Chapter 173: Planning Cards
Chapter 173: Planning Cards
The first day of the new term at Hogwarts happened to be a weekend, which was a delightful surprise for most students.
In the morning, Albert yawned and got out of bed. It was still pouring rain outside. His roommates were all still lazing in bed, reluctant to start the day.
Rainy days always made it harder to get up.
Albert got dressed and prepared to head to the Great Hall for breakfast. Before leaving, he retrieved two thick books from his trunk.
These books had been borrowed from the library before the summer holidays, and it was now time to return them. By the way, regarding his task of reading a hundred books, Albert had already finished 17.
As he passed through the common room, Albert witnessed a surprising sight.
The armchairs in the common room were all occupied, and many Gryffindor students were actually... hard at work on their summer homework.
Was the sun rising in the west today?
No, it was still raining outside.
"Good morning," said Hannah, descending the other staircase and greeting Albert, who was also standing at the entrance of the common room. Looking at the students in the common room, she asked in astonishment, "Are they doing... summer homework?"
"Yeah, cramming it at the last minute," Albert replied, heading towards the common room entrance.
Hannah glanced at the students and followed Albert out.
Along the way, the two of them chatted about the Replication Charm.
"Items replicated using the Replication Charm usually don't have any added value," Albert said to a lost first-year student before turning to Hannah. "For example, if you replicate a silver spoon, the copy will only have the function of a spoon and won't possess the properties of the valuable metal silver."
Hannah nodded to indicate her understanding.
As they reached the entrance of the Great Hall, they met Charlie and Wood, who were discussing the Quidditch tryouts.
It was common knowledge that Wood would be the next captain of the Gryffindor Quidditch team after Charlie.
There was no other choice. After Charlie graduated, Wood would be the oldest and most experienced player on the team.
Albert greeted them and was about to enter the Great Hall for breakfast when Charlie called out to him.
"Albert."
Albert's heart skipped a beat as he turned around and asked, "What's up?"
"The Quidditch tryouts are next Wednesday, don't be late," Charlie reminded him.
"Wednesday?" Albert hesitated, "I'm not sure when Professor McGonagall's Transfiguration Club will start. Maybe just give me a reserve player spot."
"Don't make excuses," Charlie narrowed his eyes, "Order your broom early. Your position is Seeker."
Albert was taken aback and asked in confusion, "What about you?"
"I can manage as a Chaser," Charlie said calmly, "So, stop making excuses. I'll allow you to occasionally skip Quidditch practice."
"That doesn't seem right," Albert said, tugging at the corner of his mouth.
"There's nothing wrong with it," Charlie waved his hand impatiently, indicating that Albert could leave. "Seekers don't need to coordinate much with the rest of the team. You just need to catch the Snitch for us."
After Albert and Hannah entered the Great Hall, Wood looked at Charlie and asked, "Is this really okay?"
"You know how bad the Quidditch skills of those Gryffindors are," Charlie scoffed, "Besides, I did give them a chance. If they're not good enough, it's their own fault."
Charlie then patted Wood's shoulder and continued, "You should know that it's easy to find Chasers and Beaters, but Seekers are hard to come by. That's why I want to leave you with a good Seeker, or else you'll be in big trouble next year when you take over the team. You'll lose miserably without a decent Seeker."
"Albert is more than qualified as a Seeker, and you saw his performance in the last game," Wood agreed.
"I'm just worried..." Wood hesitated, but didn't finish his sentence.
"There's nothing to worry about," Charlie said meaningfully, "George, Fred, Angelina, and the others are all good friends with Albert. Even if he occasionally misses practice, it won't be a problem. The Seeker's task is to find the Snitch."
Albert was unaware of the conversation between Charlie and Wood, nor did he know that the original Quidditch players had already been decided.
At that moment, he was teaching Hannah how to use the Replication Charm.
It was highly unlikely to succeed on the first attempt, so as expected, Hannah failed in her attempt to replicate a spoon.
Just then, Albert's attention was caught by a white owl that had arrived despite the heavy rain.
Sheila had braved the stormy weather to deliver the letter as promised.
"You must be tired," Albert said, taking owl treats from his pocket and offering them to Sheila.
"What's in the letter?" Hannah asked curiously. A crisp metallic sound came from the letter as it landed on the table.
"A gold coin, I assume," Albert replied without hesitation. He didn't plan to open the letter in the Great Hall, so he tucked it back into his pocket.
As for the gold card, Albert already had a plan to hide it in the Room of Requirement.
"Right, right next to the Ravenclaw crown," Albert replied.
Next time, when Albert hands the crown to Dumbledore, he'll have an excuse ready: "I hid the gold card nearby, and that's when I found this."
"A gold ingot?" Hannah repeated, looking at Albert with suspicion. This guy's words were always a mix of truth and falsehood, making it hard to tell when he was being genuine.
"I was just joking. It's actually a membership card made of metal," Albert said casually, not giving Hannah a chance to question him further.
After breakfast, Albert bid Hannah farewell and left. As for Sheila, after finishing her fill of nuts, she had long flown back to the owlery to catch some more sleep.
"Gold and membership cards? What strange things," Hannah muttered, shaking her head as she watched Albert's retreating figure.
It was indeed challenging for an ordinary person to associate gold with a membership card.
Well, unless one had actually seen it with their own eyes.
Albert hurried to the eighth floor and slipped into the Room of Requirement when no one was around. He placed the envelope containing the gold card next to the Ravenclaw crown.
Whether Hectork would find another way to retrieve his gold card, Albert couldn't be sure. Perhaps he would seek Dumbledore's help.
Keeping the gold card on his person made it too easy for the other party to reclaim it, so hiding it was the best option.
As for whether they would apply for a new membership card...
Unless Hectork gave up, he would have to resolve the mess he created if he wanted his gold card back.
The probability of Hectork giving up was slim.
As Albert walked, his mind turned over these matters. Before he knew it, he had arrived at the portrait of the Fat Lady.
After giving the password, passing through the passage, and returning to the dormitory, he found that Lee Jordan was already awake and checking his summer homework.
He was startled by the scene in the common room.
"How's it going?" Albert asked, sitting on the edge of his bed.
"I didn't forget to do my holiday homework," Lee Jordan said, giving him an OK sign. "When are we going to start making the wizard cards?"
"According to the plan, we'll start with the students and professors of Hogwarts," Albert said, flipping through his notebook. "We'll call it the 'Hogwarts Card Set.'"
"I thought you'd group them by house," Fred commented.
"Of course, we'll start by separating them that way. It's more conducive to promotion," Albert agreed, taking out a piece of parchment and sketching a rough structure of the cards. "However, all these cards will fall under the Hogwarts Card Set, and we need to divide them into factions. Each faction will have its own gameplay so that we can increase the fun factor."
"Makes sense," Fred nodded.
"Aren't you going back to sleep?"
"No," Fred yawned and began to get out of bed, covering his mouth.
George pointed to a large blank space on the parchment and asked, "What's this for?"
"It's for the portraits," Albert explained, picking up his wand and cutting out the image on the parchment. He then used the Replication Charm to make several copies and picked up a quill to start making the cards: "Fred Weasley. Attack 1, Health 1. Costs 1 action point to play. Effect: If George is not in play, you may immediately summon George from your deck. When the Weasley twins are both in play, both their attack power increases by 1."
"Our attack power is only 1 point?" Fred and George protested.
"I think the effect of your card is pretty good," Lee Jordan said, pointing to his own card.
"Lee Jordan. Attack 1, Health 1. Costs 1 action point to play. Effect: As one of the four founders of the wizard card game, you may draw an additional card for free."
"What about your card?" The three of them looked at Albert curiously.
"Here's my card," Albert said, picking up a blank piece of parchment and filling in his information.
"Albert Anderson. Attack 3, Health 2. Costs 2 action points to play. Effect: When this card is played, choose one Ironskin Curse and one Disarming Charm from your deck."
"Why do you get better card effects than us?" The three of them protested.
"Because I'm more skilled than you, and I can actually cast those spells," Albert reassured them. "These cards aren't set in stone. Later on, we can use the Alteration Charm to update and improve them."
"Hurry up, I can't wait to play a game," Lee Jordan urged.
"Make sure to include Charlie and Percy, too. Oh, and the Gryffindor Quidditch players," Fred added. "And don't forget the school professors."
"How many cards do we need for a deck, by the way?" George asked.
"Let's go with thirty cards for now," Albert suggested after a moment's thought. "And no more than three duplicate cards per deck."
(End of Chapter)
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