Easter Eggs

During the Easter holidays, some Hogwarts students choose to go home and spend the holiday with their families.

Albert didn't go home.

After all, the end of the semester is approaching, and summer vacation is just around the corner.

Moreover, not many students go home for the Easter holiday, which is related to the heavy amount of holiday homework assigned by professors before the holiday.

Whether I go home or not, I have to do a ton of holiday homework, and... if I go home, I won't be able to borrow books from the school library.

Although most holiday assignments may simply be prepared by professors to help students prepare for exams.

Daisy was quite disappointed that Albert wasn't coming home for the holidays, but she still sent him some Easter egg.

On Easter Sunday, Shera brought Easter egg to Albert, along with a photograph inside the package.

Albert picked up the photo and grinned.

In the photo, Tom is squatting in a basket filled with Easter egg, incubating them.

For some reason, Albert always found this scene hilarious.

By the way, Tom seems to have gotten fatter again.

Is it just my imagination?

Feeling neglected, Shera called out to Albert in dissatisfaction.

"Sorry." Albert immediately took out some owl nuts from his robe pocket and fed them to Shera. He then unwrapped Easter egg, broke open the chocolate shell, and popped a piece into his mouth.

As with every Easter, Daisy will buy Easter egg from a familiar candy store. The egg will have a chocolate shell and contain chocolate-flavored toffee, Albert's favorite treat.

"Want a toffee?" Albert handed half of the Easter egg containing a toffee to his roommate.

"You should try my Easter egg too." Lee Jordan had already pried open the ostrich egg-sized Easter egg with his fingernails, revealing it filled with fudge.

"It's actually a fudge." Albert picked up a fudge and popped it into his mouth, exclaiming in surprise.

"Otherwise, what did you expect it to be?" Lee Jordan couldn't help but roll his eyes at Albert.

"Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans!" the Twins exclaimed in unison.

"Damn it, who would put Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans in Easter egg?" Lee Jordan couldn't help but scoff. "Want some gummies?"

"Of course." Fred ate a fudge, then popped a Chocolate Toffee into his mouth and mumbled, "George, do you think Mom will remember to send us Easter egg?"

"Perhaps she forgot," George said. "She's been too busy, after all."

"Mom has never forgotten your Easter egg." Percy walked over and handed the Easter egg to Fred and George, then turned to Albert and said, "Professor Broad asked me to remind you to go see him at six o'clock tonight. Don't get the time wrong."

"Six o'clock in the evening?" Lee Jordan repeated, puzzled.

"It's an invitation," Albert explained casually. "Professor Broad invited me to... Actually, I don't know why the professor invited me. I think it might be for afternoon tea."

"Have you ever seen anyone have afternoon tea at six in the evening?" George couldn't help but roll his eyes. "There's a limit to how much you can just spout nonsense."

"Seriously, you didn't tell us about this?" Fred stared wide-eyed at Albert with disbelief. "I bet it was a party or a banquet."

"Professor Broad often invites me to his office for tea, and at most, he'll bring me some refreshments."

"Why does it feel so strange to hear you say that?" Lee Jordan muttered.

"I'll tell you whether it's a banquet or a tea party when I get back." Albert didn't dwell on the matter.

He certainly knew what he had been invited to.

So-called academic gatherings.

"By the way, is this Bludger?" Lee Jordan pointed to the Easter egg in Fred's hand that looked like Bludger.

"Aren't you going to open it and see what's inside?" Albert reminded them.

"Charlie must have told the family that we're going to be Beater." George opened the outer egg, and a strong milky smell wafted out.

The two players' Bludger Easter eggs were filled with milk-flavored toffee, which was obviously homemade by Mrs. Weasley.

"Want to try some?" Fred popped a toffee into his mouth, slowly chewing it, and mumbled indistinctly, "It tastes pretty good."

Albert and Lee Jordan each took a toffee from the pile and popped it into their mouths. After chewing, their mouths were filled with a rich milky flavor.

The taste is not bad, but you can't eat too much toffee.

"Look over there..." George exclaimed, "What happened to Shanna?"

Albert looked up and saw Shanna being violently hit on the head by textbooks, schoolbags, and Ink. He picked up his wand and gently waved it to break Mrs. Pince's spell.

"Are you alright?" Albert already guessed what had happened.

"I was in the library just now..." Shanna said breathlessly, "I forgot that you can't eat in the library."

As expected, she was kicked out by Mrs. Pince.

"Thank you, Albert." After a moment, Shanna finally recovered. "That was tough. Want some gummies?"

Shanna's Easter egg were filled with all sorts of flavored gummies; she had just been eating gummies in the library, which was why Mrs. Pince kicked her out.

The Easter egg was quite large and had a very obvious commercial label on it, indicating that it was purchased from the same candy store as Albert's.

Albert ate a gummy candy; it was strawberry-filled.

"As long as Mrs. Pince doesn't see us, we'll be fine." Albert winked at Shanna. "I often sneak Hard Candy in the library."

"That's a good idea," Shanna chuckled.

"Ouch, stop pecking!" Albert felt a pain in his elbow and immediately pulled his hand back.

"What's wrong with your owl?" Shanna asked Shera, puzzled.

"It's urging me to write back," Albert muttered, pulling Quill from his bag and beginning to write home, reminding Nia not to fatten Tom up too much.

Watching the owl fly away, Albert refocused his attention on his studies.

Lately, I've been focusing all my energy on Ancient Runes, and I feel like I've been neglecting my other subjects. I haven't even replied to Mr. Foscott's letter yet.

"What are you thinking about?" Shanna asked, raising an eyebrow, a little annoyed that Albert had been daydreaming while talking to her.

"Nothing, I was just thinking about how much homework I still have to do," Albert said casually.

"You're the least qualified to say that," Fred said resentfully.

"We're leaving now, we have some things to do later." George pulled Fred away.

"Lately, Fred and George have been acting all secretive. I wonder what they're up to." Albert looked away and continued discussing homework with Shanna.

The professors had mentioned that those questions were important and would definitely be on the exam, which Lee Jordan had always found interesting, making his revision much easier.

"It's Time Difference, I'll be going now."

Albert took out his pocket watch, glanced at the hands, stood up, and spoke to the people around him.

"Where is he going?" Shanna asked, puzzled, watching Albert's departing figure. "Dinner will be served soon."

"Professor Broad sent him an invitation," Lee Jordan casually explained as he organized his class notes, "Inviting Albert to dinner."

"Professor Broad?"

"Don't you know?" Lee Jordan said in a low voice, somewhat envious of Albert's treatment. "Albert is Professor Broad's most outstanding student, without a doubt."

"I thought it was Professor McGonagall," Shanna said in surprise.

"For a while now, Albert has been going to Professor Broad's office every week..." Lee Jordan began to tell Shanna some trivial things about Albert.

"Has anyone seen Fred and George?" Angelina interrupted their conversation, sitting in the empty spot Albert had made.

"You mean Fred and George..."

Albert had no idea what Lee Jordan had said to the others. After returning to his dormitory and putting down his backpack, Albert tidied himself up in front of the mirror before heading to Professor Broad's office alone.

Professor Broad seemed to be waiting for him; the wooden door to the office opened quickly when Albert knocked.

"You're always so punctual." Professor Broad said to Albert with a faint smile, "Well, we should go now, so as not to keep the others waiting too long."

"Where are we going?" Albert asked.

" At McDougal's house." Professor Broad reached up and picked up a small box from the fireplace, handing it to Albert and gesturing for him to enter.

"What is this?" Albert examined the glittering powder in the small box and immediately guessed what it was.

"Floo Powder. Oh, I almost forgot, you've never used Floo Powder before, have you!" Professor Broad suddenly remembered this and began to explain, "Using Floo Powder is very simple. First, you have to go to the fireplace, then throw the powder into the flames, and after the flames rise, walk into them. At this point, you must clearly state the place you want to go. The place we're going to is called the Lake Cottage."

Albert picked up a pinch of glittering powder from the small box, walked to the stove, and threw the powder into the flames.

With a whoosh, the fire in the furnace turned emerald green and rose even higher than Albert.

Albert hesitated for a moment, then stepped into the fire and called out, "The Lake Cottage!"

In the blink of an eye, Albert was engulfed by flames and disappeared.

Floo Powder's journey was not pleasant either. Albert felt his body spinning rapidly. He squinted and saw a series of fireplace doors flashing by in front of him, and he could vaguely glimpse the room outside the fireplace.

The swirling green flames made Albert dizzy, and he could hear the whistling wind in his ears, feeling as if he were moving at high speed.

In the blink of an eye, the spinning stopped, the whistling sound disappeared, and Albert felt himself fall to the cold ground.

"That's really tough."

Albert fell awkwardly to the floor, and it seemed that someone was helping him up.

"Welcome, Mr. Anderson."

A sharp voice rang in Albert's ears. Albert, who had just gotten up to brush the ashes off his cloak, froze and looked in the direction from which the voice came. It was a House-elf.

A few seconds later, Professor Broad also climbed out of the fire and stood on the carpet in the hall, brushing the ashes off his robes.

"Gentlemen, this way please. Dinner is ready," the House-elf said sharply.

"A dinner party?" Albert looked at Professor Broad with suspicion.

"It's dinner, of course. Let's go, don't keep everyone waiting too long."

This house is huge, not small at all; describing it as Lake Cottage is almost laughable.

Led by the House-elf, they left the hall, passed through the corridors and stairs, and arrived at a sunroom with carpeted walls and transparent walls.

The dinner was held in the spacious room, where there were already three people. Apart from McDougal, the other two looked rather old.

The older one was probably over a hundred years old, and the other was at least eighty. They were both looking at Albert with curious eyes.

There was no malice intended; it was merely curiosity and friendliness.

"Albert Anderson, the genius I've introduced to you before, is skilled in Ancient Runes." McDougal pointed to Albert and introduced him to the other two. "Of course, he's also good at Transfiguration. I just read Albert's article in Today Transfiguration a while ago. Professor Broad said that Albert is also very good at Defence Against the Dark Arts and Charms Class."

"I am Albert, it's a pleasure to meet you all." Albert looked a little reserved and nodded slightly to the group.

"Tiberius Ogden, an expert in Charms and Runes," McDougal said to Albert, pointing to the older man. "The Magical Theory you are using now actually owes a debt to Tiberius."

The old man reached out and gently shook hands with Albert.

"Ge Bo Smith," McDougal said, pointing to the man in his eighties. "He is skilled in Transfiguration, Divination, and Ancient Runes, and is also an expert in alchemy."

Albert felt a little awkward after shaking hands with Mr. Smith.

But he couldn't explain what felt off.

The dinner was lavish, but the food was rather bland. The five of them ate and chatted, still using Ancient Runes.

As McDougal said, they were all experts in Ancient Runes, the very kind of experts. McDougal also received their help when he was writing that book on Ancient Runes.

Smith and Ogden were equally astonished by Albert's proficiency in using Ancient Runes.

Indeed, seeing is believing.

Albert had eaten his fill, and they sat in soft armchairs, discussing Ancient Runes.

Honestly, it's really strange to see a young child chatting with a group of elderly people about academic theories.

But you have to admit that they are all very capable people, with extensive knowledge of Runes and fluent speech in Ancient Runes script.

If someone who didn't know better came here, they would think they had accidentally traveled back a thousand years.

The friendly conversation continued until nightfall.

Albert also expressed his interest in alchemy to Ge Bo Smith and inquired about the use of Ancient Runes.

Ge Bo examined Albert's wooden bracelet and said with a smile, "There's actually nothing wrong with the Protective Bracelet you made. The reason it failed is that you can't yet infuse the Runic Script with power."

Albert was a little confused.

"Runic Script is a mysterious script that contains mysterious Magical Power. However, what you are doing now is merely carving it, which will not endow the Runic Script with power," Ge Bo Smith explained. "Concentrate your mind and infuse your Magical Power into the runic runes you are carving. This is why Runic Script is known as a script with magical power."

When wizards use this Enchanted Script to cast spells, the spells become more powerful, and only those skilled in Ancient Runes can truly realize this.

Perhaps some wizards are vaguely aware of something, but they don't understand exactly what it is. They are simply skilled in using Ancient Runes and have unknowingly mastered how to use them.

Therefore, wizards believe that ancient magic is more powerful, which is indeed true.

Unfortunately, the old man's energy was limited, and the conversation between the two parties came to an end.

However, Ge Bo Smith and Tiberius Ogden indicated that they could establish friendly relations with Albert through letters in the future.

The banquet ended around 10 p. m., and Albert returned to school using Floo Powder.

Albert, who had just stood up from his chair, then realized that something was wrong.

He looked to his right from his side and saw that McDougal in his forties or fifties, Professor Broad was in his sixties, Ge Bo Smith was in his eighties, Tiberius Ogden was in his nineties or even a hundred, and what about himself?

Twelve years old! One person is missing.

There's one less wizard in his twenties or thirties; perhaps we should have another genius in his twenties or thirties between myself and Mr. McDougal.

Only in this way can we say there is a pattern to follow.

"Am I overthinking it?" Albert murmured.

Before returning to school through the fireplace, Albert suddenly asked, "Professor Broad, is someone missing today?"

"Why do you ask that?" Professor Broad paused for a moment, then asked in confusion.

"It's nothing, I just feel like someone's missing from this banquet," Albert murmured.

"No one is missing." Professor Broad repeated doubtfully. "No one is missing. As I said last time, the Ancient Runes have a serious gap in their lineage. So, it's not that there are fewer people, but that the lineage has been broken."

Albert felt there was something else going on in Professor Broad's words, so he slowly returned to the Gryffindor Common Room Common Room, which was still quite lively at this time of day, as no one was sleeping there yet.

Albert covered his mouth as he yawned and went straight back to the dorm; his other roommates hadn't returned yet.

He stared blankly at the wooden bracelet, pondering Ge Bo Smith's words.

It was almost 11:30 when Lee Jordan returned to his dormitory, seemingly having had a great time.

"Where are Fred and George? Aren't they with you?" Albert frowned slightly as he watched Lee Jordan return to his dormitory alone. Hogwarts has a curfew after 11 p. m.

"No, I haven't seen Fred and George since just now. I thought they went back to their dorms to rest." Lee Jordan raised his eyebrows slightly.

"Fred and George aren't in the Common Room?" Albert suddenly had a bad feeling.