The Hypocrite

After Albert received the note from Professor McGonagall authorizing the borrowing of a book from the Restricted Section, the "Magical Forbidden Area" quest on the panel only required borrowing one more book to complete. Originally, Albert thought he would need to get it from Gilderoy Lockhart, but now he could finish it ahead of schedule.

Albert walked out of the library and saw Fred, George, and Lee Jordan standing in the corridor outside, looking resentful. As soon as they saw Albert, the three of them rushed up and surrounded him.

"That wasn't real, was it?" Fred said anxiously.

"Oh, you mean the solitary confinement thing!" Albert looked at Fred and the other two with sudden realization, shaking his head while suppressing a laugh, and said, "I just went to Professor McGonagall's office, and she asked me to pass on a message to you before I left."

Fred, George, and Lee Jordan all looked rather grim. They never expected that their hard work in copying homework would end up with them being put in solitary confinement.

"I've told you all to do your homework properly. Professor McGonagall is very unhappy with how you've handled your holiday assignments," Albert shook his head repeatedly, making sarcastic remarks.

"Merlin's beard, this joke isn't funny at all." Lee Jordan looked like he was about to go crazy.

"By the way, there's Potions Class tomorrow, so don't take any chances, or Snape will definitely be happy to put you in solitary confinement," Albert reminded the three of them.

"Oh, shut up! We've had it bad enough already," George couldn't help but yell. Albert's loose tongue always seemed to say the exact word.

Once again, it has been proven that Albert's loose tongue was more accurate than Prophecy.

The next day, the three of them were really in trouble. Because they hadn't followed Albert's advice to redo Snape's holiday homework, the Potions Professor announced this bad news just before the end of class.

Five unfortunate souls were put in solitary confinement, including three of Albert's roommates.

George was so startled that his hand trembled, and the test tube containing the Swelling Solution fell to the ground, splashing liquid everywhere and burning several holes in Fred's robe and boots.

As soon as the Swelling Solution touched their skin, both of them swelled up immediately. Snape was furious and scolded George, telling them to go to the School Hospital to see Madam Pomfrey after class.

Actually, a little anti- Anti-Swelling Potion would have cured it. Snape had such medicine on hand, but he hadn't given it to Fred and George; otherwise, it would have been resolved in seconds, without needing to trouble Madam Pomfrey. "Write a paper on Swelling Solution and Anti-Swelling Potion, 1 foot, due next class," Snape cruelly announced the homework before dismissing the class.

"Homework, a mountain of homework, I feel like I'm about to collapse!" Outside the School Hospital, Lee Jordan wailed in agony, feeling like he was being driven crazy by a mountain of homework.

"Stop yelling, or Madam Pomfrey might come looking for trouble." Albert gave Lee Jordan an annoyed look. This guy brought it on himself, who can he blame?

No sooner had he finished speaking than the door to the School Hospital suddenly opened, startling Lee Jordan.

However, they soon discovered that Fred and George were the ones coming out of the School Hospital, and both of them were in low spirits, probably because they had been through a lot of bad luck.

"I feel like I'm being driven crazy by homework!"

The three of them looked at Albert pitifully, their unspoken message obvious.

"You have to do your homework yourselves," Albert said irritably as he turned the corner. "Don't even think about it. The professors are already watching you. Don't get any illusions, or I'll be in trouble with you."

"So what should we do?"

"Let's do our homework together during breaks!" Albert thought for a moment and said, "Then we can find information together and write the paper more quickly."

"Okay, that's the only way."

"I have something to do, I need to see Professor Smith, you guys go to the Great Hall first." Albert handed the backpack to Fred, waved and turned into another corner.

On his way to the Defence Against the Dark Arts office, he ran into an acquaintance. Albert went up to greet Katrina, however, the way Miss McDougal looked at him seemed... a little strange.

"What's wrong?" Albert asked, raising an eyebrow.

"It's nothing!" Katrina hesitated for a moment, but couldn't resist her curiosity and asked, "Are you really dating Isobel?"

"Listening to less gossip will affect a person's IQ and judgment." Albert couldn't help but roll his eyes and interrupt Katrina in an annoyed tone.

"The unicorn wood carving amulet you gave me is beautiful," Katrina said, her tone becoming even stranger.

"That was a return gift; she taught me a useful spell last time." Albert looked Katrina up and down, his tone equally strange. "By the way, you seem quite concerned about this? Could it be..."

"No, I'm just curious," Katrina said immediately.

She's being arrogant, absolutely arrogant.

Albert found it amusing; Nia sometimes did the same.

"Then I'll get you a birthday present next time too." Albert winked at Katrina and tentatively asked, "What kind of wood carving do you want?"

"Are you here to see Professor Smith too?" Katrina realized she was being led by the nose by Albert, so she quickly changed the subject.

"If you don't want it, that's fine too."

"I hate the way you talk to me like that." Katrina realized for the first time that Albert and Isobel had a lot in common.

Even though they are close in age, I always feel like a little kid, which is really annoying.

"Oh, well, I thought we could be good friends," Albert said with a regretful look.

"We're friends now, you said that yourself last year," Katrina reminded her.

"I mean, go a step further?"

"Go further?" Katrina's cheeks flushed slightly as she looked at Albert.

"Well, we were just classmates before, but now we can call each other good friends." Albert's mischievousness kicked in again.

"What's the difference?" Katrina asked, puzzled.

"Yes," Albert said in a serious tone, "There's not much difference between classmates and strangers. Friends are a more advanced relationship. We exchange Christmas and birthday gifts and the like."

"And then, are you trying to say that friends can become boyfriend and girlfriend?" Katrina sneered. "You still love to fool people."

"No way," Albert shrugged innocently. "I'm telling the truth."

Katrina snorted and knocked on the wooden door of the Defence Against the Dark Arts office.

A moment later, Professor Smith opened the wooden door, looked at the two people standing outside, his gaze landing on Albert, and asked with a smile, "Albert, how was the alchemy gathering?"

"Very interesting, quite fruitful." Albert thought for a moment and said, "I think I've found the answer to that matter from last time."

"Oh, you have an answer so quickly?" Professor Smith looked at Katrina and said, "Mr. Anderson and I have some private business to discuss. Could you wait a moment?"

"Oh." Katrina gave Albert a deep look, then turned and left the office.

"The way to open the next hidden door will probably require further research into Ancient Runes." Albert noticed that Katrina had closed the wooden door behind her, so he briefly talked about the Runes Master he had met at the alchemy gathering and his own discoveries, and then rambled on about his own speculations.

"I suggest the professor ask Mr. McDougal for help."

"Oh." Professor Smith looked at Albert and couldn't help but sigh inwardly, feeling a little disappointed.

In fact, he had thought about these things a long time ago.

However, very few wizards can truly be called Runes Master. Morg McDougal might be considered one, but their relationship was only so-so.

Moreover, Professor Smith didn't want too many people to know about the Ravenclaw Treasure, which is why he pinned his hopes on Albert.

However, the results clearly deviated from expectations.

Or rather, this is the initial result.

Albert has exceeded Professor Smith's initial expectations.

"Albert, I think you also have a great talent for Runes," Professor Smith said softly, the meaning of which was self-evident.

"Professor, I've only been exposed to magic for a short time. Knowledge takes time to accumulate," Albert sighed, looking quite helpless.

"Keep up the good work, I believe you can become Runes Master like McDougal," Smith encouraged.

"Katrina seems to need to speak with you, so I'll be going now." He bowed slightly to Smith. "Please give me a few years. I believe I can help the professor open that secret door."

"I'll have to trouble you then," Professor Smith said with a smile.