Chapter 75: Source of Confidence
Chapter 75: Source of Confidence
As night deepened, the number of people in the Gryffindor common room gradually dwindled, and most of those who remained were busy with their homework.
"Finally done," said Jordan Lee, getting up from the sofa and stretching lazily before putting away the parchment that contained the summary of Gamp's Basic Law of Elemental Transfiguration. Having learned their lesson from the previous time, the trio no longer asked to borrow Albert's homework for comparison, sparing themselves the heartache.
"How's your Transfiguration practice going?"
"Not great," Fred sighed, showing his practice attempt to his friends. The needle he had tried to transfigure was a bit... well, thick. He had only managed to change the outward appearance of a matchstick to resemble a needle.
If he couldn't turn a matchstick into a fine needle, he wouldn't stand a chance with Professor McGonagall.
"Oh, come on, it's not bad," Albert said impatiently. "If you picked up Transfiguration easily, what would that say about everyone else's efforts?" He was currently reading a book, with just a few pages left of A Compendium of Nineteenth-Century Magical Curses.
"At least take a look and give me your opinion!" Fred said irritably, waving the "needle" in front of Albert's face.
"Speaking of which, you still haven't finished that book?"
"Just a few pages left," Albert said, glancing up at Fred's practice results for the evening. That "needle" was indeed quite thick.
"What should I do about this?" Fred asked, handing the "needle" to Albert.
"Just keep practicing, and you'll definitely get it," Albert said without hesitation.
"Is that even helpful advice?" George rolled his eyes. His needle was slightly thinner than Fred's, at least resembling a proper needle rather than a pointed metal rod.
It wouldn't be an exaggeration to call Fred's creation a nail.
"I've been through this too," Albert said, picking up his wand and transfiguring a pin. "First, you need to be able to transfigure a needle, and then you can work on making more intricate changes to it."
"Why are you giving us this?" George asked, taking the pin from Albert.
"It's for reference, of course," Albert said, looking at the three of them. "You need to transfigure a needle, but it doesn't have to be exactly the same. Just a regular needle will do."
"A needle?" George muttered, pointing his wand at a matchstick and reciting the spell. A rather unattractive pin appeared before them.
"Did it work?" Fred picked up the pin and examined it, feeling incredulous.
"You've failed too many times, so your confidence is lacking," Albert explained. "You need to believe in yourself and be confident that you'll succeed."
"Then why are you giving me this needle?" George asked, more confused than ever.
"To distract you from dwelling on your failures, and also to give you a point of comparison," Albert said, making up an excuse on the spot.
"By the way, how's your Disillusionment Charm coming along?" George asked out of the blue.
"It should be ready by next week," Albert said, unwrapping a chocolate frog and popping it into his mouth. "Why do you ask... are you thinking of..." He made a slipping-away gesture with his fingers.
"Yeah, tonight. I heard Filch is sick, so it's a good opportunity," Fred revealed.
"Don't get caught," Albert said, closing his book and glancing at his task list. Indeed, the progress of the "Reading Maniac" task had changed to 1/100.
"You're not coming?" George asked.
"No."
"We misjudged you." Fred and George wore expressions of disbelief that Albert would turn them down. Turning to Jordan, they were cut off before they could even open their mouths.
"Don't look at me," Jordan shrugged, clearly not interested in joining them.
"Fine..." The Weasley twins looked at each other helplessly and shrugged, resigned to their fate. "Looks like it's just the two of us for tonight's adventure."
"If you want to go wandering, choose Friday," Albert advised kindly. "After all, you don't have classes the next day."
Dozing off in class, are we?
"Makes sense. Friday it is, then," Fred agreed.
"Why Friday?" A cold voice suddenly cut through the air, and Fred felt a shadow fall over him. Looking up, he saw Percy standing right in front of him.
"What are you planning for Friday?" Percy demanded.
"Practicing Transfiguration!" George replied without missing a beat.
"Don't think I didn't hear that," Percy said angrily, glaring at the twins. "You know how many points you'll lose if you're caught wandering around at night."
George blinked innocently at Percy. "I heard Gryffindor hasn't won the House Cup in years."
"I've been keeping an eye on you two. Don't cause any trouble," Percy warned, clearly understanding George's implication.
Look, no one cares about the points, or else they would be working hard to earn them and bring glory to Gryffindor by winning the House Cup, right?
Gryffindor students don't care about honor?
No, of course, they do.
However, in reality, no one takes earning points for the House seriously, so naturally, they have no chance at the House Cup.
After all, points don't appear out of thin air.
And the repeated losses in Quidditch matches certainly don't help.
"Percy's so annoying."
"I agree!"
"Listen," Albert said, shaking his head. "Next time you want to discuss something important, find a place where no one else can hear you! Anyone within earshot now knows about your night-wandering plans."
"I think I heard someone mention night-wandering?" A voice called out as Mark approached them, placing a hand on Fred's shoulder. "It's a good habit. How can you call yourself a Gryffindor if you haven't wandered the halls at night?"
As Mark regaled them with his exploits, Albert's mouth twitched, and he couldn't resist interjecting, "So, Filch caught you?"
"N-no," Mark stuttered.
"I heard Filch knows most of the secret passages, and he has a clever cat helping him keep watch," Albert revealed a harsh truth. "Unless you know the castle's passages better than Filch, it's hard to escape him. Or did you put a jinx on Filch?"
"Well, Confundus Charm, very effective," Mark mumbled.
"Don't listen to Mark's nonsense," said Eileen as she walked over and pulled Mark away, reminding them, "There's Quidditch practice on Wednesday afternoon."
"I'd bet Mark was caught by Filch while out on a date one evening," Jordan said as they returned to the dormitory.
"You really won't come with us?" Fred asked again.
"Even if I wanted to wander the halls, now isn't the time," Jordan said impatiently. They had only been at Hogwarts for a short time and didn't know the castle well enough to understand Fred and George's recklessness.
(End of Chapter)
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