Chapter 43

"Am I early?" Albert looked around the Great Hall, but did not find his three roommates anywhere. He reached into his pocket and took out his pocket watch. It read ten past four. They were late, and he expected nothing less. That was the reason he was here at ten past four instead of four on the dot. He murmured, "I just hope I don't have to wait too long."

Having nothing to do, Albert retrieved his wand and a wand cleaning cloth from one of his pockets and cleaned his wand. He looked out of the window behind the teachers' table in the Great Hall to see a great big willow tree in the far distance. "The Whomping Willow is in full bloom," He whispered to himself.

While cleaning his wand, he opened his panel to see if any new missions had been added. After he recited everything, he learnt in Transfiguration class with his eyes closed. While he was doing this, someone quietly sat next to him. It couldn't be his roommates as they were incapable of being quiet when they were in an excitable state, especially today since they were going to Quidditch practice.

Albert, after he was content with what he remembered, opened his eyes to see a familiar girl sitting next to him.

"Can I do something for you?" Albert asked.

"C... c... can you help me with trans..." Shannon said before being interrupted by a loud thud.

They turned to look and saw Albert's roommates rushing towards them.

"Alber, we're here," George said.

"Come on, let's go," Fred said.

Albert then turned to Shannon and said, "I'm sorry, but I'll have to leave now. What were you saying before you were interrupted?"

"It doesn't matter," Shannon said with a self-depreciating smile.

"If you want me to help you with your Transfiguration, I can't do it now. I made previous arrangements. Don't worry if you can't do it. It's hard when you first do it, but if you give up, you'll never be able to succeed. If it doesn't go as planned, try again until you succeed." Albert said.

"Okay," Shannon said before taking a deep breath. "Can we do it before we go to bed?"

"If you have the time, why not?" Albert said, as he turned around. "See you tonight. Bye."

"See you later," Shannon said as she waved at he was leaving.

===

"What were you talking about just now?" Fred asked.

"Nothing that concerns you guys," Albert said. "Anyway, why are you so late? I thought we agreed to meet at four on the dot."

"We were outside and no way of keeping track of the time." George said.

"When we saw the Gryffindor Quidditch team heading to the stadium, we came to fetch you," Fred said.

"Oh, okay. I knew you guys were going to be late, so I went to the Great Hall at ten past, so you guys were only a couple of minutes later than me," Albert said.

"Is your brother actually going to let us ride brooms when we haven't had our first flying lesson?" Lee Jorden asked. Lee sounded a little nervous, as he had only flown a toy broom and never touched a real broom. He feared making a fool out of himself.

"Yes he will," Fred said.

"We'll make he does," George said.

"If you look at it, he should. Most of the team will graduate in the next two years and if he wants Gryffindor to stand a chance in the future, he has to let some second and third years take part so he could train them. If we show enough talent he could, he could let us join a reserve position plus we still have next year." Albert said.

"Albert is right. Once he sees us, he'll have no choice but to let us in," George said.

Fred put his arm around Lee and said, "But I think you are worried about falling off and embarrassing yourself in front of the older girls, aren't you?"

"Puff, no I'm not. I'm better at riding a broom than all of you," Lee said as he shrugged off Fred's hand and fastened his pace to get ahead of the group.

"Have you ever ridden a broom before, Albert?" Fred asked.

"A cleaning broom, yes. A flying broom, no. You remember I'm a muggle-born wizard?" Albert said, as he picked up a pebble from the ground.

"What are you going to do with that stone? Better not smash our heads open when we're not looking." George said.

"No, what do you take me for? A monster? You'll find out later," Albert said as he put the pebble in his pocket.

===

The four of them arrive by the Quidditch stadium at half-past four. Members of the quidditch team were not present at the moment. They had guessed they we still changing into their gear in the changing rooms. Albert used an Unlocking Charm to open the gate and the four boys walked towards the field.

The Quidditch field was a vast expanse of lush green grass, spanning the length and width of a regulation soccer field. At either end stood tall, sturdy goalposts adorned with colourful banners that flapped in the wind.

"Charlie must be running a little late." Fred said.

"What should we do while we wait?" George said.

"You can practise a spell while you wait," Albert said as he sat down on the grass. "I suggest you practise the Wand Lighting Charm while we wait."

"Well, that is something to do. Come on you two, let's practice," Fred said as he dragged george and Lee away from Albert.

They didn't want to disturb Albert, as they thought he was going to do something different to them. Albert draw his wand and placed the pebble he picked up before on the ground. He then practiced the Disillusionment Charm on it.

Around five o'clock, Charlie and the Quidditch team entered the stadium. Fred and George ran towards their brother and introduced him to Albert and Lee.

"How did you four get in? I remember placing a Locking Charm on the gate when we got here," Charlie said as he looked at the four boys in front of him.

"Obviously, we used the Unlocking Charm," the twins said in unison.

Charlie just nodded his head. "Well, the test later is very simple. You just need to ride a broomstick around the Quidditch stadium before time runs out. Now go get a broom from the cupboard." The twins, after hearing that, dashed toward the cupboard and left Charlie with Albert and Lee. He then asked, "Have you ever ridden a broomstick before?"

"No," Albert said.

"Only toy ones," Lee Jordan whispered.

"After the twins, have a go at riding the brooms. Ask anyone for help if you need," Charlie said before walking away to join his team.