Marmite

Near noon, Hogwarts Castle, which had been silent all night, came alive once more.

Albert occasionally ran into other students in the corridors and passageways. Sleeping in was simply human nature for most people, especially on weekends. When there was no need to get up early, most would rather sleep a little longer.

A light rain was still falling outside the castle. Most students stayed in the Great Hall chatting, while a handful of Unlucky ones who had not finished their homework in time were busy copying their Summer vacation assignments.

While exploring the castle, the Weasley Twins and Lee Jordan could no longer keep going and slipped away first.

However, Albert still spent the entire morning touring the enormous castle and took quite a few interesting photos with his camera. By the time he had finished making a full circuit and returned to the Great Hall, his calves were faintly aching.

The trip had been quite rewarding. Relying on his memory, Albert had sketched out a rough map of the castle.

Although he had heard others say that some of Hogwarts Castle's staircases changed position every Friday, that was something to worry about next Friday. Albert did not take it to heart; he would naturally find a solution when the time came.

It was worth mentioning that his progress on the task of exploring Hogwarts Castle had reached 26.7%.

"Why are you alone? Where are your friends?" Angelina and another girl walked over, sat in the chairs opposite Albert, and greeted him.

"They slipped away halfway through our tour of the castle." Albert took a slice of bread from the plate, intending to make himself a Sandwich. "Those three probably found something interesting. Pass me that Blueberry Jam, please."

"How is your castle map coming along? Can I borrow it for a look?" Angelina pushed the jar of Blueberry Jam on her right over, then pointed at the Parchment to Albert's left.

"I still think you should explore the castle yourself. It's one of the joys of being a first-year." Albert casually handed the Parchment to the girl across from him and picked up the jar of Blueberry Jam.

"What's this?" Aylia leaned over, staring at the simple sketch with a slight frown. She found it a little difficult to read, but she could still make out markings for secret passages and classrooms, as well as notes about which step on certain staircases had to be crossed.

"Oh, right, here are our timetables." Albert made two more copies of the timetables and handed them to the two girls opposite him.

"What spell was that?" Angelina asked curiously.

"The Duplication Charm. It can turn one item into two." Aylia, who had been born into a wizarding family, recognized the spell Albert had used at once.

Not every wizarding family followed the Weasley approach of letting their children run wild. Aylia had received a proper wizarding education since childhood, giving her a higher starting point than most students.

"A useful little trick, isn't it?" Albert winked at them and continued, "With it, you won't have to take notes. You just need to 'borrow' a copy from someone else."

Aylia looked at Albert strangely. She always felt that this guy's way of thinking was different from everyone else's.

"Can you make me a copy? That way, I won't have to worry about not being able to find the classrooms."

"Aren't you worried the map might be wrong?" Albert asked in return.

"Of course I'll go check it myself," Aylia said matter-of-factly.

"Do you want one?" Albert looked at Angelina.

"Thank you," Angelina said with a smile.

Hogwarts Castle was indeed enormous, and first-years could easily get lost. With Albert's map, they would at least know which way to go.

Being late on the first day of school was hardly a good sign.

"By the way, I remember you're from a Muggle family, right?" Aylia asked as she put away the map. "How do you know so many spells? I'd bet most first-years don't know as many spells as you do."

"I learned them while practicing spells before school started. Most spells are pretty simple." Albert spread Blueberry Jam over a slice of bread and took a huge bite. It tasted fairly good, but eating this stuff every day was really becoming unbearable.

"Simple?" The two girls exchanged glances, suddenly feeling an inexplicable pressure.

After getting their own wands, most first-years would try out the magic in their books. Angelina and Aylia were naturally no exception. They had both learned a few simple spells, but it had never been as effortless as Albert made it sound. His tone made learning magic seem as easy as eating a piece of bread.

After finishing the slice of bread covered in Blueberry Jam, Albert made himself a Sandwich.

British lunches were always disappointing, and Hogwarts was naturally no exception. Bread and potatoes were forever the staples here.

This lunch consisted of sliced bread, boiled potatoes, fresh vegetable salad, and salted ham. Of course, there was also a large pot of milk tea or Pumpkin Juice.

After finishing his Ham Sandwich, Albert placed two unpeeled potatoes on his plate. After wandering around the castle all morning, he was already starving.

Come to think of it, those three were nowhere to be seen at lunchtime. Who knew where they had run off to fool around?

"I really miss rice and noodles," Albert muttered quietly, then lowered his head and continued working through the unpeeled potatoes on his plate.

As one of Britain's staple foods, potatoes had appeared on his table almost every day over the years. People in this country could even make a hundred different potato dishes without repeating a single one.

Potatoes were not bad, but eating them every meal was truly too much.

"Italian pasta is delicious," Angelina agreed. "I've had it several times. It's a taste I really miss."

"British food is always disappointing, and there are far too few varieties. The chefs here never seriously study how to cook properly." Albert poured himself a cup of milk tea, took a sip, and complained, "I remember having a whole fish baked in a crust of sea salt and herb bread not long ago."

The two girls looked at each other, listening with great interest as Albert complained about all sorts of bizarre British foods, such as the French Fries Sandwich his father liked and the Marmite that only his grandmother liked in the whole family...

Albert still remembered the first time he had tried Marmite. It was... the taste of hell. That flavor was truly unforgettable for life.

If he had to describe it, it was probably a heavy soy sauce flavor mixed with the smell of all kinds of body odor.

From then on, Albert kept a respectful distance from Marmite.

"If either of you is interested, I'll send you a jar for Christmas as a Christmas Gift."

"Cough, cough." Aylia instantly lost her appetite. "No, thank you. I'd rather eat normal food, so I don't feel sick every time I see jam in the future."

After finishing his milk tea, lunch was over.

Albert sat at the Dining Table and looked through the photos he had taken earlier: Knight Armor, scenery of the castle, certain portraits, or particularly exaggerated statues... These photos revealed a glimpse of Hogwarts.

Still, seeing Albert selecting photos, Angelina really wanted to say, This guy clearly isn't a student here to study. He's more like a tourist visiting Hogwarts Castle.