Chapter 20

The first years were all amazed by Dumbledore's magic and how he repaired the wall, but they were more focused on the mouth watering food in front of them. They did not know how Dumbledore did it, but it looked cool. Albert speculated that the house-elves cooked the food, and they somehow teleported the food in front of the students when Dumbledore said the four words. Helga Hufflepuff must have designed the spell matrix and the ward for this to be possible and also linked it to the house-elves' magic.

Albert wanted to continue asking the prefect questions about things he wanted answers for in his previous life. He saw the prefect's mouth stuffed with food. He had no choice but to give up and try again later. Albert then decided to focus on the food. The smell of roast beef and roasted potatoes wafted through the air, making Albert's mouth salivate.

There was a roast beef with golden-brown Yorkshire puddings surrounded by a sea of roast potatoes, gravy and vegetable. Bangers, mash, fish and chips, and shepherd's pie were also on offer, along with a platter of cheese and crackers and a selection of cured meats and pickles for starters. In the middle, there were desserts. The students were treated to a lavish spread of sticky toffee pudding, trifle and fruitcake, served with a selection of teas and coffees, and pumpkin juice.

Albert got up from his seat and selected a finely cut slice of beefsteak and put it on his plate. He wasn't that hungry due to eating a lot of food on the journey to Hogwarts. The twins and Lee were a different story. They filled their plates to the brim with a selection of meat products and vegetables. Lee Jorden even has a whole lamb shoulder in his heads while he ate.

During the banquet, the ghost of Gryffindor appeared and greeted all the Gryffindor first years. He was wearing clothes to the noble at the king's court during Henry VII's reign. The ghost's most striking feature was that he was almost headless. After the ghost finished talking to the other first years, he approached Albert.

"Mr. Ghost. Pleasure to meet you." Albert greeted the ghost.

"Greetings child. My name is Sir Nicolas De Mismy-Popington, but I prefer it when students call my Sir Nick." The ghost replied.

"Sir Nicolas De Mismy-Popington, could I please ask for a favour?" Albert asked as he waited for the nearly headless Nick to give his approval. Once he did, Albert asked, "Can I take a picture of you? And will you appear in photos?"

The ghost looked confused. "I don't know if you can see from my attire, but I have been dead for a very long time. I do not know of the picture you are talking about, but if it is a muggle contraption to take portraits at an instance, I'm afraid you are out of luck. If the is a solution in the future, you can approach me and ask again, child." He looked and sounded apologetic. "Do you have any other questions, child?"

"What are ghosts?"

"A ghost is the imprint of a departed soul left upon the Earth. We were either afraid of death or had unfinished business left on the mortal plane. Wizards can leave an imprint of themselves upon the Earth, to walk palely where their living selves once trod... But very few wizards choose that path." Sir Nick responded.

"So, are you a memory or a phylactery?" Albert asked the ghost. The ghost went silent. Lord Voldemort did divide his soul 7 times to gain immortality, but again, these ghosts were immortal to a degree.

"What is a phylactery?" Sir Nick asked.

"It is when somebody uses the Arcane Arts to blind one soul to an object. Through this, they gain a boost in power and immortality until the object is destroyed." Albert responded. The people next to him stopped eating and stared at him. It was forbidden to mention such dark arts in society. "What? Why are you looking at me like that? It's actually a very common concept in muggle fantasy novels. It's not like they're real."

The surrounding students continued to eat awkwardly. A pure-blood first year asked, "Why are you so interested in ghosts?"

"In the muggle world, there is no real actual evidence concluding the existence of ghost. But, as you can see right in front of me, there is a living cost." Albert said as he pointed to Nearly Headless Nick. "I have the opportunity to learn about ghost, so why shouldn't I take it?"

George turned to the pure-blood who asked and said, "Don't you think that he belongs in Ravenclaw?"

"Yeah. He would be a perfect fit." The pure-blood responded.

"Be quiet George. Stop talking and start eating before Fred takes your food."

"Yeah, you're right. There aren't any ghosts in the normal world." A girl who was sitting two seats over said. "Shannon Wilson. Muggle-born."

"To be honest, when I first received my letter, my family thought it was a joke. We thought it was the neighbour trying to prank us on what we did last Christmas. When Professor McGonagall came to visit, we almost hit her with my dad's cricket bat." Shannon started to giggle at the memory of that. "In fact, if it wasn't for McGonagall's persistence, I would be here today."

"That was like me. When I got the letter, my mother wanted to destroy the letter. When Professor McGonagall came, my mum wanted to call the police and have her arrested." Albert said. "My parents are atheist and they were not welcoming to the thought of magic. They wanted me to go to Eton College, then to either Oxford or Cambridge University."

"Wait, Eton College. As in THAT Eton college." Shannon asked as she looked at Albert, who was nodding.

"What's an Eton College?" Lee Jorden asked.

"It's only the best secondary school in the UK. Only the most talented and the wealthy get accepted. It's most parents dreams for one of their children to be accepted." Shannon explained.

"Who cares? Hogwarts is the best school in Britain." Lee said confidently.

"Of course it is. It's the only magic school in the UK, so why wouldn't it be the best?" Shannon couldn't help but said with a hint of venom in her voice. "The UK has over 3,000 state funded secondary schools and over 500 privately funded secondary schools. For it to de considered the best shows how good it is."

"It seems very good, I think." George said.

"Don't talk about it to him. It goes in through one ear and comes out the other." Albert said. "And most pure-blood doesn't even pay attention to muggle society, so they probably won't know."

"Angelina Johnson. Nice to meet you. Half-blood. My mother is a witch and my father is a muggle. I lived most of my life in the muggle world. My family wasn't that surprised and my mother told my father about magic before they got married." Angelina said. Then she turned to face Albert. "Did you get to Eton by a bribe?"

"What do you take me for? My family is middle class, and I managed to pass the entrance exams. I didn't pay to get in." Albert said.

"Enough about you Eton college stuff. I'm Alicia Spinnet. Pure-blood. I've been exposed to magic my whole life and my parents weren't surprised when I got my letter." Another girl introduced herself.

Albert continued to eat all the first year Gryffindor introduced themself to the other first-years. After everybody finished eating, the plates and cups magically disappeared. The table was tidied and Dumbledore stood up.

"I am very happy to announce our new Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor. Please give Professor Brodd a warm round of applause." Dumbledore announced. The applause was sparse.

Professor Brodd was an elderly man with white hair. From his stature, I would guess he was from a Nordic nation. He was big, but not as big as Hagrid.

"There are a few things I would like to reiterate from early." Dumbledore said as he cleared his throat. "Please note that the Forbidden forest is strictly off limits to all students. Mr Finch, our caretaker, has once again asked for no magic to be used in the corridors. Finally, Quidditch will take place in the second week of the term. Please go and see Madam Hooch if you are interested." Dumbledore turned around to his staff to see if there were anymore notices.

"Why can't we enter the Forbidden Forest?" Albert asked the prefect quietly.

"I don't know. Probably due to the increasing number of acromantulas." The prefect responded.

A red head boy came up to the twins and sat down next to them. He said, "If you dare think about going to the Forbidden Forest, I'll write to mum. You wouldn't want that, would you now?"

"We won't go. A Weasley promise." Both twins said in unison as they both crossed their fingers under the table.