Daily Life at Hogwarts - Chapter 29

As noon approached, the Hogwarts castle, quiet for the night, came alive once more.

Albert occasionally met other students in the corridors or hallways. It can be said that most people are naturally inclined to sleep in, especially on weekends when there’s no need to rise early. Most would prefer to sleep a little longer.

Outside the castle, a light rain was still falling. Most students would stay in the Great Hall to chat, while a very few unlucky ones who hadn’t finished their assignments in time were hurriedly copying their summer homework.

While exploring the castle, the Weasley twins and Lee Jordan couldn’t hang on and sneaked off first.

Nevertheless, Albert spent the whole morning touring the vast castle and took many interesting photos with his camera. After touring the castle, he felt a slight pain in his calves.

The tour was quite fruitful. Based on his memory, Albert sketched out a rough map of the castle.

Although he heard from others that some staircases in Hogwarts change their positions every Friday, that was an issue for next Friday. Albert wasn’t too concerned, knowing there would be a solution when the time came.

Worth mentioning is that his progress in exploring Hogwarts had reached 26.7%.

“Where are your friends?” Angelina and another girl walked over, taking seats opposite Albert, greeting him.

“They sneaked off while we were exploring the castle.” Albert picked up a slice of bread from his plate, preparing to make a sandwich. “Those three probably found something interesting. Could you pass me the blueberry jam, please?”

“How’s your castle map coming along? Can I take a look?” Angelina, pointing to the parchment paper next to Albert, pushed the blueberry jam bottle towards him.

“I still believe newcomers should explore the castle themselves. It’s part of the fun.” Albert handed the parchment to the girl across from him while grabbing the jam bottle.

“What’s this?” Alicia leaned in to look at the simple sketch, squinting slightly. While it was a rough drawing, she could identify secret passages, classroom markers, and which stair steps to watch out for.

“Oh, here are our timetables.” Albert duplicated the timetable, handing copies to the two opposite him.

“What kind of spell is that?” Angelina curiously asked.

“It’s a duplication spell. It can turn one item into two,” Alicia, coming from a wizarding family, recognized the spell instantly.

Unlike families like the Weasleys, Alicia had received a solid wizarding education from a young age, giving her a head start compared to most students.

“Handy little trick, isn’t it?” Albert winked at the two, continuing, “With it, you don’t need to take notes. Just ‘borrow’ from someone.”

Alicia looked at Albert with an odd expression, feeling that his way of thinking was somewhat unconventional.

“Can you make one for me? So I won’t worry about finding the classrooms.”

“Aren’t you concerned the map might have errors?” Albert retorted.

“I’ll, of course, verify it myself,” Alicia said matter-of-factly.

“Do you want one?” Albert turned to Angelina.

“Thank you,” Angelina said with a smile.

The Hogwarts castle is indeed vast. Newcomers could easily get lost, but with Albert’s map, at least they’d know where to go.

Being late on the first day of school is not a good sign.

“I remember you’re from a Muggle family,” Alicia started, folding the map, “How do you know so many spells? I’d dare say most newcomers don’t know as many spells as you do.”

“I practiced before starting school. Most spells are pretty simple,” Albert replied, spreading blueberry jam on his bread and taking a big bite. The taste was good, but eating the same thing every day was a bit much.

“Simple?” The two exchanged glances, suddenly feeling a peculiar pressure.

After getting their own wands, most newcomers would try out the spells from the textbooks. Angelina and Alicia were no exception. They learned some basic spells but not with the ease Albert mentioned. His tone made it sound like learning magic was as simple as eating a piece of bread.

After finishing the slice of bread smeared with blueberry jam, Albert set about making himself a sandwich.

English meals always seemed to be somewhat lackluster, and Hogwarts was no exception. Bread and potatoes were always the staple here.

Lunch consisted of slices of bread, boiled potatoes, fresh vegetable salad, and salty ham. Of course, there was also a big pot of milk tea or pumpkin juice.

After finishing his ham sandwich, Albert added two whole potatoes to his plate. After wandering around the castle all morning, he was starving.

Speaking of mealtime, the trio was nowhere to be seen. He wondered where they’d gone off to.

“I really miss rice and noodles,” Albert muttered softly, continuing to devour the potatoes on his plate.

Potatoes, being one of the staples for the English, were something he’d eaten almost daily for years. The people of this country could even make a hundred dishes with potatoes without any repetition.

While potatoes weren’t hard to eat, having them constantly was a tad overwhelming.

“Spaghetti is delicious,” Angelina chimed in, “I’ve had it several times. The taste is truly memorable.”

“The culinary offerings in England always leave one disappointed. And the variety is far too predictable. The chefs here never truly explore the art of cooking,” Albert lamented, pouring himself a cup of milk tea and taking a sip, “I remember recently having a whole fish baked in sea salt and vanilla bread crust.”

The two exchanged glances, keenly listening to Albert’s critique of the various eccentric British dishes, like the chip sandwich his father loved, or the Marmite that only his grandmother favored…

Albert vividly recalled his first taste of Marmite; it tasted like… hell. The flavor was truly unforgettable.

If he had to describe it, it was a heavy soy sauce flavor mixed with various body odors.

Since then, Albert had kept a respectful distance from Marmite.

“If any of you are interested, I can send you a bottle as a Christmas gift during the holidays.”

“Cough cough,” Alicia instantly lost her appetite, “No thanks, I’d prefer to eat normal food, lest I get nauseous every time I see jam.”

Having finished his milk tea and ending his meal, Albert sat at the dining table, reviewing the photos he had taken earlier. There were pictures of knight armors, castle sceneries, certain portraits, or some rather exaggerated sculptures… these photos revealed a glimpse of Hogwarts.

However, seeing Albert selecting photos, Angelina really wanted to comment, “You don’t seem like you’re here to study. You’re more like a tourist visiting Hogwarts.”