Chapter 579: Misunderstanding
Chapter 579: Misunderstanding
When Albert woke up the next morning, the three beds next to him were already empty.
After a busy night yesterday, he had only gone to bed in the wee hours of the morning, so Albert slept in quite late today.
However, all their efforts last night were worth it. The mastermind behind the recent attacks, Tom Riddle, and his Horcrux diary, had been dealt with by Albert most satisfactorily, and the process had been much simpler than anticipated.
In a nutshell, he had launched a surprise attack on Tom Riddle, who had been controlling Ginny Weasley, and snatched his diary, hiding this Horcrux in the Room of Requirement, thus temporarily putting an end to the string of assaults that had been plaguing Hogwarts.
There was nothing more worth celebrating than this, and even lazing in bed a little longer seemed permissible, especially since there were no classes on Sundays.
The temporary safety of the school greatly relieved Albert, who could finally relax a little, no longer worrying about a possible Basilisk attack at every turn.
After all, until he found a way to counter the deadly stare of the Basilisk, it would always be a significant concern.
Now, with Tom Riddle's diary in his possession, Albert could decide the fate of that young man.
As he went downstairs for breakfast, Albert noticed that the Great Hall was still unusually calm. Most Gryffindor students were reveling in their victory over Slytherin and paid no mind to the fact that Colin Creevey was lying in the hospital wing, looking like death warmed over after the attack.
Ginny Weasley, however, was acting a bit strange after discovering that Tom's diary was missing that morning.
After all, no one wanted their privacy invaded and their secrets exposed.
Around noon, Albert went to the library to look for Fred, George, and Lee Jordan. These three scoundrels were up to something sneaky all afternoon instead of doing their homework, and Albert had no idea what they were plotting.
"We're preparing your Christmas present, and you're in for an unexpected surprise, that's for sure," Fred said mysteriously when Albert inquired.
"Surprise? I'd say it's more like a scare," Albert retorted, showing no interest or anticipation for their gift.
"Aren't you supposed to be doing your homework?" Albert asked, looking at the three slackers with a cruel glint in his eye. "If you don't hand in that essay on interspecies transformation by tomorrow, Professor McGonagall will surely lock you up until it's done."
"We were hoping you wouldn't mind if we, uh, borrowed your work for inspiration," the trio said, their eyes sparkling with anticipation.
"I don't mind, but..." Albert added with a malicious smile, "I don't need to write that essay."
"Why not?" they asked, their voices rising in unison, drawing curious glances from nearby students.
"Because I already wrote it," Albert replied without hesitation. "Professor McGonagall didn't see the point in me wasting time on it."
"So, where's your essay, then?"
"Safe with Professor McGonagall," Albert replied, a smile playing at the corners of his mouth.
"No fair!" they whined.
"Better get to work, boys," Albert said, patting them on the shoulder.
Just then, Madam Pince looked in their direction, and Albert took his leave, walking away from the library.
As he passed the second-floor girls' bathroom, he spotted three familiar figures sneaking out.
"You..." Albert stopped in his tracks, his eyes narrowing as he took in the guilty faces of the trio before him. He glanced up at the sign above the door to confirm and muttered, "Yup, girls' bathroom all right."
"We..." Hermione started, her voice trailing off as she struggled to come up with an excuse.
"Save it," Albert interrupted, raising his hand to stop her from explaining. He ushered them away from the corridor and then said, "You probably don't know this, but a few years back, a Slytherin boy made up a lame excuse to try and sneak into the girls' bathroom. Well, let's just say he was caught red-handed by the girls, and now he can't find a single girl in the school who'll talk to him."
Harry and Ron were left speechless, their mouths hanging open like frogs.
"Although I don't know what you were doing in there..." Albert offered them a kindly reminder, "if you don't want others to look at you strangely, it's best... that you don't go sneaking into the girls' bathroom again." He added with a smile, "Otherwise, people might think you're up to some unspeakable business in there."
"Uh..."
Harry and Ron, having snapped out of their daze, were utterly embarrassed at being caught by Albert coming out of the girls' bathroom. They wished the ground would swallow them whole.
"This... this place has been abandoned," Harry stammered.
"You wouldn't want to be seen as perverts, would you?" Albert patted Harry on the shoulder. "Just a friendly reminder."
As they watched Albert walk away, Harry and Ron felt utterly discombobulated. They desperately wanted to explain the misunderstanding, but Albert had not given them the chance.
"Do you think he'll tell Percy about this?" Ron anxiously looked at Harry. "If Fred and George find out, they'll tease me for the entire semester."
"Don't worry, he won't," Hermione reassured them. "Albert's a good person. He won't spread what happened today around. He was just 'looking out' for us and worried that we might be viewed differently by others."
Harry fell silent, having experienced something similar in the past.
Last year, he, Neville, and Hermione had lost a hundred and fifty points due to the issue with Norbert, which was the toughest time he had faced since coming to Hogwarts.
"I'll go explain things to him."
"But..."
"We borrowed the book, Advanced Potion-Making, from Albert," Hermione interrupted. "Maybe he can help us out."
"He borrowed that book?" Harry was a bit surprised, recalling that Madam Pince had mentioned the book was missing.
"In a sense, yes," Hermione said as she quickened her pace to catch up with Albert.
"I think Hermione trusts Anderson," Harry said in a lowered voice to Ron.
"You have to admit, he's way more dependable than that Lockhart idiot," Ron said, recalling what he had heard from Fred not long ago, as well as what Professor McGonagall had said to Professor Flitwick about the previous night's attack.
"Those protective charms are probably going to be in high demand!" Ron exclaimed. "You're right, I always feel like Anderson knows a lot of things. I recall his speculations about the Chamber of Secrets, and he might just know more about this than we do."
On the other side, Hermione caught up with Albert and explained why the trio had been exiting the girls' restroom.
"This morning, Professor McGonagall told Professor Flitwick about the attack that happened last night," Hermione said quietly. "So, we decided to start brewing the Polyjuice Potion first. I think that's the safest place to do it. That particular girls' bathroom has been abandoned for many years because of Moaning Myrtle, and I don't think anyone will go in there or discover that we're secretly brewing the Polyjuice Potion."
"Who was attacked?" Albert asked, feigning confusion.
"Colin Creevey," Hermione replied. "We think it's best to get Malfoy to confess soon. He's very likely taking out his frustration on Colin after losing the Quidditch match."
"Has the first Muggle-born victim appeared?" Albert looked at Hermione and reminded her, "Remember, you're Muggle-born too, so be extra careful not to be alone."
"If you're planning to brew the Polyjuice Potion, that place is indeed suitable, but it's best to be cautious. I heard Potter has an Invisibility Cloak. You can use it to keep your activities hidden from others, so they won't think Potter and Weasley have a habit of sneaking into the girls' bathroom to peep on them."
(End of Chapter)
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