Chapter 368: An Unexpected Turn of Events
Chapter 368: An Unexpected Turn of Events
After spending a few days at school, Albert regretted signing up for all the courses. He felt like he must have been out of his mind when he made that decision.
It was truly frustrating. Just when he finished one class, he had to rush to another, with barely any time to catch his breath. The tight schedule was enough to drive anyone crazy.
What troubled Albert was not the course content; the knowledge in the textbooks was not particularly challenging, especially when compared to the muggle studies.
The textbook for Muggle Studies was titled "The British Muggle's Domestic Life and Social Customs." Just from the title, one could guess the boring content within.
Keri Dibubaji, a pro-muggle witch, told the class during the first Muggle Studies lesson that there wasn't much difference between wizards and muggles.
Albert doubted whether this Muggle Studies professor had truly understood muggles or lived in the muggle world for an extended period without the use of magic.
Undeniably, Professor Keri Dibubaji was an expert in Muggle Studies.
Well! Based on his past life's experience, Albert disliked the word "expert."
Why did he decide to take on all these courses, anyway?
In truth, Albert wanted a Time-Turner. He hoped to obtain one through tasks or learn how to create one himself.
Albert wasn't overly interested in the mysteries of time; he was well aware of the dangers involved. However, having such a device would give him a lot more leeway in certain situations.
Of course, using a Time-Turner required extreme caution, and Albert was always careful whenever he used it. However, what truly frustrated him and pushed him to his limits was having to trek long distances every day to attend classes.
Climbing up and down several floors within the castle all day was more exhausting than any other form of exercise, even if he took shortcuts.
Albert even suspected that if he brought Tom with him to school every day, the cat would soon lose some weight.
Hmm, that was an interesting idea, but it would be challenging to put it into action.
He couldn't possibly bring a cat to class every day.
Because of bringing Tom to the common room, the entire Gryffindor House now knew that the famous Albert Anderson had a rather chubby British Shorthair cat, and whenever he had free time, he would play with it using a feather.
"Albert," the Quidditch Captain, Wood, walked over and stood in front of Albert, placing a hand on his shoulder and saying earnestly, "Remember to attend practice on the weekends."
"Wood, just leave me alone," Albert said helplessly as he picked up Tom and looked up at the Quidditch Captain standing before him. "I have homework from twelve subjects to deal with. I really don't have any extra time to play Quidditch."
"Just keeping up with the daily homework is challenging enough."
"We can't find a suitable Seeker," Wood insisted, picking up the cat toy and waving it around. "And are you sure you don't have any extra time?"
Wood didn't believe Albert's excuse for a second.
No extra time? How could he have so much free time that he could play with his cat here every day?
"You can select players. Anyway, there's still a long time before the game starts. I assure you that you'll definitely find a better Seeker than me," Albert said, almost patting his chest to emphasize his point. "I prophesied that this year, Gryffindor will have a young Seeker joining the team. Trust me, you'll find a more excellent player than me very soon."
"Damn prophecies," Wood grumbled. "Don't you know how Professor Trelawney is viewed by everyone?" He couldn't understand why such a talented Seeker wouldn't want to join the team and bring glory to the house.
"If... I mean, by next month, if you really haven't found a suitable Seeker, I won't refuse," Albert said, glancing at the notice for the first-year flying class posted on the Gryffindor common room bulletin board.
"Don't forget what you just said," Wood prodded Albert's shoulder. "Don't try to back out with other excuses later."
"I think Wood is going to lose this one."
After Wood left, George, who was writing an essay on Shrinking Solutions, whispered to Lee Jordan beside him, "Albert has never lost a bet."
"I think so, too. There must be something we don't know about," Fred murmured. They were well aware that Albert rarely did anything unless he was confident about it, and the fact that he dared to bet against Wood meant he had a good chance of winning.
As for who would replace Albert as the Gryffindor Seeker?
The three of them looked in the same direction, their gazes falling on Harry Potter, who was playing wizard chess with Ron. They began to whisper quietly among themselves again.
"Is Harry Potter the person Albert mentioned last time?"
"Do you think Harry Potter is really good at flying?"
"I'm not sure," George hesitated. "But his father was excellent. He won several cups for the house. And I think Albert's predictions are usually accurate."
"It shouldn't take more than a month to get the results."
"I have a feeling it might not take that long." Fred glanced at the bulletin board and murmured, "Hey, Albert, don't you have homework to do?"
Albert stroked Tom's chubby belly and smiled. "I'm already done."
"When did you finish?" Jordan asked, astonished.
It had only been a short while since the start of the new term, and the professors had eagerly piled on assignments. With several additional courses this year, the workload was particularly heavy.
"Yesterday," Albert replied.
"And you told Wood you didn't have time?" Fred feigned a look of warning, as if he was about to tattle.
"I'm telling the truth," Albert nodded earnestly. "I have twelve subjects now, and I have even more homework than you guys every day."
He sat down in an empty seat next to them, placing Tom on the table, who promptly occupied a large portion of the space. Sensing someone looking at him, Albert turned and smiled, "Yes, Miss Granger?"
Hermione quickly averted her gaze, refocusing on her book.
"Your charm is as captivating as ever," Fred teased. "If you could catch a few more Golden Snitches for our House, you'd be even more popular."
Albert shot Fred a glance, then casually remarked, "She was probably looking at Tom. My cat always seems to charm the ladies."
"That's true," Angelina walked over and stroked Tom's head, addressing Albert, "I heard from Wood that you've joined the team. We have high hopes for winning the Quidditch Cup this year. By the way, Alicia and Katie are now official players too."
"How did you manage that?" Fred asked in surprise.
"What do you mean?" Angelina didn't understand Fred's question.
"This fat cat never lets us pet him," George said with a hint of resentment in his tone. "I almost got scratched last time."
"That's because you guys have bad intentions," Jordan whispered. "Cats have sharper instincts than us. If they sense ill intentions, they'll avoid you."
Of course, Albert wasn't entirely sure if that was the real reason either.
"Oh, right, there's one more thing I almost forgot." Angelina, who was about to walk away, paused and turned back to Albert.
"What is it?"
"When is the Wizarding Card Competition this year? And you mentioned last time that the Wizarding Cards will be completely renewed this semester. When will we be able to get our hands on the new cards?"
"Umm..." Albert scratched his head, genuinely stumped. There were simply too many things on his plate.
"Don't forget about it. We're all really looking forward to it," Angelina said and then headed back towards the girls' dormitory.
"Don't tell me you really forgot about it," Jordan interjected, still very much interested in the Wizarding Card Club.
"I couldn't use magic for most of the summer break," Albert mumbled in response.
"What?"
Suddenly, an explosion drew their attention, and they turned to see a cloud of black smoke rising from a cup in front of a boy whose face was now smudged with soot.
"Cool, is that a new hairstyle?" Jordan walked over, inspecting the new student, and waved his hand to disperse the remaining smoke. "What were you trying to do just now?"
"I think I was trying to turn the water in the cup into wine," the boy with the soot-stained face replied uncertainly.
"Hmm?" Fred and George also curiously gathered around, grinning. "By the way, how did you make the cup explode? That spell might come in handy sometime."
"To blow up a toilet?"
"That's a brilliant idea."
"If I find out that you blew up a toilet..." Percy coughed, waving his wand to dispel the smoke, and glared at Fred and George before addressing the soot-covered student, "Are you alright? If you're injured, you should go to the hospital wing."
"If you need a hair growth potion to regrow your eyebrows, a ten-sickle bottle of our hair growth potion will do the trick." Fred added, "Of course, you could also ask Madam Pomfrey. She might be able to help you restore your eyebrows."
"Where did you get the hair growth potion?" Jordan asked, skeptical.
"From Albert's medicine box, of course. We can sell them on his behalf. Besides, even if we don't have any, we can always brew our own." Fred replied without hesitation.
"Are you sure the hair growth potion you brew will work?" Jordan finished his sentence and quickly ran off.
Harry, who was playing chess nearby, was left dumbfounded, and Ron covered his face with his hand. He knew Fred and George were mischievous, but he never expected them to be like this at school.
It was clear now whose fault it was that they had gotten into trouble with Filch in the past.
(End of Chapter)
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