Chapter 198: Scheming Again?
Chapter 198: Scheming Again?
Friday, 10:30 in the evening, inside the Gryffindor common room.
Albert sat in an armchair by the fireplace, perusing through the Advanced Ancient Runes manuscript that Professor Babbling had given him to review a few days prior.
Not far from him, Angelina, having finished her homework, was playing Wizarding Chess with Alicia, while Lee Jordan, who kept sneaking glances at their game, was working on his Astronomy homework under the guidance of Sandra.
"I win this round," said Angelina with a smile as she began to pack up the chess set. Looking at Lee Jordan, who was still working, she asked in confusion, "Why aren't you done yet?"
"Why don't you focus on finishing your work first, and then use the remaining time to play?" Alicia said, unable to comprehend Lee Jordan's way of thinking.
Yawning, Angelina asked, "Sandra, shall we head back to the dormitory?"
"You guys go ahead. I still have a bit more to do," Sandra replied, looking at the buttons in front of her. She wanted to transfigure them into beetles, but transforming non-living objects into living creatures was far more difficult than the other way around.
"Then we'll head back first," Alicia said, putting the chess set back into her pocket as she and her friend made their way back to their dormitory.
"Another failure," Sandra sighed, then looked up at Albert and asked, "Do you have any tips or tricks?"
"Practice makes perfect," Albert replied without hesitation.
"Oh, here we go again," Sandra muttered. "What have you been reading, anyway?"
"The manuscript, the one Professor Babbling asked me to proofread," Albert answered, making some final marks before putting the manuscript back into his bag.
"Professor Babbling?" Sandra had never heard of this professor before.
"Professor of Ancient Runes," Albert reminded her.
"Ancient Runes? I heard that it's an elective for third-years. Which ones are you planning to take?" Sandra asked suddenly.
"Electives?" Lee Jordan asked curiously. "What electives?"
"Divination, Care of Magical Creatures, Muggle Studies, Ancient Runes, and Arithmancy," Albert rattled off the five subjects. "I plan to take all of them."
"All of them? Do you have enough time?" Sandra asked, astonished.
"Yes, there's a way for me to have ample time," Albert said with a smile.
"I heard Ancient Runes is really difficult to learn," Sandra said, torn about whether to choose it or not.
"Learning Ancient Runes is like learning a foreign language," Albert explained.
"I recall that you're quite proficient in foreign languages," Lee Jordan said, looking at Albert with envy. "You know French, and you went to France during the summer holidays, right?"
After a moment's hesitation, Sandra said, "If it's not too difficult, I'd like to take all of them as well."
"Which ones are easier?" Lee Jordan asked.
"Divination and Muggle Studies," Albert replied without hesitation. "I heard it's a choice of five out of these."
"Why?" Lee Jordan continued to ask.
"Divination requires talent. If you don't have it, you're just wasting time, and it doesn't matter if you do the homework haphazardly," Albert said as he took a sip from his teacup, which now contained cold milk tea. "As for Muggle Studies, I feel that wizards who don't understand Muggles may not even know what batteries, televisions, and lightbulbs are."
"Really?" Sandra asked, surprised.
"Do you know what a lightbulb is?" Albert asked Lee Jordan.
"Of course, I do," Lee Jordan said, rolling his eyes. "I live in a Muggle neighborhood. But it's true that pure-blood wizards who are completely isolated from the Muggle world might not know about such things."
"That's hard to imagine," Sandra said, astonished.
"Not really," Albert said, teasingly. "Just like how my father doesn't know how to turn a bogey into a potion, or how Fred and George's father doesn't know what a rubber duck is for."
"Rubber... duck?" Sandra bit her lip to keep from laughing out loud.
"I remember Albert gave Fred and George a rubber duck during the summer," Lee Jordan recalled.
"You, my friend, are definitely doing this on purpose," Sandra finally burst out laughing, drawing curious glances from those around her.
"By the way, where are Fred and George?" Albert looked at Sandra, who was trying to stifle her laughter, and couldn't understand what she found so amusing.
"Those two rascals, Fred and George, went to the kitchen.
Lee Jordan pondered for a moment before answering, "They said they were hungry and wanted to get something to eat from the kitchen."
"Who are you calling a bastard?!"
The voices of the two could be heard from the entrance of the common room.
Lee Jordan looked in their direction and saw Fred and George walking towards them, each holding a pie and eating as they walked.
"We went through the trouble of getting you something to eat..." As they approached, they grumbled, "Hmph, but you don't get any."
"Ahem, you must have misheard," Lee Jordan coughed lightly and asked, "What do you have there to eat?"
The people beside him struggled to hold back their laughter.
"Do you think we're deaf? Hmph, scram, the pie isn't for you," Fred laughed and pushed Lee Jordan away, while George took out a greaseproof paper bag containing the pies from his robe's pocket and handed one to Sandra.
"What kind of pie is this?" Sandra curiously asked as she took the bag.
"Steak and kidney pie," George replied.
She took one, then passed the bag to Albert beside her.
Albert looked down at the steak and kidney pie in front of him. To be honest, he wasn't very hungry.
"Here, Lee Jordan," Albert passed the bag to him.
"Don't give it to that bastard," Fred and George both complained.
"This is from Albert," Lee Jordan took the bag, humming lightly, "It has nothing to do with you now."
"You..."
"Aren't you going to eat it?" Lee Jordan quickly changed the subject and asked Albert.
"No thanks, I'm not hungry," Albert shook his head.
"Then, I'll share half with you," Sandra smiled and said, "It's not good to eat too much at night."
As she spoke, she really divided the steak and kidney pie in half and stuffed one half into Albert's hand.
Albert was left speechless.
It was even worse than a completely cold meat bun.
Under the watchful eyes of his peers, Albert took a bite of the steak and kidney pie; it tasted a bit salty, and the texture was somewhat peculiar.
"It tastes pretty good, doesn't it?" George asked with a smile.
"I prefer it hot," Albert replied.
As they chatted, the common room gradually emptied, and the cold wind blew the windows with a creaking sound, the fire in the fireplace about to go out.
"I'll be heading out soon..." Albert made a sneaking gesture towards those playing wizard chess.
"What if you're caught?" Lee Jordan worried, "Last time, William was caught out after hours and made to scrub night pots by Professor McGonagall. I don't want to end up with a nickname like 'Prince of Night Pots'."
"Prince of Night Pots?"
"There's a prince named William in the Muggle world," Albert explained, barely holding back his laughter, "I remember he scrubbed the pots just last year."
"It wasn't just once," Fred laughed and said.
"That's not important!" Lee Jordan looked exasperated; he was genuinely worried about getting caught.
"Don't worry, we won't be caught," Fred and George exchanged glances, winked, and said in unison, "You have to have faith in Albert."
"What do you plan to do on your night out?" Lee Jordan asked in a low voice.
"I'm going to the restricted section of the library to look for books. Remember Snape's ability to see through people's thoughts?" Albert whispered, "That's indeed a magic called Legilimency. I plan to search for books in the restricted section that can counter this kind of magic."
"When are we leaving?" Lee Jordan asked excitedly.
"You didn't want to go just now," Fred rolled his eyes.
"I want to learn that magic too," Lee Jordan said excitedly, "Besides, if we're caught, we'll all be in trouble together, so what's there to be afraid of."
"No one can catch us," George hummed lightly, "But I doubt you'll be able to learn Legilimency anyway."
"How would you know if you don't try?"
"Legilimency is indeed difficult," Albert bluntly poured cold water on Lee Jordan's enthusiasm, causing Fred and George to burst into laughter.
(End of Chapter)
Chapter end
Report
