlic sprouts will rot from the rain? This rain has been going on for days." George looked up at the dark rain outside the window, looking sullen.
"Be careful, if I were you, I would watch my homework," Albert warned. "Don't ruin the paper you're almost finished writing."
"Ah!" George cried out in despair when he noticed a drop of ink on his parchment. "Oh no, my homework!"
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"Stop wailing. Who told you to get distracted while doing your homework?" Angelina had a bad temper. The Quidditch training a while ago had given her a cold, and even after drinking Madam Pomfrey's energy drink, her head was still a little dizzy, making it difficult for her to concentrate on her homework.
"Shouldn't we go check it out? I'm a little worried the garlic will rot from being soaked in water," Fred suggested anxiously.
In such terrible weather, they simply couldn't check on the sprouting garlic.
Albert shook his head upon hearing this, thinking to himself, "That's the difference between planting outdoors and planting in a flowerpot!"
"If you're worried about the garlic, go check it out, but don't come looking for me," Lee Jordan said irritably. His ears were still steaming; the poor fellow had just drunk Mrs. Pomfrey's energy drink.
Almost all of this year's freshmen were wiped out by the flu.
"Going out for inspection is useless; there's nothing we can do." George was also frustrated. He had finally waited for the garlic to sprout, but then this heavy rain that lasted for several days came, and all the newly sprouted garlic sprouts were submerged in water.
Is it really that difficult for them to grow garlic?
For some reason, the common room suddenly became lively, with people excitedly talking about something.
"What happened?" Angelina asked Albert.
"How would I know?" Albert stared at the chrysanthemum he had conjured with a hint of frustration, then placed it in the vase next to him. The chrysanthemums blooming in the vase were all the result of Albert's practice of summoning magic.
"Notice to go to Hogsmeade." Lee Jordan pointed to a notice on the old bulletin board and said, "End of October, before Halloween."
"Yes, but that's an activity for third-year students," Angelina corrected, looking a little agitated as the buzzing conversation in the lounge made it hard for her to concentrate.
"Actually, I'm more looking forward to Halloween this year." Albert had already been to Hogsmeade once and wasn't interested in the only wizarding village in the UK. "I heard from older students that Halloween at Hogwarts is great. There will be bats flying around the castle, pumpkin lanterns and pumpkin-based delicacies, and a Halloween celebration party in the evening."
In the novels, after Harry Potter arrives at Hogwarts, some strange things always happen every Halloween:
In first grade, a troll broke into the castle; in second grade, Filch's cat was petrified; in third grade, wanted criminal Black attempted to break into the Gryffindor common room; in fourth grade, the school welcomed other contenders for the Triwizard Tournament; in fifth grade…
Aria raised an eyebrow and asked, "I don't think Halloween is anything particularly fun."
"Don't you think it would be more fun to celebrate Halloween together?" Albert explained. "Games are more fun to play together, and holidays are more lively when celebrated together."
"That makes sense," Li Qiaodan agreed.
"Last time I went to see Hagrid, I found that every pumpkin in his backyard vegetable garden was as tall as half a person," Albert continued. "Those pumpkins must have been prepared for Halloween."
There is no doubt that Hagrid used an expansion charm on the pumpkin.
Actually, Albert thought the twins could use a bloating spell on the garlic they grew, since they didn't eat it anyway.
Okay! If Fred and George could use the Inflation Charm.
Unfortunately, people seemed more interested in Hogsmeade Village than Halloween. They even heard second-year students complaining about why only third-year students could go to Hogsmeade.
However, Albert and his roommates weren't as enthusiastic about Hogsmeade as the others. After all, they had just visited Hogsmeade not long ago, so it held little mystery for them, and going there would be pointless since they were broke.
As the rain subsided, the twins immediately went to check on the garlic, and also dragged Albert, who was practicing summoning magic, along with them.
The current situation is not optimistic; all the garlic sprouts have rotted after being soaked in water for too long.
The expressions on their faces were as gloomy as the dark clouds in the sky.
Unfortunately, the garlic sprouts we finally got, and the garlic had been waiting for so long to sprout, were all ruined by a heavy rain.
The twins, who had devoted so much effort to this, suddenly became depressed.
"What the hell are you doing?" Hagrid's furious voice came through the rain.
When the three looked in the direction of the sound, they saw Hagrid rushing towards them without even an umbrella, his clothes soaked through by the rain.
He had assumed the group was planning to enter the woods, so he rushed over, his nose practically twitching with anger.
Albert briefly explained the situation, and Hagrid was immediately dumbfounded, pointing at the twins incredulously and saying, "You're planting garlic here?"
When Hagrid saw the turned-up sacks of earth and the rotten garlic, he believed it.
"Ahem, actually, they just wanted to try making a... amulet with garlic, and they needed a lot of garlic!" Albert quickly explained.
"This is absolutely the stupidest thing I've ever heard." Hagrid looked at the three of them speechlessly, then patted Fred and George on the shoulder and said, "It's just planting garlic, don't be upset, I can give you a few more, this time plant them next to my vegetable garden."
"No, Hagrid," Albert interrupted. "This time we plan to transplant the garlic into flowerpots and then move the pots back to the dorms. That way, we won't have to worry about the heavy rain. The only problem is that we'll have to move them out to enjoy the sun every now and then."