Chapter 59: The Nose-Biting Teacup
Chapter 59: The Nose-Biting Teacup
The gathering of the Inanimatus Club lasted until nine in the evening before Albert, Field, and Baker returned to the Gryffindor common room together.
The dorm was pitch-black, with Fred and George yet to return, and Lee Jordan nowhere to be seen. Albert was alone.
He lit the candlestick on the table and headed to the common room with a teapot in hand, intending to make himself a cup of milk tea as a reward for his hard work at the club. The Inanimatus Club meeting had certainly taxed his brain.
There were always two large teapots in the Gryffindor common room, and in winter, the house-elves provided warm water for the students.
If students wanted to make tea, they could put the teapot in the fireplace to boil the water.
Of course, older students could simply use magic to heat the water in their teapots.
A few minutes later, Albert returned to the dorm with the boiled teapot. He took out an iron canister from his trunk, containing milk tea powder. The resulting beverage was rather mediocre in taste, but he didn't mind. He prepared a cup for himself.
Hmm, where's my cup? Albert looked around and spotted a teacup on the cabinet. He took it, washed it, and added some milk tea powder and a spoonful of sugar. After pouring in the boiling water, he stirred the concoction contentedly.
"Feels good," he murmured.
As Albert lifted the teacup to drink, he paused and brought it closer to his eyes, examining it suspiciously.
The last time he had seen a nose-biting teacup in Zonko's Joke Shop, he felt he should be cautious when drinking tea. After all, there were three pranksters in the dorm, and he could easily fall victim to one of their jokes.
"Never mind, I'll just make my own cup," Albert muttered to himself.
He put down the teacup and pointed his wand at a chocolate ball, transfiguring it into a cup.
Magic is really convenient, he thought.
Albert made himself another cup of milk tea and took a sip, murmuring, "Delicious. It would be even better with some biscuits."
After finishing his milk tea, Albert took out a copy of "Magical Potions and Elixirs" from his drawer and began to browse through it. He hadn't forgotten that Snape was planning to make things difficult for him in class.
Before long, Fred and George stumbled into the dorm, weary and covered in cleaning solution.
"It was a disaster," George said, slumping into a chair and rubbing his right arm. "Filch was deliberately making things difficult for us. He made us polish every trophy and badge three times before he was satisfied."
"My arm muscles are aching," Fred groaned.
"You did well," Albert said with a smile. "Would you like some milk tea?"
"You drank milk tea without waiting for me?" Lee Jordan said as he entered, carrying pastries from the kitchen. "Look what I brought for you. How was the Inanimatus Club?"
"It was fine. Everyone had impressive transfiguration skills. Professor McGonagall was lecturing on human transfiguration, which I found confusing. Later, she had me practice summoning spells."
"You've learned summoning spells?" The trio exclaimed in surprise.
"Chrysanthemum Bloom!" Albert whispered. Instead of a blooming chrysanthemum, a pile of petals fell to the ground from his wand.
"That's as far as I've gotten!" Albert raised his wand and pointed it at the petals on the ground. "Clean it up!"
"I dare say... that's incredibly difficult," Fred said.
"It is. It's fifth-year knowledge. It'll take some time to master it," Albert admitted.
"Wow... I'm exhausted," Fred said, taking a bite of pastry. "Filch is so annoying."
"Are there any other teacups in the dorm?"
"I'll do it!" Albert was about to use transfiguration to create a teacup when he heard George ask, "Whose milk tea is this? If no one's drinking it, I'll have it."
"Wait, that's the nose-biting..." Lee Jordan's warning came too late as a scream echoed through the room.
As George went to take a sip, the teacup clamped onto his nose, and the milk tea spilled all over him.
"What the heck is this?" George yanked the teacup off his nose, and it tried to bite his fingers.
"It's Saeki's nose-biting teacup," Fred said, pointing at George's nose and bursting into laughter. But he forgot that he had a mouthful of pastry, and he almost choked to death.
"Shut up, Fred," George growled, slamming the teacup onto the table. His nose was red and swollen from the bite, and he was furious.
"Cough, cough, I almost choked to death," Fred said, taking the cup of water Albert offered and gulping it down to wash the pastry down.
"Don't you dare run, Lee Jordan. You bought this, didn't you? You jerk, come back here!"
"It's your fault for drinking it. I told you not to use that cup," Lee Jordan said between peals of laughter as he ran. There was no helping it—George's bright red, swollen nose was hilarious. "And I clearly put the teacup in my cabinet. I don't know who took it."
"It was me. I was looking for a cup to drink milk tea and just grabbed it," Albert said, glancing at the now-quiet teacup. "But then I thought it might be Saeki's nose-biting teacup, so I didn't dare to use it."
"Look, even Albert noticed something was off with the teacup. Why didn't you realize it? Forget it, stop chasing him!"
"No, I'm furious. Let me punch him just once, that's all I ask," George said.
"No way!"
"Ah, those two..." Fred sipped his milk tea and munched on the pastries Lee Jordan had brought back as he continued chatting with Albert. "Tell me more about the Inanimatus Club."
"It was great. Everyone there was exceptional," Albert said, giving a simple account of what he had seen and heard at the club.
"Only twelve members? I bet Professor McGonagall only selects the most talented geniuses," Fred said, impressed. Especially after hearing that someone had won the 'Most Promising Newcomer Award' from Today's Transfiguration.
"You two, get back here or there won't be any tea and snacks left!" Albert called out to the brawling pair by the door.
"Save some for me!" Lee Jordan wailed, his nose red and swollen from the friendly punches he and George had exchanged.
"Oh, I went to the Quidditch pitch with that girl called Angelina..."
"Angelina," Albert supplied.
"Yeah, Angelina. She's a great flyer," Lee Jordan continued.
"That's nice," Albert said without thinking.
"It's nice..." The trio stared at Albert, their eyes wide.
"What are you going to do about it? I heard there will be a Chaser graduating next year," Lee Jordan said, frowning.
"You have to understand..." Albert put down his teacup and spoke calmly. "What would people think if all the members of our dorm joined the Quidditch team?"
"But joining the Quidditch team isn't just about skill..." George frowned.
"Even if you get in based on skill, people will still talk. And if we lose at Quidditch, it'll reflect badly on Charlie," Albert said, looking at the three of them. "People are like that. If it were someone else, you'd probably feel the same way."
He raised his hand to stop them from interrupting and continued, "Moreover, I probably won't have much time to devote to Quidditch practice."
(End of Chapter)
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