14 Chapter 14

"Is there anyone else here, or are you waiting for someone?" asked the stranger. The boy was most likely of African descent and had shoulder-length dreadlocks.

"No. I'm not waiting for anyone. You can sit down if you want," Albert said with a nod as he extended his hand. "Anderson. Albert Anderson. Pleasure to meet you."

"Lee Jordan," the dark-skinned youth said as he reached out to Albert and shook his hand. He then gazed upon the book on the table and said in surprise, "It looks like you'll be sorted into Ravenclaw. I heard most bookworms are sorted in Ravenclaw."

"As long as I don't go to Slytherin, I don't care where I go," Albert said as he offered some sweets he hadn't eaten earlier. "Do you want one?"

"Thank you for offering," Lee said as he took a handful. "I love chocolate."

"Take as much as you want. Would you like anything else?" Albert said as he laid out an assortment for Lee to choose from. Albert believes that sharing food is the best way to make new friends. He had previously tried this trick in primary school, and it worked wonders. He soon became the most popular boy in school, but the previous popular got angry, and as a result, they got into a fight, as I had previously mentioned.

"I think you should go to Gryffindor. It's the best place ever. You know Headmaster Dumbledore? The greatest living wizard? the second coming of Merlin? He is from Gryffindor, and because of this, Gryffindor is naturally the best house in Hogwarts." Lee Jordan is very talkative when he gets a sugar rush. I couldn't stop him from blabbering on about random topics. However, the chatter was quickly interrupted when a pair of red-headed boys entered the carriage.

"You don't mind squeezing in another person, do you?" one of the redheads said. "We were late and the other carriages were practically full, and when we did get into a carriage, the people were so rude and didn't let us in." Before Albert could answer back, the redhead introduced himself as George Weasley.

"Dry yourself, George. You're making everything wet." Lee kindly reminded him and then pointed at Albert. "Anyway, there is Albert Anderson."

"See you later, George," the other twin said, leaving the carriage. He returned a few minutes later with his luggage. The four of them sat quietly in the six-seater carriage.

"This is my twin brother, Fred," George introduced.

"Even if you didn't say that, I'm sure the kid could tell that you're twins, or at least you're somehow related." Lee said, "But is there a way to define who is George and who is Fred?"

"Do you want sweets?" Albert offered the twins the same assortment he offered Lee Jordan.

"Oh. Thank you. Our mum doesn't let us have sweets at home. We become hyperactive and ruin the house. Then mum makes us clean up after ourselves." George said as the twins each took a handful.

"Is this your owl? It looks beautiful. Mum doesn't let us have our own owl because it'll be too expensive to care for them, so we only have one family owl," Fred said as he tried to pet Snow's head, but he soon gave up when he saw Snow sleeping.

"I wouldn't try touching it if I were you. She hates strangers," Albert warned Fred. "However, I'll give you some owl food later, and you can try to feed her."

The train started to move, slowly accelerating away from the platform. They were on the way to Hogwarts.

"So... are you guys from wizarding families or half-bloods?" Albert randomly asked.

"How could you tell?" Lee Jorden asked in surprise.

"The clothes that you're wearing date back to the mid-eighteenth century." Albert said as he pointed to the clothes they were wearing. "Most people in modern Britain don't wear robes or suits like that in public. Obviously, wizards can't keep up with muggle trends and understand muggle fashion when trying to blend in. "The same goes for muggles when first going to Diagon Alley."

"Wow. Very observant," Lee said as he gave Albert a thumbs up. "There seems to be something at the window."

Albert turned his head to see a shadow near the window. He opened the window, and a grey owl came flying in, honing into Snow's left-over owl food. The rain from its feathers splattered everywhere, and Snow let out a shriek, trying to get rid of the grey owl. Snow glared at the grey owl and then stared at Albert.

"Why are you looking at me like that? I'll buy you more food when you go shopping next time." Albert said as he caressed Snow's head.

"You don't act like a typical muggle that just entered the magical world," Lee said, then looked at Snow. "Can I hold her, please?"

"Okay," Albert said as he took Snow off his shoulder and placed it in Lee's hand. He didn't like Snow sitting on his shoulder. She was getting a bit too heavy for his liking. "Has anything happened yet?"

"The previous Minister of Magic, Millicent Bagnold, is retiring from wizarding politics this year." Lee said as he summarised the article he just read. "Rumour has it that Cornelius Fudge is the next Minister, as Dumbledore failed to get enough votes to be Minister."

"My dad said if Dumbledore wanted, he could easily become the Minister of Magic," Fred said, as he didn't believe the rumour of Dumbledore failing to get enough votes.

"Who do you think runs the country better: Fudge or Dumbledore?" George asked as he flicked through the paper. "Oh, look, the Daily Prophet is holding a bet."

"I have no clue but show me the odds," Albert said, as he knew the future thanks to future knowledge. He wanted to join in on the fun. "If I want to participate, where should I send my bet?"

"Gambling is not a good idea, Albert," Lee said.

"Small bets don't matter," Albert said as he placed the newspaper on the desk. He then got his wand out and placed it vertically in between the two names. "Mr. Ollivander said that my wand would bring me luck, so I'm going to drop my wand and bet on the person it lands on. And it looks like I'm betting on Fudge becoming the next minister."

The three other people were stunned. What was the chance that he'd actually get it right? the three boys wondered.

"Are you actually going to bet on Cornelius Fudge becoming the next minister?" Fred asked as he swallowed his saliva about the sheer stupidity of this bet.

"I haven't decided how much money to put on it. After all, I don't know if this is a scam," Albert stated calmly.

"You don't have to worry about that. The Daily Prophet has done similar stuff, and the winners always receive a payout, but are you sure you want to bet on Fudge? I know that he has a four-times return rate, but wouldn't the Dumbledore option be a safer bet even though it has a one-point, five-times return rate?" George said.

"No. I'm pretty happy with my choice. I believe in the underdog." Albert said as he carefully studied the finer prints in the terms and conditions of the event. After he was satisfied, he got out his quill and parchment and wrote his details before putting them with 25 galleons into an envelope.

Seeing Albert counting 25 galleons, the others couldn't help but pray for him. In their eyes, if he lost, his parents would lose a lot of money, and they may take it out on Albert. They were worried about his safety. They then saw Albert giving the envelope to Snow and opening the window to let her out. All they knew was that it was too late to stop him.