Chapter 498: A Few Happenings Before the Holidays
Chapter 498: A Few Happenings Before the Holidays
On the day of departure from Hogwarts, the end-of-term exam results were finally posted on the bulletin board. Once again, Albert topped the grades for their year, and Fred, George, and Lee Jordan had also passed without a hitch.
After looking at the results of the four, Lee Jordan patted Fred and George on the shoulders, bragging about his grades. Even though his grades weren't much higher than theirs, it didn't dampen his cheerful mood.
"I was hoping they'd forget to give us this," Fred said, directly tucking the 'Notice of Prohibition on Underage Wizards Performing Magic Outside of School' into his pocket and expressing his disappointment to his roommates.
"Students from wizarding families aren't affected at all." Lee Jordan rolled his eyes at Fred. "Albert's the unlucky one; he can't use magic at all during the entire summer vacation!"
As they chatted, they boarded the night-galloping carriage, slowly heading towards Hogsmeade Station.
They met Hagrid on the station platform. He seemed to be waiting for someone. After greeting Hagrid, Albert carried his suitcase onto the train and began searching for an empty compartment.
Fred was the last to enter, and after closing the compartment door, he turned to look at Hagrid on the platform and said in a low voice, "I heard that Hagrid really raised a dragon."
"Who did you hear that from?" Lee Jordan asked as he moved his suitcase to the corner of the compartment.
"I overheard it when Harry and Ron were whispering. They accidentally let it slip," George said, his eyes fixed on Albert. "You must know about this."
"Where did Hagrid get a dragon egg?" Lee Jordan asked, turning to Albert as well.
"I remember we talked about this," Albert said.
He opened the cat cage and let Fat Cat Tom out, as the cat disliked being confined.
"You must know how Hagrid got his dragon egg," they pressed.
"Of course, it was given to him by Quirrell. Can't you guess that?" Albert replied, looking at his three roommates with a disappointed expression.
"Quirrell probably disguised himself as a dragon egg peddler. Then, when Hagrid went to Hogsmeade for a drink, Quirrell chatted with him, got him drunk, and tempted him with the dragon egg. With a little guidance from Quirrell, Hagrid would easily reveal how to tame a Norwegian Ridgeback," Albert explained.
"How come I feel like you were there too?" Lee Jordan said as he took out a box of Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans, opened the package, and shared the beans with everyone.
"What about Professor Quirrell, then?" George raised an eyebrow. "He seems to be dead, just as you predicted."
"The dark wizard who broke into Gringotts must have been Professor Quirrell!" Fred exclaimed. "Do you think we could claim that reward from the Goblins if we give them this information?"
"I'm afraid not," Albert said as he stroked Tom's fur and fed him some fish-flavored treats to soothe his irritability from being caged. "Quirrell is dead, and there's no evidence. The Goblins won't pay for this."
"Evidence?" Fred fiddled with the beans in his hand. "What about the stuff in the school, the things that were almost stolen from Gringotts? Isn't that evidence that Quirrell tried to steal it? Dumbledore can also testify."
The Goblins wouldn't accept this so-called evidence, even if they knew it was true. They would find all sorts of excuses to avoid paying.
"I think Professor Quirrell died in the dungeons," George said suddenly. "Harry was in the dungeons at the time, too. I heard from him that the attempt to steal the Philosopher's Stone was actually Voldemort's plot."
"Harry Potter really can't keep a secret!" Albert shook his head.
"Was it really Voldemort's plot?"
"Actually, Potter was trying to say that Voldemort is still alive."
"Voldemort is still alive?" The three of them looked at each other, confused. "Why would Voldemort want Quirrell to steal the Philosopher's Stone?"
"Probably to resurrect himself," Albert speculated.
"But I thought you said Voldemort is still alive?" They were even more confused now.
"Actually, I'm more curious about what's under Quirrell's turban?" George hadn't forgotten about this matter. Quirrell was always cautious, guarding against others trying to pull off his turban, and he and Fred had even been confined for it.
"Why don't you ask Harry?"
"We think you definitely know."
Albert scratched his cat ear and said, "I think you don't really want to know."
"We want to know."
"Really?"
"Really want to know."
"Okay, it should be Voldemort. He possessed Quirrell in some way," Albert didn't intend to hide anything, "Of course, the cost should be Quirrell's life. Otherwise, do you really think it was Dumbledore or Harry who killed him?"
"So, Voldemort is still alive?"
"He should be considered alive, but he's weak, and our savior successfully stopped him from regaining his strength."
"Why do you know so much?" Lee Jordan bluntly voiced his doubt.
"Harry isn't very careful about keeping secrets when chatting. I just pieced together scattered clues with my speculations," Albert said, tapping his forehead with his finger.
The train suddenly swayed and began to slowly pull out of the station.
"Dumbledore must have known that Quirrell was suspicious. Why did he hire him?"
"I don't know."
"The first time Harry almost fell off his broom, and the troll suddenly appearing at the school, was also Quirrell's doing, right?"
Fred suddenly blurted this out while they were playing Wizarding Chess.
"I think it makes perfect sense to blame it on Quirrell."
"What do you think will happen next?" Lee Jordan lowered his voice and asked, "I'm talking about Voldemort. Can't you prophesy the future?"
"Voldemort will make a comeback one day!" Albert organized his thoughts, "Then, the Second Wizarding War will break out, and according to the story's trajectory, he'll ultimately be defeated by our savior, Potter."
"Why didn't Voldemort die the last time!" Lee Jordan asked again.
"I don't know everything," Albert said irritably, "I think you can discuss this with Headmaster Dumbledore. He probably wants to know the answer too."
"If the Second Wizarding War breaks out, who will we sell our products to?" Lee Jordan was a little depressed. Britain would surely be in chaos, and who would have time to play with Wizarding Chess?
"Just wait for Voldemort to make his comeback, then worry about that!" Fred distracted Tom with fish snacks, not minding the cat interrupting their game.
"You lost the last round," Lee Jordan suddenly said.
"Who says?"
......
When the train finally came to a halt, billowing smoke, Albert, as usual, picked up Tom's cage and dragged his suitcase off the train toward the ticket gate.
As Albert passed through the magical barrier, he heard a girl's scream: "Look, Mom, I see Harry Potter!"
Following the voice, Albert smiled and greeted the Weasley family before walking straight out of the station.
Haber stood at the entrance of King's Cross Station. Upon seeing Albert, he quickly walked over, gave him a hug, and took his suitcase, placing it in the trunk.
"How was it at school?"
Albert handed the cat cage to Nia in the back seat.
Fat Cat Tom, having just come out of his cage, started demanding fish treats from Nia while rubbing his head against her affectionately.
"It was okay." Nia stroked Tom's head, "Looks like Tom has been doing well with you."
Living alone and not having seen each other for a long time, Nia had changed a lot, making Albert feel a bit estranged.
His little sister had grown up! (End of Chapter)
Volume 3 has come to an end, and it turned out longer than I expected.
To be honest, after the second volume, I didn't have a detailed outline anymore.
Chapter end
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