Chapter 273: The Missing Pet Dog

On a weekend morning, Albert was having breakfast in the Great Hall. By his side, Shanna and Percy were discussing their course selections for the third year.

In the second half of their second year, they needed to choose their courses for the third year. Although this information wouldn't be officially announced until the Easter break, Shanna had heard about it in advance from her well-connected friend Percy and wanted to hear Albert's opinion.

"Muggle Studies and Divination, along with Arithmancy, would probably be the easiest courses for you," Albert said to Shanna after finishing a piece of toast smeared with jam. "Ancient Runes are a bit more challenging, like learning a foreign language. I doubt many girls would enjoy Care of Magical Creatures. Of course, if you're confident, you could take them all, just like Percy here."

"Yeah, taking all of them would be quite busy," Percy Weasley nodded. "There'd be a lot of pressure, especially by fifth year. Of course, I don't think Albert would have any problems."

"What about you?" Shanna looked at Albert and asked.

"I'll take them all," Albert said.

"Then should I also take them all?" Shanna mused aloud, "Muggle Studies is easy for us, so that leaves only four courses."

"You should think carefully," Percy kindly reminded her. While he knew Shanna was also a top student her age, taking twelve courses still put a lot of pressure on anyone. "Don't compare yourself to Albert. I've heard he often sits in on the Advanced Ancient Runes class. He probably doesn't need to work hard for Ancient Runes, especially since he comes from a Muggle background, so Muggle Studies should also be easy for him. This means Albert only needs to focus on three elective courses."

In fact, Albert had a high aptitude for mathematics, given his previous aspirations to work in the finance industry... Strange, why did he say "previous aspirations"?

Working in finance after graduation was just a way to make money more quickly.

Now he had found a faster way to make money, so his past dreams of finance had long been kicked to some obscure corner.

People, indeed, gradually change with age.

However, this didn't stop Albert from reading books related to economics. He loved reading books and believed that this knowledge would come in handy someday.

After finishing another golden fried egg and a large bowl of corn chowder, the hungry Fred and George Weasley finally finished training and returned to the castle. They complained to Albert about Charlie's mischievous behavior while eating.

"Later, I'm going to find Hagrid. Are you guys coming?" Albert interrupted their complaints and asked.

"Better not, we'll just finish our homework properly!" The three of them exchanged glances and ultimately decided not to go with Albert.

Their relationship with Hagrid was mediocre at best, and they often caused trouble for him when they went into the forest. Meeting him always felt awkward.

"Oh, then forget it." Albert didn't insist. After he finished breakfast and was about to go find Hagrid, a group of owls appeared above the Great Hall carrying envelopes and packages. They circled the tables, searching for their respective recipients.

Among them, one owl flew towards Albert, delivering a letter.

"Thanks for your hard work."

Albert picked up the envelope and glanced at the sender's name: Adolf.

Finally, a reply? 

Could it be because France is far from Scotland?

Nowadays, when Albert sent long-distance letters, he would directly use the school's sturdy owls. He didn't want to burden Hedwig with long journeys. Besides, considering his frequency of sending letters, one owl wouldn't be enough. Thankfully, the school's owls could be borrowed for free, otherwise, the cost of sending letters would have been quite substantial.

Albert tucked the letter into his pocket and headed towards the edge of the Forbidden Forest. He walked through the fields and reached the small cabin at the forest's edge.

Hagrid was outside the cabin, holding a bow, and Fang was by his side, seemingly ready to venture into the forest for a hunt.

"Good morning, Hagrid," Albert greeted as he approached.

"Oh, sorry, I need to go into the forest now," Hagrid looked at Albert, who was absentmindedly rubbing Fang's head, and whispered, "There's something going on in the forest."

"What's wrong?" Albert asked.

"Fluffy has run away on his own," Hagrid said in a hushed tone after glancing around.

"Fluffy ran away?" Albert murmured, "As expected..."

"After Fluffy grew larger, he bit through the vines and ran off," Hagrid explained helplessly about what had happened.

"Have you mentioned this to Headmaster Dumbledore?" Albert frowned, glancing at his task board. As he suspected, there was a new task.

Find the pet.

Hagrid's pet dog, Fluffy, had run away, and he needed someone to help find it.

Reward: 1500 experience points, +10 favorability with Hagrid, receive a special gift from Hagrid.

A pet dog?

Albert really wanted to comment on the name of the task. Wasn't it misleading?

"Not yet, but..." Hagrid hesitated for a moment before whispering, "Dumbledore seems to be quite busy lately, and I don't want to bother him."

"You've already caused him trouble," Albert sighed, reminding him, "Don't be naive, Hagrid. You must tell Dumbledore about this. The three-headed dog poses a significant threat to Hogwarts students. Don't expect everyone to be able to protect themselves from Fluffy like I can."

"If the three-headed dog harms students in the school, I'm sure both you and Dumbledore will be in trouble," Albert said softly, "We are more fragile than you think and can't handle too much trouble."

"I..." Hagrid's face turned pale, and after a moment of hesitation, he nodded, "If we can't find Fluffy today, I'll tell Dumbledore about it."

"Well, that's good." Suddenly, Albert asked, "By the way, what do you plan to do, to get rid of him?"

"No... I can't do that," Hagrid firmly shook his head.

Magical creatures are fundamentally different from humans, and Hagrid didn't have the exceptional abilities of someone like Newt. It was normal for things to go awry sometimes. Albert also knew that Hagrid's pet would probably continue to cause problems for him in the future.

"I'll help you look for him. Don't rely on your bow to stop a three-headed dog," Albert continued before Hagrid could refuse. "If it wants to run, you won't even have a chance to play an instrument."

"But..." Hagrid hesitated, not wanting to involve Albert.

"No buts. Let's go. Do you really think you can catch Fluffy in the forest like this?" Albert was determined not to give up on this task.

"But..."

"Don't forget, I once ventured into the Forbidden Forest alone. Besides, you have me with you now. As long as we don't run into the Acromantulas, we shouldn't have too much trouble." Albert wasn't afraid of going into the forest, but he definitely didn't want to encounter Acromantulas.

That group of spiders he had taken care of might hold a grudge. After all, they were intelligent beings too, and he would probably hold a grudge in their place.

Encountering Acromantulas would definitely complicate things.

"Thank you, Albert," Hagrid scratched his head, suddenly feeling grateful for the help.

Albert was aware of Fluffy's existence. With his assistance, dealing with this matter would be much smoother, and Hagrid indeed needed some help.

"Let's go!"

Side by side, the two of them walked towards the outskirts of the Forbidden Forest.

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(End of this chapter)