Death Seeker

Death Seeker

Hogwarts had acquired quite a few trophies. Albert found the Triwizard Tournament trophy, the International Wizard's Chess Tournament trophy, the Golden Cauldron from the Magical School Potions Tournament, the Creative Medal from the Cairo International Alchemy Tournament... Of course, Voldemort's—or rather, Tom Riddle's—Special Contribution Award could also be found here.

"I wish I could win a trophy and put it here too." Lee Jordan stared at the trophies in the display cases, his face full of envy and admiration.

"I think Albert might have a chance. As for you... forget it!" The Twins appeared behind Lee from either side, each placing a hand on his shoulder as they chuckled and consoled him.

"No one can predict the future." Albert casually reassured him. "Maybe you'll win some kind of trophy to put here too. That Special Contribution Award is easy enough—just discuss it with Dumbledore and donate five or ten thousand Galleons to the school. He'll definitely get one for you."

The three of them twitched at that. What did he mean, donate five or ten thousand Galleons? Why could he say something like that so casually? Those were Galleons!

The Twins did not have a single Galleon in their pockets. They even doubted whether their entire family fortune was worth that much.

Lee Jordan shook off the Twins' hands and asked, "Don't you want—"

"Actually, I'm more curious about how much prize money I could get. As for everything else, it's all superficial to me." Albert shook his head, cutting him off.

Compared to glory, he valued gold more. Money was the most real thing in the world.

Especially in the era of his previous life, there had been a saying: money made things easier. There was another one too: money gave you confidence...

"Don't look at me like that. I'm just more practical." Albert coughed lightly and quickly changed the subject. "Come on, let's go to the fifth floor. I have a feeling the library is probably there."

"You're right. Money is a good thing. I hate being poor." The Twins exchanged a glance and did not deny Albert's words.

Or rather, no one liked poverty.

Especially the Weasley Twins, whose family was not well-off. They understood that all too well.

The four of them jostled their way to the fifth floor and really did find the library. It just was not open at this time.

"Let's check somewhere else first," Albert suggested. It was a wise choice, because the four of them soon discovered what seemed to be another secret passage entrance, hidden behind a suspicious mirror as tall as a person.

"What are you doing here?"

As they inspected the entrance, Snape silently appeared behind them.

"We're looking for shortcuts, Professor." Albert did not pay much attention to the man's gloomy expression. Of course, he could guess who the fellow before him was.

"Shortcuts." Snape stared into Albert's eyes, but Albert turned away and avoided meeting his gaze. "We think there's a shortcut here leading to another floor."

As everyone knew, the easiest way to avoid being subjected to Legilimency was not to look directly into the other person's eyes.

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

Snape frowned at the sight, seemingly about to say something, but Albert interrupted him.

"By the way, Professor, could I take a picture of you?" Albert raised his camera and asked with complete sincerity.

Not only Snape, but even George and the other two froze, their expressions turning strange.

Snape stared expressionlessly at Albert, whose smile never faltered as he completely ignored Snape's death glare.

"Sir, may I not?" Albert asked again.

"If you have time to wander around—"

"No, sir, we aren't wandering around." Albert spoke in all seriousness. "We're merely using our spare time to familiarize ourselves with the castle's classroom layout as quickly as possible. That's necessary for any first-year student. After all, Hogwarts doesn't give us maps, does it? The castle's shortcuts can also keep first-years from accidentally being late."

This time, even Snape could not finish what he had been about to say. The three beside Albert were utterly dumbfounded.

How could he say that with such righteous confidence?

Still, it did seem to make some sense.

Hogwarts Castle really was like a maze. If the school did not provide maps, were they not even allowed to come out and familiarize themselves with the castle's layout?

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

"Then I'll see you on Friday, Professor." Albert waved with a smile, nudged the three beside him, and vanished around the corner at the end of the corridor.

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

"You even dared to confront him head-on." The Twins gave Albert a thumbs-up in unison and could not help laughing. "Don't you know? He's famously—"

"I wasn't confronting him. I was only stating the facts." Albert refused to admit it in the slightest. How had he confronted Snape? He had merely stated the facts.

"Yes, yes, they really were facts." George nodded repeatedly. Even the other three had to admit that it was true.

So Snape could not really do anything to him.

"By the way, what did you say Snape was famous for?" Albert changed the subject. "Famous for what?"

"...Famous for being unreasonable." George could not help laughing. "Still, his expression just now was really funny."

"Where do you think that passage leads?" Lee Jordan was more curious about that.

"No idea. We'll check it out this afternoon when we have time." Albert noticed that a new quest had appeared on his panel: Death Seeker.

Snape was one of the least popular professors among the other houses in Hogwarts history. You have successfully teased him once, so why not continue this great feat?

Quest progress: 1/5.

Reward: 2,000 experience points.

He really was a Death Seeker! "By the way, um... what are you going to do?" Fred suddenly asked.

"That?" Albert asked in confusion. "Which one?"

"The questioning!" Lee Jordan reminded him. "Didn't Snape say he'd question you first thing in class?"

"It's fine. It's only questioning. As long as it doesn't go beyond the knowledge in Magical Drafts and Potions, there won't be any real problem." Albert had great confidence in his memory. Questions were nothing to him.

"I almost forgot about that. Suddenly, I'm looking forward to next Friday's Potions Class." The three looked at one another, remembering that the person before them had an absurdly strong memory and a brilliant mind. Handling Snape's questions should not be a problem for him.

"If you answer everything correctly, do you think Snape will give you points?" George suddenly asked.

"Definitely not," Albert said with certainty.

"That's what I thought. When the time comes, everyone will see what kind of professor he really is."