14 Chapter 14: Making Some Friends

"Is anyone here?" the African-American boy pointed to the seat across from Albert and asked.

"No one, go ahead and sit," Albert said with a smile. "I'm Albert Anderson."

"Lee Jordan," the black boy revealed a set of white teeth and looked at the books on the table, then earnestly said, "I have a feeling you'll be sorted into Ravenclaw. I've heard that people who like to read books are mostly sorted into Ravenclaw."

"As long as I don't end up in Slytherin, I don't really mind," Albert took out a few chocolate-flavored candies from his pocket and asked, "Do you want some candy?"

"Thanks, they taste good," Lee Jordan took one, unwrapped it, and put it in his mouth. "I like chocolate-flavored ones."

"That's good. Take whatever flavor you like," Albert placed various flavored hard candies on the table. Sharing food was an effective way to bond.

This trick had always worked for him back in school.

"I think I should go to Gryffindor. I heard it's the best house, and Headmaster Dumbledore is from Gryffindor, you know, he's the greatest wizard of all time," Lee Jordan was talkative, with the candy in his mouth, he kept talking non-stop.

However, his chatter was soon interrupted.

A pair of red-haired twins were knocking on the door.

"Do you mind if we squeeze in?" one of the twins pretended to be shy and said, "We came late, and the other compartments are full, and the girls don't seem to welcome us."

Without waiting for Albert's response, the other twin spoke, "I'm Fred, Fred Weasley."

"If I were you, I'd try to dry off the water on your body," Lee Jordan kindly reminded. "I'm Lee Jordan."

"Albert Anderson," Albert closed the book, put it back in the trunk, and pointed to the seat next to Lee Jordan.

"See you later, Fred," the other twin turned and left.

In reality, the other twin quickly returned, bringing his own trunk along.

The compartment in the train was naturally spacious enough for four people, after all, it was designed as a six-seat compartment.

However, some students would prefer to be in a compartment with their friends, even if there were vacant seats, they wouldn't welcome others. That was why the Weasley twins, who arrived late, couldn't find a compartment.

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

"Even if you didn't say it, we can tell," Lee Jordan said. "I can't tell you two apart, maybe you should give yourselves some sort of mark to differentiate."

"Do you want some candy?" Albert asked again.

"Oh, thanks, Mom never likes us eating too much of this stuff," one of the twins took one, unwrapped it, and stuffed it into his mouth.

"It tastes really good."

"This is your owl, right? It's really beautiful," one of the twins wanted to reach out and touch it but was fiercely stared at by Snowball, so he gave up. He didn't want to get pecked.

"It doesn't really like strangers," Albert casually explained. "But you can try offering it some nuts, maybe it'll be willing to let you pet it."

Lee Jordan tried, but it didn't work. Snowball completely ignored him and continued to rest with its eyes closed.

The train started moving, slowly accelerating away from the platform.

"How's the wizarding world?" Albert randomly found a topic. "You all come from the wizarding world, right?"

"How did you know?" Lee Jordan was surprised.

"Your clothes, your attire is obviously not up to par," Albert pointed to the clothing on the three of them and said, "Muggles wouldn't dress like this. Obviously, only wizards wouldn't understand these things, just like how we don't understand wizards in the wizarding world."

"Impressive," Lee Jordan raised his thumb. "By the way, there seems to be something at the window."

Albert turned his head and saw an owl by the window. He quickly opened the window and let it in.

After a gray owl came in, it shook its body, splattering water everywhere.

Snowball let out a dissatisfied chirp and jumped onto Albert's shoulder, glaring fiercely at this uninvited guest. It was unhappy that its nuts had been stolen.

"Don't be mad, it's just a few nuts. I'll buy you more after you finish them," Albert looked at the departing owl and patted Snowball's head to comfort it.

"I always feel like you don't look like a wizard born to Muggles," Lee Jordan whispered, "Muggle-born wizards wouldn't know about this. Can I take a look?"

"Go ahead," Albert took Snowball down from his shoulder. He didn't like having an owl perched on his shoulder. This little guy was a bit heavy.

"Any news?"

"Minister Millicent Bagnold announced that she'll retire after 1990," Lee Jordan spread the newspaper on the table. "There are rumors that Dumbledore might become the next Minister."

"My dad said if Dumbledore wanted to, he could have become Minister of Magic a long time ago." Fred clearly didn't believe that.

"Who do you think has a better chance?" George countered. "Oh, the Daily Prophet is actually hosting a betting event."

"I don't know, but I'm a bit interested in the betting," Albert certainly knew who would become the next Minister. "If I want to participate, how should I do it?"

Someone's offering Galleons, why not take it?

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

"A little bet won't hurt." Albert took out his wand and placed it vertically on the table, allowing the wand to tilt freely to one side. He casually explained, "Olafinwald said my wand can bring me luck, so I'm planning to choose... well, Cornelius Fudge. I'm choosing him to be the next Minister for Magic, provided that this betting game is reliable."

The three in the compartment were immediately dumbfounded, wondering what kind of move this was. Albert was truly showing them up.

"Are you really going to participate in the betting?" Fred swallowed nervously, finding the whole thing absurd.

"I haven't decided yet. After all, I'm not familiar with the wizarding world." Albert didn't want his pocket money to go to waste.

"No, the betting offered by the Daily Prophet is actually quite reliable, and many people have won in the past. However, there are fifteen wizards who are favored. Are you really going to..." George pointed out, "Fudge's odds are 4 to 1, and he's not the most favored candidate."

"Of course, the most favored candidate usually doesn't succeed. They're usually thrown out as sacrificial lambs, um, to attract attention," Albert took the newspaper and carefully studied the way to participate in the betting. He then took out a quill from his trunk and wrote his name on a piece of parchment, selecting the contestant and the amount to bet. He then pulled out some Galleons and counted out 25 of them into a money bag.

Seeing Albert count out 25 Galleons, the three couldn't help but swallow hard. That was a considerable sum of money.

By the way, this guy is really rich, making the three extremely envious. When did they ever have so many Galleons in their pockets? If they could have just one Galleon, it would make them smile for days.

They didn't snap out of it until Snowball disappeared into the rain with the money bag and envelope.

(End of this chapter)