Daily Life at Hogwarts - Chapter 30

In the afternoon, the Gryffindor common room was packed with students, all of whom were seated on sofas and engrossed in conversation.

Due to the limited seating in the lounge and the crowd, it was both noisy and cramped. Albert didn’t feel like lingering there. After posting the first-year timetable on the notice board and placing his camera and photos back in the dormitory, he headed directly to the library on the fifth floor of the castle.

There weren’t any other students in the library. It made sense; even Ravenclaw students rarely set foot in the library before the official start of school.

The only person present was the librarian, Madam Irma Pince, quietly reading behind the counter.

When Albert approached the counter, Madam Pince looked up, seemingly surprised to see someone in the library at this time.

“Ma’am, I apologize for the disturbance. I’m looking for books on spells. Do you know where they might be located?” Albert asked softly.

In truth, Albert could search himself, but given the vast collection, that would be time-consuming and tedious. Asking the librarian directly was the quickest option.

Madam Pince glanced at Albert and pointed to a wooden bookshelf, “Section C, the fifth shelf.”

Following her direction, Albert thanked her and proceeded to Section C. He briefly paused, eyes lingering on the ropes leading to the restricted section, then continued on to the fifth shelf filled with books on spells.

As Albert’s fingers brushed the spines of the books, his interface unexpectedly popped up with two tasks.

Reading Maniac:
As someone who loves reading, how could you miss out on Britain’s largest magical library?
Complete the reading of 100 books, each an inch thick.
Reward: Randomly master 3 spells and elevate them to level 3.
Progress: 0/100

Forbidden Magic:
The Restricted Section of Hogwarts hides numerous secrets. Being passionate about magic, how could you pass this up? Persuade five professors to allow you to borrow books from this section.
Reward: Increase skill level by 1.
Progress: 0/5

Both tasks seemed quite challenging!

Completing a hundred books, especially inch-thick ones, wasn’t going to be easy. That’s like reading a hundred bricks.

The second task was even trickier. It wouldn’t be easy to obtain permissions to borrow books from the restricted section, especially from five different professors.

From what Albert remembered, Gilderoy Lockhart might be the easiest to persuade.

However, with greater challenges came greater rewards. An increase in skill level was much more valuable than mere skill points.

Pushing these tasks to the back of his mind, Albert pulled out a book named “Selection of 18th Century Spells”. The table of contents listed thirty-three spells, detailing the inventors, correct application, and significance of each.

After skimming the index, Albert lost interest; he couldn’t find the Disguise Spell. Although the other spells seemed useful, they weren’t immediately relevant to him. Learning these spells would require considerable time and effort or tapping into his stored experience pool.

While Albert still had plenty of experience in reserve, he didn’t want to use it just yet.

After placing “Selection of 18th Century Spells” back on the shelf, Albert pulled out another book titled “Achievements in Spells.” In it, he found the Disguise Spell he was searching for. However, the book only provided a general overview without the specifics of casting the spell. But, a clue in the book led him to “Selection of 19th Century Spells” which contained detailed records of the Disguise Spell. This was undoubtedly good news.

Seating himself at a library desk, Albert began his deep dive into the book. The inspiration for the Disguise Spell came from chameleons, allowing the caster to blend into their surroundings for invisibility. Expert wizards can seamlessly blend in, while amateurs often stand out awkwardly.

As Albert engrossed himself in the spell’s intricacies, a chair beside him was pulled back. Lifting his gaze, he recognized a Ravenclaw girl he had met in the Great Hall earlier in the morning. Sensing Albert’s attention, she nodded slightly before returning to her own book.

“Typical Ravenclaw,” Albert murmured to himself, refocusing on the essential details of the Disguise Spell, preparing for practice. What he needed next was the counter-spell for the Disguise Spell. While the effects of the Disguise Spell weren’t long-lasting, without the counter-spell, he would have to wait for the effects to wear off naturally.

The spellbook didn’t have the details at the end, but Albert found the Revealing Charm in “Achievements in Spells.”

After borrowing the 19th-century spell book from Mrs. Pince, he picked up a stone outside the castle as a target, clearly not foolish enough to try an unfamiliar spell on himself.

As Albert contemplated where to practice, the Weasley twins and Lee Jordan appeared in the entrance hall, out of breath.

“Where were you guys at lunch?” Albert asked.

“Fifth floor, mirror,” George panted, barely getting the words out.

“And where does that passage lead?” Albert inquired.

“Outside the castle, to Hogsmeade,” said Fred with an excited grin, amazed that they discovered a secret passage leading outside on their very first day at Hogwarts.

Albert raised an eyebrow, “So… you spent hours in Hogsmeade?”

“No, the passage itself took nearly an hour to traverse,” George explained.

“You guys… are impressive,” Albert managed to say, thinking the idea of a two-hour round trip seemed torturous.

After all, as a self-proclaimed “lazy fish,” why would he want to crawl through a secret passage when he could comfortably read on a couch?

“Here’s my achievement,” Albert said, lifting the book he had borrowed, “from the library.”

“You found that spell,” Fred realized what Albert was hinting at.

“Yeah, I did,” Albert said, slightly impressed by Fred’s quick understanding, “But mastering it is challenging. Prepare yourselves if you want to learn.”