Boring History of Magic

"All right, there's another explanation..." Albert said with an odd expression. "Among Muggles, a group of professional scientists discovered a substance—a protein that catalyzes the formation of eggshells. This protein exists only in a hen's ovaries. In other words, without chickens, there would be no such protein, and eggshells simply could not form. And eggshells protect chicks so they can hatch successfully. Therefore, their conclusion is that chickens came before eggs."

Everyone froze at those words, including the young wizards and witches from the Muggle world.

"I know you don't understand it, but someone has verified that chickens came first," Albert explained.

"So..." Katrina asked tentatively, "do you think phoenixes came before fire?"

"No, the Wizarding World is different from the Muggle world." Albert shook his head. "Phoenixes and fire should be a cycle. After a phoenix dies, it is reborn in flames. Its life simply continues in an endless cycle. I think there's no point in investigating the origin of phoenixes."

Katrina raised an eyebrow. Albert's answer was not bad.

"Impressive. Even among Ravenclaw students, few can answer it on their first try." The Ravenclaw boy behind Albert could not help praising him. "Oh, right. I'm Roger Davies. Nice to meet you."

There was no choice but to concede.

Roger Davies had also faced the Eagle-shaped bronze knocker's questions before, but he had gotten every one wrong.

Most Ravenclaw first-years could not answer the Eagle-shaped bronze knocker's questions. Whenever they wanted to enter or leave the common room, they needed an older Ravenclaw student to lead them, which was terribly inconvenient.

"I'm curious—why were you sorted into Gryffindor?" Roger Davies asked what everyone was wondering.

"Who knows?"

The conversation ended there, because Professor Binns passed through the blackboard and entered the History of Magic classroom. That entrance certainly was an eye-opener.

Ten minutes later, every student in the classroom looked ready to fall asleep.

History of Magic was widely acknowledged as the dullest class for good reason. Professor Binns always read the textbook aloud in a monotonous, dreary voice. Everyone merely jotted down important names and dates, and even Ravenclaw students could not resist such hypnosis.

The only one still alert in the classroom was Albert. He had a sweet in his mouth and was seriously reading a book, occasionally taking notes in another one.

"It's hard to imagine you could resist Professor Binns's hypnosis!" After class, the Weasley twins looked at Albert with admiration, each draping an arm over his shoulders. "Please, you must lend us your History of Magic notes so we can copy them."

Lee Jordan had already taken Albert's History of Magic notes from his hand with a grin.

"What do you think?" Albert rolled his eyes. During History of Magic, he had been multitasking, reading and taking notes without missing a thing.

To that end, Albert had specifically raised Multitasking to Level 2.

Still, using it to get through History of Magic was indeed quite useful. After all, he still had five years of history classes ahead of him.

"Do you know the rumor about Professor Cuthbert Binns?"

"What rumor?" The three of them were immediately intrigued.

"According to the records in A History of Hogwarts," Albert said in a low voice, "Professor Binns never noticed that he was dead—at least, not at first."

"One day, Professor Binns got up to teach class and accidentally left his body behind in an armchair in front of the staff room fireplace. Of course, he was already quite old by then."

"Wow!" The three of them were all astonished. They had not expected this History of Magic professor to become Hogwarts's history professor forever in such a manner.

Before lunch, the three of them had already copied the History of Magic notes.

"Do we have any classes this afternoon?" George asked. He could not wait to take Charlie's Comet for a spin.

"We have one more class this afternoon—Transfiguration," Lee Jordan said regretfully.

Albert muttered, "I bet this is definitely the easiest course!"

Only three classes a day—how could it not be easy?

Besides, English people who did not care much for lunch usually just ate something casually around this time.

Albert gave up on making himself a sandwich. He hated eating sandwiches all day long, so after drinking some Pumpkin Juice and having a few pieces of stewed potato, he hastily finished lunch.

The twins intended to go out for a walk during this time, but Albert thought they should wait until after Transfiguration class. They would have plenty of time and energy then. As for the time between lunch and class, Albert planned to rest in the castle courtyard and read a book while he was at it.

The courtyard was filled with students. They gathered in groups to chat, while some had brought their lunches out here to eat.

By September, Hogwarts no longer had the stifling heat of summer. Besides, it had rained just yesterday, and the gentle breeze carried the coolness of autumn.

"It would be nice if I could conjure a cushion." Sitting on the grass, Albert could not help sighing. "I suddenly feel that learning Transfiguration well is actually quite important."

"No, no, that is definitely not a reason to learn Transfiguration well," Lee Jordan could not help saying sarcastically.

"What do you think is in those woods?" Fred suddenly asked, looking toward the distant Forbidden Forest.

"Dumbledore said there are werewolves in there."

"And centaurs."

"Probably other Magical Creatures too," Albert added. "Maybe the gamekeeper keeps some strange creatures in the forest as well."

Like Thestrals, Acromantulas, giants...

"By the way, how is your Disillusionment Charm coming along?" George changed the subject. He had no intention of going to the Forbidden Forest for now. They liked adventure and excitement, not courting death. Besides, werewolves had a terrible reputation in the Wizarding World. One bite, and it would all be over.

For now, when they could begin sneaking out at night was what concerned them most.

"Not that quickly. The Disillusionment Charm isn't easy to master." Albert took out his wand, muttered an incantation, and gently tapped a fallen leaf.

The color on the leaf's surface began to change, as though it were blending into his palm.

"It feels different from what I imagined," Lee Jordan said, scratching his head.

"You might not notice from far away, but actually..." Albert shook his head helplessly. "Up close, it would be spotted immediately."

"It's a bit like a chameleon."

"The principle is similar to a chameleon's camouflage." Albert had not directly used Experience Pool experience to level up the Disillusionment Charm. He intended to spend time figuring it out slowly himself. Only after he had completely mastered it would he feel a sense of accomplishment.

The learning process was still important. Only then would it feel like he was studying at Hogwarts. He did not want to miss out on that experience.

Albert had already prepared to spend two months teaching himself the Disillusionment Charm.