The Curtain Falls

Winter nights come particularly early; by five o'clock in the evening, the sky quickly darkens.

However, Hogwarts was a little different today. The Quidditch Pitch was still brightly lit, and the Hogwarts professors lit torches around the pitch so that the game could continue.

In the stands, Albert pulled his thick cloak tighter around himself to ward off the rapidly dropping nighttime temperature. Compared to Albert's situation, the other spectators around him were in a much worse predicament; having missed lunch, they were already starving.

However, the audience, with a passion that Albert could not comprehend, endured hunger and cold and continued to sit in the stands to watch Quidditch Match.

However, the spectators weren't the worst off; the players still in the air were already bewildered in the cold wind.

The wind was cold at high altitude, and even colder after nightfall. The rookie players, who hadn't eaten much due to the tension of the morning, had their little remaining energy drained by the cold and were now hungry, thirsty, and cold.

Lee Jordan, the commentator who was initially in high spirits, had lost his initial passion. His voice had become hoarse from the continuous commentary, and he had to use the Sonorous Charm with the help of Professor McGonagall to continue. This was undoubtedly a severe test for Lee Jordan, who was commentating for the first time.

"Look, they've spotted the Golden Snitch and are chasing after it!" Lee Jordan shouted from the stands. "Currently, the score between Gryffindor Team and Ravenclaw Team is 210 to 270, with Ravenclaw in the lead for now. However, the gap between the two teams is not yet significant. Whoever catches the Golden Snitch will bring victory to their team."

A fierce battle for the Golden Snitch is raging above the field, with both Seeker eager to end this long game.

There was no other way; after several hours, all the players were exhausted.

"Both are accelerating down. Oh no, they're going to crash! Oh my god, they're crashing! Hope they're okay!" Lee Jordan yelled in alarm. "Wait, damn it, Ravenclaw's Seeker has caught the Golden Snitch!"

No one cared what Lee Jordan had just said, because the stadium was erupting in cheers as people celebrated the victory.

Albert and the other Gryffindor spectators surged onto the pitch, where Gryffindor and Ravenclaw players had already surrounded Charlie.

The two Seeker were in bad shape; they both fell and were eventually taken to the School Hospital on stretchers by Professor McGonagall, who rushed to the scene.

"Don't worry, Charlie will be fine," Albert gently comforted the Twins brothers. The two were also in bad shape, shivering from the cold wind above and showing signs of exhaustion.

"Have some candy first." Albert took out some candy and handed it to the Twins, while also drawing his wand to wipe away the dampness and chill from their bodies.

"Thank you, it's all thanks to you!" Fred said, sounding a little tired. He didn't refuse Albert's help; in fact, he was almost out of strength.

"I didn't expect this match to last this long."

The four hurried back to the castle, sat at the crowded dining table, and only after finishing a bowl of steaming corn chowder did they have the mind to talk about other things.

"I remember you said something like the game would go on for a long time," Lee Jordan said, looking up at Albert as he ate a piece of fried potato.

"I didn't say anything like that, don't try to pin this on me." Albert rolled his eyes at Lee Jordan, annoyed. "I just told them to eat more so they wouldn't be too tired for the game."

"Same meaning," Lee Jordan said.

"We still lost in the end." George's tone was somewhat heavy. They had trained so hard, but they still lost the game.

"Charlie has done his best," Albert said.

"I know, he was just unlucky." Fred was a little annoyed. Ravenclaw won the game just because of good luck. At that moment, the opposing Seeker and Charlie were diving together, neither of them slowing down. When the catch hit the ground, the opposing team actually caught the Golden Snitch.

Speaking of luck, everyone looked at Albert; this guy was incredibly lucky, if only...

They didn't dwell on it any longer; there were no "what ifs."

After eating something, Albert and the Gryffindor players went to the School Hospital to visit the injured Charlie. The captain had already been treated by Madam Pomfrey, but his condition was not good and he needed to stay overnight at the School Hospital for observation.

However, Charlie was not alone, because there was someone with him. The only regret was that the person was not a girl, but Ravenclaw lucky Seeker who shared Charlie's plight.

Having just left the School Hospital, the four of them ran into Professor Smith in the corridor.

"Albert, I happen to need to speak with you." Professor Smith kindly invited Albert to his Defence Against the Dark Arts office.

"This is what we talked about last time." He handed Albert a piece of parchment containing what Albert had seen in the Room of Requirement that day.

Sure enough, Professor Smith had been inside as well.

"This is the history of the founding of Hogwarts," Albert said after taking some time to read the contents of the parchment.

"I know," Professor Smith nodded. "Do you think there's anything special about him?"

"Special?" Albert thought for a moment and said, "Nothing special, it's just a piece of history, similar to what I've seen in the library."

Professor Smith seemed a little disappointed, even though Albert had gotten the same result as him.

"If I had to say something strange..." Albert hesitated for a moment before asking, "Were the conditions of ancient wizards really that bad?"

Albert knew perfectly well whether it was bad or not; he was just trying to distract Professor Smith.

"Not good," Professor Smith explained. "In those days, magical knowledge wasn't summarized and organized like it is now. Wizards were figuring things out as they went along. Knowledge was extremely valuable; a single parchment book could be worth a baron's income for a year or even longer. In those days, many wizards didn't know many types of magic, especially those from Muggle backgrounds. They were in a very bad situation; they had Magical Power but didn't know any proper magic."

Without a wand and without knowing how to use magic, having Magical Power is undoubtedly terrible. Muggle are terrified of this power, and once discovered, they will be regarded as monsters, with predictable consequences. People like Tom, who explore on their own and use magic crudely, are ultimately a minority.

"The Hogwarts' Four Founders were undoubtedly great. At that time, wizards as powerful as them were few and far between, and even fewer were willing to share their knowledge with others so selflessly," Professor Smith remarked.

"I thought it was a prosperous magical age," Albert muttered, "The ancient and powerful magic of Hogwarts ..."

"You're right. There were indeed many amazing and powerful spells in that era. Although traces of those ancient spells can still be found today, almost no one uses them anymore... Perhaps Dumbledore knew some ancient spells, but such cases are ultimately rare." Professor Smith frowned slightly. He had actually realized some problems, but he couldn't figure out exactly what they were for the time being.