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Chapter 554: Visible, Tangible, but Useless
Chapter 554: Visible, Tangible, but Useless
One could only wonder how Fred and George Weasley managed to stuff a Weasley Wildfire Whiz-Bang into the mouth of a fire lizard.
Just as Albert was marveling at this, he suddenly heard a whooshing sound. The pitiful fire lizard suddenly shot into the air, its mouth resembling a flamethrower as it continuously spat out sparks, wildly darting around the common room. The popping and crackling immediately drew everyone's attention.
Accompanied by a series of loud bangs, the Weasley Wildfire Whiz-Bang exploded in the fire lizard's mouth. Incredibly, the explosion didn't blow the poor creature to smithereens.
At this moment, the fire lizard was still darting erratically in mid-air, spewing out beautiful orange-red stars from its mouth, captivating the attention of countless students.
"What are you two up to!"
Percy, who had just come down the stairs, bellowed at Fred and George. The hapless fire lizard finally seized the opportunity to escape the twins' grasp and scurried into the fireplace to hide.
"Don't be angry, Percy. Everyone thought it was entertaining," someone interjected, not blaming Fred and George for the disturbance. But Percy still scolded the twins hoarsely for several minutes.
After the commotion died down, people resumed their seats, reading, chatting, or doing homework.
At this moment, it was still pouring rain outside. Fred and George sat down next to Albert and shared their new ideas for creating fireworks.
"You should write them down; it'll be easier to make improvements that way," Albert interrupted mercilessly. "Also, don't forget that we have a Charms essay due tomorrow. If you don't do your homework and get detained by Professor Flitwick, don't come crying to me."
"Wait, what about your Charms homework?" Fred asked, noticing that Albert seemed to be preparing to leave. He and George each grabbed one of Albert's shoulders to restrain him.
"It's with Lee Jordan. Go get it from him if you want. I'll bring you some supper later," Albert said as he got up and left.
"That guy's off on another date," Fred muttered.
"A fair-weather friend," George grumbled.
When Albert arrived at the Room of Requirement, Isabel was already there. She seemed to be working on an essay, so Albert didn't disturb her and found a spot to sit down and study Nicolas Flamel's notes.
"What are you thinking about? You were spacing out just now," the young girl's voice suddenly rang in his ear.
"It's nothing. I just feel like Flamel's notebook is a bit too advanced for me," Albert said softly as he put down the notebook and sighed.
The notebook that Flamel had given him was indeed valuable, but it was of little practical use. Many of its contents couldn't be converted into panel skills, and the advanced applications of charms weren't something that could be easily mastered.
After all, one needed to first master a particular charm before learning its advanced applications. Even with the aid of the panel's experience, a certain amount of accumulation was still necessary.
Mastering the advanced applications of any charm was never an easy task, and Albert hadn't forgotten how long he had spent practicing the advanced applications of the Patronus Charm.
Most of the content in Flamel's notes pertained to such advanced topics. It was like having a juicy steak placed in front of him—visible and tangible, but ultimately, he couldn't take a bite, which was incredibly frustrating.
"You should be content. How could you possibly expect to master in a few months what Flamel achieved over the course of centuries?" Isabel said as she reached out and patted Albert's head, which was resting on her shoulder, as if consoling a child. "You're already amazing. Being able to make sense of those notes in a short time is impressive. Don't be too hasty; you have plenty of time to study them. Or do you want to be as powerful as Dumbledore by the time you're an adult?"
"That wouldn't be so bad, actually," Albert mumbled. "Then I wouldn't have to work hard for the rest of my life; I could just lie down and live off my reputation."
"Don't you think that would be rather tiring?" Isabel asked softly.
"Here, take a look at this. The content in the notebook is quite practical," Albert said as he handed the notebook to Isabel. "I've seen them before at Flamel's place."
Over the years, Flamel had indeed been meticulous in keeping his whereabouts and his knowledge secret. The information in this notebook was specifically about creating safe houses.
Albert had visited Flamel's home several times, and those residences had layers of protection, making them extremely difficult to find, let alone break into.
Of course, Albert also had a way to bypass these protections. He could simply use the fierce fire to burn the entire house down. If the people inside didn't escape, they would be consumed by the flames. After all, fierce fire tended to devour everything in its path.
The key to a safe house's security was often in its obscurity. Once discovered, even the safest location could no longer be considered secure.
"In the future, when we have our own new home, we can use this knowledge," Albert said suddenly. "Things are not going to be peaceful for quite a while."
"Are you referring to the mystery person?" Isabel raised an eyebrow.
"Mhm," Albert casually changed the subject. "By the way, what were you working on just now?"
"An essay on Lockhart," Isabel replied, sounding a bit irritated. "The topic is: 'How to Help a Village Get Rid of Werewolf Troubles.'"
"Do you think there really is a curse that can restore a werewolf to human form?" Albert asked, suddenly looking up from the notebook. He was reminded of Lockhart's description in his book, Wanderings with Werewolves.
"I don't know," Isabel shook her head. She didn't believe that Lockhart's account was genuine. In fact, if such a curse existed, it would likely have become famous by now.
However, Albert knew that Lockhart had plagiarized the achievements of others, and such a curse might have existed in the past. He said "might" because the unfortunate individual whose memory Lockhart had stolen had been hit with a Forgetfulness Charm, causing them to forget everything. Now, the only person who might know this curse was Lockhart himself, but Albert didn't think it very likely that Lockhart possessed the ability to master such a curse.
"Oh well, I'll ask Lockhart about it if I get the chance," Albert thought to himself.
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing."
"If there's something on your mind, just tell me. You always look like you're about to say something but then stop yourself."
"Mhm, it's nothing. Are you hungry? Do you want to go to the kitchen for a bite to eat?" Albert suggested.
"Eating too much will make me fat."
"I don't mind, and you've been exercising regularly anyway."
"Alright then."
Putting away their notebooks, the two left the Room of Requirement and headed towards the kitchen. As they passed through the secret corridor on the sixth floor, the light from their wands startled a couple who had been kissing.
It was Percy Weasley and his girlfriend, Penelope Clearwater.
An awkward atmosphere filled the corridor.
"Keep this between us," Percy muttered to the pair before fleeing with the girl.
"Looks like we interrupted them," Albert said helplessly to the girl beside him. "I didn't expect them to be dating, let alone meet them here."
"Not everyone can make use of the Room of Requirement like we do," Isabel replied, turning back to glance at the retreating figures.
"Speaking of which, every time I run into them, they're always kissing," Albert said.
"You've run into them a lot?"
"Occasionally, when I take a shortcut, I stumble upon couples making out in the corridor. Of course, I usually don't disturb them," Albert said as he moved the painting aside and stepped out.
(End of Chapter)
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