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Chapter 595: Sore Feet
Chapter 595: Sore Feet
Albert ultimately failed to dissuade Fred, George, and Lee Jordan from their plan to explore the secret passage. Watching their three figures disappear into the depths of the tunnel, he sighed inwardly, thinking, "Indeed, Gryffindor House never lacks adventurers—or daredevils, rather."
After they left, Albert immediately apparated back near Hagrid's hut. As he crossed the street, he spotted Isabelle still practicing her Apparition.
However, Isabelle's face looked slightly pale, and the Apparition practice seemed to be taking a toll on her.
Concerned, Albert asked, "Are you alright?"
Isabelle took a deep breath, suppressing the nausea that was welling up inside her. "I feel a bit dizzy and nauseous."
"Why don't we take a break?" Albert suggested. "We have plenty of time, and we can do something else for now. Besides... with the way you look right now, your Apparition practice won't be very effective."
"Alright, you're right," Isabelle agreed as she saw Hagrid approaching them.
From her initial failures to the present, Isabelle had gained a preliminary grasp of Apparition.
In fact, Hagrid hadn't expected Isabelle to master Apparition in a single day. As long as she could learn it ahead of time, she would have three months to practice and would undoubtedly pass the Apparition test with ease.
Once the trio entered the house, the house-elf immediately brought over a basin of hot water for them to wash their faces, followed by steaming beverages to help them warm up.
Yawn!
Albert covered his mouth as he yawned. During the winter, all he wanted to do was sleep in a warm and comfortable environment.
"I've prepared your formal wear," Hagrid said, signaling for the house-elf to bring the items.
"Formal wear?"
Albert unwrapped the package and found that their outfits were rather plain, devoid of any flashy decorations. However, the craftsmanship was exquisite, indicating a certain level of quality.
In truth, if it weren't for Albert's young age and his background as a Muggle-born, these matters wouldn't have fallen under Hagrid's purview to handle.
As someone from the Muggle world, Albert wanted to fully integrate into the wizarding community, and that required some adjustments in certain aspects to avoid future troubles.
While the Wildsmith family wasn't part of the pure-blood supremacist crowd, the concept of social class existed everywhere, and certain protocols couldn't be ignored.
At the very least, he couldn't afford to stand out like a sore thumb.
Unfortunately, the Ministry of Magic was still largely dominated by pure-blood supremacists, who held most of the important positions.
Most pure-blood supremacists even considered themselves the elite of the wizarding world.
Hagrid, however, found this notion rather amusing. Perhaps no one was more qualified to mock them than the Wildsmith family.
Compared to those pure-blood zealots, their circle was the true elite of the wizarding community.
After all, their circle had no ceiling, and one's standing was determined solely by ability.
Yet, Hagrid was unaware that in the face of Albert's overpowered abilities, the concept of elite held no meaning.
When your opponent was a cheater, the purity of their bloodline became irrelevant.
Hagrid quickly put aside his thoughts and began instructing Albert on the etiquette and customs he needed to be aware of when attending wizarding events.
And then, there was dancing.
In this regard, Albert felt utterly helpless.
Well, he had never learned how to dance.
The house-elf placed an old record player in the corner of the hall.
As the record was placed on the turntable, a slow, melancholy tune emanated from the speakers, albeit with poor audio quality.
"Muggles are far superior to wizards in this regard," Albert commented.
"That's to be expected," Hagrid replied noncommittally. "Muggle technology advances rapidly, while wizards are much slower in this aspect, largely due to the convenience of magic."
Isabelle hummed along to the tune, saying, "I quite like the Weird Sisters' songs."
"I'm only interested in Muggle music, especially those that have stood the test of time and endured for centuries. Even with my limited appreciation for music, I find those truly remarkable," Albert admitted.
"That's the beauty of history," Hagrid said as he waved his wand, clearing a space for the pair to dance. "Art that survives the passage of time never goes out of style."
"Um..."
The truth was, Isabelle didn't know how to dance either.
Healer McDonald spent most of her time busy at St. Mungo's, leaving little opportunity to teach her daughters how to dance.
"Let's learn together," Albert suggested with a smile. "I don't know how to dance either."
He placed one hand on Isabelle's waist and held her hand with the other, guiding her as they began to move to the music.
"You should rest your arm on his shoulder, like this, and then just slowly turn in place," Hagrid instructed.
And then... the two nearly stumbled and fell.
Albert had stepped on Isabelle's foot, and she had almost pulled him down with her.
"This is tough!"
If not for Albert's good balance, they would have ended up in a heap on the floor.
Fortunately, this wasn't a formal event, or they would have become the laughing stock of the gathering.
Hagrid was teaching them the most basic dance, which would suffice for most wizarding events.
"It's better to have one of you lead," Hagrid advised. "Take it slow until you become more proficient. At least this way, you can finish a dance without stepping on each other's toes."
The pair had to be extra cautious to avoid stepping on each other's feet or tripping over each other. Despite their efforts, Albert still ended up getting stepped on five times, which was especially painful during the winter.
With Hagrid's less-than-stellar teaching skills, the dance skill finally appeared on Albert's ability panel.
Now he could truly cheat his way through it.
Albert immediately upgraded his dancing skill to Level 2 and, by taking the lead, managed to reduce the frequency of stepping on Isabelle's feet.
At least he wasn't trampling on her feet as much.
"You picked that up quickly!" Isabelle whispered, surprised that he had gone from clumsy to competent in a matter of moments.
"Learning to dance is more troublesome than learning other things," Albert quipped. "I didn't expect it to be so hard on the feet."
"Alright, at least master the basics today so you can manage at the wedding in France," Hagrid said, clapping his hands. "Take a short break, and then we'll continue. I assume you don't want to embarrass yourselves in front of others!"
"I regret agreeing to attend the wedding with you," Isabelle grumbled, rubbing her sore foot. Like most geniuses, she wasn't particularly athletically inclined.
"Me too," Albert agreed.
"Learning to dance isn't a bad thing. It will come in handy at parties," Hagrid reminded them. "You won't need to spend extra time practicing it in the future."
(End of Chapter)
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