Chapter 453: We Understand
Chapter 453: We Understand
On Saturday morning, Albert slept in until nearly eight o'clock, a rare occurrence for him these days. Sitting up in bed, he rubbed his head, recalling the events of the previous night. He found it hard to believe that he had spent hours messaging with Isabelle, something that seemed quite extraordinary when he thought about it now.
He finally understood why his roommates in his past life had often spent entire nights messaging with others.
"It's a rare sight to see you sleeping in," Fred commented as he watched Albert crawl out of bed, still looking drowsy. "George and I just had a bet on whether you'd sleep until noon."
"No way," Albert yawned, glancing down at Tom, who was focused on his breakfast. He shook his head at the sight of the fat cat, whose weight didn't seem to be decreasing. Tom's weight loss mission was proving to be a challenging endeavor.
Nia had even sent a letter yesterday, expressing her concern that Tom might be bullied by other cats or kids at school. Albert thought that maybe he should send some photos of Tom back to reassure her.
Tom was doing more than just well at Gryffindor; he had become the dorm's beloved pet. Everyone knew that Tom was Albert's pet, and just as the saying goes, a cat fishes for advantages through its owner.
At Gryffindor, everyone gave this genius some face.
Nowadays, Tom was especially favored by Albert's roommates, getting along well with Fred, George, and Lee Jordan.
If Albert was ever late in preparing Tom's dinner, one of his roommates would gladly step in to help, occasionally playing with him using a cat toy or grooming him with a brush.
Tom was living a very comfortable life, and he had become quite self-important, often wandering around the castle at his leisure.
"This is an idea George and I got from our last encounter with the Skiving Snackboxes." Fred handed his notebook to Albert, who glanced at the notes and sketches within.
"Instant Skiving Sweets?" Albert read.
"It's a good idea," Albert commented, studying the Weasley twins' concepts and drawings further.
"The Instant Skiving Sweets will be two-colored, with different colors on each end," George explained. "Eating one side will cause a fever, and then when you leave the classroom to go to the hospital wing, you swallow the other half, and your fever will instantly disappear, achieving the effect of skipping class."
"That's a great idea," Albert agreed.
"However, we've run into some problems," Fred said, and George nodded, both looking a bit embarrassed and frustrated. "We haven't been able to find something that will cause a fever when ingested."
Albert immediately understood why the twins had been sharing so many details with him, and even Lee Jordan couldn't help but roll his eyes at this point.
"Don't limit yourself to magical plants; you can also explore the characteristics of magical creatures, such as the toxins of certain magical beasts," Albert suggested, though his knowledge in this area was also quite limited. He could only offer them suggestions, and the rest was up to their own research.
"You still have plenty of time to find new inspiration and ingredients. Pay more attention to what the professors teach in class; there are a lot of things that can be applied to prank product development, but you tend to overlook them." Albert was well aware that his two roommates had lost interest in their studies.
He himself felt helpless about this situation.
Without sufficient knowledge as a foundation, many ideas would remain just that—ideas. Take the twins' current desire to create Instant Skiving Sweets; they lacked the necessary knowledge to bring it to fruition.
If Fred and George had a wealth of knowledge in Herbology and Magizoology, they could immediately come up with a suitable formula, although creating the antidote might take some extra time.
"When are we going to venture into the forbidden corridor on the fourth floor?" Lee Jordan asked, changing the subject now that their previous conversation had concluded. They had been training with Albert for a long time and were eager to tackle the puzzles set up by the professors.
The trio was confident that Albert had a way to deal with the large dog guarding the corridor.
"Easter," Albert replied without hesitation, already having a date in mind. He turned to Lee Jordan and added, "This term's Wizarding Duels should aim to finish by the end of March. I recall we'll be going to Hogsmeade next month, and everyone will also need to start preparing for exams, so we won't have much energy to spare for this endeavor."
"That's not a problem," Lee Jordan assured him.
The four of them quickly tidied up their things and headed downstairs to the Great Hall for breakfast.
Soon after sitting down, Albert received several belated replies to his letters.
Fred, George, and Lee Jordan pretended to inspect the food on their plates, acting as if they were worried about becoming victims of another Skiving Snackbox incident.
However, ever since the Bloody Baron had ordered the Peeves to stop spiking the food with Skiving Snackboxes, the incident had come to an end.
As for who had given the Peeves the Skiving Snackboxes in the first place, even the Bloody Baron was unclear.
After all, Albert had made a deal with the Peeves—they wouldn't reveal any information about him, and in return, he would provide them with interesting items.
The Peeves naturally didn't want to lose out on this opportunity.
The items Albert gave them were indeed interesting, although the quantity was a bit lacking. That small bag of U-No-Poo powder had brought the Peeves no small amount of joy.
The reason the Peeves had stopped spiking the food with Skiving Snackboxes wasn't because of the Bloody Baron's intervention but because Albert's supply of U-No-Poo powder had been exhausted.
It was a good opportunity to let things calm down for a while.
Although the Peeves enjoyed mischief, even they knew that everything should be done in moderation.
"What's wrong?" George asked through a mouthful of sausage as he followed Albert's gaze toward the staff table.
"Nothing," Albert replied, having already averted his eyes. He could sense that Professor Quirrell seemed to be in a cheerful mood.
What could have brought him so much joy?
Albert thought about it carefully and came up with a few possible reasons.
Perhaps Professor Quirrell had obtained a dragon egg and planned to use it to bribe Hagrid?
"Speaking of which, when did Hagrid get his hands on a dragon egg?" Albert wondered aloud as he absentmindedly stuffed the last piece of bread into his mouth. Just then, Hermione Granger approached their table.
"Albert, there's something I'd like to discuss with you in private," Hermione said, taking a deep breath.
"What is it?" Albert asked, looking at her with a puzzled expression. Noticing the serious look in her eyes, he nodded in agreement. "Oh, alright. Let's go over there."
Turning back to his roommates, he said, "You guys head to the library first, and I'll join you later."
"Take your time, we understand," the three of them said, giving Albert a knowing look. (End of Chapter)
Chapter end
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