Chapter 945: Spectators
Chapter 945: Spectators
"Hey, you three! What are you sneaking around for?"
As Hagrid led Harry, Hermione, and Ron out of the gamekeeper's cabin, intending to venture into the forest, he spotted Fred, George, and Lee Jordan heading towards the outskirts of the Forbidden Forest. He bellowed at the trio in the distance.
"We're not sneaking around. Otherwise, you wouldn't have seen us at all," Fred called out, facing the group of four and a dog approaching them.
As if to prove his point, Fred withdrew his wand from his belt, cast a spell on himself, and vanished right before their eyes.
"You..."
Hagrid was left sputtering, nearly speechless at the antics of the three students.
"Disillusionment Charm?"
Hermione arched an eyebrow, recognizing the spell Fred had just used.
"Yeah," Fred reappeared, confirming her guess.
"That's a handy charm for sneaking around at night. As long as you don't run into any teachers, you're good," George explained with a mischievous grin. "Filch doesn't understand magic, so he won't be able to see through it. You could walk right past him without a worry."
"Want to learn it?"
"You..."
Hermione glared at the trio, her friends and housemates.
"Ahem, what are you lot doing here anyway?" Hagrid asked, his curiosity turning to concern as he would not let these troublemakers wander into the dangerous forest unchecked.
"We're here to watch the duel, of course," Lee Jordan said matter-of-factly. "It's a rare opportunity, so you should come too." Fred sheathed his wand back into its holder at his belt.
"That's a nice wand holster. Where'd you get it?" Ron asked, eyeing the wand holster at Fred's waist.
"Don't know. It was a birthday gift from Albert a while back. It's pretty good. If you want one, ask him yourself," Fred replied, then added with a twist of humor, "But I doubt you'll be buying one."
Ron heard this as a blunt statement that he couldn't afford it.
"Duel? What duel?" Hermione steered the conversation back on track.
"Albert is going to duel with Professor Flitwick," Lee Jordan replied nonchalantly.
"Why would Albert duel with Professor Flitwick?" Hermione inquired, her curiosity piqued.
Harry and Ron exchanged glances, equally intrigued.
"Shh!"
George made a hushing gesture and lowered his voice. "Albert has been learning combat techniques from Professor Flitwick recently. Today is probably their last lesson, and they plan to have a duel in the Forbidden Forest to test their progress."
"Oh, and you'd better ride your brooms. If you get too close on the ground, you might get caught up in the battle," George advised.
"Albert is learning combat techniques from Professor Flitwick?" Harry was surprised.
"Yeah, it's pretty amazing, but it's beyond us," Fred admitted.
"Where are your brooms, then?" Ron asked, puzzled that he hadn't spotted any brooms with them.
"You'll see in a moment," Fred replied mysteriously.
"Come on, let's go. We don't want to miss their duel," George urged.
"We need to find Sirius and Professor Lupin first. If they agree, we can all go together," Harry suggested, curious about just how skilled Albert had become.
The group quickly entered the Forbidden Forest and made their way to the campsite where Harry had trained before. Sirius and Lupin were already there, whispering to each other.
Upon learning about the impending duel between Albert and Professor Flitwick, Sirius was intrigued and suggested they all go to watch the spectacle together.
"Do you know the exact location?" Lupin asked.
"No, Albert didn't tell us," Lee Jordan shook his head.
"That guy probably doesn't want us to find their dueling spot easily," Fred said as he pulled out a plain bag and took out a broomstick.
"Undetectable Extension Charm?"
Hermione instantly recognized the bag in Fred's hand.
"Yeah, made by Albert. It's a pretty useful little thing," Fred said, already straddling his broom and preparing to take off.
"I thought the misuse of Undetectable Extension Charms was illegal," Hermione muttered.
"Oh, come on, Hermione. It's not illegal if the Ministry doesn't know about it," George said with a laugh as he mounted his own broom, ready to depart.
"But what if we get caught?"
"We'll just say we bought it from someone on the black market," Lee Jordan suggested as he, too, mounted his broom.
"How come you all have these?" Ron asked, a hint of envy in his voice.
"Christmas gifts."
The three boys shared a glance and shrugged.
"Do you have one, Hermione?" Ron turned to her.
"No way," Hermione shook her head.
"If you want one, I can ask him about it. It'll only take a moment. That guy sends out a ton of gifts every year, so he hates picking gifts for people. He'd rather just get it over with," George explained, noticing Hermione's expression.
As close friends and housemates, the three of them were well aware of Albert's template-like gift-giving style.
Hermione's gifts were most likely chosen from a pool of options like quills, notebooks, or snacks.
"It seems Anderson has a very high attainment in Undetectable Extension Charms," Lupin remarked, surprised by Albert's true skill level.
"Indeed, it's impressive," Hermione said admiringly. "Albert used the Undetectable Extension Charm to create a movable Wizarding Club room for himself. It has a hall-like spacious interior, and the base form is a book."
"That thing is truly incredible."
"We plan to leave it at the school as a memento, just like you guys once left the Marauder's Map," the three boys said in unison as they soared into the air on their brooms. "See you later, then."
"Wait, don't you mind taking us with you!"
"Our brooms can't carry that many people," Fred shook his head.
"But with Harry's Firebolt, we'll have four brooms, which is enough for eight people," Ron reasoned.
"Hmph!"
Hagrid grunted in displeasure, glaring at the group that was excluding him.
Given his large stature, he couldn't really fit on a broom, but he was still miffed.
Harry's Firebolt soon arrived, summoned by his wand.
Each person took a Firebolt and soared into the sky.
"Sirius, Lupin, take care of Harry and the others."
Hagrid waved at the group as they departed, then sullenly returned to his cabin with his hound.
"Why not use a Tracking Charm?"
Lupin, seeing the group's confusion, asked in bewilderment.
"It's useless. Albert can use a Shield Charm to prevent himself from being tracked. Even if we use a Tracking Charm, we won't be able to find him," Fred explained helplessly. "His Shield Charm can even block the Marauder's Map."
"Then let's track Professor Flitwick?" Hermione suggested, unsure how to react to this group's antics.
An awkward silence fell over the group.
Professor Lupin tried the Tracking Charm, and it did lead them to a general location, but it seemed to be outside the Forbidden Forest, in the wilderness near Hogwarts.
The group flew on their brooms to the indicated spot, and then...
"I knew it," Fred muttered, gazing at the wilderness before them. "That guy's tricked us again."
"He never said it was in the Forbidden Forest,"
George realized that all three of them had been misled by Albert.
Especially since they had been flying for a long time without finding the dueling spot, they were now certain that they had been played.
(End of Chapter)
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