Chapter 181: The New Recruits
Chapter 181: The New Recruits
Things went even more smoothly than Albert had anticipated.
However, he was surprised that no panel task had appeared this time. Usually, such an event would be preceded by a panel task, and the absence of one made him feel a little... uneasy.
Albert stopped in front of the portrait of the Fat Lady and checked the task panel. As expected, the only task that appeared was the annoying honesty task.
"Are you going in or not?" the Fat Lady, who had been waiting impatiently, couldn't help but ask.
"Oh, sorry. The password is: Singer."
As Albert spoke the password, the portrait of the Fat Lady swung open, revealing the passage behind it.
As soon as Albert entered the common room, he heard someone calling his name.
It was George.
He was at a table, watching Fred and Lee Jordan play Wizarding Cards.
"Well?" Albert asked.
"I and George are Beaters, Angelina is a Chaser as she hoped, Wood is Keeper, and Charlie is Seeker," George said. "The other two Seekers are Danny and Paris."
"As expected," Albert nodded.
"Alicia Spinnet was chosen as a reserve Chaser, along with first-year Katie Bell. Cormac McLaggen is the reserve Keeper. And of course, there's you, the unreliable Seeker substitute," George couldn't help but ask, "What happened with you? Why did Dumbledore call you?"
"It's about that incident. But Mr. Hettich has agreed to help me resolve the issue," Albert explained casually, then turned to the girl next to him and said, "Congratulations, Angelina. You got your wish."
"Thanks," Angelina smiled. "But I'm surprised you didn't try out."
"I had other things to attend to," Albert said.
"Alicia's a good flier," Angelina said, pulling her friend along. "If she had practiced with us last semester, she definitely would've made the team this year."
"With more practice this year, she'll be able to play next year," Albert paused, then added, "I remember Katie Bell is a girl, too. It looks like Gryffindor's Chasers will be girls for quite some time. I dare say, this is an extremely rare situation."
"Indeed," George nodded in agreement. "Just make sure you're not the only one still on the reserves when the rest of us are playing."
"That's not a bad thing, though. I get to slack off," Albert joked. "But I know someone who's probably going to be a reserve for a very long time."
"Who?" George asked curiously.
"Cormac McLaggen."
Albert noticed that when he mentioned this name, some eyes turned towards them. He turned and saw that it was indeed Cormac McLaggen.
"Why?" George asked, confused.
"You're so dense!" Albert exclaimed in disbelief. "Wood will be the next Quidditch Captain, and his Keeper position will likely last until he graduates, so there's no real need for a reserve. But Charlie probably wants to have a backup in case something like last year's mess happens again."
"Makes sense," Fred suddenly spoke up. "Want to play a game?"
"Sure!" Albert said. "But my cards are in the dormitory."
"I wasn't talking to you," Fred waved his hand dismissively at Albert, his face full of disdain. "Now that no one wants to play cards with you, just go sit in a corner and come up with more cards. We need more variety."
"I'll make my own deck another day.
Angelina took the cards passed to her by Lee Jordan. "This game is much more interesting than Gobstones, but the cards are a bit rough."
"Well, it's still in its early stages." Albert asked, "Do you want to join the Wizarding Cards Club?"
"What's that?" Angelina asked in surprise.
"Well, it's as the name suggests, a loose club," Albert said, pointing to the few people around them. "Currently, there are only the four of us."
"What does the club do?" Angelina asked curiously, "Play Wizarding Cards together?"
"How should I put it?" Albert thought for a moment before answering, "It's a club for Wizarding Cards enthusiasts. We meet on the last weekend of every month to update our card collection and announce improved rules for the game, that sort of thing."
"Did you just decide this?" Lee Jordan asked.
"No, we decided on the train ride here," Albert shook his head.
"How come I didn't know about it?" George said, unconvinced.
"I didn't mention it then, but promoting the game is a necessary step." Albert started making things up again.
"Don't listen to his nonsense, Albert's probably trying to pull one over on you again," Fred played his card and said to Angelina, "Your turn."
"As expected, it's like this again," Lee Jordan made a face as if he had known this would happen.
"Carry on, I still have things to do. If you have any suggestions about the game, write them down." Albert turned to Alicia, who was watching the game, and asked, "How about you?"
"What?" Alicia didn't understand Albert's question.
"Your own cards," Albert explained.
Alicia was surprised, "Really?"
"Of course, wait a moment." Albert returned to the dormitory and quickly made a card for Alicia.
The effect was 'Substitute': Each time a Quidditch Player card is sent to the graveyard, gain +1 health.
"Why not add an attack effect?" Fred complained.
"The game needs to maintain balance. Alright, you guys carry on, I have to go to the Transfiguration Club." Albert remembered about the Transfiguration Club, even though he was already late, he still wanted to attend.
"See you later. On your way back, drop by the kitchen and get some supper." Fred suddenly shouted at Albert.
"It's not on the way." Albert rolled his eyes and left the common room towards the entrance.
When he arrived at the sixth floor of the castle and passed through the portrait of the witch to reach the door of Classroom 21, the Transfiguration Club had already started for half an hour.
Albert hesitated, then knocked on the wooden door and pushed it open.
There was one less chair in the Transfiguration Club, and some of the members had changed.
In addition to Katrina, Diggory had also joined.
"Take a seat, Mr. Anderson, we were just in the middle of a discussion." Professor McGonagall turned her head to look at Albert and gestured for him to sit down.
Albert walked towards Filch and sat in the empty armchair, his eyes falling on Katrina and Diggory, the former sitting on a simple wooden chair, and the latter on a three-legged stool.
Compared to the others, their seating arrangements were rather humble.
However, given their transfiguration level, it was already quite impressive.
Professor McGonagall was explaining transfiguration techniques, she transformed a chair into a dachshund and made it run in circles.
This was an extremely advanced transfiguration spell, and for the new members, the difficulty was a bit high. Both Katrina and Diggory listened with bewildered expressions.
(End of Chapter)
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