"Albert," pointing at the Chocolate Frog, said.
"Pumpkin pasties, cauldron cakes, licorice wands." George began explaining other weird and wonderful foods again—some turned your whole tongue different colors, while others let you make all sorts of strange noises.
"Animal voice drops, they make all kinds of animal sounds."
Albert unwrapped one, pulled a piece out, and asked, "What sound does this make?"
"No idea."
"How long does it last?"
"A few seconds, I guess!"
Albert tossed the candy into his mouth, opened it, and suddenly let out a roar like a lion, making everyone else burst out laughing.
"Want to try?"
George's turned out to be a baboon, Fred got a cat, and Lee Jordan had the worst luck—he got an elephant. His face flushed bright red instantly, and two puffs of steam shot out of his ears, sending everyone into a fit of laughter.
"Ah, I should've bought more." Finding the candy rather entertaining, Albert went off to find the witch in another compartment and bought another batch.
"I bought these for my little sister." Noticing the curious looks from the others, Albert smiled and explained.
Of course, Albert had no intention of filling his stomach on sweets. He took out the sandwiches Daisy had prepared for him, and under the baffled gazes of everyone around him, started eating a sandwich.
"You brought your own food, so why buy so much?" Lee Jordan asked, completely puzzled.
"Because it's novel. If I find anything interesting, I'll mail some back home to my family." Albert picked up a bottle of peach-flavored soda and asked, "Do you guys want to try some?"
"What's this?"
"Soda. You probably haven't had it before." Albert bought a cup of pumpkin juice; the taste was a bit peculiar, somewhat similar to drinking soy milk.
"How do you open it?" The twins looked curiously at the canned soda.
"There's a pull tab on top. Don't shake it, and be careful the drink doesn't spray out." Albert warned, but it was too late—when Fred popped the can open, he got sprayed right in the face.
"I told you not to shake it." Albert couldn't help laughing, casually taking the half-empty can of peach soda from Fred's hand.
Drawing his wand, he cleared away the water droplets on the table and the newspaper, then asked, "Do you want to try the flavor?"
With that, he raised his wand, tapped the paper bag of candy on the table lightly, and turned it into a plastic cup.
"Whoa!" The twins let out an exaggerated gasp.
"What?" Albert looked at them in confusion, then muttered, "Geminio."
He used the Doubling Charm to turn the plastic cup into three.
"You just used magic, didn't you?"
"Oh, just a little trick I learned from the spellbook. Very useful," Albert said offhandedly. "Is there a problem?"
"Is there a problem?" Lee Jordan said weakly. "Of course there is! I remember you're a Muggle-born wizard, right?"
"And?" Albert raised an eyebrow.
"I bet none of the other first-years can use magic as smoothly as you."
"Aren't you exaggerating a bit?" Albert deflected. "Want some?" He poured a small half-cup for each of them.
"Taste is a bit weird, but not bad."
"Kind of reminds me of beer, but different."
"You guys have had beer?" Albert asked curiously.
"George sneaked some."
"You sneaked some too!"
"Well, you aren't Muggles, so it's normal if you're not used to it." Albert didn't find it hard to understand, just like how he felt about drinking pumpkin juice himself.
"That's not the point. How did you do that? I heard Transfiguration is super hard to learn," Lee Jordan said dramatically.
"Super hard?" Albert thought about it carefully. It didn't seem as difficult as the other boy claimed? He had asked Truman for the secret to turning a match into a needle, and after practicing for a week and maxing out his Level 1 Transfiguration, he could easily alter small objects.
"It is a bit hard. It took me half a day to turn a match into a needle, but once you get the hang of it, it's pretty simple."
"Half a day." The three of them looked at each other, suddenly feeling a bit depressed and losing the desire to speak to him.
Showing off like this is a good way to lose friends.
"Is it really that simple?"
"Um, just how many spells have you mastered?" George asked timidly.
"I've tried all the ones in the textbooks... Didn't you guys try out magic during the summer holiday?" Albert looked at them suspiciously.
"Our family wouldn't let us touch our wands."
"You could've tried in secret, and besides, didn't you buy your wands?" Albert was momentarily speechless.
"You mean... you succeeded at most of them?" Fred asked weakly.
"Most of them worked. During the summer, I also met a Hogwarts student, and we kept up a correspondence. He gave me quite a bit of help with magic..."
*Boom!* A clap of thunder cracked across the sky, cutting Albert off as the rain outside the carriage grew heavier and heavier.
Was even the weather refusing to listen anymore?
Lee Jordan got up and shut the window to keep the rain from blowing in.
"Let's hope the rain stops by the time we reach the school." Albert tossed a piece of chocolate into his mouth and chewed slowly.
The long journey on the train was starting to get rather boring.
"What's wrong with you guys?" Albert looked at the three silent boys in confusion.
"Nothing!" Fred forced out a word. "I just get the feeling you're going to turn out to be someone big."
"I think so too," Albert said suddenly, a remark that nearly choked all three of them.
"Haha, just joking. Who knows what the future holds?"
For the remainder of the trip, they snacked and talked about the wizarding world—mostly the other three doing the talking while Albert listened.
When the conversation turned to Quidditch, hearing the three of them enthusiastically explain how four balls and seven players made up a match, Albert found it quite interesting.
It was obvious both twins were dying to own a good broomstick and play in an epic match.
"I'd actually love to try what it feels like to fly in the sky," Albert said. "Though riding a broom is a bit weird, I'll admit."
Chapter 17: Crossing the Lake
In truth, children growing up in the wizarding world were often quite bored. The Weasleys' home, the Burrow, sat among the small hills and trees south of the village of Ottery St Catchpole, yet most Muggles never even realized a house was there.
There were only four wizarding households nearby, with the Diggorys living closest, though still miles away.
Visiting each other meant riding broomsticks or using other methods. In reality, the children from the four families barely interacted at all.
The Weasley children practically never went to Ottery St Catchpole, let alone played with ordinary Muggles.
However, the twins mentioned that one of their older brothers had a Muggle friend who was a pretty girl.
"Ordinary Muggles are usually hard to get along with; they always think we're freaks and we don't really mix. Besides... my home is pretty far from the town."
Lee Jordan had it even worse; he was an only child, so sometimes he couldn't even find a playmate.
Albert had it much better than them. He had a younger sister, a mountain of books, and occasionally played ball with others. Still, he usually didn't bother hanging around a bunch of little kids—it was boring, after all.
Though he didn't have many close friends, Albert was quite popular at school. After all, he had top grades, excelled at everything, was easy to talk to, and knew how to handle interpersonal relationships.
Albert had asked the three of them, and children in the wizarding world apparently didn't attend Muggle schools.
It was hard to imagine a family like the Malfoys sending their child to a Muggle school.
Obviously not.
Of course, some wizards were exceptions.
The twins, however, had never been; all their foundational knowledge had been taught by their family.
"By the way, among wizarding families, is there one named Smith?" Albert asked. His grandfather's original family had been the Smiths. Later, after going to live with his Muggle relatives, he simply changed his name along with them.
That showed just how much he must have hated the person who abandoned him.
"Never heard of it. You, George?" Fred looked at his twin brother.
"Never heard of it either," Lee Jordan shook his head. "Why?"
"Nothing, just thought I heard the surname somewhere before." Albert shifted his gaze back to the window. Visibility was very low, and the sky was gradually growing dark.
Come to think of it, he hadn't realized Lee Jordan was such a chatterbox; the guy loved to talk nonstop.
The other three didn't find it annoying, though; the compartment was boring anyway, and listening to him babble was almost hypnotic.
Albert opened his eyes again, sensing that the train's speed was slowing down.
"We will be reaching Hogwarts in five minutes. Please leave your luggage on the train, it will be taken to the school separately," a voice echoed through the train via the loudspeakers.
"Merlin's beard, we're finally here." Fred stretched lazily; sitting on the train for so long had left him feeling sluggish.
George helped pack up the remaining snacks from the table and put them into Albert's trunk.
The train finally came to a complete halt. The four boys stepped out of their compartment and moved with the shoving crowd in the corridor, pressing toward the doors.
Getting off was absolute chaos. They stepped out onto a dark and tiny platform, where cold rain poured down, the nighttime chill making Albert shiver.
"I hate rain," Albert muttered, pulling out his wand and casting a spell on his pointed hat: "Impervius."
"First-years! First-years over here!" A booming voice shouted over the platform, swinging a lantern high above the crowd's heads to catch the new students' attention.
"What are you doing? Keep up," Fred reached out and yanked him along.
"Hold on a second." Albert cast the Impervius Charm on his robes as well. He had no idea if the spell would hold up, but having it was better than nothing.
"Hurry up, Albert," Lee Jordan urged.
"Don't rush, I'm coming. *Lumos*." Holding his wand aloft, Albert walked toward Hagrid—truly a giant of a man with a long beard who looked quite intimidating from a distance.
If you didn't know him, you'd think he was some kind of dangerous criminal; his appearance was genuinely frightening.
"Any more first-years? Right, off we go!" Hagrid led them away from the platform. Stripped of the station's shelter, the freezing rain lashed against them, giving the new students goosebumps all over.
"Mind your footing down there!" Hagrid bellowed, but it did little good. Because of the rain, the path was a muddy mess, and quite a few people slipped and fell multiple times along the way.
Albert tugged at his pointed hat and robes, wrapping himself up tightly. Fortunately, the Impervius Charm was doing its job, saving him from turning into a drowned rat like everyone else.
Why didn't I learn how to conjure an umbrella with my wand?
Albert was slightly annoyed and resolved to learn that useful bit of magic at the first opportunity so he wouldn't have to worry about forgetting an umbrella in the rain again.
"You alright?" Right in front of him, another unlucky soul had taken a tumble.
"Thanks, this walk is absolute torture," the fallen girl said gratefully as he helped her up.
"Let's keep moving." Albert let go of her hand, used his wand to probe the path ahead, and slowly continued walking.
This had to be the most miserable batch of first-years ever; so many people had fallen and were covered in mud.
He could hear Lee Jordan cursing under his breath not far away—the boy had just been tripped by someone next to him.
Albert suddenly felt that staying near the back had been a brilliant decision; at least nobody could trip him from behind.
"Watch out, steep slope coming up!" Hagrid shouted from the front. He walked down and stood to the side to keep any students from sliding on the steep incline.
As it turned out, this was a wise precaution—three unfortunate souls nearly took a spill, but Hagrid grabbed them just in time.
"Mind yourselves, we'll be at the lake in a minute."
Once everyone made it down the slope, Hagrid led the way again. They navigated a few bumpy turns and finally arrived at the edge of a vast, black lake.
On the steep hillside across the water towered a massive castle with many turrets—that was Hogwarts Castle.
Lights flickered from the castle windows, standing out sharply against the rainy night backdrop.
"No more than four to a boat. Remember, no more than four!" Hagrid pointed to the small boats bobbing along the shore and shouted to the newcomers.
"Albert, over here!" One of the twins waved at him. Lee Jordan was there too; all of them were splattered with mud and looked thoroughly bedraggled.
"You guys holding up?" Albert couldn't help a grin as he stepped into the small boat.
"Terribly. I fell down once and got tripped twice."
"Get in!" Hagrid called out. After checking with his lantern to make sure nobody was overloaded, he boarded a boat all by himself. "Right then... forward!"
The small boats glided forward across the lake, moving without any oars.
Albert looked up and stared at the castle ahead, feeling a vague, inexplicable thrill. Hogwarts, I've arrived.
Chapter 18: A Morbid Sense of Humor
Unfortunately, most of the young wizards in the boats had no time to appreciate Hogwarts Castle through the rain curtains; the freezing rain had them shivering violently.
"Why do first-years have to cross the lake in boats?" Albert pulled his gaze away and looked at the three shivering boys in his boat, whose teeth were chattering.
"I-I don't know, and I don't care to find out right now."
"Me neither, I'm freezing," the twins chimed in. They were nearly frozen stiff; nobody had the mood to care about traditions.
Albert couldn't help shaking his head. He actually knew a bit about the boat-crossing tradition—it was meant to have the new arrivals retrace the exact route the four founders took when they first arrived at Hogwarts Castle. The reason each boat held four people represented the original four founders, acting as a sort of heritage ritual so the incoming students could feel the founders' excitement and joy while remembering the hardship of building the school.
Yet, by now, how many people actually understood any of that?
Even Hagrid, who was guiding them across the lake, probably didn't know.
Then again, hardly any of the students cared about such things anymore.
"Watch out! Down!" Hagrid roared.
Hearing the warning, the new students hastily ducked.
The boats carried them through a curtain of ivy hanging before a wide opening in the cliff face, gliding into what looked like an underground harbor beneath the castle.
"That was rough. I hate rain," one of the twins muttered, hugging his arms and sneezing.
Everyone was soaked through to the bone, shaking like leaves.
"How did you do that?" Lee Jordan asked in amazement. He noticed that not a single drop of rain had touched Albert's robes or pointed hat.
"A simple spell," Albert replied softly, noticing the other boys staring at him.
"Right then, follow me!" Carrying his lantern, Hagrid led the freshers up a flight of stone steps and onto the grass right below the castle doors, which opened onto the massive oak front entrance.
A witch wearing emerald-green robes was standing by the oak front door. Albert recognized her—it was Professor McGonagall, who had visited his home.
"Thank you, Hagrid. I'll take the first-years from here." Professor McGonagall looked over the bedraggled group, and Albert could have sworn he saw the corner of her mouth twitching.
That wasn't surprising; the new students' appearance could no longer be described as merely messy—almost everyone looked like a drowned rat, covered in dirt and mud.
"First-years, follow me."
Professor McGonagall led the new students into the castle. Albert walked at the back of the line, casting his gaze left and right at the ancient, millennia-old fortress.
"That's Professor McGonagall, the Gryffindor Head of House. Percy says she's really strict," George whispered.
"Oh, I've met her once before. My little sister is a big fan of Professor McGonagall's trick with turning a teacup into a mouse." Albert's attention remained fixed on the stone walls. He had always wondered if those blazing torches were powered by an eternal flame.
Rumor had it there was some kind of magical fire that burned forever, which certainly fit the scene before him.
"Come on, what are you looking at?" Fred nudged Albert lightly, urging him on in a whisper.
"I'm wondering what kind of magical fire that is. Probably not an ordinary flame." The complete lack of smoke suggested it wasn't standard fire.
Fred opened his mouth, momentarily at a loss for words.
Albert resolved to figure it out later; this castle had far too many secrets waiting to be explored.
The moment the thought of exploring the castle crossed Albert's mind, a system panel suddenly popped into view:
Millennial Ancient School: Hogwarts.
Hogwarts is an ancient and mysterious magic school that has stood for a thousand years. Countless untold secrets lie hidden within this ancient fortress. As an avid seeker of hidden secrets, you shouldn't let such an opportunity pass you by. Explore Hogwarts Castle before graduation and uncover the hidden secrets.
Current progress: 1%.
Reward: 1,000–100,000 XP, 1–10 skill points.
"Holy crap!" Albert couldn't help swearing internally. Talk about mind-blowing.
This was easily the most high-class quest he had ever seen.
Was this thing trying to force him to become a night-wandering maniac?
Looks like mastering the Disillusionment Charm needed to be pushed up to an urgent priority. Albert began pondering how he could get his hands on the spell.
Professor McGonagall led the first-years into a small empty chamber off the Great Hall. The space wasn't large, and everyone crowded in shoulder to shoulder.
"Welcome to Hogwarts," Professor McGonagall began her opening speech, following the annual tradition. "The start-of-term banquet will begin shortly, but before you take your seats in the Great Hall, you must be sorted into your houses..."
Just like a speech by a leader in his past life: *I'll just say a few words here,* and then proceed to ramble on for a good half-hour or more. Professor McGonagall wasn't quite that extreme, but she still talked for a solid ten minutes or so.
Albert mentally summarized Professor McGonagall's entire lecture into three main points: lodging, sorting, and the House Cup.
After finishing the customary Hogwarts orientation, Professor McGonagall instructed all the first-years to line up so she could clear away their water stains and mud.
As the Deputy Headmistress, Professor McGonagall simply could not tolerate the new students entering the Great Hall looking like that; their wretched state would completely humiliate Hogwarts.
The new students shoved and jostled in line, hoping to get their clothes dried off as quickly as possible—the dampness and chill were making everyone miserable.
"Are we packing sardines here?" Albert watched the group of first-years with amusement, took a step back, and willingly stayed at the back of the line since the rain hadn't affected him much anyway.