Knock on the Door

While the group was talking, the train had already left London and sped through the fields, leaving behind trails of white smoke drifting in the wind.

Inside the train car, Fred and George were telling Albert about their summer's achievements. The Twins had originally wanted to try to crack the Filibuster Firecrackers and develop their own, but unfortunately, funding limited their research.

"Your knowledge base is not yet sufficient!"

Albert shattered the Twins' unrealistic fantasies, saying, "Many things are difficult to achieve."

Actually, what Fred and George were saying was more about hoping Albert could help them with their research. They were well aware of what they lacked, but if Albert were willing to help, many problems would no longer be problems.

Just then, a clattering sound came from the aisle. Albert opened the carriage door and went out to buy snacks from the witch pushing the cart.

Although Daisy helped prepare sandwiches, it didn't dampen Albert's enthusiasm for buying snacks—after all, he had Galleon! Lee Jordan also bought a box of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans and four bottles of Pumpkin Juice. As for Fred and George, they planned to leave their Galleon at the Hogsmeade shops.

At lunchtime, Fred took out a bulging cardboard box, opened it, and found it full of sandwiches.

"Beef sandwich." George reached into the box, took a bite, and muttered, "A bit dry, though."

"Don't look at me, I didn't bring any food, but I have this!"

Lee Jordan divided up the four bottles of Pumpkin Juice he had just bought.

Albert also took out his portion, a ham and egg sandwich, plus the Pumpkin Pie and meat pie he had just bought. They put the food on the table and shared it together. They didn't plan to eat too much, since they would have a big meal at school anyway.

While the group was eating, someone knocked on the carriage door.

When Fred opened the door, he saw a round-faced boy standing outside.

"I'm sorry..." the boy said uneasily, "I wanted to ask... did you see my toad?"

"No, you can look elsewhere," Albert replied. He remembered what the man's name was again; he seemed to be Potter's roommate, the guy who ultimately killed Voldemort Horcrux snake with the Gryffindor Sword.

"Which college do you think he'll be assigned to?" Fred suddenly asked after the carriage door closed again.

"Hufflepuff," Lee Jordan replied without hesitation.

"I also think he'll go to Hufflepuff," George chimed in.

"It certainly won't be Slytherin," Albert said. "I'll probably choose between Gryffindor and Hufflepuff."

"Gryffindor?" Fred raised an eyebrow. "I think he seems to lack courage."

"I think you've misunderstood courage," Albert said, raising an eyebrow. "Even though he was nervous, he still searched for his toad in this unfamiliar place, carriage by carriage. Isn't that a kind of courage too?"

The three looked at each other, and finally decided that they shouldn't argue with Albert. Based on past experience, they knew they couldn't win against Albert.

After lunch, Fred played two rounds of Wizard Card with Lee Jordan, while George, still harboring wicked intentions, tried to grope Tom. Albert, meanwhile, was flipping through the contents of the Gold Book, considering the possibility of creating Two-Way Mirror.

Just then, someone knocked on the carriage door again.

This time it was a little girl with brown hair, accompanied by a round-faced boy who had lost his toad.

"Has anyone seen a toad?" she asked the people in the carriage. "Neville has lost a toad."

Hermione Granger? Albert glanced at the last of the three saviors and quietly compared her to his sister.

Yes, my younger sister is definitely cuter.

"No," Albert said. "You can look elsewhere. If you really can't find it, ask the Student Council President for help and have him use the Summoning Charm to summon the toad."

"Oh, thank you." Hermione paused for a moment, then nodded in thanks, though she didn't understand what Albert meant.

After the door closed, George suddenly asked, "I thought you would help him out."

"Let the Student Council President do it, otherwise what are they for?" Albert curled his lip and changed the subject, "Which college do you think she'll be in?"

"Ravenclaw".

"I also think it might be Ravenclaw," Lee Jordan said. "It's said that people who are assigned there have a bit of a weird personality. Come to think of it, a lot of people thought you would be assigned to Ravenclaw back then."

What do you think?

"Ravenclaw. Or maybe Gryffindor, of course," Albert said casually. "Why would you want to be sorted into Gryffindor?"

"Because we think it's the best place, and our whole family is from Gryffindor," George said after thinking for a moment.

"Dumbledore came from Gryffindor," Lee Jordan added.

"That's the reason," Albert said. "Gryffindor produced a great Dumbledore. Just as many people don't want to go to Slytherin, the Lord Voldemort has given most Slytherin a bad reputation."

The three men's faces twitched involuntarily; Albert's explanation made perfect sense to them.

They didn't mention it again. An owl delivered today's the Daily Prophet, Albert opened it to read the latest headlines.

Rita Skeeter launched a scathing attack on the Ministry of Magic in the newspapers because their incompetence allowed a habitual smuggler to escape, and several wizards were injured and hospitalized during the pursuit.

Albert flipped through the newspapers and found that the reward for finding Rowena Smith was no longer being published, so they had probably given up on it.

After all, Ge Bo Smith's announcement of the bounty, as someone in the know, was merely a statement.

"Have you finished reading? I'd like to take a look at the sports section," George said as he saw Albert close the newspaper.

"If needed in the future, we can place an advertisement in the Daily Prophet, but I don't know how much it will cost each time," Albert muttered, as he didn't know much about the Wizarding World.

"I know that. I've already asked Dad. Those ads that take up most of the page are very expensive," George said, pointing to the Nimbus 2000 ad. "They cost hundreds of Galleon each time. These other ads are much cheaper."

He pointed to the advertisement that occupied only a small corner of the newspaper, with a single sentence. "Mrs. Cole's All-Purpose Stain Remover: Effortlessly Removes Stains!"

Just then, there was another knock on the carriage door.

Fred opened the carriage door and found that the same chubby boy with the round face was standing outside.

As the four of them turned to look, the boy seemed quite uneasy.

"We couldn't find Neville's toad, could you...?"

"Could you help me find the toad?"

"Yes, use the Summoning Charm you just mentioned."

"Didn't you ask the Student Council President for help?" Albert raised an eyebrow. Seeing that the two didn't speak, he picked up his wand from the table and cast a spell, "Neville's toad, come here."

A moment later, a toad flew in through the window.

"Trevor, thank God!" Neville exclaimed joyfully as he reached out and hugged the Accio toad.

"God doesn't have time to help you," Albert joked.

"Why did the toad fly in through the window?" Hermione asked, puzzled.

"The toad just flew over from another carriage," Albert said to the round-faced boy. "If you don't want to lose it again, you'd better put it in a cage."