The fallout from Kenneth Towler's ambitious smuggling operation was swift, brutal, and devoid of the legendary leniency Harry Potter seemed to enjoy from the Headmaster. The only reason Kenneth wasn't currently packing his trunk for a one-way trip on the Hogwarts Express was a simple, lucky stroke of fate: nobody had actually died.
Still, for Kenneth, life might have felt worse than expulsion. For the next month, he was effectively an extension of Severus Snape's shadow. The poisoning incident had sent the Potions Master into a state of cold, vibrating fury that made the dungeons feel like a sub-zero freezer. Snape wasn't just mad about the rule-breaking; he was insulted that such amateurish, toxic sludge was being distributed under his nose.
But the real trouble for Kenneth wasn't Snape—it was his customer base. News travels faster than a Firebolt at Hogwarts, and soon every student who had handed over their hard-earned Galleons for "Baruffio's Brain Elixir" was out for blood. The dream of an easy 'O' in their exams had evaporated, replaced by the terrifying image of a seventh-year Slytherin barking like a dog in the Hospital Wing.
In a bizarre twist of school spirit, the victimized Slytherin became an overnight hero. Students from all houses made pilgrimages to his bedside, bearing sweets and thank-you notes, essentially thanking him for being the "canary in the coal mine." If he hadn't reacted so violently and so publicly, half the fifth-year Ravenclaws might have been poisoning themselves right now.
If Kenneth hadn't been safely tucked away in detention, scrubbing cauldrons under Snape's watchful, murderous eye, he likely would have been lynched in the Entrance Hall. As it stood, the school was united in a rare moment of communal gloating. Nobody felt sorry for him. The general consensus was that if you're going to cheat, at least have the decency to use a product that doesn't turn your skin purple.
Albert, as usual, seemed to be the only person moving through the chaos with a clear head. A few days after the scandal broke, he was heading into the Great Hall for lunch when he spotted Shanna embroiled in a heated argument with an older Ravenclaw student. The upperclassman looked stressed, his face flushed with a mix of embarrassment and aggression.
"What's the problem here?" Albert asked, sliding into the conversation with a calm that acted like a bucket of cold water.
The Ravenclaw student, a sixth-year who had clearly bought into the hype early on, was demanding a refund. He had purchased a bottle of the prize-grade Elixir that Shanna had won in Albert's Wizarding Card tournament. Now that the market was flooded with poison, he was convinced that Shanna's bottle was just as lethal.
"I want my fifteen Galleons back," the student snapped. "Everyone knows this stuff is dangerous now. I'm not risking my life for a grade."
Shanna looked distressed. "I've already spent most of the money on my summer textbooks and supplies. I can't just pull fifteen Galleons out of thin air!"
Fred and George, who had been trailing behind Albert, crossed their arms and looked at the student with matching expressions of deep disdain. "Bit late for buyer's remorse, isn't it?" George remarked. "You bought it. You own it."
Albert, however, held up a hand. He looked at the bottle in the student's hand—the wax seal was still perfect, the Dagworth-inspired label crisp and clean. "Tell you what," Albert said. "I'll settle this. I'll buy the bottle back from you for ten Galleons."
The Ravenclaw blinked, stunned. "Ten? I paid fifteen!"
"And you've held onto it for weeks while the market value crashed to zero," Albert pointed out reasonably. "Ten Galleons is more than fair for a product you're currently calling 'poison.' Shanna, can you cover the other five?"
Relief washed over Shanna's face. "Yes! I can manage five."
The transaction was quick. Albert handed over the gold, and the student practically threw the bottle at him before scurrying away, looking like he'd just escaped a trap.
"You're a lifesaver, Albert," Shanna breathed. "I really thought I was going to have to deal with him all week."
"Don't mention it," Albert said, turning the bottle over in his hands. "It's like you just chose the ten-Galleon prize in the first place. No harm done."
He was about to slip the vial into his pocket when a shadow fell over the table. Terence Higgs was standing there, his eyes fixed on the liquid inside the glass.
"Is that the original?" Higgs asked, his voice low. "The Master-grade batch?"
"The one and only," Albert replied.
The crowd around them had gone silent. Fred and George were staring at Albert like he'd grown a second head. They couldn't wrap their minds around why Albert had just spent his own money to buy back a "useless" potion when the school was under a total ban.
"Anderson," Higgs said, leaning in. "If that's the real deal—the stuff you actually drank—I'll give you thirty Galleons for it right now. Cash. No questions asked."
A collective gasp went up from the surrounding tables. The Ravenclaw student who had just sold it for ten stopped in his tracks, his head whipping around with an expression of pure, unadulterated agony.
Albert just laughed, shaking his head. "Sorry, Terence. Who said I was selling? Selling restricted potions is illegal, didn't you hear? I'm a law-abiding student."
He shot a pointed look at the departing Ravenclaw, whose face was now so red he looked like he might explode. The irony was thick enough to cut with a knife.
"I bet he's feeling real smart right now," Lee Jordan cackled, his voice carrying across the Hall. "Selling a legendary potion for ten Galleons just because he got scared! Honestly, Albert, how could you ever put poison in a prize? Your reputation is worth more than that."
The atmosphere in the Hall shifted instantly. If Albert was willing to buy it back, it meant it was the real thing. The skepticism that had clouded the "Card Game Prize" vanished, replaced by an intense curiosity. Where had Albert really gotten it? And why was he being so protective of it now?
"Do you think he'll go to Snape?" Shanna whispered, watching the Ravenclaw student disappear through the doors. "He looked pretty spiteful."
"Let him," Albert said, blinking innocently. "I haven't sold anything. I simply helped a friend with a refund. There's no law against being charitable."
"But the ban," George reminded him. "Snape said no private transactions of cognitive enhancers. Period."
"I know," Albert said, a mischievous glint in his eye. "Which is why we should probably make sure there's no evidence left to confiscate. George, you want a drink?"
He pulled the bottle out and held it toward George.
"Wait, really?" George stammered. "You're just... giving it to us?"
"Think of it as a study aid," Albert said. "But be quick. I have a feeling our Ravenclaw friend is currently sprinting toward the dungeons to tell on us."
George didn't need to be told twice. He snatched the bottle, broke the seal, and took a healthy swig before passing it to Fred and Lee. The three of them drained the small vial in seconds.
"How is it?" Shanna asked, her eyes wide.
"It's... wow," Fred muttered, rubbing his temples. "It's like someone just turned the lights on inside my head. I feel like I could memorize the entire History of Magic textbook in twenty minutes."
"Excellent," Albert said, standing up and picking up the empty bottle. "Now, I suggest you three head to the library immediately. If you're going to be 'enhanced,' you might as well get some work done."
Sure enough, ten minutes later, the doors to the Great Hall swung open with a bang. Snape marched in, looking like a dark cloud of doom, with the disgruntled Ravenclaw student trailing behind him like a loyal hound.
The student pointed a shaking finger at Albert's table. "There! He just did a transaction! He's got the bottle!"
Snape loomed over Albert, his eyes narrowing to slits. "Mr. Anderson. It seems you have a persistent hearing problem. I believe I was quite clear about the distribution of these substances."
Albert looked up from his sandwich, looking entirely confused. "Professor? I'm not sure what you mean. I was just telling my friends to head to the library."
"The bottle," Snape hissed, holding out a hand. "Hand it over."
Albert reached into his pocket and pulled out the empty glass vial, placing it gently in Snape's palm. "Oh, you mean this? I'm afraid you're a bit late, sir. My friends were feeling a bit sluggish, so they finished it off. If you don't believe me, you can ask anyone here. We all saw it happen."
Shanna nodded vigorously. "It's true, Professor. They drank every drop."
Snape looked at the empty bottle, then at the Ravenclaw student, whose jaw was practically on the floor. The fury on Snape's face was a sight to behold. He turned his gaze toward the tatter-tale.
"You," Snape said, his voice dangerously low. "You told me last week that you had already consumed your portion of the 'poison' and that it was gone. Now you come to me claiming you sold it today? Which is it? Are you a liar, or are you merely incompetent?"
"I—I—" the student stammered, shrinking under Snape's glare.
"Deceiving a Professor is a serious offense," Snape continued, his voice silky and terrifying. "Ravenclaw will lose twenty points. And I believe you'll find that a month of detention will help you find the truth."
"Cough! Cough!" Fred, George, and Lee were suddenly seized by a collective coughing fit, buried deep in their sleeves to hide their hysterical laughter.
"Go," Snape barked at the student, before turning a final, suspicious look at Albert. "And you... get to the library. If I find you've been manufacturing your own supply, Anderson, there won't be enough left of you to fill a vial."
"Of course, sir," Albert said politely.
As soon as they were safely out of the Great Hall and halfway to the library, the twins and Lee collapsed against a stone wall, howling with laughter.
"The face! Did you see his face?" Fred wheezed, clutching his stomach. "He thought he had you! He really thought he had you!"
"And Snape! Points off his own house!" George gasped for air. "Albert, you're a genius. A pure, unadulterated genius."
Albert smiled, though he looked a bit more serious than the others. "It was a bit of a waste, though. That was a perfectly good Brain-Boosting Potion."
The laughter stopped abruptly. Fred looked at Albert. "Wait. What did you just say?"
"I said the Brain-Boosting Potion I brewed last night was quite effective," Albert said, pulling the actual bottle of Baruffio's Brain Elixir out of his inner pocket. "You didn't think I'd give you the Master-grade stuff in the middle of lunch, did you? That stuff needs to be taken in a quiet environment to work properly. You just drank a standard, high-quality focus brew."
Fred stared at the bottle in Albert's hand, then at his own hands. "So... we just drank a few Galleons worth of focus potion... for a joke?"
"A few Galleons for the look on that guy's face?" Albert asked. "I'd say that's the best bargain you've had all year."
Fred sighed, a pained expression crossing his face. "I feel my heart aching again. All that gold... literally down the hatch."
"Cheer up," Albert said, patting him on the shoulder. "At least you'll actually pass your Charms quiz this afternoon. Now, let's go. We have a library to occupy."