Hagrid's Troubles

"Quick, quick, Fred, Lee Jordan has been taken down. I see Albert. We'll flank him from the side and behind. Don't let him get away again."

George's shouts echoed through the forest.

The three are chasing Albert and trying to defeat him with a spell.

The idea of conducting combat training in the Forbidden Forest was Albert's.

If they intend to enter the Forbidden Forest in search of Gryffindor's Secret Treasure, they will need to know how to fight enemies in the forest. The Forbidden Forest has many trees, and hitting moving objects with spells is a difficult task.

Moreover, and most importantly, the four of them need to learn how to deal with possible sneak attacks, and also improve their physical strength so as not to exhaust themselves in the Forbidden Forest.

The incident with the Acromantula last time made Albert extremely cautious. He believed that those giant spiders harbored ill will towards all wizards who entered the Forbidden Forest, and might cause them great trouble the next time they ventured deep into the Forbidden Forest.

"Expelliarmus."

A flash of red light appeared, and Albert, who had just rushed out from behind the tree, quickly shrank back. A large piece of bark was blasted off a tree behind him by the spell.

"Blocked?" Albert muttered. He had just successfully used the Disarming Charm to eliminate Lee Jordan, but he was still blocked by the Twins.

"If we catch Albert, he'll treat us to a meal at Three Broomsticks next time!" Fred shouted excitedly, his face flushed.

This wasn't the first time this had happened, but in the previous instances, they had all been defeated by Albert.

Later, it was agreed that the Disillusionment Charm and the Shield Charm could not be used. In one-on-one situations, the accuracy of their ranged magic really came into play.

It's like shooting a gun; once the distance exceeds 100 feet (about 30 meters), accuracy drops, and hitting the target becomes purely a matter of feeling. This current real-world exercise is actually a way to train the precision of Charms and the ability to dodge them.

Albert took a deep breath and charged out to clash with the two of them in terms of the precision of their Charms.

"I knew you'd do this," Fred and George said in unison.

"Expelliarmus."

They now have several ways to deal with Albert, whether it's attracting his attention or confronting him head-on; they're experienced in all of these.

As for maneuvering or escaping, Albert no longer has the chance.

"Expelliarmus." The three men's incantations all went astray, and dirt splattered everywhere.

"Expelliarmus." Albert stopped and cast Disarming Charm on Fred. The spell hit its target, and Fred's wand flew out of his hand.

Before he could dodge behind a nearby tree, another Disarming Charm was already Accio towards him.

Albert flicked his wrist, and the Disarming Charm was slapped away, crashing into a tree and leaving charred marks.

Upon seeing this, George was stunned and was also eliminated by Albert's Disarming Charm.

"You cheated!" George roared angrily at Albert. When he came to his senses, he realized what had happened. Albert had actually used the Protective Bracelet; otherwise, how could he have slapped the spell away? "You didn't say that the Protective Bracelet was prohibited," Albert retorted righteously.

Just as Fred and George were about to speak, they heard a voice from not far away.

"Who's there? Come out here! I see you!"

"Hagrid."

Albert's heart skipped a beat. He darted behind a nearby tree, cast Disillusionment Charm on himself, and prepared to sneak away.

"Where's Albert? That bastard just ran off!" Fred and George rushed to their wands. As they picked up their wands to cast the Disillusionment Charm on themselves, Hagrid appeared in their field of vision, staring at them with a hostile expression.

What are you doing in the Forbidden Forest?

"Practice magic," the Twins said quickly. "You know, the Obstruction Jinx and the Stunning Spell are forbidden in the castle, so we can only practice on the outskirts of the forest."

"Practicing magic?"

"Albert was here too, but he slipped away as soon as he heard you were coming," George blurted out, ready to drag his roommate down with him.

"Albert, where is he?" Hagrid asked, looking around and frowning.

"He probably heard you were coming and deliberately hid," Fred said through gritted teeth.

"Don't even think about getting away," Hagrid warned, glancing around and frowning as he called out, "Albert, come out here, it's time to go back."

However, there was no reaction, as if no one was around at all.

"He must have run away on his own," Fred and George said angrily.

Alright, don't let me see you loitering in the Forbidden Forest. Perhaps Professor McGonagall should teach you a lesson.

"There won't be a next time, Hagrid, we promise." The Twins said in unison.

"Promise my ass." Hagrid didn't believe their nonsense at all.

When they returned to school, they found Albert and Lee Jordan feeding Fang by Hagrid's Hut.

"You two bastards actually sneaked out."

"We've been looking for you," Lee Jordan said, blinking his innocent little eyes. "Albert said you were heading towards the Forbidden Forest, so we came to check."

"Hmph, you two little rascals, come with me to see Professor McGonagall." Hagrid snorted and dragged Fred and George toward the castle.

"Hagrid, can't we talk about this?"

"Why didn't you come and discuss it with me before entering the Forbidden Forest?"

"They're so pathetic!" Lee Jordan said gleefully.

"Who told them to be so slow?" Albert looked completely innocent. It's better for two people to be unlucky than three!

"That's true." Lee Jordan smiled maliciously.

When they saw Fred and George again, the two were full of resentment and ignored Albert, saying to themselves, "Professor McGonagall made us copy the School Rules."

"That's good. Knowing the School Rules means you can find loopholes in the future," Albert said carelessly. "Alright, don't be angry. Next time we go to Three Broomsticks, it's my treat."

"You actually know the School Rules?" Lee Jordan asked curiously.

"Of course, I've seen it before." Albert started to gloat again. "There are quite a lot of them, it'll probably take a long time to copy them."

"Thanks for reminding me," Fred said through gritted teeth.

"I just heard someone say they were going to copy the School Rules?" Katrina walked over, her gaze lingering on the Twins for a moment before handing a letter to Albert.

"Love letters?" George teased.

"Obviously not." Albert couldn't help but roll his eyes. Katrina, who was next to him, also glared at George and turned away.

"I remember Percy wrote one of those things to a Muggle girl in the village before," George casually explained. "I think the girl's name was..."

"Thank you for your meddling. Also, I've never written her love letters, and we're not lovers. We're just pen pals." Percy appeared out of nowhere, his face grim, and said to Fred and George, "I heard you've gotten into trouble again and Professor McGonagall has put you in solitary confinement."

"We're heading to the library; we still have a ton of homework to do. See you later, Percy." The Twins were about to slip away; they certainly didn't want to run into Percy at this time.

"I just saw that Gryffindor's jewels are even fewer," Percy warned coldly, a dangerous glint in his eyes. "And if I find out you're spreading rumors about me..."

"No, we won't do anything that extreme."

"Ahem, we won't say anything out of the ordinary," Albert said, walking toward the library with Lee Jordan.