Chapter 84: Birthday Gifts
Chapter 84: Birthday Gifts
Recently, the night-time excursions in Hogwarts Castle had temporarily ceased thanks to the tireless efforts of the caretaker, Filch.
Fred and George had no intention of testing Filch's patience either. The main reason, however, was that they were simply too busy to muster the energy to wander around in the middle of the night.
Nearly a month into the school year, the first-year students were settling into a routine with their classes. While they didn't have many classes each week, the amount of homework from all their subjects was considerable. On top of that, Fred and George also had to make time for Gryffindor's Quidditch practice.
There was no helping it; Fred and George just weren't as efficient as Albert when it came to doing homework. On top of the regular assignments, they also had to set aside time to memorize important theoretical knowledge and practice magic.
Transfiguration, in particular, was notoriously difficult to learn.
It had taken Albert's three roommates a whole week to master the trick of turning matches into needles, barely passing Professor McGonagall's mini-test.
Compared to the busy and fulfilling lives of the Weasley brothers, Albert's days were undoubtedly more relaxed and comfortable.
He always managed to finish his weekly homework on time, and memorization was a breeze for him. As for practicing magic, he had no problems there either, not even with Transfiguration, which was known to be the most challenging subject for first-year students.
Ever since Albert joined the Transfiguration Club, his skill in the subject had improved significantly.
The last time, after only a few attempts, he had completely mastered the method of turning stones into teacups, which Professor McGonagall had just finished teaching.
Of course, Albert always claimed to others that it had taken him several days of practice to learn it.
As for Quidditch practice, Albert also participated in the "training."
However, he only went once a week, and it was less about training and more about playing Quidditch with fellow enthusiasts from his house, enjoying the game and improving his understanding of the rules while flying.
Time flew by, and Albert gradually grew fond of the school life at Hogwarts. It reminded him of his university life in his previous life—doing what he loved and leisurely planning his future.
Aside from the lack of electricity, internet, phones, music, movies, and computer games, everything else was quite interesting.
Especially after mastering the basic knowledge related to magic, he became increasingly proficient in the use of magical spells.
By the way, Albert had just mastered the Summoning Charm a moment ago. Although he could only summon a single blooming chrysanthemum, he managed to make it bloom at the tip of his wand.
"You finally succeeded?" Fred asked, reaching out to take the flower, bringing it close to his nose to smell it. "Can you summon other flowers as well?"
"Of course," Albert replied, quickly placing several orchids on the table. "With more practice, I should be able to summon a large bouquet."
"Impressive," Jordan Lee said sincerely, knowing that the Summoning Charm was an extremely difficult spell.
"Look, your parcel," George suddenly said.
Albert looked up and saw an owl flying towards them. Fred and Jordan quickly helped to move the food on the table, making space for the owl to land.
"Thank you for your hard work," Albert said, gently stroking the owl's back. He opened the parcel and found two thick books inside.
Another gift was taped securely to the parcel.
Both books were on economics. His grandfather, Luke, had probably learned of his grandson's interest in finance from Herb, so he sent him a book titled 'Principles of Economics' as a birthday gift. As for the other book, it was naturally from Herb, and it was called 'The Nature of Finance.' Albert paid little attention to the books and instead shifted his gaze to another square parcel. He opened it carefully to find a beautifully packaged box containing a small cake.
"Wow, who sent you this cute little cake?" Angelina asked, her eyes lighting up as she stared at the box in Albert's hands.
"It's from home," Albert said, picking up the card and smiling happily. In fact, even without reading the birthday card, he could guess what was written inside. The card was from Niya, and in addition to the usual blessings, she had specially mentioned that she had helped make the cake.
"Happy birthday," said Sandra, immediately understanding what was going on and offering her well-wishes.
"Thanks," Albert said, picking up a new knife and fork to cut the chocolate cake into six pieces, sharing it with the few acquaintances around him.
Birthday wishes echoed in his ears.
It's better to enjoy happiness together than alone.
Anyway, they still had classes later, and it wouldn't be convenient to carry the cake around. If he put it in his backpack, it might get squished, which would be a waste of his family's thoughtful gift. Moreover, the most important reason was that Albert had just eaten his fill.
"Wow, you're a year older now. How nice," George said, munching on the chocolate cake and joking.
"If you were born a few weeks earlier, you could have started school a year earlier."
"Yeah," Albert replied nonchalantly, "But starting school a year later isn't so bad either."
No one present could understand the true meaning behind his words.
"By the way, those two books aren't your birthday presents, are they?" Angelina peeked into the opened package and saw the two thick books, with 'Principles of Economics' on top.
"Is there something wrong with that?" Albert asked, looking at Angelina in confusion.
Angelina felt her mouth twitch, and she didn't know what to say for a moment as she noticed the strange look in Albert's eyes.
Why is this person in Gryffindor?
"Can I take a look?"
"Go ahead, just don't damage it," Albert said, not minding if others looked at it. Anyway, they probably wouldn't be able to understand it, nor would they be interested in it.
As Albert had guessed, Angelina picked up the brand new 'Principles of Economics' and flipped through a couple of pages, only to feel dizzy and unable to comprehend what was written.
No, it wasn't that she couldn't understand the individual words, but when they were put together, they made no sense to her.
"I really don't get why your family sent you this," George muttered.
"It's just a matter of interest," Albert said, not intending to delve further into the topic. Instead, he changed the subject, "Don't be too nervous, flying on a broomstick is quite easy to pick up."
"Am I the only one who can't ride a broomstick yet?" Sandra murmured.
"Don't you like the cake?" Albert replied, not directly answering her question.
"No, no, I do like chocolate cake," Sandra said, closing the book about the origins of Quidditch and finishing the cake in front of her.
In fact, Sandra couldn't help but feel anxious. She felt that among the Gryffindor first-years, she might be the only one who couldn't ride a broomstick yet, and that feeling was terrible.
(End of Chapter)
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