Chapter 591: Duel Club
Chapter 591: Duel Club
"Ah!"
"You're not coming with us to Hogsmeade again?"
"As expected, now that he has a girlfriend, he's completely abandoned us."
"What a fair-weather friend."
Fred, George, and Lee Jordan took turns teasing Albert, who was adjusting his cloak in front of the dressing mirror.
"Shut up!"
Albert turned and glared at the trio, then changed the subject. "When are you giving me my Christmas presents?"
"What a sly one," George muttered, gesturing for Fred to hand over the item to Albert.
The latter immediately took out a beautifully packaged gift box from his drawer and threw it to Albert. "A surprise from me and George."
"Do you mind if I open it now?"
Without waiting for a reply from Fred and George, Albert unwrapped the gift box. Inside were two oddly shaped egg custard pies, which looked rather pathetic.
"How long have you had these? Are they still edible?" Albert unwrapped the wrapping paper and sniffed at the pies, feigning disgust.
"Rest assured, we've been preserving them with a freezing charm. They're definitely still good," Fred assured, almost patting his chest. "It'll definitely bring you an unexpected surprise."
Albert eyed the Weasley twins suspiciously. The two seemed eager to see him eat the pies and make a fool of himself. He narrowed his eyes at them.
"Hmph, don't think I don't know. These are one of your prank items."
Just as Albert was about to take a bite of the egg custard pie, he suddenly put it back in the box.
The two twins turned their heads away, feeling a little embarrassed at being caught.
"What does it do?"
The twins turned and whistled, pretending they hadn't heard the question.
"Who's going to demonstrate it for me?" Albert asked, waving the pie in his hand.
"Him!"
Fred and George pointed at Lee Jordan in unison.
"You two are jerks," Lee Jordan said, his mouth twitching. He then ignored the Weasley twins and took out a small gift box from his cabinet, handing it to Albert.
"My Christmas present?"
Albert reached out and took the delicate little gift box, opening it to find a few brand new wizard cards—the latest creations of Lee Jordan.
Albert examined the content and thought they were pretty good.
"I want to create a deck related to the Chamber of Secrets," Lee Jordan said, and then suddenly exclaimed, "Jerk, what are you doing? Stop it!"
As Albert was reading the effects and introductions on the wizard cards, he heard a ruckus from the side. Turning his head, he saw Lee Jordan being forced to eat a piece of the egg custard pie by Fred and George.
The next moment, Lee Jordan transformed into an ugly canary covered in feathers.
"Transfiguration Pie?"
Albert curiously grabbed Lee Jordan's arm and examined the feathers.
"We prefer to call it the Canary Pie," Fred and George said in unison. By the time they finished speaking, the feathers on Lee Jordan's body had completely fallen off, and he had returned to his original form.
"The taste is a bit odd. You need to find a way to mask it," Albert commented as he picked up a canary pie and took a bite. He savored the unique flavor of the pie, which was somewhat different from a regular egg custard pie.
After swallowing it, he quickly turned into a large canary, or rather, a feather-covered monster.
Albert tried to pluck the feathers off, but to his surprise, he felt pain as if the feathers were growing on his body.
"What did you put in this?" Albert asked curiously after the feathers had fallen off.
"It's a potion we found in the library," Fred explained, winking. "A Transfiguration Potion."
"What do you think? Will it be popular?" George asked anxiously.
"I think people will love this prank product," Albert said, waving his wand lightly. The feathers that had fallen on the ground disappeared without a trace.
"However, the Canary Biscuits are a bit obvious. They don't taste quite the same as regular custard pies."
"If I have time another day, I'll take a look at it for you. I've been quite busy lately," Albert said as he started walking downstairs.
"Busy with dates," George muttered.
"If you're envious, just hurry up and find yourself a girlfriend. All the pretty girls will be taken if you don't hurry," Albert teased.
The three of them rolled their eyes simultaneously; this guy had no shame.
"What's going on over there?"
Albert, Fred, George, and Lee Jordan walked through the entrance hall and saw a crowd gathered around a bulletin board, reading a parchment that Filch had just pinned up.
"Let's go take a look," Lee Jordan immediately ran over to join the crowd.
The students were discussing the school's plan to start a Duel Club.
"This whole thing feels a bit odd," George mumbled, "I wonder who's going to be teaching us."
"Are we going? I don't think it'll be very useful," Fred said in a low voice, "I doubt there will be many students in the school who can be our opponents."
Fred wasn't boasting; after Albert's training, they were far superior to most other students in dueling.
"I heard that Professor Flitwick used to be a dueling champion when he was younger. Maybe he'll be the one teaching us," Lee Jordan said as he joined them.
"You're thinking too much," Albert said as he walked through the crowd into the Great Hall, "This seems like something Lockhart would come up with."
"Darn it!"
Fred and George couldn't help but cry out; they felt that Albert had hit the nail on the head again. If it really was Lockhart, the so-called Duel Club would likely turn into a farce.
"So, are we still going tonight at eight?"
Knowing Lockhart's nature, they had lost interest in the so-called Duel Club.
"Of course, we're going. Why wouldn't we?" Albert said with a strange expression, "We might even get to see a good show."
"I really don't understand why Professor Dumbledore would agree to Lockhart's nonsense," Lee Jordan said, lowering his voice as he looked at the students in the Great Hall discussing the Duel Club.
During their Dark Arts Defense class, Lee Jordan had been called upon multiple times by Lockhart to play various monsters, and he had developed a strong dislike for the professor.
"Maybe he wants to ease the tension in the castle," Albert said as he placed a few slices of ham into his sandwich and took a big bite.
"Don't you think it's interesting?" Fred and George said with a smile.
"Interesting?" Lee Jordan looked around the Great Hall and noticed that many students had seen the notice and were quite interested in the Duel Club.
"Learning something new can't hurt," George said with a smile.
"Then I hope I'll have the chance to receive personal guidance from Professor Lockhart," Lee Jordan suddenly said with a malicious smile.
"Don't be silly," Fred rolled his eyes, he could easily guess Lee Jordan's little scheme, "I think Lockhart will probably pick on Albert."
"No, he'll pick on Potter. Haven't you noticed that Lockhart actually favors Potter?" Albert said meaningfully.
"Why would he care about Harry?" The three asked in unison.
"Potter is famous!" Albert said mysteriously, "And Professor Lockhart likes being the center of attention. He probably wants to use Harry's fame to his advantage."
"Really?" George asked in confusion, "Aren't you famous too?"
"He doesn't dare!" Lee Jordan reminded them, annoyed, "Don't forget that when Quirrell met Albert last year, he immediately wanted to turn back. Lockhart is a coward; if he picks on Albert, he'll probably be driven mad by doubts and questions within a few days."
George teased jokingly, "It seems that Professor Lockhart is smarter than Professor Quirrell!"
(End of Chapter)
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