The Boring History of Magic

The Boring History of Magic "All right, there's another explanation..." Albert said with an odd expression. "Among Muggles, a group of professional scientists discovered a substance—a protein capable of catalyzing the formation of eggshells. This protein exists only in hens' ovaries. In other words, without chickens, there would be no such protein, and eggshells simply could not form. Since eggshells protect chicks and allow them to hatch successfully, their conclusion was that chickens came before eggs."

After hearing that, everyone froze, including the young wizards from the Muggle world.

"I know you don't understand it, but someone has verified that chickens came first," Albert explained.

"So..." Katrina asked tentatively, "do you think phoenixes came before fire?"

"No, the magical world is different from the Muggle world." Albert shook his head. "Phoenixes and fire should be a cycle. After a phoenix dies, it is reborn in flames. Its life simply continues in an endless cycle. I think there's no point in investigating where phoenixes began."

Katrina raised an eyebrow. Albert's answer was not bad.

"Impressive. Even among Ravenclaw students, few can answer it on their first try." The Ravenclaw boy behind Albert could not help praising him. "Oh, right, I'm Roger Davies. Nice to meet you."

There was no helping it. He had to admit it.

Roger Davies had faced the Eagle Bronze Door Knocker's questions before, but he had gotten every one wrong.

Most Ravenclaw first-years could not answer the Eagle Bronze Door Knocker's questions. Whenever they wanted to enter or leave the Common Room, they needed an older Ravenclaw student to lead them, which was terribly inconvenient.

"I'm curious. Why were you sorted into Gryffindor?" Roger Davies asked the question everyone was wondering about.

"Who knows?"

Their conversation ended there, because Professor Binns passed through the blackboard and entered the History of Magic classroom. It was truly an eye-opening entrance.

Ten minutes later, every student in the classroom looked drowsy.

History of Magic was widely acknowledged as the dullest subject for a reason. Professor Binns always read the textbook in a monotonous, boring voice. Everyone merely jotted down the important names and dates, and even Ravenclaw students could not resist such hypnosis.

Albert was the only one in the classroom still alert. He had a piece of candy in his mouth and was reading intently, occasionally taking notes in another book.

"It's hard to imagine you actually resisted Professor Binns's hypnosis!" After class, the Weasley Twins looked at Albert with admiration, each draping an arm over his shoulder. "Please, you have to lend us your History of Magic notes so we can copy them."

Lee Jordan had already taken Albert's History of Magic notes from his hands with a grin.

"What do you think?" Albert rolled his eyes. During History of Magic, he had multitasked, reading and taking notes without missing a thing.

To that end, Albert had deliberately raised his multitasking skill to Level 2.

Still, it really was useful for getting through History of Magic. After all, he still had five years of history classes ahead of him.

"Did you know the rumor about Professor Cuthbert Binns?"

"What rumor?" The three of them were instantly captivated.

"According to Hogwarts, A History," Albert said in a low voice, "Professor Binns did not realize that he was dead, at least not at first."

"One day, Professor Binns got up to go teach class, but accidentally left his body behind in an armchair by the fireplace in the Staff Room. Of course, he was already quite elderly at the time."

"Wow!" The three of them were astonished. They had not expected that this wizard had become Hogwarts's History of Magic professor forever in such a way.

Before lunch, the three of them had already copied the History of Magic notes.

"Do we have class this afternoon?" George asked. He was already eager to take Charlie's Comet for a spin.

"We have one more class this afternoon—Transfiguration," Lee Jordan said regretfully.

Albert muttered, "I'd say this is definitely the easiest course!"

Only three classes a day—how could it not be easy?

Speaking of which, Britons who did not place much importance on lunch usually just ate something casual at this hour.

Albert gave up on making himself a sandwich. He hated eating sandwiches all day long, so after drinking some pumpkin juice and eating a few stewed potatoes, he hastily finished lunch.

The Twins planned to go out and wander around during this time, but Albert thought they should wait until after Transfiguration. They would have plenty of time and energy then. As for the time between lunch and class, Albert planned to rest in the castle courtyard and read for a while.

The courtyard was full of students. They gathered in groups to chat, while some had brought their lunch outside to eat.

By September, Hogwarts no longer had the stifling heat of summer. Besides, it had rained yesterday, and the breeze carried the coolness of autumn.

"If only I could conjure a cushion." Sitting on the lawn, Albert could not help sighing. "I suddenly feel that learning Transfiguration well is pretty important."

"No, no, that is absolutely not a reason to study Transfiguration well," Lee Jordan could not help quipping. "What do you think is in those woods?" Fred suddenly asked, looking toward the distant Forbidden Forest.

"Dumbledore said there are werewolves in there."

"And centaurs."

"Probably other Magical Creatures too," Albert added. "Maybe the Hunting Grounds keeper raises some strange creatures in the forest as well."

Such as Thestrals, Acromantulas, giants...

"By the way, how is your Disillusionment Charm coming along?" George changed the subject. For now, he had no intention of going into the Forbidden Forest. They liked adventure and thrills, not courting death. Besides, werewolves had a dreadful reputation in the magical world. One bite, and it would all be over.

What concerned them most at the moment was when they could begin sneaking out at night.

"Not that quickly. Mastering the Disillusionment Charm isn't easy." Albert took out his wand, recited an incantation, and lightly tapped a fallen leaf.

The color on the leaf's surface began to change, as though it were blending into his palm.

"It feels different from what I imagined," Lee Jordan said, scratching his head.

"You might not be able to tell from far away, but actually..." Albert shook his head helplessly. "Up close, it would be noticed immediately."

"It's a bit like a chameleon."

"The principle is similar to a chameleon's camouflage." Albert did not directly use the experience from his experience pool to upgrade the Disillusionment Charm. He intended to spend time figuring it out slowly. Only after he had truly mastered it would he feel a sense of accomplishment.

The process of learning was important too. Only then would it feel like he was studying at Hogwarts. He did not want to miss out on that experience.

Albert had already decided to spend two months teaching himself the Disillusionment Charm.