Daily Life at Hogwarts - Chapter 32

On Sunday, the weather was not too great, and it was still raining outside the castle.

At 7 o’clock in the morning, as dawn was breaking, Albert, freshly washed and yawning, was dragged excitedly by his roommates to the Great Hall for breakfast.

“I really don’t get it. What’s so exciting about this?” Albert pulled away from the twins’ grip and straightened his robe.

“It’s Hogsmeade Village, the most fun place in all of England!” Lee Jordan exclaimed dramatically.

“All of England?” Albert sighed lightly, feeling that his line of thinking was not in sync with the three beside him.

On their way to the Great Hall, the twins were practicing their lumos spell. Unfortunately, they were caught by Filch.

And then, unlucky George was nabbed by Filch and taken to the caretaker’s office.

Filch delightedly pulled out a large roll of parchment from his desk drawer, laid it in front of him, and dipped a long black quill into an ink bottle:

Name… George Weasley.

Offense… Recklessly using spells in the corridor.

Recommendation… Suggested punishment…

“Cough, I just used the lumos spell because it was dim, you know, it’s still early, and the corridor…” George began, making up an excuse on the spot, despite the fact that the corridor they just passed had torches.

“…cleaning bedpans for the infirmary.” Filch looked at George with a malicious grin. “Perfect timing, those bedpans haven’t been cleaned all summer.”

George’s expression froze.

“You can leave now. Best not let me catch you using magic in the corridors again,” Filch said with a victorious smile, ushering George out.

“Pfft!” Albert couldn’t help but laugh after hearing George’s story. He patted George on the shoulder and reassured, “Don’t worry, I can teach you a simple cleaning spell. It will make cleaning bedpans a breeze. Plus, Filch can only suggest a punishment; he can’t directly enforce it.”

“That guy is so annoying.” George glanced at the door to Filch’s office, clearly upset. Nobody would want to clean bedpans.

“Don’t be down, I’ll buy you a butterbeer later,” Albert, trying not to laugh, changed the subject, “By the way, what did you see in Filch’s office?”

“What did I see? There were a lot of drawers, and handcuffs and shackles hanging on the wall behind the desk,” George recalled, then complained, “That old man, no, that old weirdo definitely has some quirks.”

In fact, Albert felt that Hagrid’s nickname for Filch, “old mooch,” was more fitting because, as a squib, he really didn’t serve much purpose at Hogwarts.

Ordinary people should stay in the ordinary world and enjoy ordinary happiness.

However, he didn’t voice this thought as it wouldn’t be nice to assign derogatory nicknames to others.

“Anything else?” Albert inquired, “He must’ve confiscated a lot of stuff, right?”

“Yes, I saw a label on one of the file cabinet drawers that read: ‘Confiscated Items, Highly Dangerous.'”

“I bet all the confiscated items are in there,” Fred’s eyes gleamed with curiosity.

“If it was truly ‘highly dangerous,’ it wouldn’t be kept there,” Albert remembered a valuable item, the Marauder’s Map of Hogwarts. It was probably stored inside.

“Exactly what we thought,” the twins exchanged knowing glances, chuckling.

“You guys aren’t thinking of… Be careful not to get caught,” Albert warned, “Otherwise, you’ll definitely be in trouble.”

The twins protested in unison, “That’s a slander! Why would we ever do such a thing?”

Breakfast in England is always the most hearty. Albert got himself a bowl of oatmeal with milk, added an egg, two bacon strips, two slices of bread, a sausage, and a small helping of salad.

“Hey, good morning!” A boy greeted the twins as he passed by.

“I remember you’re from Hufflepuff…” Lee Jordan couldn’t recall the boy’s name for a moment and looked to Albert for help.

“Cedric Diggory,” the boy introduced himself.

“Hello, Cedric.” The twins and their table mates greeted him, “Didn’t expect you to end up in Hufflepuff.”

“I don’t think there’s anything wrong with Hufflepuff,” Cedric didn’t like it when people badmouthed his house.

“We’re not saying it’s bad.”

“Just that Gryffindor is better.”

The Weasley twins finished each other’s sentences.

“Long time no see, Albert,” another person approached and greeted Albert, “I never expected to see you in Gryffindor. It really surprised me.”

“Long time no see, Gabriel.” Albert greeted his pen pal with a smile.

“You know each other?” Cedric Diggory asked in confusion, having a pretty good relationship with his senior, Gabriel.

“Of course, we met during the summer break,” Gabriel said with a mysterious smile towards Diggory, “I mentioned him to you, remember?”

Cedric Diggory looked at Albert with a very surprised gaze. He had heard Gabriel talk about that incident but never mentioned the person’s name.

After Gabriel left, the twins exchanged glances and said simultaneously, “Could it be…”

“What?” Lee Jordan was still clueless.

The twins exchanged glances again, “That incident!”

“Which incident?” Lee was still out of the loop.

“Cough, as long as you know, keep it a secret!” Albert cautioned, “Otherwise, no Christmas gift for you this winter break.”

“We’ll keep it a secret.” The twins said meaningfully, their index fingers crossed in front of their lips as a gesture of secrecy.

“Hey, don’t exclude me, you three jerks,” Lee Jordan felt left out and was not pleased.

“Cough, remember the newspaper? The thing we talked about on the train when we were coming to Hogwarts?” Fred reminded.

“50 Galleons,” George pitched in.

“Oh, that!” Lee Jordan instantly understood, “How did you manage to…”

“I don’t want the whole school to know about it.” Albert held a finger to his lips, signaling the three to keep quiet.

“Alright, but you’re really impressive!” The Weasley twins admired Albert’s methods, wishing they could easily earn 25 Galleons as well.

“No wonder you dared to bet all the Galleons you got,” Lee Jordan commented sarcastically.

“I might not necessarily lose,” Albert retorted, “Do you know why wands made of redwood are popular among wizards?”

“They bring luck?” George guessed uncertainly.

“Right,” Albert continued, “At that time, I had a feeling that betting might bring a huge gain, so I went for it.”