Chapter 140: Trust Your Instincts
Chapter 140: Trust Your Instincts
"I think you lot have been acting rather mysteriously lately."
As soon as Albert entered the dormitory, he noticed that Fred, who had been speaking in hushed tones with the others, immediately fell silent. It was obvious that they were discussing something they didn't want him to know about.
"And you have the nerve to call us mysterious?" George managed to hold back his urge to retort and merely rolled his eyes at Albert.
"Yes, indeed!" Fred nodded in agreement.
"What were you doing with Professor Broad?" Lee Jordan asked, clearly trying to divert the topic.
"I was helping Professor Broad organize some documents. You know I'm quite proficient in Ancient Runes," Albert replied, not lying but keeping his explanation vague.
"As if we'd believe you," Fred scoffed.
"What were you guys talking about just now?" Albert retorted.
"Guess," Fred challenged.
"You're not planning to go after Gryffindor's secret treasure, are you?" Albert eyed them suspiciously, remembering the map of Gryffindor's secret treasure that they had mentioned before.
"Do you want to come with us?" Lee Jordan asked.
"You traitor!" Fred waved his fist at Lee Jordan, clearly displeased.
"With Albert's help, we'd have a better chance of success. It's not very safe in the Forbidden Forest," Lee Jordan argued, believing that Albert was more reliable than the twins.
"Forget it. I think you guys should stay out of the forest. Hagrid looks really angry, so be careful not to get locked up," Albert advised.
"I knew he wouldn't be interested," George muttered. "As long as we don't get caught by Hagrid when we go into the forest, it'll be fine."
"I knew you'd say that, but don't go too deep. I heard there's a breeding ground for Acromantulas in the forest. Be careful not to end up as spider food," Albert casually reminded them.
"When you keep quiet, no one mistakes you for a mute," Fred complained. "You always hit the nail on the head when it comes to bad news."
"Alright then." Albert took out McDougal's notebook from his pocket and started browsing through it.
"What's that?" George asked, moving closer to get a better look.
"It's a notebook on Ancient Runes lent to me by a friend of Professor Broad," Albert explained, flipping through the pages. He noticed that a letter from Professor Broad to McDougal was pasted inside, indicating that the two had known each other for a long time. "It seems like the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor thinks highly of you," Lee Jordan said, sounding a little jealous.
"Yes, we get along quite well," Albert acknowledged.
"No, it's more like he's terrifyingly nice to you," George corrected.
"Oh," Albert nodded, understanding George's point.
However, Albert believed that their relationship was based on their shared interest in Ancient Runes. As experts in this field, they naturally engaged in academic exchanges, and Professor Broad, being the elder and more experienced, offered his goodwill and guidance to Albert, his junior.
Just as Professor McGonagall had suggested, it was beneficial to maintain friendly correspondence with renowned wizards, and Albert's relationship with Professor Broad had progressed even further.
After all, they also shared the bond of professor and student.
From this notebook, it was evident that Professor Broad and McDougal shared a similar relationship to the one Albert had with the professor. The notebook contained their discussions about Ancient Runes, as well as correspondence with other wizards on the subject.
This part of the content was not particularly difficult for Albert, but it was novel and broadened his horizons.
Towards the latter half of the notebook, which spanned several years, McDougal had already graduated from Hogwarts.
McDougal recorded that he had suddenly been informed of a special identity, granting him access to a collection of ancient texts and the opportunity to learn ancient spells.
"A special identity?" Albert continued reading, intrigued.
McDougal had begun to master the art of casting spells using Ancient Runes.
"I can feel its uniqueness!"
McDougal had left these words in the notebook.
"It's getting late. Aren't you going to sleep? Watch out, or you might not be able to get up tomorrow," Fred mumbled sleepily.
"I'm going to bed too. Goodnight," Albert yawned, turned off the light, and drifted off to sleep.
The next day, Albert woke up at 10 in the morning.
His dorm mates were already out, and he stretched lazily, leaning against his pillow. He picked up McDougal's notebook, which he hadn't finished reading the night before, and continued browsing.
McDougal had started to explore some ancient magic, and while the spells were powerful, they lacked precision.
The notebook mentioned the names of the spells but didn't include the incantations or hand gestures required to cast them, which left Albert a little disappointed.
The following pages mainly discussed this aspect and McDougal's speculations about Ancient Runes.
From the records, it was clear that McDougal had been researching and seeking to understand the unique qualities of Ancient Runes, but to no avail.
Albert noticed one particular detail—in the correspondence between McDougal and Dumbledore, they had mentioned the topic of making a Patronus speak.
Unfortunately, there was no further information on this, and the notebook ended without any additional mention of it.
"Can I feel its uniqueness?" Albert quickly got out of bed and headed towards Professor Broad's office.
McDougal was indeed there, but he looked a little tired.
"You've finished reading it?" McDougal noticed Albert holding his notebook.
"Yes, I've read it, but unfortunately, I still haven't found what I'm looking for. There should be another half to this notebook, right?" Albert asked tentatively.
"No, there isn't," McDougal shook his head.
"What do you mean, no?" Albert was taken aback by McDougal's response.
"Well, I was just joking. But seriously, there isn't another half. You know, why is Runic script considered to be magical?" McDougal asked.
"Do you mean that magic is infused into the script during the carving process?" Albert offered his guess.
"Yes and no," McDougal whispered. "I can't tell you the real answer because my understanding of Runic script is based on my own insights. If you haven't reached that level of comprehension, it will be difficult for you to understand and utilize it."
Albert remained silent, listening intently for McDougal to continue.
"You need to be highly proficient in Runic script, possess strong magical power as a foundation, and be adept at using ancient spells. These are the three stages I went through," McDougal explained.
"You've already achieved the first stage, but your magical power isn't strong enough, and you're not familiar enough with the magic associated with Ancient Runes. However, you're fortunate to have a sense of that hurdle, and you're not far from overcoming it," McDougal added.
Albert's mouth twitched; he disliked such vague explanations.
You're not some kind of charlatan.
Just tell me clearly! Or, better yet, invest the experience into the Runic script skill and get it directly to level 3. That would solve a lot of problems.
At that moment, Albert suddenly remembered something. "Professor Broad, could you please write me a recommendation letter to access the restricted section of the library? I want to borrow books related to Ancient Runes."
"Alright!" To Albert's surprise, Professor Broad agreed and quickly wrote a note on a piece of parchment: "Mr. Albert Anderson is permitted to borrow books related to Ancient Runes from the restricted section of the library. – Badd Broad."
"My luck isn't bad," Albert muttered as he left with the note.
"Why didn't you tell him?" Professor Broad asked, puzzled by McDougal's decision.
"What's the point? I told you, and you didn't believe me either. You thought I was pulling your leg," McDougal said, glancing at Professor Broad. "Albert is a genius. We just need to give him some guidance. You should trust your instincts."
Fred mumbled in his sleep, "You might not be able to get up tomorrow if you're not careful."
"I'm off to bed too. Goodnight," Albert yawned, covering his mouth and turning off the lights before settling into bed.
The next day, Albert woke up at 10 in the morning.
Everyone else in the dormitory had already left, and Albert stretched lazily, leaning on his pillow as he picked up the notebook from the previous night to continue reading.
MacDougal began to delve into ancient magic, and these spells were powerful but not very intricate.
The notebook listed the names of the spells but didn't include the incantations or gestures needed to cast them, which left Albert a little disappointed.
The following pages kept referring to this, as well as MacDougal's speculations about ancient runes.
It was clear from the records that MacDougal had been researching and seeking to understand the uniqueness of ancient runes, but to no avail.
Albert noticed one thing: in MacDougal's paper correspondence with Dumbledore, they had discussed the topic of making Dumbledore's patronus speak.
Unfortunately, there was no further information on this, and the subsequent written records didn't mention it again. Moreover, the notebook ended here, with no continuation, suggesting that there might be another one.
"Can I sense its uniqueness?" Albert quickly got out of bed and headed for Professor Broad's office.
As expected, MacDougal was there, but he looked a little tired.
"You're done?" MacDougal noticed Albert holding his notebook.
"Yes, I finished it, but unfortunately, I still couldn't find what I was looking for. Is there another half to the notebook?" Albert asked tentatively.
"No," MacDougal shook his head.
"None?" Albert was a little taken aback. "Just kidding," MacDougal smiled. "But no, there isn't. You know, why is the rune script considered to have magical power?"
"Are you saying that magic power is infused into it during the carving process?" Albert guessed.
"Yes and no," MacDougal whispered. "I can't tell you the real answer because my understanding of runes is unique. If you can't reach that level of comprehension, it will be difficult for you to understand and use them."
Albert fell silent, quietly listening to MacDougal continue.
"You need to be very proficient in rune script, have a strong foundation of magical power, and be adept at using ancient incantations. These were the three steps I went through," MacDougal explained.
"You've already achieved the first step, but your magical power isn't strong enough, and you're not familiar with the magic of ancient runes. However, it's fortunate that you've reached that hurdle, and you're not far from overcoming it."
Albert's mouth twitched; he disliked such vague statements.
You're not some sort of mystic.
Just tell me clearly! Or, forget it, just put the experience points into the rune skill and level it up directly to level 3. That would solve all these problems.
At that moment, Albert suddenly remembered something. "Professor Broad, could you please write me a recommendation letter to borrow books from the restricted section of the library on ancient runes?"
"Alright!" Professor Broad surprisingly agreed and turned to write on a piece of parchment: 'Mr. Albert Anderson is permitted to borrow books on ancient runes from the restricted section of the library.' - Bard Broad.
"My luck isn't bad," Albert muttered as he left with the note.
"Why didn't you tell him?" Professor Broad asked, confused.
"What's the point? I've already told you, and you still haven't learned it, thinking I'm bluffing," MacDougal glanced at Professor Broad and continued, "Albert is a genius. We just need to give him some guidance. You should believe in your own judgment."
(End of Chapter)
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