Chapter 62: The Gamekeeper
Chapter 62: The Gamekeeper
"Albert, are you alright?"
At lunchtime, Sana sat down beside Albert, still troubled by the inexplicable point deduction by Professor Snape earlier that morning.
"I'm fine, what's up?" Albert replied as he skillfully spread a generous amount of mayonnaise on his sandwich, adding slices of tomato, two pieces of fried bacon, and finally, a cold sausage before covering it with the other bread slice.
"How are you still eating?" Sana asked in a low voice. "Did you somehow offend Professor Snape?"
"No," Albert denied without hesitation.
Even if he had, he wouldn't admit it. The answer would always be no.
"I know what happened," George said with a mouthful of pie, a smile spreading across his face as he took a bite. "It goes back to two days before the start of term. We were wandering around the castle when we happened to run into Snape, and Albert here asked if he could take a picture."
Recalling the incident made George want to laugh.
"Yeah, I remember that," Fred chimed in. "Then, Snape said he'd call on Albert during Potions class."
"So that's why all that happened this morning?" Sana asked, surprised.
"Snape didn't let Albert off the hook, so he changed tactics," Jordan Lee continued, "which is why our Potions Master gave Albert extra homework after class."
"Ahem, you're wrong there," Albert coughed, feigning seriousness. "Professor Snape thinks I have good potential in Potions, so he intends to give me special guidance to improve my skills. Isn't that right?"
"Yeah, we misspoke," the twins quickly amended, their faces clearly saying, 'That's right, that's what happened.' Sana was amused by their words but still asked doubtfully, "Are you sure your essay is fine?"
"It's no problem," Albert said casually. "Whether it's one essay or two, I still have to write them. I plan to head to the library after lunch to finish them both."
"Merlin's beard, you're going to the library to do your homework right after eating?" Fred, George, and Jordan stared at Albert, bewildered as to why he would rush to complete his assignments.
"It won't take much time," Albert said, taking a big bite of his sandwich and chewing slowly before swallowing. "And it's better not to cram all the homework together. That way, I'll have free time to do other things."
"I don't mind joining you later," Sana said, blinking. "It'll be faster to look for information together."
Perhaps, for Albert and Sana, who came from Muggle families, finishing homework promptly was a habit.
The Weasley brothers and Jordan quickly moved away from the pair, afraid of catching the terrible disease of doing homework immediately.
Alright! In reality, they were scared of being dragged along by Albert to do their homework.
Why rush to finish it now when there was still so much time?
"Ahem, anyway..." Fred awkwardly changed the subject. "We're planning to go outside the castle later. Do you want to come with us?"
"We can't go into the forest," Albert pointed out, raising an eyebrow. Without the ability to protect themselves, he wasn't about to take unnecessary risks.
"We didn't say anything about going into the forest," George said with a grin. "You're the one who brought it up."
"Don't tell me you haven't thought about it," Albert huffed. He knew full well that the twins would become frequent visitors to the Forbidden Forest in the future.
"That's true. Cough, I mean, we'll just walk around. There are still parts of the castle we haven't seen," Fred quickly clarified.
"We're not planning to go into the forest. We'll just go over to the side and take a look. I remember there's a small cabin on the edge of the Forbidden Forest," George added.
Albert looked up at the ceiling. It was a cloudy day. Hmm, a walk outside might aid digestion.
"Alright!" He agreed.
"Then let's go!" The twins each put an arm around Albert's shoulders.
"Wait, my sandwich is going to fall."
"Don't worry, I've got it!" Jordan smiled and took the sandwich.
"See you at two o'clock!" Albert and Sana bid farewell and were led out of the castle by the trio.
There really was a small cabin on the edge of the Forbidden Forest.
As they approached the cabin, they saw the gamekeeper, Hagrid, outside, tending to a piece of ermine pelt. Beside him, a large black boarhound barked menacingly at them.
The gamekeeper looked up at the four of them wandering around and warned, "You lot, don't loiter here. There are dangerous werewolves in the forest. Not many who venture in come out unscathed. I don't want to have to collect your bodies."
Albert looked up at the boarhound, took the half-eaten sausage from his sandwich, and waved it in front of the dog.
"He's huge!" Jordan muttered, feeling intimidated by Hagrid despite having met him once before. After all, the man's height and attire were quite...overwhelming.
"Are there really werewolves in the forest?" Albert asked, unafraid, and continued walking towards Hagrid. If he hadn't known from books that Hagrid was a good-natured person, he wouldn't have dared to approach him based on his appearance alone.
Fred tugged at Albert's clothes, signaling for him to leave quickly.
Albert glanced at them speechlessly. Alright, he admitted that his courage came from his knowledge of Hagrid's true character.
There was no helping it; the gamekeeper's appearance was rather frightening. He was at least 15 feet tall, with a fierce, rugged, and bearded face, and he wore a patched, animal skin coat that made him look like a legendary barbarian. If he wandered the city at night, he'd likely scare countless people.
Hagrid was also taken aback, not expecting such a friendly approach.
Albert, still munching on his sandwich, squatted down and waved the sausage in front of the boarhound. The deep barks gradually ceased, and the dog wagged its tail as it walked towards Albert, sniffing at the sausage before taking it gently in its mouth and eating it. The three friends behind Albert were stunned by this turn of events.
Was this the same fierce boarhound?
Hagrid was also surprised that his dog had been so easily bought with half a sausage. And this little guy had some guts, he thought.
(End of Chapter)
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