Chapter 43: Late

"Did I come too early?" Albert looked around the Great Hall but didn't see George and the others. He reached into his pocket, took out his pocket watch, and checked the time: 4:10.

Just right, very punctual.

"But then again, maybe not."

Albert suddenly thought of something and couldn't help but sigh lightly. George and the others were only eleven-year-old children, and he didn't expect them to have a strong sense of time.

Besides, they didn't have pocket watches!

"I hope I don't have to wait too long," he murmured.

With nothing better to do, Albert took out his wand and wiped off the fingerprints on it with a handkerchief while recalling the relevant knowledge about Summoning in Transfiguration Theory.

"Chrysanthemums in bloom," he whispered.

Hmm, nothing happened.

Albert immediately checked his skill list and suddenly noticed someone sitting beside him.

Not the twins, that is. If it were the three of them, it wouldn't be so quiet.

Albert scanned through his skills and couldn't find Summoning. It seemed he would have to borrow a fifth-year book to look it up.

"Do you need something?" Albert asked Shanna.

"Um... could you...?" Shanna hesitated, but before she could finish, she was interrupted.

"Albert, over here..." The twins were waving at him from the entrance of the Great Hall.

"I have to go," Albert looked at Shanna and asked, "What were you going to say just now?"

"It's nothing." Shanna seemed a little disappointed.

"If you want me to teach you Transfiguration, I'm afraid I can't do it now. I have another appointment later," Albert recalled the initial difficulties he faced when learning magic and comforted her. "Don't be too anxious. The beginning is always the hardest. It took me a long time to learn Transfiguration when I started."

"Oh, thank you." Shanna thought for a moment and said, "Tonight, if you have time..."

"If I have time, it should be possible... Well then... see you tonight!" Albert quickly walked towards the exit of the Great Hall.

"See you tonight." Shanna watched Albert's departing figure and whispered softly, "Why is the gap so big?"

"What were you talking about just now?" Fred asked curiously.

"We were discussing where you guys were going," Albert replied irritably. "The time you agreed upon with Charlie is almost here."

"You know we don't have pocket watches," the three of them looked a bit embarrassed, well aware that they had just been late.

"I'm not blaming you. I knew you would be late," Albert looked up at the sky. The weather in the afternoon was still a bit sultry.

"By the way, is your brother really going to let us ride his broomstick for a test flight?" Lee Jordan awkwardly changed the topic.

Lee Jordan was a bit nervous about flying on a broomstick. After all, he had never truly flown on a broomstick before. Although his family bought him a toy broomstick, it couldn't fly high or fast, and it definitely couldn't be flown in front of Muggles.

"He will if he's a competent captain. He won't mind taking some time to see if there are any good flyers among the new students. Even if first-years can't join the team, they can be considered as reserve players for the next semester," Albert reassured offhandedly.

"Albert's right," George patted Lee Jordan's shoulder playfully. "I think the thing you should be most worried about is falling off the broomstick while in mid-air."

"You're the one who would fall from mid-air," Lee Jordan glared at George.

"Albert, have you ever played on a broomstick before?" Fred suddenly asked.

"I was born in a Muggle family, what do you think?" Albert rolled his eyes at Fred and bent down to pick up a small stone from the ground.

"Why did you pick up that piece of junk?" George was a bit confused.

"You'll see later," Albert tossed the small stone in his hand and didn't directly answer George's question.

The four of them playfully made their way to the Quidditch pitch. As expected, Charlie hadn't arrived yet. They had agreed to meet at half past four in the afternoon.

"I guess your brother might show up a bit later," Albert arrived at the entrance of the Quidditch pitch. The gate was locked, but that didn't stop them. Albert easily opened the iron gate with the Alohomora spell.

Underneath the Quidditch pitch was a soft grassy field, while the middle section was sandy to reduce the impact on players in case of a fall.

The surrounding stands had hundreds of chairs, and at each end of the pitch were three poles, each fifty feet high, with large hoops on top, resembling small plastic sticks used by children to blow soap bubbles.

"Charlie is definitely late," Fred felt a bit annoyed.

"What do we do now? We should have come later," George regretted coming early, especially since they didn't have their own broomsticks. It was undoubtedly a very bad situation.

"You can practice spells," Albert sat in the shade of the grassy field and kindly reminded the three of them, "Practice the Lumos spell. Since you're free anyway, find something to occupy yourselves."

"Alright, you're right," the three of them felt a bit down but had to admit that Albert was right. Since they had nothing else to do, they might as well find something to occupy themselves and make time pass faster.

Albert also took out his wand and started practicing the Disillusionment Charm with the stone he had just picked up.

"Now I know why you're able to learn spells so quickly," Lee Jordan stared at his wand, which was sparkling. He felt a bit frustrated.

Anyone who put in that much effort to practice would learn it unless they were truly dim-witted! Of course, if they knew that Albert had a cheat, they might not think the same way.

Around five o'clock, Charlie Weasley hurriedly arrived, bringing his broomstick... a Cleansweep Five.

Of course, the twins introduced it to Albert on purpose, so he only learned the name then. It was said to be an older model of broomstick.

"How did you guys get in? I remember this place should be locked," Charlie looked at the four people approaching him with confusion.

"Of course, we used the Unlocking Charm," the twins said naturally.

"Cough, don't speak like that. It sounds like you guys can actually use the Unlocking Charm," Lee Jordan couldn't help but comment.

"Well, it's not like you opened it," George gave Lee Jordan a disdainful look and said unkindly.

"Alright, the test later is simple. You just need to ride my broomstick and fly around the Quidditch pitch!" Charlie looked at Albert and Lee Jordan and asked, "Have you flown on a broomstick before?"

"No," Albert answered promptly.

"I've only ridden a toy broomstick," Lee Jordan muttered quietly.

"After they're done flying, you guys can give it a try too!" Charlie didn't mind the twins' friends joining in. He then turned to the twins who were fighting over the broomsticks and warned, "Both of you, fly around the Quidditch pitch properly. If I catch you playing any tricks... hmm!"

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(End of this chapter)