Chapter 25

"It sounds like Finch is really messed up in his head," Albert said, pointing to his head. "We should avoid him then." Albert thought that their assessment of Finch was amusing. Sure, he used to do it under the permission of the old headmaster, but under Dumbledore, he was restrained. To him, it sounded like Charlie got caught and was bitter ever since.

"He is. Everybody hates him," Fred said seriously. "Even Percy doesn't like him and the sucks up to everybody with a bit of power. That, I believe, says a lot about him."

"What kind of person is Percy?" Albert asked.

"Well, he's a sucker for the rules and has this thing where he likes to be in control. If he doesn't, he goes on a hissy-fit. He also wants to join the Ministry to please mum, and that's about it." George said while looking up at the ceiling, trying to remember more about his brother. "Nothing else comes to mind after that. Fred, anything to add?"

"No brother. It seems you've covered most of what I had to say about him," Fred responded.

Albert resisted the urge to laugh at the brothers, telling them about their brother as he got out his pocket watch. The watch read eight forty-one. "Lads, It's eight forty. We should head to the great Hall so you can have an actual breakfast and after that, we'll explore the castle."

"Sounds like a plan," Lee Jorden said as he jumped up from his seat. "Lead the way then."

They soon left the common room and Albert lead them to the Great Hall. He lead them through the shortest path he remembered from today's morning stroll. This entailed them going through the passageway behind the griffin statue. When they went through it, the twins showed a shocked expression. They exclaimed that they had not expected Albert to find a secret passage way so easily. This time they were lucky as they did not have to wait too long on the moving staircase.

When they entered the Great Hall, it was still mostly empty. Only some members of the staff, like McGonagall and Snape, were having breakfast. The enchanted ceiling showed grey clouds. It seemed it was going to rain again today.

"We're probably one of the first people to get up," George said as he looked around the empty hall. "This is probably the earliest I woke up in a long time. I can't remember the last time I woke up broke eight o'clock."

"Three years ago on Ron-kins birthday," Fred said as he told a seat in the middle of the Gryffindor table.

"You actually remember Fred?" George said in disbelief. "Are you joking, or are you being serious?"

"Of course I'm joking." Fred said as a plate of food appeared in front of him. It was the same thing Albert had earlier in the Kitchen.

"What are you doing with those stacks of paper, Albert?" Lee Jorden said as he looked at Albert curiously.

"I'm trying to map Hogwarts. I searched the Gryffindor library and I could find a complete map that includes the secret passageways." Albert said as he continued to draw with his pen and ruler. He handed them what he had drawn already.

"I'm more curious about what you're using to draw. What is it?" George asked as he started at it.

"You mean this?" Albert handed his pen to George, who looked at it, then gave it to his brother, then to Lee, and back to Albert. "This is called a pen and muggles use it over quill. Compared to quill, you don't have to carry ink and is easier to use. Only really posh people use quill in muggle society."

"That feels a bit like a quill," Fred said.

"Of course it would. It is called a fountain pen and was styled after a quill. The best thing about it is that you can carry replacement ink cartridges with you. Also, you don't have to worry about accidentally spilling your ink over what you're writing. I got as a birthday present from my dad. I'll sent you one for Christmas."

Albert then placed the one he was drawing on in the middle of them. "We are currently here, The Great Hall. If we go along his corridor and take a turn here, then go down these stairs, we'll reach the entrance of the kitchen. They hide the actual entrance behind a portrait of a fruit bowl. You just have to tickle the pear and the door will open and bish-bash-bosh, you have the kitchen"

"This is really detailed." Lee said as he looked at the other paper. He was sure if he had this, he won't get lost in the future. And staring at it for a good few minutes, he handed it back to Albert. "I'm assuming we will go to the kitchen later, so where are we going now?"

"I planned to look for all the classrooms first, then any point of interest, like the library or the other house's common rooms," Albert said as he placed the barely completed map away in his robe. "We should take our time so we can find other secret pathways. They should be hind old statues, paintings and walls."

"Knowing your luck, we'll find some before lunch." Fred said as he finished his last sausage.

"Not necessarily. Some passage may require a password or to repeat a certain action so I wouldn't count on my luck too much," Albert said as he shook his head. "I was able to find the kitchen because I touched the portrait in the right place."

"And how did you know where to touch?" A girl said. It was the girl he saved yesterday and if I remember correctly, her name was Angelica, or was it Angelina? He was pretty sure it was Angelina. She joined them while they were busy looking at Alberts' map.

"Because the portrait was bigger compared to the others I saw on the way there. It was bigger than the portrait of the Fat Lady. To me, it screamed, 'I have a secret hidden in me. Come find it.' So, yeah, that's about it," Albert said.

"But you haven't explained how you knew it was the pear." Angelina said as she started eating breakfast.

"That bit was simple. There were three clues. One: most of the painting was water paint, but the pear was an oil based. Two: the others were from a brighter paint palate. In other words, the pear was a few shades darker than the darkest green. Three: the surrounding smelt of vinegar and pear. There wasn't a bottle of vinegar in the portrait, so the only logical conclusion was the pear," Albert stated, as if it was the most simple question he was asked in his life.

"Brother, don't you think he belongs in Ravenclaw?" George asked Fred.

"You took the words straight out of my mouth, brother," Fred said.

It surprised Lee and Angelina by how Albert got to that conclusion. He made it seem like there was no other alternative.

"Why are you alone, Angelina Johnson?" Albert said suspiciously. "Where is your friend? Alicia Spinet, if I remember correctly."

"She's still asleep," Angelina said as she put her knife and fork down. "But I'm surprised you remembered my name." Angelina could not hide her surprise on her face. In fact, her roommates could not remember her name and she spent more time with them than in this group of four.

"I've always had a splendid memory. One of the reasons why I was able to get into Eton without bribing anyone," Albert said as he heard Angelina giggle, remembering she said something about him bribing himself in. "Anyway, this young man here is Lee Jorden And these charming red heads are Fred and George. They're twins if you couldn't tell because I can't tell them apart sometimes."

"Hi, I'm George Weasley."

"No, no, no. I'm George and that's Fred," the other twin retorted.

"Don't worry, they do this all the time. You'll get to know whose who if you spend some time together," Albert said as he saw Angelina laughing at the twin's shenanigans. At the same time, he saw Snow fly in through an open window. He got up and retrieved the letter from the owl's leg, then started to read it.

"Dude, you haven't introduced yourself properly." Lee Jorden said as he nudged Albert.

"I'm sorry. I got distracted by my owl," Albert said. He tore away a piece of bread from Lee's unfinished loaf and fed it to Snow. "My name is Anderson, Albert Anderson."

"James Bond. Nice reference." Angelina said, as she buttered her toast. "Why aren't you eating?"

"I ate when I visited the kitchen," Albert responded.

Another owl flew in to the Great Hall and flew towards Albert. Fortunately for Fred's porridge, Albert managed to catch it before it dropped in it. It was his weekly issue of the Daily Prophet.

"Can you lend me the paper, please?" Angelina asked. "I wan to look at the quidditch column."

Albert passed the paper to Angelina.

"Do you like quidditch too?" The twins asked in unison.

"Obviously I like it. Who wouldn't?" Angelina said as she opened the paper. "If I could, I would participate in the quidditch trails next week."

"You know, you could ask Professor McGonagall to participate if there aren't enough talented players participating in the trial." Albert said as the four quidditch fanatics looked at him in surprise. "The youngest chaser in Hogwarts' history was a first year after all. It's true that the first year can't take part in the trial, but you could ask Professor McGonagall. As Douglas MacArthur said, 'Rules were made to be broken'."

"Oh, forget it," Angelina said, as she believed she couldn't make McGonagall think she was a special case. "The Gryffindor seeker will graduate this year, so I'm gunning for that position next year. What positions do you want?"

The twins responded in unison, "Beaters! They're the best positions."