Chapter 27

As they descended from the seventh floor to the eighth, Professor McGonagall and the others encountered Headmaster Dumbledore, who had just emerged from a room in formal attire.

"Minerva, what are you and these students doing here? Aren't you supposed to be searching for the giant that attacked in the restroom?"

"Albus, the giant is dead. It was the student Albert who dealt with it. I believe he needs to explain it to you."

"Oh, thank you. Please, leave the rest to me."

After Professor McGonagall and the three students left, Dumbledore waved his wand. Two chairs appeared in the room, and two cups of steaming black tea were set on the table.

"Please, have a seat," Dumbledore said, looking at Albert.

"Have some tea and relax. Facing a giant isn't a pleasant experience."

Upon Albert's entry, Dumbledore had used the Legilimency spell to read Albert's memories and see what had transpired with the giant. However, he was surprised to find that he couldn't access Albert's thoughts.

Albert knew that Dumbledore would use Legilimency once he entered the office, so he had used Occlumency, a counter-spell to protect his mind from being read. Occlumency shields the mind and memories from invasion, preventing the enemy from accessing one's thoughts.

Seeing that he couldn't penetrate Albert's mind and noticing the strong mental resistance, Dumbledore smiled as he sipped his tea.

Noticing Albert's calm demeanor despite the recent events, Dumbledore began to inquire about what had happened.

Albert explained that Hermione had been in a bad mood due to the intense study pressure and had found a place to cry alone. Later, he had reassured her and studied with her throughout the afternoon.

They had missed the Halloween dinner and were unaware that the giant had escaped. When they were about to head upstairs, they heard the giant banging on the door of the room. Albert had then devised a plan, sending Hermione out of the nearby room to seek help from the professors.

After hearing the account of the incident from Albert, Dumbledore commended him for his wisdom, bravery, and loyalty to his friend, awarding him ten points.

"I believe you might still be hungry," Dumbledore said, adding the points. "If you're not injured, it's best to return to Gryffindor Tower as soon as possible. The students are enjoying the Halloween feast in their houses."

Albert bowed to the headmaster and left the room. Dumbledore took another sip of his tea, a contented smile on his face.

Albert thought, "Mmm, he resembles you a lot, Sirius. Despite having traits that aren't in his father, he can fight for his friends, which is admirable."

After ascending a floor, Albert reached the portrait of the Fat Lady.

"Same dragon," he said, giving the password and entering.

The common room was bustling and noisy. Everyone was enjoying the food that had been served. After Harry, Ron, and Hermione had gotten their food, they saw Albert entering the common room.

Hermione rushed to Albert, asking, "What did the headmaster say? Were you expelled?"

The three of them were very anxious, as this time the battle against the giant had occurred in a public restroom, a highly dangerous place. Seeing the professors' reactions after realizing Albert had used a dangerous spell, they feared there was a high chance Albert would be expelled.

Albert reassured them, "Don't panic. Nothing happened. I just explained what happened to the headmaster, and he awarded me ten points."

The three sighed with relief upon hearing the news, feeling a wave of happiness.

The four were very awkward, avoiding eye contact and quickly focusing on their plates.

However, Albert and Hermione could tell that they were in a good mood. Harry and Ron were willing to risk their safety to find them, despite knowing they were with the giant. Additionally, Hermione felt reassured after seeing that Albert was unharmed, realizing she needed to be stronger and not rely on others for help, as she did today. If she had been stronger, she wouldn't have left Albert to fight the giant alone.

With November arriving, the weather turned very cold. The surrounding mountains were gray and covered in ice and snow, and the surface of the lake was cold and steel-like.

Hagrid could be seen from the upper window, dressed in a long, tough leather coat, rabbit-skin gloves, and enormous boots, clearing the ice off the broomstick handles in the Quidditch pitch.

Quidditch season had begun, and after several weeks of training with Harry, I was set to compete in our first-ever match on Saturday, between Gryffindor and Slytherin. If Gryffindor won, we would move into second place in the House Cup standings.

Currently, the house standings were as follows: First place was Ravenclaw (the top students are truly unstoppable when they study), second place was Slytherin (considering their background from wizarding families, it's clear that young wizards have a much better foundation in magic), third place was Hufflepuff (all the younger students are honorable, but they don't cause trouble and benefit from having a large number of students, which means fewer points per person but a higher total), and finally, Gryffindor (the students here cause the most trouble, so if points are added, many are subtracted. On average, Gryffindor would rank last).

The good news is that the four houses are very closely matched, so this competition is crucial.

That's why everyone in the college, from Dean Professor McGonagall to every student, places great importance on this competition.

Gryffindor viewed Harry's role as Seeker and Albert's as Chaser as secret weapons, and Harry and Albert were rarely seen in daily training. Moreover, very few people knew of Albert's abilities as a Chaser, making it a real surprise for the competition.

But, as Hermione had told Ron in the stands before, despite how secretive the team's training might be in this open environment, interested people could still see it.

Now that Hermione had learned to get along with others, she no longer blamed them for their mistakes as she did before and was less strict about school rules. ("You're right, I think everyone should be responsible for themselves. As long as I'm not harming others, there's no need for me to interfere in others' lives." Hermione had told Albert during their self-study sessions.)

Hermione and Albert were still happy to answer classmates' questions but wouldn't show their homework to others. This made Harry very conflicted; if he wanted to do well on his homework, it would require a lot of time to participate in after-class discussions. But he had little time to practice Quidditch, sometimes learning only from Ron's homework.

Ron told Harry that when Albert and Hermione organized everyone for homework discussions after school, everyone's performance really improved, and they could answer most of the questions posed by students. If he couldn't answer, he would call his brother Percy for help.

However, Ron also mentioned that sometimes Percy would see his homework, which would inevitably lead to reprimands. But for the temptation of completing homework quickly and easily, the scolding from his brother was a minor issue.

Ron then pulled out a notebook and handed it to Harry, saying that Albert had asked him to bring it.

The notebook contained class notes, brief introductions to knowledge points related to homework, and a collection of small notes from classmates encouraging Harry.

Looking at these notes, Harry felt a warm glow in his heart.

He was determined to win this competition.

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