Chapter 374: A Clever Man's Tricks
Chapter 374: A Clever Man's Tricks
Time flew by as Albert entered his third year, and the workload only increased and became more challenging. Yet, for someone like Albert, who could steal time, the heavy workload didn't bring him stress; instead, he lived a rather comfortable life.
With a few extra hours each day, time management became crucial to avoid pulling all-nighters and exhausting himself. Isabelle had advised Albert to limit himself to no more than five extra hours a day.
However, Albert didn't pay much heed to this advice. In his opinion, when necessary, he could always use the Time-Turner to go back and catch some sleep in the Room of Requirement.
In any case, while he had more classes than others, Albert also had more than twenty-four hours in a day, and he had more time for rest and homework than his peers.
The only minor issue was that his lifespan would likely be shortened by about half a year, but Albert didn't fret over such trivial matters.
After all, most wizards lived far longer lives than Muggles. Dumbledore was the perfect example, having lived for over a century. As long as he didn't meet some mysterious end, Albert believed he could outlive even Dumbledore.
Indeed, that old man had lost his life not long after Albert's graduation from Hogwarts.
What a sad story.
Having just returned an hour back in time using the Time-Turner, Albert was about to head to the kitchen with his cat to greet the house-elves and ask them to look after Tom when they had time.
As he came down from the boys' dormitory, he was blocked by Fred, George, and Lee Jordan.
"Albert," they said.
"Your prediction came true."
"It's unbelievable that your words became reality."
"Harry Potter really became the Seeker for the House team."
The three of them chattered, leaving Albert with a headache.
Fred and George even took strange steps to surround him, and Tom, who had been following Albert downstairs, quickly hid to the side.
Then, each of them took one of Albert's arms and lifted him, spinning him around.
Speaking of which, these two guys were quite strong to be able to lift him off the ground like this?
"Stop, stop now, I'm going to be dizzy," Albert said, feeling nauseous. This felt like how he had felt when he first tried to Apparate—terrible.
When he came to his senses, he realized his feet were off the ground, and he glared at Lee Jordan, who had cast a Hover Charm on him without his knowledge. That was why Fred and George had been able to lift him so easily.
"Enough, I'm about to throw up from your spinning," Albert struggled forcefully, trying to break free from the twins' grip.
"Guess how Harry made it onto the team," Fred said, laughing as he released Albert's arm.
"You want me to guess?"
Albert felt a bit queasy. He reached into his shirt pocket, fished out a packet of small dried fish, and then put it back.
"Here, have some Every Flavour Beans!" Lee Jordan pulled out a bottle of Every Flavour Beans from his pocket and offered it to Albert.
"Thanks, but I don't want to eat something strange again," Albert declined politely, instead taking out a box of chocolates from his leather bag. He unwrapped the packaging and fished out a piece. This box of chocolates was bought with the remaining pounds from the last family reunion; there were a few more boxes, and they weren't expensive.
Wow! Wow! Wow! The three of them immediately crowded around and reached into the box for chocolates.
Lee Jordan unwrapped the packaging and took a bite, chewing as he mumbled, "Muggle world chocolates aren't bad!"
Albert took a big bite and glared at the three of them, complaining, "You guys are too much!"
"Give me another piece."
"I want one too."
"Give me one as well."
"Okay, if you guys like it, then this will be your Christmas present," Albert suddenly said to the three of them.
"Great!"
"That's so like you, Albert."
What they didn't know was that Albert had already prepared a super bitter black chocolate for each of them.
"This shape-shifting lizard's leather bag is amazing!" Fred said, his mouth full of chocolate as he watched Albert put the box away. "It's so useful!"
"Fred, stop changing the subject," George pushed Fred away in dissatisfaction. "Albert hasn't answered my question yet. How did you know?"
"How else could he have made it?" Albert looked around while searching for Tom. "He must have gotten permission from Professor McGonagall or Headmaster Dumbledore."
"But I bet it was the former," Albert added, bending down to pick up the reluctant Tom and heading towards the entrance of the common room. As he turned to leave, he said, "Professor McGonagall used to be a Quidditch enthusiast herself."
Wow! Wow! Wow! The three of them exclaimed again.
"You even guessed that! You really are something, Albert!" Lee Jordan exclaimed.
"Wood just told us, but you didn't even see his expression," George recalled the captain's reaction and couldn't help but laugh. "He looked like he'd found a bag of gold galleons on the road."
"Wood said that the first time Harry rode a broom, he could dive fifty feet and catch the Remember Ball without a scratch," Fred said as he followed the others out of the common room, glancing at Albert as he spoke.
"He thinks Harry might be more talented than you," Lee Jordan continued, but he was cut off by Fred and George, who slapped him hard on the back.
"I'm not that petty, and I don't care about that stuff," Albert shook his head and laughed. "I knew Harry would take my place, and it's a good thing, too. Thanks to him, I can escape Wood's clutches. To me, riding a broom is more about enjoying the thrill of flying. Who knows, maybe I'll get myself a flying motorcycle, bicycle, or even a magic carpet when I get bored of brooms."
"Don't even think about it; flying carpets have been banned." Fred interrupted, "Our grandfather used to have an Axminster carpet that could seat twelve people. I remember riding on a flying carpet around my grandfather's house when I was little."
"No one would take you for a mute if you didn't say anything." Albert glared at Fred. Of course, he wouldn't go for something as obvious as a flying carpet. At most, he'd modify a motorcycle or a bicycle.
Imagine riding a bicycle over their heads one day. That would be pretty cool.
Hmm, a bicycle for land, sea, and air travel.
"We're going to go say hi to Harry. Want to come with us?"
"No, I'm going to take Tom to the kitchen to meet the house-elves. If Tom ever wanders and gets lost in the castle, it would be reassuring to have the house-elves keep an eye on him." Albert shared his plan.
"Don't you have too little confidence in your cat?" Lee Jordan blurted out. He always felt that Albert's cat was just for show.
"There's no other way." Albert said nonchalantly, "Muggle-raised cats are usually quite delicate and not very smart."
"And chubby, right!"
"By the way, I found a new secret passage that leads outside the school." Lee Jordan suddenly said, "Do you want to take a look? Next time, we can try to use that passage if necessary."
"I bet you're talking about one that we've already discovered." Fred and George grinned, "If you don't believe me, we can make a bet."
"You're on." Lee Jordan shamelessly used the chocolate he got from Albert as a bet.
"In that case, let's use this." Fred and George looked at each other and took out a few toffees from their pockets.
"Are these the ones from last time?" Lee Jordan asked as he recognized the toffees from the candy he ate on the train.
"No. Do you want to come, Albert?"
"No, see you later." Albert gestured for Tom to follow him. Ever since Tom's wandering was cut short by the Summoning Charm, he hadn't dared to stray far from the common room.
However, the chubby cat couldn't run far anyway; his stamina was truly lacking.
On the way to the kitchen, many students saw Albert walking his cat, and while they found the sight amusing, they expected nothing less from a genius.
Speaking of which, ever since Albert started taking Tom for walks, some girls would use it as an opportunity to chat with Albert, and Lee Jordan couldn't help but envy the attention Tom brought his owner.
There were few students in Hogwarts who kept cats as pets, mostly because most students weren't very good at taking care of their pets, and owls were the easiest to manage, as well as being useful for sending letters and packages. They were the young witches' and wizards' best companions.
When Albert reached the fourth floor, he found that Tom was too tired to walk any further, so he had to carry the fat cat the rest of the way.
Of course, carrying a fat cat to the kitchen was a challenge in itself for Albert.
After resting for a while in the secret passage, the two continued on their way. By the time they reached the large painting of a fruit bowl that hid the entrance to the kitchen, Tom was sprawled on the ground, completely exhausted.
Albert extended his index finger and scratched the large green pear in the painting.
The pear transformed into a green doorknob, and he pulled the door open, picking up the fat cat from the floor and carrying him into the kitchen.
"Mr. Albert Anderson!"
"It's been a while, Cara." Albert greeted the house-elf politely.
"Yes, sir, it has been a while. Would you like something to eat?" Cara asked eagerly.
"If you have any pumpkin pies, I'd like one, please."
"I'm sorry, sir, we didn't make any pumpkin pies today." Cara replied sharply, sounding a little disappointed that she couldn't be of assistance.
"It's alright, I didn't come here to eat."
Saying this, Albert reached into his leather bag and took out the gifts he had prepared for the house-elves.
"Is this for me?" Cara asked, incredulous.
"Yes, it's for all of you. I apologize for any trouble I caused last semester. I bought these gifts, but I'm not sure if they're to your taste. I hope you'll like them."
"You're too kind, sir, too kind!" Cara exclaimed, bowing deeply to Albert, her eyes filling with tears.
"Why don't you open it and try it?" Albert suggested to the other house-elves, "Come over here, it won't take much of your time."
"Thank you, sir."
"You're too kind."
The house-elves expressed their gratitude.
"This is my pet cat, Tom."
Albert pointed to the fat cat and said, "He's a very clumsy house cat, and he often gets lost. I worry that one day he'll wander around the castle and get lost. If you see him in trouble, please lend a hand, and if he doesn't return to the Gryffindor common room at night, please send him back."
Albert bowed slightly to the house-elves, indicating his request.
"Oh, of course, we can do that." The house-elves readily agreed.
The house-elves of Hogwarts had a favorable impression of Albert, as he respected them and never treated them like slaves.
Perhaps most house-elves had never tasted chocolate before, or at least never received chocolate from a wizard.
As the box of chocolates was devoured, some of the house-elves hadn't gotten any, so Albert took out another box and offered it to those who hadn't gotten a chance to try them.
One of the house-elves burst into tears on the spot.
"Take your time, I'll be on my way then."
Albert prepared to leave with Tom, and the house-elves enthusiastically brought freshly baked pies to Albert, asking him to take some back.
(End of Chapter)
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