Chapter 25: The Future Players

"Fred's description of Filch makes him sound like a grand sorcerer," Albert found the twins' evaluation of Filch amusing, reminiscent of how students used to perceive strict house matrons as wicked witches.

"No, everyone hates him," Fred said seriously. "Even someone like Percy says so. I can't think of any other reason why we wouldn't believe him."

"What do you mean by 'someone like Percy'? He's your brother, isn't he? Is it really okay to talk about your own family like that?" Albert resisted the urge to mock and took out his pocket watch to check the time. He turned to the three of them and said, "Well, it's about time. Let's go to the Great Hall for breakfast and then explore various parts of the castle."

This time, they took the same route Albert had taken in the morning, and the twins showed great interest in the secret passageways. They didn't wait at the moving staircase and smoothly arrived at the Entrance Hall.

When they entered the Great Hall for breakfast, the four long tables were mostly empty. The enchanted ceiling was hazy, and it could rain at any moment.

"We must be the first ones up," George Weasley said, using his knife to cut the potatoes on his plate. He looked around the empty Great Hall and said with a slightly helpless tone, "I can't even remember the last time I woke up this early."

"Three years ago," Fred suddenly said.

"You actually remember?" George couldn't believe his own brother. "Are you just guessing?"

"Of course I'm guessing," Fred couldn't help but laugh. "You actually fell for it?"

"Turns out that's the case."

"What are you drawing?" Lee asked.

"I'm documenting the places we've just walked through. I plan to draw a map of Hogwarts," Albert flipped over the parchment and showed them its contents.

"I'm more curious about what you have in your hand," Fred stared at Albert's pen. He noticed that Albert had been drawing continuously, but the pen hadn't touched any ink, which was quite unusual.

"You mean this? It's a pen. Muggles use it to write. You can't carry and use a quill pen everywhere, and it's not very convenient to use either," Albert handed his pen to Fred. It was a birthday gift from Herbert, and although it wasn't anything fancy, he had been using it for many years.

"It feels a bit like a quill pen," Fred said, examining the pen tip.

"Of course, the principle of a fountain pen is similar to that of a quill pen. Its advantage lies in its ability to store ink and be used for a long time," Albert handed the parchment to the three of them. "Our current location is the Great Hall, and if we go out, it leads to the Entrance Hall. The moving staircase can be reached from the marble steps, and Filch's office is nearby. There are also two doors here that lead to the basement. The left one leads to the kitchen (to the left when coming down the stairs), and I haven't been to the right one yet. The kitchen is probably around here, and the entrance is a huge silver bowl filled with fruit. Touching the large pear will reveal the door handle."

"You've recorded it in great detail," Lee took the parchment and looked at the location of the kitchen. He felt that he could find it if he went there. He handed the parchment to one of the twins and asked, "Where are we going later?"

"I plan to find the exact location of the classrooms first, so we won't get lost in class next time," Albert put away the parchment that George handed back to him. "Then, along the way, we'll see if we can find any secret passages. These passages are usually hidden behind tapestries, stone sculptures, stone walls, or even concealed behind portraits."

"By the way you say it, finding the secret passages shouldn't be difficult," Fred said eagerly after finishing his plate of roasted potatoes.

"No, the key is that some secret passages require specific passwords or touching certain special locations," Albert shook his head. "I was able to find the kitchen because I felt around that portrait and accidentally found the entrance."

"Why did you think there was a secret behind that painting?" a girl's voice sounded from beside them. Albert turned his head and saw Angelina, a new student from the same house whom he had chatted with last night.

"Of course, it's because it's too suspicious. The size of that fruit painting is almost the same as the one of Fat Lady, as if it's blatantly telling everyone that there's a secret passage here," Albert said in a matter-of-fact tone.

"Oh!" After hearing this, the four of them found it a bit difficult to understand Albert's thought process.

However, as it turned out, Albert's guess was correct.

Indeed, this guy's brain is quite sharp.

"Johnson, are you alone?" Albert asked Angelina in confusion. "Where are your roommates?"

"You actually remember my last name," Angelina's face showed a surprised expression. In fact, even her roommates couldn't remember her name.

After all, they had only recently met, and they hadn't even spoken a few sentences. It would be normal not to remember.

"I have a good memory," Albert introduced with a smile. "This is Lee, and these twins are George and Fred. Of course, don't ask me who is who because I can't tell them apart either."

"I'm George, George Weasley," one of the twins replied.

"No, no, no, I'm George, and he's Fred," the other twin countered.

"Many twins like to play this trick. They enjoy wearing the same clothes, the same outfits, making it difficult for people to figure out who is who," Albert suddenly looked towards the owl flying towards them.

"You forgot to introduce yourself, Albert," Lee Jordan reminded him.

"Oh, sorry. I saw my owl," Albert picked up a piece of bread, tore it apart, and fed it to the owl named Hedwig that had landed on the table.

"I'm Albert Anderson."

"Anderson, aren't you eating?" Angelina asked in confusion as she made herself a sandwich.

"I just ate in the kitchen. Just call me Albert," Albert patted his owl and said, "During the weekend, I have something to send home. Remember to come to the Great Hall in the morning."

Hedwig gave a chirp to indicate that she understood.

Another owl flew into the Great Hall and dropped a copy of the Daily Prophet in front of Albert's table. However, its aim was off, and it almost hit George's pumpkin porridge. If it weren't for Fred's quick reflexes, it would have ended up soaked in porridge. Then it would have been dipped in jam, and it would probably be ready to eat.

"Can I borrow it?" Angelina picked up the newspaper and asked, "I want to read the Quidditch column."

"Of course, you can," Albert said.

"Do you like Quidditch too?" the twins asked in unison.

"Of course, I do. Unfortunately, first-years can't participate in the Quidditch tryouts," Angelina expressed her regret.

"Well, if Quidditch ever needs players and you can get Professor McGonagall to agree," Albert noticed that everyone was looking at him and shrugged helplessly. "They say first-years can't participate, but there are always exceptions, right? Rules are meant to be broken."

"Ah, forget it," Angelina didn't think she could change Professor McGonagall's mind. "I've heard that a famous Seeker from Gryffindor will graduate next semester. I plan to sign up and give it a try then. What about you guys?"

"We're more suited to being Beaters," the twins said in unison.

(End of this chapter)