Chapter 144: Easter Eggs

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During the Easter holidays, some Hogwarts students chose to go home and celebrate with their families.

Albert didn't go home.

After all, the end of term was approaching, and summer vacation was just around the corner.

Moreover, there weren't many students who went home for the Easter holidays, thanks to the heavy holiday assignments given by the professors before the break.

Whether he went home or not, he still had a pile of holiday assignments to complete. And... if he went home, he wouldn't have access to the school library's collection of books.

Although most of the holiday assignments were probably prepared by the professors to ensure that the students could study well.

Daisy was disappointed that Albert didn't go home for the holidays, but she still sent him some Easter eggs.

On Easter day, Shera brought the Easter eggs to Albert, and the package also included a photo.

Albert picked up the photo and grinned.

In the picture, Tom was squatting in a basket filled with Easter eggs, as if he was hatching them.

For some reason, Albert found the scene quite amusing.

By the way, Tom seemed to have gotten fatter again.

Was it just an illusion?

Snowball, feeling neglected, barked at Albert.

"Sorry." Albert immediately took out a nut from his robe pocket and fed it to Snowball, then he opened the package of Easter eggs, peeled off the chocolate shell, and took a piece to eat.

Just like in previous years, Daisy would buy Easter eggs from a familiar candy store. The outer shell was made of chocolate, and inside were toffees with Albert's favorite chocolate flavor.

"Do you want a piece of toffee?" Albert handed half of a toffee-filled egg to his roommate.

"Do you want to try my Easter egg?" Lee Jordan had already pried open the ostrich egg-sized Easter egg and filled it with fudge.

"It's actually filled with fudge." Albert took a piece of fudge and put it in his mouth, feeling a bit amazed.

"Then what did you think it would be?" Lee Jordan couldn't help rolling his eyes. "Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans?"

"Damn, who would stuff Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans into an Easter egg?" Lee Jordan couldn't help but complain. "Do you want some fudge?"

"Of course." Fred ate a piece of fudge and then picked up a chocolate toffee from the pile. Mumbling, he said, "George, do you think Mum will remember to send us Easter eggs?"

"Maybe she forgot," George said. "After all, she's too busy."

"Mum has never forgotten to send us Easter eggs," Percy said, approaching them. He handed Easter eggs to Fred and George, then turned to Albert and said, "Professor Broad wants me to remind you to go to his office at 6 o'clock tonight. Don't forget the time."

"6 o'clock at night?" Lee Jordan repeated in confusion.

"It's an invitation," Albert explained casually. "Professor Broad invited me... Actually, I don't know why he invited me. I think it might be for afternoon tea."

"Who has afternoon tea at 6 o'clock in the evening?" George couldn't help rolling his eyes. "There's a limit to making things up on the spot."

"By the way, you didn't tell us about this," Fred said, wide-eyed, looking at Albert with disbelief. "I bet it's a party or a banquet."

"I often go to Professor Broad's office for tea. At most, I get some tea cakes," Albert casually explained.

"Why does it sound weird when you say it?" Lee Jordan grumbled.

"After I come back, I'll tell you whether it's a banquet or a tea party," Albert said, not dwelling on the matter.

Of course, he knew why he was invited.

The so-called academic gathering.

"By the way, is that a Bludger?" Lee Jordan pointed to the egg in Fred's hand that resembled a Bludger.

"Don't you want to open it and see what's inside?" Albert reminded them.

"Charlie must have told our parents that we would become Beaters," George opened the outer layer of the egg, revealing fudge inside.

The two Bludger eggs were filled with fudge of various flavors, clearly homemade by Mrs. Weasley.

"Do you want to try?" Fred threw a piece into his mouth, slowly chewing the fudge and mumbling, "The taste is not bad."

Albert and Lee Jordan each took a piece of fudge from the pile, and their mouths were filled with the rich flavor of milk.

The taste was not bad, but one shouldn't eat too much fudge.

"Look over there..." George exclaimed, "What happened to Shanahan?"

Albert looked up and saw Shanahan being vigorously hit on the head with textbooks, bags, and ink bottles. He raised his wand and gently waved it, removing Professor Pince's spell.

"Are you okay?" Albert had already guessed what had happened.

"I was just in the library..." Shanahan gasped for breath, "I forgot that you can't eat in the library."

Sure enough, she was kicked out by Professor Pince.

"Thank you, Albert." After catching her breath, Shanahan said, "It's really a pain. Do you want some toffees?"

Shanahan's Easter egg was filled with various flavors of toffees. She had just been eating them in the library, which was why Professor Pince kicked her out.

The eggs were large, with obvious commercial labels on them. They were purchased from the same candy store as Albert's.

Albert took a piece of toffee, a strawberry-filled one.

"As long as Professor Pince doesn't see us, it's fine," Albert winked at Shanahan, "I often sneak hard candies in the library."

"That's a good idea." Shanahan giggled.

"Oh, don't peck me." Albert felt a twinge of pain in his elbow and quickly withdrew his hand.

"What's wrong with your owl?" Shanahan looked at Snowball in confusion.

"It's urging me to write a reply." Albert muttered. He took out a quill from his bag and began to write a letter to his family, reminding Nia not to overfeed Tom.

Watching the flying owl, Albert shifted his focus back to his revision.

Lately, he had been focusing too much on Ancient Runes, feeling somewhat lax in other subjects. He hadn't even replied to Professor Vector's letter yet.

"What are you thinking?" Shanahan raised an eyebrow and asked, a bit annoyed that Albert was absent-minded when talking to her.

"Nothing, I'm thinking about how many more homework assignments I have to do," Albert casually said.

"You're the least qualified to say that," Fred said resentfully.

"I'm leaving now, I have something to do later," Albert said, looking at his pocket watch and standing up.

"Where is he going?" Shanahan looked at Albert's retreating figure, puzzled. "We're going to have dinner soon."

"Professor Broad sent him an invitation," Lee Jordan explained while organizing his class notes. "Inviting Albert to have dinner with him."

"Professor Broad?"

"Don't you know?" Lee Jordan was a bit envious of Albert's treatment. He whispered, "Albert is Professor Broad's most favored student, no doubt about it."

"I thought it would be Professor McGonagall,"Shanahan said, surprised.

"For the past few weeks, Albert has been going to Professor Broad's office every week..." Lee Jordan started to reveal some trivial things about Albert.

As Albert walked away, he left his attention on his conversation with Shanahan behind and continued discussing homework with her.

The professors had mentioned that some of the topics were important and would definitely be included in the exams. Lee Jordan was always interested in such information because it made his revision much easier.

...

"It's about time, I should go."

Albert took out his pocket watch, glanced at the hands, and stood up, informing the people around him.

"Where is he going?" Shanahan watched Albert's retreating figure and asked in confusion, "We're about to have dinner."

"Professor Broad sent him an invitation." Lee Jordan was organizing his class notes and casually explained, "Inviting Albert to have dinner."

"Professor Broad?"

"Don't you know?" Lee Jordan felt a bit envious of Albert's treatment. He whispered, "Albert is Professor Broad's favorite student, without a doubt."

"I thought it would be Professor McGonagall," Shanahan said in surprise.

"For the past few weeks, Albert has been running to Professor Broad's office..." Lee Jordan started to spill some of Albert's trivial secrets.

"Has anyone seen Fred and George?" Angelina, sitting in the vacant seat next to Albert, interrupted their conversation.

"You mean Fred and George..." Albert didn't know what Lee Jordan had told the others. After returning to the dormitory and putting down his backpack, Albert took a moment to tidy up his appearance in the mirror before heading to Professor Broad's office alone.

Professor Broad seemed to be waiting for him because the wooden door opened quickly when Albert knocked.

"You're always punctual." Professor Broad had a faint smile on his face as he said to Albert, "Well, we should go. Don't keep the others waiting too long."

"Where are we going?" Albert asked.

"To McGonagall's house." Professor Broad reached out and picked up a small box from the fireplace, handing it to Albert and making a gesture of invitation.

"What's this?" Albert looked at the sparkling powder in the small box and immediately guessed what it was.

"Floo Powder. Oh, I almost forgot, you haven't used Floo Powder before!" Professor Broad suddenly remembered and explained, "Using Floo Powder is simple. First, you stand in front of the fireplace, then throw the powder into the flames. When the flames turn green, you step into the fire. At that time, you must clearly state the destination. We're going to a cottage in the middle of a lake."

Albert pinched a handful of sparkling powder from the small box, walked to the fireplace, and threw the powder into the flames.

Whoosh! The fire turned emerald green and rose higher than Albert.

After hesitating for a moment, Albert stepped into the fire, calling out, "Cottage in the middle of the lake."

In the blink of an eye, Albert was engulfed by the flames and disappeared.

Traveling with Floo Powder was not a pleasant experience either. Albert felt his body spinning rapidly, squinting his eyes as a series of fireplace doors flashed by, and he caught glimpses of rooms outside the fireplace.

The swirling green flames made Albert dizzy, and the sound of rushing wind filled his ears, making him feel like he was moving at high speed.

Blinking, the spinning stopped, and the rushing sound vanished. Albert felt himself lying on a cold ground.

"That was something."

Albert awkwardly fell onto the floor, and it seemed like someone helped him up from the ground.

"Welcome, Mr. Anderson."

A sharp voice sounded in Albert's ear. Just as he was about to stand up and brush off the soot from his cloak, Albert froze, looking in the direction the voice came from. It was a house-elf.

A few seconds later, Professor Broad crawled out of the fire and stood on the carpet in the hallway, brushing off the soot from his robes.

"Come this way, gentlemen. The dinner is ready." The house-elf said sharply.

"Dinner?" Albert looked at Professor Broad with skepticism.

"Of course, dinner. Let's go, don't keep everyone waiting too long."

The house was quite large, far from being a cottage in the middle of a lake—it was a bit laughable to describe it that way.

Led by the house-elf, they left the hallway, crossed corridors and stairs, and arrived at a sunroom with carpeted floors and transparent walls.

The dinner was held in this spacious room. Three people were already present besides McGonagall. The two others appeared to be much older.

The elder one was possibly over a hundred years old, while the other was at least eighty. They all looked at Albert with curious gazes.

There was no malice, only curiosity and friendliness.

"Albert Anderson, the genius I introduced to you, specializing in Ancient Runes," McGonagall pointed to Albert and introduced him to the other two, "And, of course, Transfiguration. I recently read Albert's essay in Today's Transfiguration. Professor Broad said Albert is also highly skilled in Dark Arts Defense and Curses."

"I'm Albert, nice to meet you all." Albert seemed a bit reserved and nodded slightly toward the others.

"Tiberius Ogden, an expert in curses and Ancient Runes." McGonagall pointed to the older gentleman and introduced him to Albert. "You have Tiberius to thank for his contribution to the current edition of 'Theories of Magic.'"

The old man extended his hand and lightly shook hands with Albert.

"Gabor Smith." McGonagall pointed to the eighty-year-old man. "Specializing in Transfiguration, Divination, and Ancient Runes. He is also an expert in Alchemy."

After shaking hands with Mr. Smith, Albert felt a sense of unease.

But he couldn't pinpoint what was wrong.

The dinner was abundant, although the food was relatively light. They ate and discussed in Ancient Runes, as they were all experts in the field.

As McGonagall had mentioned, they were all specialists in Ancient Runes, incredibly talented. When McGonagall was writing the book on Ancient Runes, she had received their assistance.

Smith and Ogden were equally surprised by Albert's proficiency in Ancient Runes.

Indeed, seeing is believing.

Albert ate to his heart's content. They sat on comfortable armchairs, discussing matters related to Ancient Runes.

To be honest, it felt really strange for a young child to be mingling with a group of elderly people discussing academic theories.

But you couldn't deny that they were all highly capable individuals, equally knowledgeable in magical runes and adept at conversing in ancient languages.

If someone unaware stumbled upon this gathering, they would think they accidentally traveled back a thousand years.

This friendly conversation continued until nightfall.

Albert also expressed his interest in alchemy to Gabor Smith and inquired about the application of ancient runes.

Gabor examined the wooden bracelet on Albert's wrist and smiled, saying, "There's actually nothing wrong with the protective bracelet you made. The reason it failed is that you haven't infused the Reni script with power."

Albert was a bit confused.

"The Reni script is a mysterious writing system that holds magical power. However, what you're currently doing is merely carving it, which doesn't give the Reni script any power," explained Gabor Smith. "Focus your mind and infuse your magical energy into the Reni runes you carve. That's why the Reni script is known as a magically empowered script."

When wizards use this magically empowered script for spellcasting, their spells become more powerful. Only those skilled in ancient languages truly understand this.

Perhaps some wizards have a faint understanding of certain things, but they don't fully comprehend the matter and simply adeptly use ancient runes, unknowingly mastering their application.

Hence, wizards tend to believe that ancient magic is more powerful, and that's indeed true.

Unfortunately, the elderly individuals had limited energy, so the conversation between the two sides came to an end.

However, Gabor Smith and Tiberius Ogden expressed their willingness to establish friendly correspondence with Albert through letters.

It was past 10 p.m. when the banquet was finally declared over, and Albert returned to the school using Floo Powder.

Just as Albert stood up from his chair, he noticed something was off.

He looked to his right from his position and saw that Professor McGonagall was in her forties or fifties, Professor Broad was in his sixties, Gabor Smith was in his eighties, Tiberius Ogden was in his nineties, and himself?

Twelve years old!

Someone was missing.

There should have been another wizard in their twenties or thirties, situated between himself and Professor McGonagall, another young prodigy.

That would make it more orderly.

"Am I overthinking?" Albert muttered.

Before returning to the school through the fireplace, Albert suddenly asked, "Professor Broad, did someone miss the event today?"

"Why do you ask that?" Professor Broad paused, looking puzzled.

"Nothing, I just feel like someone was missing from the gathering," Albert murmured.

"No one was missing," Professor Broad repeated, puzzled. "No one was missing. I mentioned this before. The gaps in ancient runes are a bit severe, so it's not a missing person, but rather a gap in time."

Albert felt that there was another meaning behind Professor Broad's words, slowly returning to the Gryffindor common room. The common room was still lively at this late hour.

Yawning, Albert headed straight to the dormitory. His roommates hadn't returned yet.

He held the wooden bracelet in his hand, lost in thought, contemplating Gabor Smith's words.

It was close to 11:30 p.m. when Lee Jordan finally returned to the dormitory, seemingly having had a great time.

"Where are Fred and George? Weren't they with you?" Albert furrowed his brow slightly as he watched Lee Jordan return to the dormitory alone. Hogwarts had a curfew after 11 p.m.

"No, I haven't seen Fred and George since a while ago. I thought they went back to the dormitory to rest," Lee Jordan furrowed his brow slightly as well.

"Fred and George aren't in the common room?" Albert suddenly had a bad feeling.

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=> Sailing with Whitebeard: Starting with a Question

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(End of this chapter)