Chapter 871: The Missing
Chapter 871: The Missing
Typically, students of Hogwarts enjoyed sleeping in late on the weekends.
However, today was the day for the Triwizard Tournament's champion selection, and George woke up much earlier than usual.
As he got out of bed, he noticed that Albert's bed was empty, realizing that his friend might not have returned to the dorm last night.
While this had happened before, Albert usually asked them to help feed his cat if he planned to stay out. The fact that he hadn't said anything this time suggested that something unusual had occurred.
George immediately woke Fred and Lee Jordan, who were still sleeping.
"What's with all the ruckus so early in the morning?" Fred mumbled, rubbing his eyes and forcing them open to glare at George.
Lee Jordan, in the neighboring bed, yawned and covered his mouth, his face still bearing traces of sleepiness.
"Do you know if Albert mentioned staying out last night?" George asked as he reached out to touch Albert's empty bed.
"Nope," Lee Jordan replied, yawning again. "Don't worry; it's not the first time. He's probably out on a date."
Fred yawned and closed his eyes again, curling up in his blanket. "His girlfriend graduated last semester."
"Maybe he's hooked up with someone new," Fred mumbled with his eyes closed. "After all, it's Albert. If he wanted to find a new girlfriend, he'd probably do it faster than we could change our clothes."
"Don't worry about him," Lee Jordan muttered. "Just remember to feed his cat."
Although he was reluctant to admit it, George knew his worries were unnecessary. He shook his head as he looked at Tom, the fat cat dozing off in his basket, unconcerned about his owner's whereabouts as long as he was fed on time.
As the three of them made their way downstairs, they noticed a crowd in the entrance hall, some of them even eating bread.
"Has someone put their name in the Goblet of Fire?" Fred asked as he approached Hannah.
"All of Durmstrang's representatives and all of Beauxbatons' representatives have already put their names in," Hannah replied, tearing her gaze away from the Goblet of Fire and scanning Fred, George, and Lee Jordan. She frowned and asked, "Where's Albert?"
"Don't know," Lee Jordan replied, covering another yawn. "He disappeared last night."
"One of you whose age meets the requirement should put his name in for him, just in case Albert misses the sign-up period," Hannah suddenly suggested.
"Can we do that for him?" Ron asked, surprised.
"In theory, yes. You can even stand outside the age line and try to throw the parchment into the Goblet of Fire," Fred said, frowning. "But whether it will be accepted is another matter."
George shared the bread he had brought from the kitchen with Fred and Lee Jordan, casually asking, "Has anyone from Hogwarts entered yet?"
"Someone saw Walder from Slytherin sneak his name in early this morning," Ron replied.
"If that sort of scum becomes a champion, Hogwarts is doomed," Lee Jordan said disdainfully.
"He's probably just there to make up the numbers," Fred added.
"And Diggory from Hufflepuff has entered as well," Ron continued.
"Diggory is excellent; even Albert admits that. They're good friends," Angelina giggled, "and he's quite handsome."
"I thought you liked Albert," Lee Jordan said sharply.
"All the girls like Albert, but he already has a girlfriend," Angelina shrugged.
"Diggory has a girlfriend, too," Fred said without hesitation.
"Who?" Angelina asked.
"A Ravenclaw girl. You can guess who it is," Fred replied. "Anyone else?"
"Roger Davies from Ravenclaw just put his name in a moment ago," Ron said, a bit absentmindedly. He was actually considering trying the method Fred had suggested.
"Has Albert entered?" Hermione asked, concerned about Albert's absence.
"No, he didn't come back to the dorm last night, and we can't find him," Lee Jordan explained.
"I think someone doesn't want him to participate in the Triwizard Tournament," Hannah said to George. "You'd better enter his name for him, just in case he misses the selection."
The three boys exchanged glances and, after some discussion, decided to help Albert enter if he didn't show up by the afternoon.
During lunch, Albert was still nowhere to be seen, as if he had vanished into thin air.
"I heard from some Ravenclaw girls that their prefect, Katrina, is also missing. She didn't return to the dorm last night," Hannah delivered a shocking piece of news to the trio. "Some people say Katrina wanted to use a Love Potion on Albert to take him away from Isabelle, and many Ravenclaw girls are talking about it."
After saying this, Hannah glared at Fred and George, implying that they were the source of the Love Potion.
"Do you really think Katrina would do that?" Fred asked, frowning.
"Stealing her sister's boyfriend?" Lee Jordan found the idea hard to believe.
"I remember Katrina did buy a Love Potion from us," Fred admitted to George.
"That's unlikely," George shook his head. "Albert is a Potions expert himself and is very cautious about Love Potions. Moreover, he always carries an antidote with him. I think this whole thing is a smokescreen."
"Being cautious is one thing, but it also depends on who the person is," Lee Jordan said excitedly. "Who knows, maybe Albert wanted to charm them both, so he intentionally acted as if he was affected by Katrina's Love Potion."
"That's not very likely," George shook his head. If Albert were that flirtatious, he would already have a string of beautiful girls around him by now. Why would he wait until now?
"I think someone might have attacked them while they were talking and temporarily knocked them out, hiding them somewhere," Fred speculated.
"And you believe that?"
All three of them had sparred with Albert and knew how difficult it was to launch a successful sneak attack on him.
"Anyway, let's help Albert enter first," George said in a low voice. "I find this whole situation quite suspicious.
"What method should we use?"
Looking at the parchment that read "Albert Anderson - Hogwarts," the trio huddled together and decided to go with the first method. After all, they had brewed quite a bit of the Aging Potion, and it would be a waste not to try it themselves! "Who's drinking it?" George asked.
"Let's do it together. This is a rare opportunity." Fred took the Aging Potion.
"You don't need to drink too much; we only need to age a few more months. A drop or two should be enough," George reminded him.
"Together!" After Fred finished the Aging Potion, he passed the bottle to George. "Once Albert wins the championship, he has to treat us to a big meal."
"Should we do it together?" George passed the potion to Lee Jordan.
"I'll pass. Don't want to steal your thunder." Lee Jordan shrugged and refused, feeling that using the Aging Potion was unreliable.
"Please help us with the registration. Here's the note with Albert's name on it." Lee Jordan handed over the parchment slip with Albert's name.
"If you succeed, the Aging Potion will definitely sell well." Fred and George walked side by side towards the edge of the golden age line, shoulders bumping together.
"I'm sure Dumbledore will take that into consideration." Hermione was skeptical about the twins' method of entry.
Just as the Weasley twins lifted their feet to step across the golden line, they were sent flying backward and crashed painfully onto the marble floor ten feet away.
To make matters worse, both of them now had white beards sprouting from their chins.
"What are you lot up to?" Professor Moody emerged from the Great Hall, leaning on his staff. He bent down to pick up the parchment from the floor and asked, "Are you trying to enter on Anderson's behalf?"
"Albert went out last night and hasn't returned. We suspect someone is trying to prevent him from participating in the Triwizard Tournament, so we want to enter on his behalf to ensure he doesn't miss the sign-up period," Lee Jordan quickly went over to help Fred and George up, asking eagerly, "Professor, can you please throw this slip into the Goblet of Fire? You know, Albert intended to enter the Triwizard Tournament."
"Prevent? Who would dare? Who does he think he is, some kind of hero?" A Slytherin student in his senior year scoffed, "I think Anderson is just scared he won't be chosen, so he's hiding and making excuses."
"Wollens, even if Anderson doesn't enter, Hogwarts' champion won't be you." Lee Jordan replied scornfully.
Wollens seemed about to retort, but a stern glare from Professor Moody silenced him.
"I'll handle this. It seems there's a despicable individual trying to prevent Hogwarts from winning. I must go and speak with Dumbledore." Professor Moody strode into the Great Hall, holding the parchment slip.
At that moment, Professor Moody appeared angry, but he was actually quite pleased. The disappearance of that Mudblood meant his plan had succeeded.
"Even Professor Moody thinks Albert can help Hogwarts win. As for you..." Lee Jordan made a rude gesture at Wollens and accompanied Fred and George to the hospital wing.
"This is indeed strange!"
On their way to the hospital wing, Fred stroked his beard and said, "With Albert's vigilance, he wouldn't have been caught off guard so easily."
"Last night... Katrina seemed to have called him over for something." Lee Jordan reminded them.
"She wouldn't have had a reason to do that!" George shook his head, "unless she was being controlled."
"Imperius Curse?" The three said in unison.
"Professor Moody?"
"Very likely. If he's an imposter, he wouldn't help Albert with the registration." George speculated, "If Professor Moody truly believes in Albert's abilities, he should have directly thrown the slip into the Goblet of Fire to help him enter. Instead, he went to find Dumbledore, because Professor Moody must know that Dumbledore wouldn't allow him to cheat on Albert's behalf."
"What should we do now?" Lee Jordan asked.
"Let's go find Angelina. I remember it was her birthday recently. We can ask her to help Albert enter." Fred suggested.
"That's our only option now."
When they entered the hospital wing, they saw a few students with white beards waiting for treatment. Lee Jordan noticed that two of them were girls, and the white beards were probably Dumbledore's punishment for their involvement.
"You'll have to wait here for a while. The potion to remove your beards is still brewing." Madame Pomfrey frowned at the arrival of two more students with white beards, "I hope there's enough potion brewed by Professor Snape."
Fred and George suddenly felt uneasy as they noticed the hostile glares directed at them from the elderly gentlemen with white beards. These people had obviously taken their Aging Potion and ended up in their current state.
Lee Jordan subtly moved away from the twins to avoid any unintended consequences.
After their beards were removed and they left the hospital wing, Fred, George, and Lee Jordan were ambushed and beaten up by a group of people waiting outside.
"Why am I also dragged into this mess?" Lee Jordan complained as he rubbed soothing ointment on his bruises, grumbling about his misfortune.
"It's not that bad." Fred said with a smile.
"Stop joking around. Let's go and ask if Albert has registered yet. If we still can't find him, then we'll have Angelina help him enter." George said as he hurried towards the entrance hall.
"What if he becomes a champion but remains missing? Don't forget Professor Dumbledore's warning." Lee Jordan suddenly asked, pausing in his tracks.
The three of them stopped and fell into a brief silence.
"I don't think Albert would disappear for no reason." George said confidently, "You go find Angelina, and Fred and I will go speak with Professor McGonagall to discuss our next steps."
"Are you sure about this?"
"It's better to involve the professors in this. Something feels off about this whole situation, and it's clear that someone doesn't want Albert to become a champion." George asserted.
After reaching a consensus, the three of them immediately took action.
When Fred and George knocked on Professor McGonagall's office door, they were surprised to find Professor Moody there as well.
"Mr. Weasley, what can I do for you?" Professor McGonagall looked at Fred and George, standing at her door, with a puzzled expression.
"Professor, Albert is missing, and we suspect..." George's words were interrupted by Professor McGonagall.
"I'm already aware of the situation." Professor McGonagall looked at the Weasley twins and asked, "So, you want to enter on his behalf?"
"Yes, Albert wouldn't want to miss the Triwizard Tournament because of this." Fred affirmed.
"We should focus on finding Anderson first, rather than worry about the registration." Professor McGonagall clearly disagreed with the twins' approach, in her opinion, Albert's safety was far more important than some silly tournament. It was just a competition, and losing it wasn't the end of the world.
(End of Chapter)
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