Chapter 559: Hagrid's Gift
Chapter 559: Hagrid's Gift
Hermione was a woman of action, and soon formed a Dark Magic Defense Club.
Although Albert didn't know how she managed to persuade Harry Potter, Hermione successfully invited Harry and Ron to join the club.
The only problem was that they had no place to practice magic.
Of course, Albert couldn't tell them about the secret of the Room of Requirement; after all, it had always been the place for his dates with Isabelle, and if too many people knew about it, it wouldn't be suitable for future dates.
Hermione had once thought of asking Albert to teach the group, knowing that doing so would definitely attract a large number of students to join the club. Unfortunately, Albert didn't want to be so conspicuous, and it would also go against his original intention, so he flatly refused.
However, to show his support for Hermione, Albert introduced her to several practical books on Dark Magic Defense and encouraged her to consult Professor Lockhart if she had any questions.
In fact, Albert had already guessed Hermione's plan: to increase the number of club members first, and then invite Professor Lockhart to teach them in his free time, so that Harry wouldn't resist.
In just a few days, the club's membership expanded to five, and there was a further trend of growth.
At this moment, Hermione and the other four were sitting not far from Albert, discussing the Obstacle Jinx they had been practicing recently.
This was a suggestion Albert had given to Hermione. The Obstacle Jinx was a very practical spell, and it was also simple to practice: throw a paper ball at each other and then use the spell to stop the paper ball in mid-air.
For young wizards who had only recently come into contact with magic, the Obstacle Jinx was still a bit challenging, but they enjoyed practicing it. Even though Ginny and Colin hadn't initially joined the club to learn Dark Magic Defense, they were now very enthusiastic when discussing training.
"I think you should consider forming a Dark Magic Defense Club," Fred said, turning his gaze from Harry to Albert. "Ever since Professor Lockhart started teaching the Dark Magic Defense class, we haven't really learned anything useful."
"If you're willing to teach us, I believe many people would be willing to join," George added.
"I'm not willing," Albert interrupted dryly. "As you know, I don't have that much time and energy. I have twelve classes a week, a ton of homework, and I also have to make time to attend several professors' clubs. I really don't have the time."
"You always use these excuses, I'm getting tired of hearing them," said George, who knew that if Albert was willing, he would definitely find a way to make time. After all, this guy knew the so-called "Clone Spell," although they still hadn't figured out how Albert was doing it.
"This is not an excuse, it's just the way things are. I'm really busy," Albert said, turning to the second page of the newspaper and considering whether to only subscribe to the weekly edition in the future. The daily content was really unnutritious and full of random nonsense.
"Don't think I don't know that you're busy dating every day," Fred said, rolling his eyes at Albert.
"I heard that Dumbledore booked a skeleton dance troupe for this year's Halloween feast," said Lee Jordan as he walked over to his roommates and shared the good news he had just heard.
"Is the skeleton dance troupe famous?" Albert asked, closing the newspaper.
"Of course! Can't believe you don't know about them," they replied, looking at Albert with incredulous eyes as if he were some rare creature.
"The skeleton dance troupe will definitely surprise you," Lee Jordan said excitedly. "Tickets for the skeleton dance troupe are always hard to come by, and they're super expensive. It's really exciting that the headmaster invited them to perform at the school."
"I might look forward to it a little," Albert said casually.
"Won't you reconsider my suggestion?" Fred persisted, still hopeful that Hermione's idea for a Dark Magic Defense Club could work.
"People should learn to save themselves," Albert said, raising his head as an owl flew towards them. A parcel was dropped in front of him, along with a letter.
However, what caught the attention of the group was the fact that the parcel seemed to tremble slightly.
"What is this thing?"
The strange parcel startled them.
George poked the parcel with his finger and said in a lowered voice, "Don't tell me someone sent you another weird thing?"
"There's a letter on top." Lee Jordan reminded him as he took the letter from the package and glanced at the sender's name. "It's from Hagrid."
As he spoke, he handed the letter to Albert.
Albert glanced at the messy handwriting and casually tore open the envelope to retrieve the letter inside.
"Can we open the package?"
Fred, who was extremely curious about what was inside the package, sought Albert's opinion, thinking that Albert wouldn't open such a strange package himself.
"Go ahead!" Albert didn't object. "Hagrid probably didn't send anything dangerous."
"Hagrid's perception of danger seems to differ from that of ordinary people," Albert added inwardly.
After all, he knew that Hagrid had once befriended an Acromantula, bought a Cerberus at the Leaky Cauldron, and secretly kept a dragon at home, illegally, of course.
However, Albert wasn't too worried that Hagrid would send him something dangerous, and besides, he wasn't the one opening the package anyway.
He began reading Hagrid's letter, which mentioned two things: Professor Wilhelmina Grubbly-Plank seemed to have other magical beasts to attend to and couldn't stay at Hogwarts for long as the Care of Magical Creatures professor.
The suspicious item in the package was a book called Monsters and Their Monsters, which Hagrid had chosen as a textbook, hoping that Albert could give him some advice on it.
There was also a postscript:
Be careful, it bites.
Give its spine a stroke, and it'll settle down. "What the hell is this thing, it bites! Ouch, get it off me!"
An exasperated voice rang out from beside them, and when Albert turned to look, he saw Fred being bitten by Monsters and Their Monsters. Fred was vigorously shaking his hand, trying to get the book off.
George and Lee Jordan reacted quickly and rushed to help Fred pry the book off his hand. The book fell to the ground and immediately scurried under the table like some sort of crab.
"What the blazes did Hagrid send you?" Fred demanded of Albert as he examined the wound on the back of his hand. "Who said this thing wasn't dangerous?"
Ignoring Fred's reproachful gaze, Albert drew his wand and waved it, levitating the book in the air before conjuring a rope to bind it securely.
"There, that should be safe." Albert placed the book on the table. Although it still twitched occasionally, it was clear that it couldn't bite anyone anymore.
"How did Hagrid come to send you this thing?" George asked curiously. "It looks like a mad dog."
"It's called Monsters and Their Monsters. Yeah, you heard that right, it's a book."
"Are you sure this thing is a book? I think it looks like some kind of dangerous beast." Fred emphasized the word "dangerous."
"You'd better go see Madam Pomfrey and get that wound treated so it doesn't scar." As he spoke, Albert reached out and gently stroked the book's spine, and Monsters and Their Monsters immediately became docile.
"Damn it, if you knew how to calm it down, you should've said so earlier," Fred grumbled incessantly.
"Hagrid mentioned it in the letter." Albert stuffed the book into his backpack. "Come on, let's go find Madam Pomfrey. I don't think you want a scar."
Understanding the implication, all three of them accompanied Fred to the hospital wing.
Along the way, Albert informed them of Hagrid's intention to apply for the position of Care of Magical Creatures professor.
"Oh my God, don't tell me that thing in your hand is Hagrid's chosen textbook?"
The three of them paled at the thought.
The news of Professor Kettleburn's illness had already spread throughout the school, and Professor Grubbly-Plank had been temporarily filling in for him.
"I thought Professor Grubbly-Plank would take over Professor Kettleburn's position." Fred found it hard to imagine what the class would be like with Hagrid as the Care of Magical Creatures professor.
While Albert could understand their feelings, they wouldn't be the only ones disappointed. Many people had expected Professor Grubbly-Plank to take over Professor Kettleburn's position.
"Anyway, it's the final year next year." Albert didn't seem too concerned about the matter. He didn't plan to continue with Care of Magical Creatures class anyway.
In fact, Albert intended to drop Muggle Studies, Divination, History of Magic, and Astronomy in his sixth year.
(End of Chapter)
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