Chapter 48: Alohomora
Chapter 48: Alohomora
Albert nodded towards the crowd. "What about that person's suggestion?"
"What suggestion?" Fred mumbled, expecting Albert to provide a reliable proposal.
"Doing that will get us taken to Filch's office..." Albert glanced at Fred, leaving the sentence unfinished.
"You mean the drawer..." George murmured, recalling the highly dangerous confiscated items he had seen in Filch's office the last time he was brought there. "But who will distract him?"
"What are you talking about?" Fred was confused, not understanding what the two were discussing.
"The drawer, the confiscated items, highly dangerous," George reminded him.
"That's a good idea!" Fred's eyes lit up as he recalled his curiosity about the contents of the drawer from their last encounter.
"You'll need to learn the unlocking spell first," Albert reminded them.
"Or you go, and we'll distract Filch?" The twins suggested together, looking at Albert.
Albert glanced at them and asked, "You still need to learn the unlocking spell?"
"Yes, when do we start?"
"Back at the dormitory, there's a drawer for you to practice on."
Soon after, Lee Jordan returned with some news.
William, the boy with a talent for the Killing Curse, had indeed been given a detention—scouring night pots.
"Well, looks like you won't even get to scour night pots." Albert shrugged, picking up his bag and heading back to the Gryffindor dormitory.
Lee Jordan watched the Weasley twins, who had immediately taken out their spell books upon entering the dormitory, and wondered if they were the same mischievous twins he knew.
"Alohomora," George said, taking out his wand and trying the spell on the locked drawer he had locked himself. However, he was unsuccessful.
"Focus and pay attention to your wand movement," Albert advised, sitting in a chair and observing the twins' practice while his gaze shifted to Lee Jordan beside him.
"What got into those two?" Lee Jordan asked quietly.
"They need to use this spell, so they're practicing," Albert replied vaguely. "It's going to be taught in our Charms class eventually, and they'll need to practice sooner or later. Why don't we see who can master Alohomora faster?"
"Show-off," Lee Jordan muttered as he drew out his wand and joined the practice, determined to master the spell before the twins.
Albert shared some of the issues he had encountered when practicing the unlocking spell and some points to note.
However, with their current level, it was unlikely that they would be able to unlock the drawer.
Albert picked up the Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection and continued reading the parts he hadn't read before.
"Giving up?" Albert asked without looking up.
"Temporarily. It's impossible," Lee Jordan huffed, frustrated. How could it be so difficult?! After practicing for half an hour, the lock remained unresponsive, which was truly exasperating.
"I practiced for quite a while before I succeeded," Albert reminded them. "Focus on the spell, the wand movement, and don't hesitate when casting."
"Never mind, I'll just revise for this afternoon's class," Lee Jordan said, feeling tired. In truth, the twins were also considering giving up, but thinking of their plan, they persevered. They buried their heads in their practice, knowing Albert was right; they would have to learn it eventually, so they might as well start now.
"Have you finished reading this book?"
"Not yet, just flipped through some parts. It's all about dark creatures and how to defend against them," Albert said as he continued flipping through the pages. "In fact, for a Muggle-born like me, it's a way to get to know how many dangerous creatures are out there in the wizarding world and how to be cautious and protect myself.
In simple terms, it teaches you what to do when encountering robbers—how to run away, take precautions, or call for help, instead of teaching you how to take down the robbers.
So, while the content of this book is quite average, you have to admit it's very useful, which is why Albert called it an introductory book.
If we spent the whole term learning this stuff, no wonder the twins' protective gear is selling so well. After finishing this book, I doubt we'd even be able to cast a decent Shield Charm. At least, up to the part I've read, there hasn't been any mention of the Shield Charm."
The twins practiced the unlocking spell for the entire afternoon but still couldn't master it.
That was to be expected.
Albert wasn't surprised.
"When do you think we'll be able to master this spell?" Fred asked, looking a little frustrated.
"Practice for a day or two! Any spell needs magical power as a foundation, and since you barely know a few spells, you're not as strong as me in that aspect... so it'll be a bit difficult. When I first came into contact with magic, I encountered similar situations, but as I learned more spells, I picked up new magic faster," Albert replied without thinking.
The three boys looked at each other, not knowing what to say. Albert's words sounded reasonable, but they somehow felt like he was pulling their legs.
Perhaps the unlocking spell was a bit challenging for them, considering they hadn't even fully mastered the Lumos spell yet.
Albert mumbled, unintentionally stabbing at the trio's hearts.
"Sigh, I didn't expect magic to be so difficult to learn," George sighed, leaning back on the soft bed.
"You should consider how few spells are recorded in the Standard Book of Spells, Grade 1," Albert said, unable to stop himself from rolling his eyes. "We have to study this book for a whole year, so you can imagine how difficult it is to master a single spell."
"Going by what you said, you've probably learned all the spells in the Standard Book of Spells, Grade 1, right?" Fred blurted out, suddenly realizing the direct gap between them.
"More or less!" Albert thought about it and said, "But what we've learned is just the most basic magic application."
"What do you mean by the most basic magic application?" The three were puzzled.
"It's about adding variations to the spells." Albert thought for a moment, lit up his wand, and waved it in front of them. "This is the most common use of the Lumos spell, but have you ever thought about making the light brighter or detaching it from the wand to float in mid-air or fly to a distance according to your will?"
"Can that really be done?"
"I think Professor Flitwick can definitely do it." Albert extinguished the light on his wand and sighed softly. If he wanted to create a magic lamp, he would at least need to upgrade the Lumos spell to level 3 or 4.
Upgrading a level 2 skill to level 3 required 10,000 experience points, and upgrading to level 4 required five times the experience of level 3. Albert didn't even want to think about it; the pitiful amount of experience in his pool was far from enough to upgrade a skill to level 4.
(End of Chapter)
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