Chapter 28: Master of Risk-Taking

Hogwarts had quite a collection of trophies. In the Trophy Room, Albert found the Triwizard Tournament trophy, the International Wizarding Chess Championship trophy, the golden cauldron from the School of Magic Potion Championship, and the Creative Achievement Medal from the Cairo International Alchemy Competition... And of course, there was Voldemort... Tom Riddle's Special Contribution Award could also be found here.

"I wish I could have a trophy displayed here too," Lee Jordan said, looking at the trophies in the cabinet with envy and admiration.

"I think Albert might have a chance, but as for you... let's forget about it!" The twins appeared on either side of Lee, each placing a hand on his shoulder, consoling him with cheerful smiles.

"No one can predict the future," Albert reassured casually. "Maybe you could also get a trophy to be displayed here. That Special Contribution Award is quite simple. Just discuss it with Dumbledore, donate five or ten thousand Galleons to the school, and he'll definitely arrange one for you."

Upon hearing this, the three of them couldn't help but twitch their faces. What did he mean by donating five or ten thousand Galleons? How could you easily say such a thing!

Those were Galleons!

Neither of the twins had a single Galleon in their pockets. They even doubted if all their family wealth combined would amount to that much money.

Lee Jordan broke free from the twins' grasp and retorted, "Don't you want..."

"Actually, I'm more curious about how much prize money I can earn. As for other things, they're all intangible to me," Albert interrupted, shaking his head.

Compared to glory, he valued gold coins more. Money was the most tangible thing.

Especially in his previous life, there was a saying that having money made things easier, and another saying that having money brought confidence...

"Don't look at me like that, I'm just being realistic," Albert coughed lightly, quickly changing the subject. "Let's go, to the fifth floor. I have a feeling that the library is likely on the fifth floor."

"You're right, money is a good thing. I hate being poor," the twins exchanged glances and didn't deny Albert's words.

It should be said that no one likes poverty.

Especially the Weasley brothers, who came from a less fortunate family, could understand this point even more.

The four of them pushed and shoved their way to the fifth floor, and indeed, they found the library there. However, at this particular time, the library was still closed.

"Let's check out other places first," Albert suggested. It was a rather wise choice because the four of them stumbled upon what seemed to be the entrance to a hidden passage, right behind a suspicious mirror that was about human height.

"What are you doing here?"

As they were inspecting the entrance, Snape silently appeared behind them.

"We're looking for shortcuts, Professor," Albert replied nonchalantly, not paying much attention to the professor's gloomy expression. He could easily guess who this guy was.

"Shortcuts," Snape stared into Albert's eyes, but Albert turned around and avoided direct eye contact. "We believe there might be shortcuts to other floors here."

It was well-known that the simplest way to avoid being Legilimensed was to avoid direct eye contact.

"Oh, it opened!" The mirror suddenly slid to the side, revealing an opening.

Seeing this, Snape furrowed his brow, seemingly preparing to say something, but Albert interrupted him.

"By the way, Professor, could you take a picture of me?" Albert raised his camera and asked sincerely.

Not only Snape, but even George and the twins' expressions froze, becoming somewhat peculiar.

Snape stared at Albert expressionlessly, while Albert maintained a smile on his face, completely ignoring Snape's deathly gaze.

"Sir, is it not allowed?" Albert asked again.

"If you have time for wandering around..."

"No, sir, we weren't wandering around here," Albert said seriously. "We're just making use of the spare time to quickly familiarize ourselves with the layout of the castle. It's necessary for any new student, isn't it? After all, Hogwarts doesn't provide us with maps, right? And these shortcuts in the castle can prevent new students from accidentally being late."

With that, even Snape couldn't utter the words he was about to say, and the three people beside him were stunned.

Why can you say it so confidently?

But it does sound somewhat reasonable.

Hogwarts Castle is indeed like a maze. If the school doesn't provide us with maps, are we not allowed to familiarize ourselves with the layout of the castle?

Snape's lips twitched slightly as he coldly stared at Albert. "If you have so much time, why don't you read 'Magical Potions and Elixirs' a few more times? Next class, I'll question you first. Now, disappear from my sight immediately."

"Well then, see you on Friday, Professor." Albert waved with a smile, pushed the three people next to him, and disappeared around the corner at the end of the corridor.

"Wow, you actually wanted to take a photo of Snape."

"And you dared to confront him head-on." The twins both raised their thumbs towards Albert, unable to help but laugh. "Don't you know? He's famous for being..."

"I didn't confront him. I just stated the facts," Albert denied. He didn't confront Snape at all; he merely stated the facts.

"That's right, it's indeed a fact." George nodded repeatedly, and even the three of them had to admit that it was indeed a fact.

So, Snape couldn't do anything to him either.

"By the way, what did you just say Snape was famous for?" Albert changed the topic and asked, "Famous for what?"

"...Famous for being unreasonable," George couldn't help but laugh, "but his expression just now was really funny."

"Tell me, where does that passage lead to?" Lee Jordan was curious about this question.

"I don't know, let's go check it out when we have time in the afternoon!" Albert found a new task appearing on his interface: Daredevil.

Severus Snape is one of the least popular professors in Hogwarts history among students from other houses. You have successfully teased him once, why not continue this feat?

Task completion: 1/5.

Reward: 2000 experience points.

He really is a daredevil!

"Oh, by the way... What are you going to do about the questioning?" Fred suddenly asked.

"What do you mean?" Albert asked, confused. "What?"

"I mean the questioning!" Lee Jordan reminded, "Didn't Snape say he would question you in the first class?"

"No problem, it's just a questioning. As long as it doesn't go beyond the knowledge of 'Magical Potions and Elixirs,' there won't be any major issues." Albert was confident in his memory. Questions like that were a piece of cake.

"I almost forgot about it. Suddenly, I'm kind of looking forward to the Potions class next Friday." The three of them exchanged glances, remembering that the person in front of them had extraordinary memory and a sharp mind. Dealing with Snape's questions shouldn't be a problem.

"If you answer all the questions correctly, will Snape give you extra points?" George suddenly asked.

"Definitely not." Albert said with certainty.

"I guess so. By then, everyone will see what kind of professor he really is."

(End of this chapter)