Chapter 53: Unscientific
Chapter 53: Unscientific
"Over here, over here!" Lee Jordan waved at the twins who had just entered the Great Hall. "You finally decided to show up."
"You're all here!" George sat down next to Lee Jordan and greeted the others.
"Isn't that a given?" Lee Jordan rolled his eyes at the twins. "It's dinnertime. Where else would we be eating?"
"Good point. Pass the jam, please. Thanks." Fred spread a generous amount of jam on his bread slice and took a big bite before asking, "What did we learn in Dark Arts Defense class this morning?"
"We had a half-lesson on dark creatures, and the rest of the time was spent practicing how to shoot red and green sparks." It was Angelina, sitting across from them, who answered instead of Lee Jordan. The future Quidditch captain eyed the twin brothers appraisingly. "I heard you two caused Gryffindor to lose thirty points this morning, wiping out all the points Albert has earned recently."
Fred speared a chunk of potato with his fork and muttered, "It was only twenty points."
"We lost ten points in History of Magic," Albert added, looking up at the twins. "Where did you two go this afternoon?"
"Secret!" Fred and George exchanged a mysterious smile.
"Oh, and one more thing," Lee Jordan said, remembering something. He turned to the Weasley brothers. "Filch asked me to tell you that your detention is tomorrow night in the Trophy Room."
"Looks like you won't be scrubbing toilets this time. You'll be polishing trophies instead." After finishing his meal, Albert took out a handkerchief to wipe his mouth and added, "By the way, I ran into William earlier, and he seemed to have just finished scrubbing bedpans at the hospital wing."
"Please don't talk about these things during dinner," said a displeased Hannah, glancing at Albert. "It affects people's appetite."
"I remember we have an Astronomy class tonight," said Alicia, trying to change the subject. "Has anyone been to the Astronomy Tower before?"
"Don't look at me. I haven't been there," Lee Jordan shook his head. "By the way, what time does the evening astronomy class start?"
"9:30," Albert said, glancing at his timetable.
"So late?" Angelina took out her timetable from her backpack and checked, surprised to find that it was indeed that time.
After all, Hogwarts started its curfew at 11:00 pm.
"Don't worry, we went to the top of the Astronomy Tower at noon today," Albert reassured them.
"That's great!" Albert nodded at the twins. "You two will lead the way later, don't forget to bring your telescopes. Oh, and we'll need your notes for Dark Arts Defense and History of Magic."
As he spoke, Albert took out two books from his bag and placed them on the table.
"Let me go first!" Lee Jordan reached for the books.
"We can each copy one subject and take turns," the twins said, their actions faster than Lee Jordan's.
Albert's History of Magic notes were obviously more reliable than borrowing from others.
"You..."
"Ahem, how's everyone doing with the Lumos spell? It looks like we have Transfiguration and Charms classes tomorrow." Alicia glanced at the shameless twins and continued, "My match hasn't shown any changes yet."
"Hannah, how are you doing with your two spells? Oh, and I almost forgot about the two spells from Dark Arts Defense class," Angelina said, a little annoyed. She hadn't made any progress with her matches, although she hadn't put in much time and effort into practicing magic lately.
"I've only mastered Lumos," Hannah said, relieved to hear that everyone else was in the same boat. She had been practicing the Lumos spell these days and had barely managed to succeed.
"Don't worry," Albert comforted them. "Professor McGonagall and Professor Flitwick will give us time in class. Of course, you can also practice during the weekend."
"Albert doesn't have to worry about homework. I'm so jealous," Fred said dramatically.
Hearing this, Albert rolled his eyes, thinking to himself, "Jealous, my foot. Just practice properly."
"What about you?" George asked his roommate.
"Yeah, I've pretty much mastered Lumos. But Transfiguration is really difficult," Lee Jordan sighed, contemplating the difficulty of the subject.
"Lee, when did you master Lumos?" Fred and George looked at their roommate in surprise.
Weren't we supposed to be at the same level? How did you get ahead?
"Last night... I was also practicing Lumos," Lee Jordan said irritably.
"So, Transfiguration is harder?" Alicia looked up at Albert. The others followed her gaze.
Albert was speechless: What are you looking at me for?
"Let Albert teach us. Do you have any tips?" Fred asked, putting his arm around Albert's neck.
"No tips, it just takes practice," Albert said helplessly. "Professor McGonagall has already mentioned the things to pay attention to."
Such as concentrating during transfiguration, being quick with your wand movements, and reciting the spells correctly.
Of course, learning transfiguration required one's own effort.
In fact, there were some things Albert didn't say: unless they also had a system interface like his.
At seven in the evening, everyone gathered in the Great Hall again to practice spells together.
However, they all realized they didn't have any matches, and it was George who ended up breaking off a small twig to use as a substitute.
"Ahem, you can actually transfigure the twig into a match," Alicia reminded them.
"That's a good idea," the others agreed.
"Vera Verto," Albert said, his lips twitching. With a sigh, he pointed his wand at the twig and instantly transformed it into a match.
"Gemino!"
Albert duplicated the match a few times and distributed them to the others for practice.
Professor McGonagall was right; transfiguration was indeed a difficult subject. Even right before their Astronomy class, no one had succeeded in changing their matches.
"This is unscientific; why is it so hard!" Hannah complained.
"Of course, it's unscientific. It's magic, after all!" Albert wanted to retort, but he held his tongue.
A girl walked by and overheard their complaints. She paused by Albert's side and said, "Transfiguration is inherently difficult. Without spending a few days practicing diligently, it's challenging to succeed all at once, especially for first-year students who are new to magic."
"Good evening, Katrina," Albert greeted her.
Katrina merely nodded at Albert and walked away.
"I hope our Astronomy class isn't with Ravenclaw," Angelina muttered, as she didn't like that guy.
"Some people from Ravenclaw have peculiar temperaments. Our Astronomy class is with Hufflepuff students," Albert said, checking his pocket watch for the time. He then looked up at the group and said, "Alright, we should go now, or we'll be late."
(End of Chapter)
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