Chapter 117: The Famous Professor Broad
Chapter 117: The Famous Professor Broad
"Where's Lee Jordan?"
At dinnertime, Fred and George Weasley were late to the Great Hall.
"He's at the hospital wing," one of the twins, Fred, replied with a mouthful of food, "He took a nasty fall while ice skating this afternoon and is getting some medicine from Madam Pomfrey." Curious, Albert looked up from his own meal and asked, "Where were you two this afternoon? Why are you only joining us for dinner now?"
"The forest," Fred replied with a wink.
"You two ran off on your own?" came Lee Jordan's voice from behind them, laced with a hint of resentment.
"We told you we were leaving. It's not our fault you didn't come with us," George said, placing a hand on Lee Jordan's shoulder. "So, how's it going? Have you gotten the hang of skating yet?"
"If I had, do you think I'd have fallen so badly?" Lee Jordan retorted.
"True," George nodded seriously. "It's a good thing we gave up on that sport early on. It's just not suited for wizards."
Albert wanted to point out that it was more a matter of not putting in the effort to learn, but he held his tongue.
Lee Jordan couldn't help but ask, "Was it like this when you were learning to skate, Albert?"
"Yeah, falling down is inevitable," Albert admitted.
"He's just trying to make you feel better," George chuckled. "With Albert's learning ability, he probably figured out how to skate on his own after a few initial falls."
"You make it sound like skating is as easy as eating," Albert said, exasperated.
In truth, George's words weren't far from the mark, as Albert had learned to skate through the system interface.
"I think I understand why Albert hasn't been teaching you," Fred said suddenly.
"Teaching us, you mean," Lee Jordan corrected, clearly annoyed. "Don't exclude us."
"Think about it," George said, nodding earnestly. "If you keep falling this badly and still haven't learned to skate, you'll end up blaming him. That's why Albert doesn't dare to teach you. This way, he avoids any blame."
Albert, who had been about to take a bite of his Golden Fried Egg, froze in mid-air. These two sure have a wild imagination, he thought to himself.
He would bet his half-eaten Golden Fried Egg that he had never once entertained such thoughts.
Lee Jordan gave Albert a suspicious glance, causing the latter to quickly clear his throat and change the subject. "So, what's so interesting in the forest that kept you out there until now?"
"Just some animals, nothing dangerous," Fred said as he sat down in the empty seat next to Albert and began eating his dinner. "George and I were chasing a rabbit, but we didn't catch it."
"There are rabbits in the Forbidden Forest?" Albert asked, intrigued. "By the way, why were you trying to catch a rabbit? Were you planning to roast it? That's actually not a bad idea. I've never tasted roast rabbit before."
At this, Shan Na looked up and glared at Albert, reproachful. "Roast rabbit? How can you be so cruel?"
"I was just saying..." Albert shrugged. "Don't take it to heart. Are you raising a rabbit?"
"Yes, a very small one," Shan Na admitted with a nod.
"Ahem, I think we're getting off-topic here," Lee Jordan coughed lightly, steering the conversation back on track. "So, what did you find in the forest?"
"Nothing special, just an ordinary forest," George replied after a moment's thought. "We did see some deer tracks, though."
"I think those were unicorn tracks," Fred interjected, pulling out some white hairs from his robe pocket. "These are unicorn tail hairs."
"And you two didn't get caught by the gamekeeper?" Angelina asked, plucking one of the hairs and examining it with a frown. "I've heard that students who venture into the forest always get caught by him."
"We have our ways of evading Hagrid's sight," George said, exchanging a glance with Fred. "As long as he doesn't see us, we're fine."
The brief conversation soon came to an end as Albert prepared to head to the library to search for information about Professor Broad.
If this Defense Against the Dark Arts professor is famous, it shouldn't be difficult to find information about him."
"Do you want to come with us next time?" Fred asked.
"To catch rabbits?" Albert raised an eyebrow. "I suggest you try fishing by the Black Lake instead. Dig a pit, put some raw meat, and you'll have better luck than chasing after rabbits."
"That's a good idea," Lee Jordan agreed.
"You're not going skating anymore?" Fred looked doubtfully at his black friend.
"How can I go skating when I'm all bruised up like this?" Lee Jordan's mouth twitched, and he suddenly asked, "By the way, does anyone here know how to grill fish?"
"I can try, but only if you can catch the fish," Albert said after some thought. "If not, we can always ask Hagrid. I'm sure he knows how to grill fish."
"I thought you knew everything," Fred said, pretending to be serious. "So there's something you don't know after all!"
"Grilling fish shouldn't be too difficult. Just brush some seasoning on it," Albert said matter-of-factly. "And we can sprinkle some of the garlic we're growing in the dormitory on top too."
"No garlic!" George protested.
As they entered the library, the four of them fell silent. If they wanted to make time for fishing, they would first have to finish their homework.
This shouldn't be too difficult. After all, Albert would be doing the homework too, and once it was done, they could ask him about anything they didn't understand and get the answers.
"What are you looking for?" Lee Jordan put away his homework and picked up the book Albert had placed beside him, glancing at the title, "The Great Wizards of the 20th Century."
"I heard Professor Burdock is quite famous," Albert said quietly.
"Professor Burdock?" George put down his pen and blew on the ink to dry it before asking, "What do you want with him?"
"Let me borrow your parchment," Fred said, feeling a bit annoyed that he was falling behind and still had a whole question left to answer.
"Do it yourself," George said, holding onto the parchment so Fred couldn't take it.
"Found it!" Albert opened a book titled "Directory of Contemporary Famous Magicians" and placed it in front of him. He whispered, "Bade Brod, pure-blooded wizard, member of the Wizengamot, third-level Order of Merlin recipient, winner of the Barnabas Finkley Outstanding Spellcasting Award, hobbies: Wizard Chess, Adventure.
Bade Brod has won the International Wizard Chess Championship and the European Wizard Dueling Championship by using a wandless and silent Full Body-Bind Curse. He once saved several Muggle mountaineers from a giant attack during an adventure, earning him the third-level Order of Merlin...
He maintains friendly relations with several great wizards and is a close friend of contemporary magic masters Adebe Wollin and Mog MacDougal.
Albert fell silent as he read through the records.
Mog MacDougal?
Coincidence?
Obviously not.
Isobel MacDougal was clearly related to this Mog MacDougal. Were they family or just relatives? Why did he say that Professor Burdock thought highly of me? Am I overthinking this? Forget it, as long as Professor Burdock doesn't have ill intentions, I'll just go with the flow. Albert didn't mind getting to know more famous wizards through Professor Burdock.
"I didn't expect Professor Burdock to be so famous!" Fred exclaimed as he took the book from Albert and read about Professor Bade Brod, surprised.
"A dueling champion?" George exclaimed, "No wonder he became the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor."
Albert, however, didn't think that Professor Burdock's dueling champion status had anything to do with his position as the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor.
"By the way," Lee Jordan suddenly changed the subject, looking seriously at Albert, "I heard that some upperclassmen are planning to open a betting pool for the Quidditch match this weekend. Who do you think will win?"
"Oh, I almost forgot about that," Fred and George said in unison. "Who do you think will win?"
(End of Chapter)
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