Chapter 36: Muggle-born Wizard
Chapter 36: Muggle-born Wizard
On September 3rd, the first official day of term at Hogwarts, the gloomy rainy weather suddenly cleared up.
Albert opened his eyes, waking up from his slumber. He slowly climbed out of bed, padding barefoot to the window to let the cool morning breeze into the room.
His three roommates were still asleep, having stayed up late the night before chatting about the Quidditch World Cup according to the Prophet. Albert didn't plan to wake them up just yet; after all, classes didn't start until nine, and it would be cruel to rouse his sleep-deprived roommates too early.
After a quick wash, Albert glanced at his timetable and checked his school bag to ensure he had his books, quill, ink, and parchment. With his bag on his back, he made his way to the Gryffindor common room.
There were already people there, fellow students from his year.
"Good morning, Wilson," Albert greeted a girl from his year who was perusing a copy of 'Standard Book of Spells, Grade 1' by Miranda Goshawk, presumably in preparation for their first class of the day, Charms.
"Good morning..." stuttered Sana Wilson, a bit embarrassed that she didn't know the name of the boy greeting her, even though she knew they were in the same year.
"Albert Anderson. You can call me Albert," he introduced himself, sensing her discomfort. "Shall we head to the Great Hall for breakfast?"
"Oh, yes... alright, Albert!" Sana replied, a bit flustered, as she quickly gathered her books and followed Albert out of the common room.
Along the way, Sana remained silent, sticking close behind Albert as she looked around, trying to commit the route to memory.
Albert noticed her actions and wondered, "Does she not know the way?"
It was quite possible.
He recalled his own first day of university when he had almost gone to the wrong place.
Hogwarts was undoubtedly more complex, and it was understandable for someone with a slight sense of direction to get lost.
As Albert had expected, Sana indeed didn't know how to get to the Great Hall, so she waited in the common room for others to join them.
To be honest, Gryffindors weren't particularly keen on guiding others, and many older students enjoyed watching the younger ones fret. This habit stemmed from their own experiences, and over time, they developed a taste for schadenfreude.
The day before, Albert had witnessed a few older students laughing as a first-year fell into a staircase trap, doing nothing to help.
Of course, these were exceptions! Most students would readily lend a hand, especially those from Hufflepuff.
Upon finally reaching the Great Hall, Sana Wilson looked visibly relieved.
Albert sat down at the Gryffindor table and poured himself a glass of milk, downing it in one go. He looked up to find Sana staring at him, her mouth slightly agape, as if she wanted to say something.
"What is it?" he asked.
"Nothing, does Albert like milk?" Sana tried to initiate a conversation with the boy in front of her.
After all, no one wanted to be friendless, and Albert seemed approachable.
"Like it?" Albert shook his head. "I wouldn't say I like it, I'm just used to it. I've been drinking it every morning since I was seven, and it's become a habit."
Sana opened her mouth but didn't know what to say. She admired Albert, knowing she couldn't have done the same.
Albert spread jam on a slice of bread and took a big bite, while Sana ate a fried egg across from him—the kind that was boiled, peeled, coated in flour, and then fried to a golden brown.
"I think 'golden fried egg' suits it better," Albert thought to himself, having no interest in this peculiar British delicacy. A regular boiled egg tasted better to him.
After finishing his bread, Albert prepared two more slices, making a sandwich with some vegetable salad, cold cuts, and sausage.
Of course, he also had a small bowl of corn porridge, which was essentially corn soup made by boiling crushed corn with water and a small amount of milk.
Compared to Daisy's corn soup, the school's corn porridge was just passable. It wasn't surprising, though, as Daisy's corn soup was one of her signature dishes.
After breakfast, Sana and Albert chatted about charms.
"I heard from Angelina that you've already mastered many charms. Is that true? How did you learn so much magic in such a short time?" Sana asked slowly, choosing her words carefully.
"Well... you mainly need to have an interest in it, and then..." Albert thought for a moment, "...you need to spend time researching and practicing."
He believed that interest was crucial; it motivated one to dedicate time and effort to truly master a subject.
"Interest?" Sana pondered this.
As someone from a Muggle family, she had never expected to be a witch, and she was still bewildered by many things. Muggle-born wizards had a lot of catching up to do.
Undoubtedly, students from wizarding families were ahead of them.
"Actually, you don't need to worry too much," Albert said, suddenly feeling a bit silly. "We're all in the same boat, more or less. Spend a little extra time on your studies, and you'll soon catch up with them."
He found it amusing that he, of all people, was encouraging a Gryffindor student to love learning.
Not every student was a Hermione Granger, and even she had almost been sorted into Ravenclaw.
"You too?"
"Of course, what did you expect?" Albert replied matter-of-factly.
However, as he said this, he felt a twinge of guilt. Unlike others, he had the advantage of the system, which allowed him to learn skills through upgrading, in addition to his own studies.
If he had maximized his wizarding bloodline, his magic learning speed would have far surpassed his peers, but he hadn't done so, nor had he accepted any quests related to the wizarding path.
Albert was considering whether to increase his wizarding bloodline level first before claiming the quest rewards, as it would undoubtedly be the most cost-effective method.
But the problem was that Albert was still undecided about his future career. He didn't particularly want to stay in the magical world, and if he chose to return to the Muggle world, he would need to reserve a lot of experience and skill points for upgrading various economic skills.
Never mind, he thought, shaking off these distracting thoughts.
Albert focused on flipping through 'Charms of the Nineteenth Century' and was quite content with his current situation. As for the stored experience and skill points, he could use them when the need arose.
(End of Chapter)
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