Chapter 171: Wizard Cards
Chapter 171: Wizard Cards
As the group chatted, the pistons of the express train's engine let out a loud hiss, and the train began to move.
However, an eerie silence fell over the carriage once more.
Albert's train of thought was indeed peculiar, but one couldn't help but admit that his ideas made a lot of sense.
"Anyways, I definitely won't be working for the Ministry of Magic in the future," Albert broke the silence.
"Percy, on the other hand, really wants to join the Ministry," Fred mumbled.
"What about you?" Albert turned to Lee Jordan.
"I probably won't be joining the Ministry either," Lee Jordan said uncertainly.
"We've been thinking of opening a joke shop," Fred and George looked at each other and replied seriously.
"That's a great idea. If you need money, come to me. I can invest some startup funds," Albert said to the twins after some thought.
At that moment, both the twins and Lee Jordan were stunned, staring at Albert in disbelief. The strangest part was that none of them thought he was boasting.
"Don't look at me like that. Making money is actually pretty easy if you know the tricks," Albert said calmly.
"Like what?" Fred was curious about Albert's easy methods.
"The venom of the Acromantula is a very valuable liquid, selling for as much as 100 Galleons per pint on the market," Albert reminded them.
"You mean..."
All three of them were shocked.
"There are plenty of Acromantula in the Forbidden Forest, and they have their value elsewhere too. Hunt down one or two and sell them on the black market, and you'll make a hefty sum of Galleons."
At the mention of Acromantula, Fred and George shuddered simultaneously.
However, they soon recalled the scene from a few months ago where Albert had defeated a large group of Acromantula, and they instantly felt that Albert's words rang true. Indeed, Acromantula were as good as sacks of shining gold coins.
"During the snow, we also ate those snow mushrooms. If we figure out how to handle them, we can make a lot of Galleons as well," Albert continued.
The three glanced at each other, feeling that Albert made a lot of sense.
"And this," Albert jingled the protective bracelet on his wrist, "apparently, most wizards in the Ministry can't even cast a decent Shield Charm. There will definitely be a market for this if I perfect it. I reckon I could sell each one for ten Galleons with no problem."
"Ten Galleons?!"
Not just the twins, but even Lee Jordan was stunned by Albert's claims. Their eyes nearly turned into Galleon shapes as they imagined the riches.
In fact, as long as one knew how to monetize them, making a fortune wasn't that difficult.
After all, Hogwarts backed onto the Forbidden Forest—the most resource-rich primeval forest in Britain.
No one thought Albert was boasting because they believed he had the capability. This guy's brain worked better than anyone else's.
"There's one more thing you might not know," Albert said as he took off the now-useless protective bracelet. "If you use magical objects, the Ministry can't detect that you're using magic. That's how I blocked Hectork's curse with this bracelet and kept his Gold Card."
The three friends gaped in astonishment, unable to find words to express their surprise.
"I found the Gold Card in the opera house, and when I saw it trying to fly away, I knew someone was using magic to summon it," Albert explained.
"You kept it because you thought the owner might be nearby using magic?" Lee Jordan's brain, for once, was working quickly.
"Exactly," Albert nodded. "If the owner was close by, there was a high chance the Ministry would blame me for it."
"Why?" Fred asked.
"Just look at what happened with Truman last year," George reminded him. "Albert got Truman into trouble, so don't you think Albert would've considered the possibility of someone doing the same to him?"
"In fact, as you saw, that's exactly what happened. So, I kept the Gold Card and let its owner explain things to the Ministry before returning it to them," Albert said helplessly.
"If it were me, I definitely wouldn't have thought that far ahead," Lee Jordan admired Albert's intellect. "It's a real loss for Ravenclaw that you didn't end up in their house."
"I just want to say, when you're ready to make some money, count me in," Fred said earnestly.
The four friends looked at each other and suddenly burst out laughing. It felt absurd. To others, they were just a bunch of kids talking nonsense.
The train traveled north, and the sky turned pitch black as rain began to fall outside. Soon, the rain intensified, pounding against the glass windows. The carriage lights flickered on, illuminating the interior.
In the corridor outside the compartment, a trolley rattled down the passage, and Albert noticed that the trolley witch had changed. It was no longer the owner of Honeyduke's, but another kindly witch with a warm smile.
Albert and Lee Jordan bought some snacks to share with the group.
"Actually, I think you could make a lot of money even without the methods you mentioned earlier," Lee Jordan said with a laugh as he took a sip of pumpkin juice. "All you need to do is enter the Daily Prophet's Galleon Draw."
"That's right, winning the grand prize would net you a small fortune," Fred immediately chimed in.
"The odds aren't that great," Albert replied.
"Why not?"
"Do you really think it's possible? Use your head," Albert looked at Lee Jordan incredulously. "If someone is that lucky, they might as well buy lottery tickets every day, stumble upon money on the street, or just casually stumble upon a gold mine. Why bother working hard?"
"We think you're incredibly lucky," George mumbled. "You might just win the grand prize."
Albert gave George an up and down look, making the latter feel a bit uncomfortable.
"What?" George asked, feeling uneasy.
"It's nothing, I was just thinking, why don't you give it a try? I have a feeling your family might win the Daily Prophet's grand prize in the future," Albert suddenly said. "It's worth a shot, what do you have to lose?"
"Are you sure?" George asked, a bit skeptical, but then he thought of Albert's knack for being right...
"Forget it, who knows when that'll be in the future," Fred muttered. "Albert, you're just teasing him."
"Write it down, quick, write it down," Lee Jordan joked. "I'm curious to see if Albert's prediction will come true."
"I'm just blabbering," Albert shrugged, gazing out the window. "Speaking of which, why is it raining so much this season?"
"It was raining last year too, I think," Fred picked up a Chocolate Frog card and asked casually, "Does anyone want Dumbledore's card?"
"No thanks, I already have several of them," came the reply.
"How about you, Albert?" Fred asked.
"I don't collect these things. Hey, let me see that card for a moment," Albert fiddled with the Chocolate Frog card and an idea came to mind, inspired by games he knew. "Actually, we could create a wizarding card game."
Albert thought of Gwent, as well as other card games he had played.
"What's that?"
The three others looked puzzled, only catching a few words like 'card' and 'game', but had no idea what it meant when put together.
Albert briefly explained the concept of a card game to the trio.
"Think about it, the Chocolate Frog cards feature many famous witches and wizards. We can use them, along with some well-known items, historical events, and spell effects, as the backdrop for the cards and give them certain abilities," Albert explained as he began to outline his idea for wizard cards, sharing his thoughts with the others.
"Yes, write this down, we can try to promote it," Albert said as he took out a new notebook and jotted down his fresh idea.
"It does sound interesting," George nodded. "I think using this method would make learning about magical history much easier than just memorizing facts. At least, I won't mix up oddities like Urlick the Unclean and evil wizards like Emeric the Evil anymore."
"Count me in when you get this going," Lee Jordan said enthusiastically, patting his chest. "I think this game could spread to different countries."
"I think you're exaggerating," Fred said skeptically.
"Don't you get it? Each country has its own famous witches and wizards, historical events, achievements, and even notorious dark wizards. Putting all of these people and events on cards and turning them into a game would be more fun than Gobstones. And we'd be learning about our history without having to waste time memorizing boring facts from textbooks," Lee Jordan explained excitedly.
"When that happens, I'll definitely make a card of myself," Lee Jordan continued, getting more excited by the second. "Let's call it 'One of the Founders of Wizard Cards', and its effect will be to let the player draw three more cards."
"You've already thought about your own card?" Albert couldn't help but laugh. "So, what effect do you think my card should have? The same as yours?"
"Your card could be the 'Four Founders', featuring the four of us together," they suggested.
"Why only draw three cards instead of four?" Fred asked curiously.
"Because you're twins!" Albert exclaimed. "So the two of you only count as one."
Years later, the popular Wizarding Card Game, as it came to be known in the magical world, took its first steps toward creation in that small train compartment.
Much later, when Lee Jordan was interviewed by the Daily Prophet, he recalled: "At the time, we firmly believed that this card game would be loved by witches and wizards everywhere. Because not only were we playing a game, but we were also learning history and exercising our minds. Moreover, we wanted to use this medium to honor those witches and wizards who had made sacrifices and contributions, as well as to remember the infamous dark wizards who had caused harm.
Wizard Cards are not just a game, but also a reflection of our magical history."
(End of Chapter)
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