Chapter 26

"I think chasers are the most pivotal part of the team," Albert said as he squinted to glimpse a passing ghost. He raised his hand and waved towards it. "Good morning, Sir Nicholas."

"Good morning boy, what is the matter?" asked the ghost as he floated towards Albert.

"Can I take a picture sir," Albert asked as he got his camera out of his robe.

"Where in the name of Merlin did you pull that out of?" Lee Jorden asked as he look at Albert in utter shock and disgust.

"When I went to Madam Malkins, I paid extra to get pockets with extension charms and a feather weight charm on it," Albert said as he put his camera down and showed them the insides of his robe.

"I didn't know you could do that," Angelina said.

"Brother, maybe we should do that to our uniform," George said.

"Yes brother. Think of all the possibilities," Fred said as he and his brother discussed things by themself.

"Back to the picture. Would you like me to pose?" Sir Nick asked.

"If you want to," Albert said, as he shrugged his shoulders. He then took pictures. Sir Nick kept on changing poses in between every few photos.

"Thank you Sir Nicolas," Albert said as he waited for all the pictures to load on his camera and print out.

"If that is all, I will leave now," Sir Nicolas said as he phased through the wall.

Albert waited for all the pictures to print out and he laid them on the table. He was quite disappointed with it. Angelina looked over and only saw the background of the Great Hall. She was quite confused.

"It seems a muggle camera can't capture ghosts. Maybe I should have done it with a different camera?" Albert said as he wrote 'Sir Nicolas De Mismy-Popington. Second of September. First year.' on the back.

"It's not a problem with just the camera," a voiced sounded from behind him. Albert turned around and saw a beautiful red-head with emerald green looking over his shoulder. She had an entourage following behind her. "The problem is with the camera and the developing solution of your camera. If you had an enchanted camera, it would have picked up the ghost, but it would not have printed out. If you want a picture of the ghost, you'll need the moving picture solution that the Daily prophet uses in their newspaper." After that, her entourage and her went and sat down on the Ravenclaw table.

"Wow. She's so amazing," Albert said as he continued to stare at the Ravenclaw table. Lee Jorden nudged Albert so he could regain his focus and turned to face Angelina. "I meant smart. Anyway, do you want to go exploring with us after breakfast?"

"No, sorry. I already planned to do that with my roommates," Angelina said.

"That's a real shame," Albert said as he picked up an apple and ate it. He was thinking about how to get the solution from the Daily prophet.

There were more students coming as it just went quarter-past nine. Most of them were first years who wanted to explore the castle. Angelina's friend Alicia came in and sat with us. He guessed the other years did not arrive now because they sleeping in because once the school years started, they wouldn't get much rest. After bidding Angelina and Alicia good bye, the group of four left the Great Hall and upon leaving they saw Mr Finch and his waiting for them. At his very moment, Albert receives and new prompt detailing a new quest. It read:

{A Night at the Muse... Hogwarts

You have decided to go on a night tour of Hogwarts of your friend but during your morning stroll; you gained the ire of the caretaker, Mr Finch. As loyal mischief making, your goal is to create as much mischief as possible without being caught. Your mission is to go on a night tour and not get caught by the caretaker. You will receive a bonus reward if you pull a harmless prank on him.

Reward: 750 Experience points

Bonus Reward: 250 Experience points}

Albert's mouth could not help but twitch as he read the mission brief. He found that the mission triggers were trivial but significant events that happened to him like the owl and now Finch.

"What's the matter Albert?" Fred said as he looked at Albert, who was standing there, not moving.

"Nothing," Albert said as he jogged to catch up with the rest of the boys. When Finch was out of sight, Albert asked, "Do any of you know the Disillusionment Charm?"

"What is that?" George asked.

"It's a type oof invisibility spell. It camouflages you against your surrounding but does not erase your sound, smell, or body heat sort of like a chameleon," Albert explained.

"I get camouflage, but what's a chameleon?" Fred asked.

Albert couldn't help but sigh. He has a lot to teach them about the muggle world. "Chameleons are a distinctive and specialised clade of Old World lizards with around 120 species. The members of this family are best known for their distinct range of colours, being capable of shifting to different hues and degrees of brightness based on their surrounding and if there is a predator. Their life span ranges between 5 and 15 years depending on species. I'll show you so pictures when we return to our room."

"They sound cool," Lee Jorden said.

"If we can learn that spell, it can make our night tours easier." Fred said.

"Add we won't have to be worried about Finch catching us," George said.

"But how will we get our hands on that spell?" Fred asked.

"We could ask the professors," Lee said.

"Don't be stupid. They'll think we're up to no good," George said as he snack Lee on the back of his head.

"Don't hit him, George, but you are right. Our best bet would be the library," Albert said.

The twins looked at each other and then looked at Lee. There was no way in hell they'll willingly go to the library. As the four of them walk passed the window, Albert look outside the window and saw the bridge where the ultimate battle happened and where the boy-who-lived snapped the elder wand then threw it away.

Albert couldn't help but sigh when he thought about it. It was a waste of a perfectly good wand and if you didn't want it, somebody else might have. It would have been a good research material, as Lady Death herself handcrafted it.

"Even if we find it, it would take a long time to learn, so what's the point?" Lee said as he could remember his talent was spell casting. He couldn't even cast the most simple spell without help from his parents.

"What's the point?" Albert said, as he stopped and looked at Lee Jorden. "How do you think I learned most of the first year spells? Practice. You have to spend a lot of time doing it until you get good at it. That's how most people get good at stuff."

The four of them kept on walking and discussed what they would do if they learned the Disillusionment Charm. After strolling on the ground and first floor for a long time, they noted down the empty classrooms they saw and any secret passages they found but couldn't open. They discussed they would ask some of the older years if they knew some of the secret passageways and their password later and add it to Albert's map.

"This should be the transfiguration classroom," George said. "I remember that the transfiguration Professor is McGonagall."

"My parents said that transfiguration is the hardest branch of magic," Lee Jorden said. "And that Professor McGonagall is really strict."

"You're right. It took me a few attempts to get the basics of transfiguration down and it only took me one attempt to do most to the first year charms." Albert said. It took his fourteen attempts to turn a matchstick into a needle, but after learning it, most of the transfiguration spells were easy to learn. He attributed it to the system making transfiguration a skill after he transfigured his first matchstick into a needle.

They also found the 'History of Magic' classroom on the way here on the first floor. Luckily, most of the classrooms that were in uses had a plaque above it saying who the teacher is and what subject they teach.

"Look, there's a wooden door there that's darker than the rest in the corridor," Lee Jorden pointed out.

"Excellent spot," Albert said as he got his wand out and cast | Alohomora |. The door did not open. "How many times have we failed to open a door?"

"Are you sure it's not something to do with your spell?" Fred asked.

"No, my spell works perfectly," Albert said. "I guess a password is needed for this one as well."

"What do you think the password is?" Lee asked.

"How would I know?" Albert stared at Lee. "If I had to choose a password for this I would pick something from a children's book like 'Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves' with 'Open Sesame' when he tried to open the thieves nest."

The next moment, the wooden door slowly opened. The boys were in awe as they saw the door open.