The Castle's Fourth Floor Has a Secret

As expected, Harry Potter was sorted into Gryffindor and received a warm welcome from everyone.

Albert even suspected that if they weren't still in the Sector and the professors in the High Table were watching, they would probably have already surrounded him, vying to shake his hand and chat for a bit.

Not long after, Ron, the second to last in his class and Fred and George's younger brother, was also sorted into Gryffindor, sitting right next to Potter, becoming the envy of countless people.

After the Sorting Ceremony concluded and Dumbledore gave a brief address, the banquet officially began. The previously empty gold platters and goblets were suddenly filled with a vast amount of food and drinks.

Looking at the large pile of food in front of him, Albert felt hungry and quickly added some of his favorite foods to his plate.

Just as he put the sliced roast beef into his mouth, Fred asked curiously from the side, "What does Professor McGonagall want with you?"

"About the timetable."

After swallowing the food in his mouth, Albert smiled and said, "Some of the classes might overlap, so I need to use some special methods to catch up with all of them."

"To split you in two?"

Lee Jordan mumbled indistinctly, his mouth full of food.

"You actually guessed it," Albert said, feigning surprise.

After quickly finishing the roast beef on his plate, he added a fried pork chop to the plate. Noticing the suspicious looks on their faces, he smiled and said, "If you don't believe me, you can ask Percy. He's been using clones to catch up on all his classes."

"A ghostly clone." Lee Jordan didn't believe Albert's nonsense at all.

"It is indeed a clone, isn't it, Percy!" Albert said to Percy.

"Yes, in a sense, it's a clone." Percy, who was discussing Transfiguration with Hermione Granger, looked up and noticed that many people's eyes were on him. He nodded in agreement with a helpless expression.

"When will you teach us? If we could have clones, doing homework would be so much easier." George's eyes lit up at this, and he looked at Albert.

"You won't learn this trick unless you're planning to take all the courses." Albert cut off the others' questions, added two more grilled sausages to his plate, and said with a grin, "Besides, don't even think about using a clone to do your holiday homework. There's no such thing as a free lunch."

Everyone fell silent.

If it can't be used to do holiday homework, what's the point of having a clone?

The topic was quickly steered away, and everyone else focused their attention on the trip to Hogsmeade at the end of October.

Seeing Albert engrossed in eating, Lee Jordan raised an eyebrow and asked, "You didn't forget to get your family's autographs, did you?"

"Albert isn't you!" Fred glanced at Lee Jordan and said, rather speechless.

"I suddenly remembered something: I still haven't learned that spell from last time."

As he spoke, Albert took out a small notebook from his pocket, flipped through the records, and realized that he still had a lot of things to finish, which made him feel depressed.

"Which spell?" Lee Jordan asked, puzzled.

"That one!" Fred said with a grin.

"Oh, that's what it is. I thought you had already mastered it."

Actually, George had also forgotten what spell Albert had said, and he figured Fred had probably forgotten it too, but that didn't stop them from joking around with Lee Jordan.

"That?"

Lee Jordan swallowed the fried potato in his mouth, turned his head to look at Fred and George, and suddenly said, "Don't think I don't know, you yourselves have forgotten."

Using the Patronus Charm to transmit messages is really difficult, especially when you have to figure it out on your own.

Albert originally thought he would be able to master it before the end of the semester, but after practicing for more than half a year, his skill experience with the Patronus Charm did improve a lot, but he still couldn't master how to make the Patronus deliver a message.

He remembered that he had given Aberforth a sum of Galleon as tuition, but in the end he still hadn't learned it—what a huge loss! Thinking of this, Albert became even more depressed, stuffing a large piece of fried potato into his mouth, preparing to turn his depression into appetite.

It was a sumptuous feast, and everyone ate their fill. Laughter and the clinking of knives and forks echoed throughout the Great Hall.

The banquet lasted for more than an hour. After the chocolate muffin in front of him disappeared from the golden plate, Albert took out a handkerchief from his pocket and wiped his mouth.

Just then, Dumbledore, High Table, stood up again. "Now that everyone has eaten and drunk their fill, I have a few more words to say."

Everyone looked at Dumbledore, and the noise in the Great Hall gradually quieted down. "There are a few things to note before the start of the term."

Dumbledore's so-called "several matters" were nothing more than a few things: students were forbidden from entering the Forbidden Forest, students were not allowed to use magic in the corridors, Quidditch team registration had to be done with Madam Hooch...

Albert felt that Dumbledore was looking in their direction when he said the first rule.

Okay, those guys do frequently go in and out of the Forbidden Forest.

However, Albert didn't want to go into the forest this year. After all, Voldemort was hunting unicorns all over the forest, and he felt that the Forbidden Forest was not very safe.

There was no other way; Albert didn't want to run into those kinds of guys in the Forbidden Forest, or he might become a missing person.

Fred and George didn't really take it seriously; they heard similar things every year at the start of the school year.

"... I must tell everyone that anyone who does not wish to encounter an accident or suffer a painful death should not enter the corridor on the right side of the fourth floor."

When Dumbledore mentioned this, many people couldn't help but laugh, including Harry Potter.

Fred and George exchanged glances and began to whisper among themselves. "The corridor on the right side of the fourth floor? I've been there before, and it doesn't seem like there's anything particularly special about it."

It's no wonder Fred would think that way; they had indeed been to that place before and had even ambushed Slytherin students there.

The tragic story of a Slytherin student whose head was shoved into a toilet begins there.

George nudged Albert with his elbow, wanting to hear what Albert had to say.

"I guess the headmaster made some changes there, putting something dangerous there," Albert muttered.

However, Albert felt that Dumbledore's words were a clear indication that there was a secret in the right-hand corridor on the fourth floor, encouraging everyone to go on an adventure!

After all, it's better to guide than to block.

Albert believed that this was indeed the case, and he was sure that many people would be interested in it, only to be scared away by Hagrid's Three-Headed Dog pet.

They would then assume that the danger Dumbledore was referring to was the Three-Headed Dog.

Even if they find Trapdoor guarded by Three-Headed Dog, they will eventually have to give up because they can't get past the Three-Headed Dog, since nobody wants to be bitten to death.

"I think what you said makes a lot of sense," Lee Jordan said excitedly. "When do you suggest we go and take a look?"

"Let's talk about it when we have time!"

Albert covered a yawn with his hand and started lip-syncing the School Song with everyone else.

After the banquet, everyone dispersed.

As for the new students, they were led to their respective colleges by their Prefect.

Albert, Fred, George, and Lee Jordan joined the other Gryffindor students as they surged up the Marble Staircase. They were all now full and tired, but they still had many more corridors and staircases to climb before they reached the entrance to the Gryffindor Common Room.

However, Albert and his three companions secretly used a secret passage to arrive at the portrait of the Fat Lady ahead of time.

"I heard Harry Potter has come to Hogwarts?" the Fat Lady asked.

"Yes, and he's been assigned to Gryffindor. You'll see in a bit," Albert said.

"Do you know what the password is?" Lee Jordan covered a yawn, interrupting Albert and the Fat Lady's conversation. He didn't want to stand there listening to their idle chatter.

Albert noticed that everyone was looking at him, and shrugged helplessly, asking, "Didn't any of you ask Percy?"

"I think you asked that question."

"I also think you know."

"Okay, the password is Dragon Dregs." Albert had indeed asked.