Chapter 205: That Mouse
Chapter 205: That Mouse
The busy and fulfilling life in the wizarding school always seemed to fly by.
In the blink of an eye, the end of October had arrived, bringing with it the annual rainy season. The weather had turned colder, and just like last year, the situation remained dismal.
"Rainy days always make me feel unmotivated," Albert yawned, gazing up at the gloomy ceiling in search of an excuse for his laziness.
"Morning," Fred and George said in unison, each placing a hand on Percy's shoulder and giving it a hearty pat as they greeted their older brother with a smile. The force of their greeting caused Percy, who was eating, to choke and cough uncontrollably.
Albert found the situation amusing and passed a drink to Percy, who gulped it down to wash away the food stuck in his throat. He then glared at Fred and George, who were using Albert as a shield from Percy's wrath.
The two, hiding behind Albert, mouthed the words, "You choked on your own food, don't blame us."
Just then, a group of mail carriers entered the room, capturing the students' attention. The owls, having traveled long distances in the rain, dove through the rain-splattered windows, shaking off their wet feathers and spraying water onto everyone's heads and bodies.
A gray owl dropped a square package in front of Albert.
"It seems like you receive mail every day," Fred said enviously, pointing at another owl approaching them.
This owl delivered a letter.
"It's Professor Babbling's latest publication, meant to be a reference book for higher-level Ancient Runes classes," Albert explained casually.
To be honest, the book's publication was even faster than he had anticipated.
"A book written by Professor Babbling herself?" Percy looked at the book with a puzzled expression and asked to borrow it from Albert to browse through.
Soon after, Fred and George also received thick letters from home, and the two couldn't help but grumble, "Mom mixed us up again."
"What's wrong?" Albert noticed Percy giving him a strange look and asked.
"You helped with the annotations?" Percy's eyes widened as he flipped to the first page and froze. Written there were the words: "This book is dedicated to Albert, in gratitude for his assistance with this publication."
Albert was bewildered by Percy's reaction and asked, "What's wrong?"
"This..." Percy pointed to the content on the first page, leaving no doubt that the Albert mentioned was indeed Albert Anderson.
At that moment, the students' attention was drawn to a long, slender package being carried by six owls together.
"A broomstick!" Fred whispered, his eyes gleaming.
Even as those around them wondered what the package could be, Albert's companions had already guessed its contents.
Albert quickly stood up to catch the owl carrying a slender package that was about to knock over his breakfast.
"Can I open it?" Lee Jordan asked eagerly, his eyes fixed on the package.
"Go ahead," Albert agreed, allowing Lee to open the package and take out the broomstick within.
"The Nimbus Six Thousand!" George joined them, admiring the latest addition to the Nimbus series. This broomstick was more expensive and faster than their Nimbus Two Thousand.
"You bought a broomstick?" Albert's roommates were surprised as he hadn't participated in Quidditch training for a long time.
"Fifty galleons, not bad," Albert muttered.
Sensing a gaze upon him, Albert turned to see Isabel, the Ravenclaw girl, who quickly averted her eyes after giving him a curious glance.
Ever since the lesson on the Mind-Blocking Charm, Albert and Isabel had maintained a friendly relationship, akin to what people in his previous life would call an "acquaintance whose relationship is as plain as water."
Yes, it was indeed as plain as water.
They would occasionally chat when they met at the club, but their main form of communication was through letters, and even then, they only discussed Ancient Runes.
As Lee Jordan was enthusiastically explaining the advantages of the Nimbus Six Thousand to the others, he suddenly turned to Albert and asked, "Are you going to try out your new broomstick later?"
"Go ahead and try it out yourself if you want!" Albert wasn't too concerned about riding the new broomstick right away, especially in the rain.
"Then I'll give it a test run for you!" Lee Jordan said excitedly.
"By the way, does anyone know where I can get a live mouse?" Albert asked suddenly as he flipped through his notebook.
The plan to store the crying of the Mandrake in its infancy had been a success. However, Albert couldn't be sure if the sound would be powerful enough to kill a mouse.
Initially, Albert had hoped that Sheila could catch him a live mouse, but what did she do instead?
She brought back a bunch of dead mice, prompting Albert to put a stop to the farce.
He had wanted to catch a few mice from Hogwarts for his experiment, but despite his efforts, he hadn't been able to find any.
"The kitchen, maybe?" Lee Jordan suggested uncertainly.
"There's no need to go that far. Percy has a pet mouse," Fred said with a mischievous glint in his eyes as he looked at his brother.
"What do you need a mouse for?" Percy asked, frowning.
"Well," Albert thought for a moment, "I'm trying out a magical experiment, similar to the Stunning Spell in effect. I want to test it on a mouse first, but I can't seem to find one."
"So, you have your eyes on my Scabbers?" Percy asked, his brows knitting together.
"Don't worry, Albert will definitely pay you for it," George chimed in with a smile, "One Sickle? Two Sickles?"
"Three Sickles, no more," Fred declared, slapping his thigh for emphasis and startling those around him.
"It's not like your Scabbers is a pet mouse anyway. It won't be a big loss if it dies," the twins added, causing Percy to frown even more.
After all, he couldn't very well use a human test subject! Even though the Mandrake's cry wouldn't kill a person in its infancy, Albert didn't want to experience its power firsthand. Using a mouse was undoubtedly the best option.
After all, countless experimental mice were still making contributions to the world.
And if he really couldn't find a lab mouse, a common house mouse would do in a pinch.
Yes, Ron's mouse used to be Percy's pet, and he remembered it was a male wizard mouse named Peter or something similar.
I heard the price of the Firebolt is 500 galleons. Does anyone know the details?
(End of Chapter)
Chapter end
Report
