Chapter 318: Hardcore Spoilers
Chapter 318: Hardcore Spoilers
As night fell, Albert returned from the kitchen, still holding a take-out bag of steaming snacks. He paused in front of the portrait of the Fat Lady.
"Password?" she asked.
"Pumpkin pie," Albert replied.
As soon as the portrait hole opened, he stepped into the Gryffindor common room.
The buzz of voices around him immediately filled his ears. Everyone was discussing the upcoming Quidditch match, and the topic of Professor Snape had been completely forgotten. Only a handful of people genuinely seemed to care about the fate of Rowan Snape.
Albert scanned the room and made his way towards Lee Jordan, who was buried in a pile of books, working on his homework. Albert casually placed the bag of hot pumpkin pies in front of him and let his gaze wander across the common room, finally resting on a group of people huddled in the corner.
Charlie was crouched in front of a miniature Quidditch pitch, wand in hand, directing tiny players across the field while muttering tactics and strategies to his teammates for the upcoming match.
"So, how did your date go?" Lee asked with a mischievous grin as he opened the bag. "I thought you might not be back until midnight."
The girls nearby pricked up their ears, eagerly listening in on the conversation. Everyone was curious about who Albert had taken a liking to.
"I thought you didn't like these..." Albert smiled and swatted Lee's hand away, moving the bag out of his reach. He turned to Sean, who was also working on her homework.
"Would you like some snacks?" he asked.
"Thanks!" Sean shot Lee a glance and took the bag from Albert, pulling out a still-warm pumpkin pie. She looked at Albert in surprise. "Where did you get these? They're still hot."
"They're fresh from the house-elves' kitchen," Albert replied, waving his wand. A cup of milk tea appeared, already brewed and steaming. "Household magic, very convenient."
"It looks like it," Sean said with a smile, taking a sip of her tea and happily biting into her pie. "I didn't expect you to go out of your way to learn household magic."
"Ahem, Albert, I was hit with a Babbling Curse earlier, so please disregard what I said," Lee quickly apologized, his eyes fixed on the bag of snacks.
"Tea made with magic doesn't taste as good as the one you make yourself, but it's convenient," Albert remarked, sipping his tea and ignoring Lee.
This jerk probably intended to spread rumors about him and still wanted to eat the snacks he'd brought back.
"I've never even heard of a Babbling Curse!" Fred exclaimed, slapping Lee on the shoulder and grinning.
"And I don't think there's any left for you here!" George added, taking the bag from Albert and finding only two pies left inside. He and Fred proceeded to divide the remaining treats between themselves.
Sean glanced down at her pie and immediately understood what had happened. She shot Lee an apologetic look.
"Is Charlie done?" Albert asked.
"Yeah," Fred sighed. "It doesn't feel very useful. Luckily, Hufflepuff isn't that strong, so we should win tomorrow."
"Losing again would be too embarrassing," Albert agreed.
He knew that tomorrow's match against Hufflepuff would be their last of the season, and the Gryffindor team was determined to avoid the title of the worst team of the year.
"Next year, after Charlie's gone, you won't be able to refuse anymore. Wood will definitely get you to join the team," George said to Albert between bites of his pie.
A skilled Seeker could often be the key to a team's victory.
Albert had long proven his aptitude for flying, and with Charlie's departure, he would be needed to fill that position.
"Who knows, maybe Wood will find a better Seeker next year?" Albert said with a mischievous smile.
He did enjoy flying, but he didn't particularly like Quidditch training, and his time was limited, especially in his third year with twelve subjects to juggle. Where would he find the time for Quidditch?
"I don't see anyone more suitable," Wood said irritably.
"I'm talking about the first years," Albert clarified.
"You forgot, first years aren't allowed to join the team," Fred reminded him.
"There are always exceptions. Didn't we play in our first year?" Albert pointed out.
"I have a feeling you're up to something sneaky," said Lee Jordan, who was feeling grumpy because he hadn't gotten any late-night snacks. "Just spit it out and stop making us guess."
"Next year, Hogwarts will be enrolling a rather famous student," Albert said mysteriously.
"Who?" Sean asked.
"You guys don't know?" Albert looked at them in disbelief.
"Harry Potter?" George blurted out.
"Yes, the one and only Harry Potter!" Albert confirmed. "I saw the name of the savior in a book today, and when I calculated the time, I realized that Harry Potter should be reaching school age soon."
"Do you think Potter will be good at Quidditch?" Fred asked, his eyes wide as he sized Albert up, wondering if he was just making things up again.
"If you paid attention, you'd notice that there are quite a few Quidditch cups in the trophy room from when James Potter was in school," Albert reminded them.
"I never noticed that."
"Me neither."
Albert gestured that they could go check the trophy room if they didn't believe him.
"What does that have to do with the savior playing Quidditch?" Sean was even more confused. "And do you really think Harry Potter will be sorted into Gryffindor?"
"Magic runs in families," Albert said with a strange expression. "James Potter was in Gryffindor, so Harry Potter likely will be too, and he might just be good at flying."
"Actually, you just don't want to join the Quidditch team, right?" Lee Jordan bluntly exposed Albert's ulterior motive.
Wood immediately turned to stare at Albert.
"Next semester, I'll be taking twelve subjects. Where will I find the time for Quidditch?" Albert retorted, not embarrassed that his thoughts had been seen through, as it was the truth.
"Twelve subjects?" Wood's voice turned sharp.
"Although I think you're talking nonsense, it does sound somewhat reasonable," Fred said, patting Wood's shoulder comfortingly after finishing his pumpkin pie. "Maybe Harry Potter really is good at flying."
"Let's get some sleep. We need to play well tomorrow and not lose again."
Charlie urged everyone to get some rest and repeatedly emphasized that they must win the next game, no matter what, to avoid a humiliating defeat.
"I think it doesn't matter even if we lose, since we can't get the championship cup anyway," George said to Albert after they returned to the dormitory.
In fact, the Gryffindor team members were all feeling rather dejected. They had been training hard, but their performance was still lacking, and the pressure from the rumors and gossip was intense. Many people said that they had only gotten into the team because of connections, ruining what was once a good team.
(End of Chapter)
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