Chapter 116: McDougall
Chapter 116: McDougall
As George had said, getting a pair of ice skates was not a difficult task.
Albert borrowed a pair of skates from Susan, then used a Replication Charm on them to easily create four pairs of skates.
Although Susan's skates were of a universal type, Lee Jordan's feet were too large to fit into Susan's skates. He could only stand on the shore and watch as his roommates put on their skates, ready to try out this new sport.
"Be careful with the blades, don't slip and don't hurt yourselves," Albert reminded Fred and George, who were now wearing their skates. "You'd better split up and practice in an empty area."
"Is there really no way to adjust the size for me?" Lee Jordan asked, feeling a bit glum at being left out.
"Borrow a pair of skates from someone else, and I'll replicate another pair for you," Albert said as he put on the brown skates. He bent his knees and got a feel for gliding on the ice.
George, after putting on the skates, started to walk but almost sprained his ankle.
Fred, standing next to him, fared worse as he fell directly onto the ground, gritting his teeth in pain.
"Damn, this guy really can do everything," Fred muttered as he slowly stood up with Lee Jordan's support.
"Watch out, don't step on my feet," Lee Jordan warned.
"Are you two alright?" Susan asked as she turned the corner and stopped in front of them.
"We've told them already," Albert replied, stopping next to Susan and shaking his head slightly as he watched the unsteady Weasley twins. "It's normal to fall a few times when you're starting out."
"You really can ice skate," Susan exclaimed, observing Albert's smooth movements. "You really can do everything, can't you?"
"I've done it before, my family taught me," Albert lied.
In truth, Albert had no natural talent in this regard. After falling several times during practice, he had angrily used his panel to boost his ice skating skill directly to Level 1.
"Who can teach us how to use these things?" George shouted at the two of them.
"I can't help you with this..." Albert shrugged helplessly at the Weasley twins. "I'm terrible at ice skating."
As if to emphasize his point, Albert nodded and repeated, "Yeah, terrible."
"Are you guys ice skating too?" Mario asked as he turned the corner and stopped in front of Albert.
The three-person acrobatics team was also there, and their skating skills were quite proficient. They could even pull off strange moves while skating.
Albert felt that the three of them could team up to compete in an international ice skating competition.
"Mario, can you teach us how to skate?" George asked for help upon seeing a familiar face.
"I'm still a beginner myself, so I can't teach others," Albert explained helplessly as he noticed Jack's gaze.
"That... shouldn't be a problem. But we can't guarantee that you'll be able to learn. After all, ice skating also requires talent," Danny said, not minding to lend a hand since they were all on the Gryffindor team and got along well usually.
Seeing that someone was teaching the Weasley brothers, Albert turned to Susan and asked, "Do you want to skate around the Black Lake together?"
"I'll pass," Susan declined politely as she looked out over the lake.
"See you later," Albert waved to them and began skating around the Black Lake. The Black Lake at Hogwarts was indeed massive, and there were quite a few students skating along the shore near the castle.
The lake surface was calm, and Albert skated along the lakeshore, taking in the scenery.
To be honest, it felt novel, and he believed that many students had not appreciated the scenery from different corners of the lake shore. He wished he had brought a camera.
Albert took quite a while to circle the lake, and on his return, he encountered a few familiar faces.
They were the red-haired McDougall sisters from Ravenclaw.
Katrina had just let go of her sister Isabelle's hand and had only skated a few steps before falling flat on her bottom.
Albert quickly skated around from the outside to avoid colliding with her.
Newcomers just starting out were indeed dangerous when practicing ice skating. After all, you never knew when they would fall and bring you down with them.
"Are you alright?" Albert asked, seeing that Isabelle didn't intend to lend a hand. He reached out and pulled Katrina up from the lake surface.
"Thank you," Katrina said, feeling embarrassed that Albert had seen her clumsy fall but still thanked him politely.
"Er, you're welcome," Albert said, considering whether to let go as Katrina looked like she might fall at any moment.
"Katrina, you probably don't have much talent in this area," Isabelle said helplessly as she looked at her sister.
"Long time no see, Isabelle," Albert greeted her. "I read your paper, it was fantastic. It's a shame about the outcome."
"Thank you," Isabelle nodded. "I never expected to win the 'Most Promising Newcomer in Transfiguration Today' award so soon. It's too early for me."
"You two know each other?" Katrina raised an eyebrow.
"Yes, we both attend Professor McGonagall's Transfiguration Club," Albert explained.
"Albert is a genius in Transfiguration," Isabelle suddenly declared.
"You two really like to flatter each other, don't you?" Katrina said, giving them a strange look.
"It's not flattery, it's the truth," Isabelle shook her head. "By the way, I used a small part of your theory in my paper."
"I don't mind," Albert waved his hand. "Professor McGonagall mentioned it to me, and I agreed since it was all from books anyway."
"See you at the next Transfiguration Club meeting," Albert said, handing Katrina's hand back to Isabelle and turning to leave.
Isabelle suddenly called out to Albert.
"I heard you're quite close with Professor Broad?" Isabelle asked.
"?" Albert was taken aback, unsure why Isabelle brought up this topic, but he still answered her question. "I wouldn't say we're very close. I've been to Professor Broad's office a few times to discuss issues related to Dark Magic Defense."
"It seems Professor Broad thinks highly of you," Isabelle said meaningfully.
"What do you mean?" Albert asked, looking at Isabelle with confusion, feeling that her words carried another implication.
"Professor Broad is a well-known wizard, and if you get along with him, you can learn a lot," Isabelle nodded. "If you want to improve in a certain area, you need to interact more with talented people in that field."
"Oh, thanks for the reminder," Albert said, full of confusion but still expressing his gratitude before turning to leave.
"Is Professor Broad really alright? Is he just a somewhat famous wizard?" Albert wondered, his face full of question marks. He decided to look into Professor Broad's information when he had time.
Professor Broad seemed a bit odd.
When Albert finished skating around the Black Lake and returned, Lee Jordan was still struggling with his skates with Mario's help.
As for Fred and George, those two had long since disappeared from view.
"Where are the Weasley brothers?" Albert asked in confusion.
"They gave up," Danny shrugged. "Only Lee Jordan is still persevering, but he's taken quite a few falls too."
(End of Chapter)
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