For the rest of the journey, the four gathered to talk about wizard cards.
Albert used card games he had played before to refine the rules for wizard cards. Of course, this could only be considered a rudimentary form of wizard cards, but Fred, George, and Lee Jordan listened with great interest, offering their own opinions from time to time.
"What do you guys think, if wizard cards really become famous one day, how many Galleons would this notebook, which first recorded the rules of wizard cards, be worth?" Albert shook the notebook in his hand, asking his three companions in a joking tone.
"If it were me, I definitely wouldn't sell it," Lee Jordansaid without hesitation. "This notebook will become a legend, passed down with wizard cards."
Their emotions remained in an excited state. The wizard cards Albert described to them and the prospects of the game were simply too good. Moreover, whether it was Fred, George, or even Lee Jordan, they could all feel the charm contained within this game.
There was no other way; there were simply too few games in the Wizarding World.
It wasn't until the Hogwarts Express began to slow down that Albert and the others suddenly realized the time and hastily changed into their school robes.
Soon after, the train pulled into Hogsmeade Stationunder a curtain of rain. It was still raining outside, and Fred and George both tried to cover themselves with their cloaks. Lee Jordan took an umbrella out of his suitcase and looked at Albert, asking in confusion, "You didn't bring an umbrella?"
Lee Jordan found it unbelievable; with Albert's personality, how could he possibly forget to bring an umbrella?
"No need, I have this!" Albert recited a spell, raised his wand, and conjured an umbrella, reminding them with a smile, "You probably forgot, I specifically practiced the Summoning Charm for quite a while last semester. See, it's coming in handy now."
"Don't squeeze in!" Seeing Fred and George both crowding under his umbrella, Lee Jordan was instantly speechless.
"Albert, help duplicate an umbrella!" Fred shouted to Albert; it was too crowded with three people under one umbrella.
"Give me your wand!" Albert shouted to Fred; it was too noisy around them.
"Don't you have a wand?" Fred was puzzled, but seeing Albert holding his wand, he understood what was going on and handed his wand to Albert.
"Geminio." Albert took Fred's wand, recited the spell, and tapped it on Lee Jordan's umbrella, helping to duplicate an umbrella.
Before returning it, Albert glanced at the wand again and muttered, "It's really not as good as mine, and the power of the spell is noticeably weaker."
"What are you saying?" Lee Jordan handed the duplicated umbrella to the Twins, letting them squeeze under one themselves. The Wizards behind them looked on with envy; those with umbrellas were, after all, a minority.
Even fewer could use the Summoning Charm like Albertto conjure an umbrella.
The rain fell fast and hard, like buckets of cold water constantly pouring over everyone's heads. The unfortunate ones without umbrellas were drenched as soon as they stepped off the train. They could only walk with their heads down, eyes squinted, and bodies hunched in the pouring rain, trying to ward off the water from above.
"First years, over here!" a familiar voice called out from nearby. Hagrid, holding a lantern, waved to the drenched first-year students.
As usual, Hagrid would lead them on the traditional boat trip across the Black Lake.
The others pushed past each other, walking forward along the platform.
Albert, Fred, George, and Lee Jordan deliberately lagged behind the group, gloating as they watched the drenched unfortunates, heartlessly making sarcastic remarks. George and Lee Jordan were even discussing what reasons might have led them not to bring an umbrella.
Of course, Albert and his friends weren't the only ones with umbrellas. All the students with umbrellas calmly followed at the back of the line, not wanting to crowd with everyone else, as there would certainly be enough carriages.
The group followed the other students down a rough, muddy path, and a large number of carriages came into view, each pulled by an invisible Thestral.
The shivering students hastily climbed into the carriages. Albert and his three friends boarded one, while Angelina and Alicia next door were sharing an umbrella with Sanna. The latter had been chatting with Albert before getting on, expressing great interest in the Duplication Charm.
"If I have time, I can teach you!" Albert told Sanna. "This spell isn't too difficult, as long as you're willing to spend some time practicing."
"Time to go," Fred reminded.
Once Albert climbed into the carriage and closed the door, the carriage jolted and set off. The long line of carriages proceeded along the path leading to Hogwarts Castle, their wheels splashing through puddles.
Albert leaned against the carriage window, feeling the violent bumps inside the compartment.
No one spoke; everyone gathered by the window, looking out at Hogwarts in the distance.
Soon after, the carriages passed through the Hogwartsgates with their winged boar sculptures and finally stopped at the stone steps in front of the two Oak doors.
The people from the carriages ahead had already rushed up the stone steps, braving the heavy rain to run into the Castle.
Albert, Fred, George, and Lee Jordan got out of the carriage with their umbrellas, leisurely walking up the stone steps amidst the bustling crowd.
Halfway up, Albert casually helped up a clumsy person who had slipped. The person just said "Thank you" and then hurried away again.
"That guy's so stupid," George muttered.
"How is he stupid?" Lee Jordan asked curiously.
"Guess."
Albert ignored their bickering, standing at the entrance and looking back towards the Black Lake. Faint lights could be seen moving across the lake towards the boathouse.
Are the first years still crossing the lake?
"Albert, let's go!" George urged.
"Coming."
Albert withdrew his gaze and followed the others, slowly walking towards the Hall, passing through the double doors into the Great Hall.
It was said that for the first-year feast each year, the Great Hall at Hogwarts would be redecorated, making it look even more magnificent and grand.
Albert walked into the Great Hall and looked up at the head table. Sure enough, he saw an unfamiliar figure there.
He gave a subtle nod to Rowena, then sat in the spot Lee Jordan had specifically left open for him, and also greeted Nearly Headless Nick, the Gryffindor ghost, who passed by.
"Good evening," Albert said with a smile, his gaze returning to his familiar classmates.
"You're tanned," Sanna observed, looking at Albert. "Did you go to the beach for vacation during the summer?"
"Biarritz, France," Albert nodded. "The food there is really good, very memorable."
"How enviable!" Sanna said with a look of envy. "Staying home for the summer was quite boring."
"It was quite boring indeed," Fred grumbled. "But that's basically how every year goes, so I'm used to it by now."
"At least you guys can still play Quidditch," Lee Jordancouldn't help but protest.
They had only chatted for a few moments when Professor McGonagall arrived with the first-year students. The chatter in the Great Hall began to fade, giving way to silence.
The Dean of Gryffindor, under everyone's gaze, placed a tattered, dirty, and patched-up Wizard's hat on a three-legged stool.
Then, to the astonished looks of the first years, the Sorting Hat suddenly began to sing a new Sorting Hatsong.
After the song ended, the Sorting Ceremony officially began.
Honestly, watching other people's Sorting Ceremony was quite an interesting thing.
The first years began to be sorted into various Houses.
Well, Albert would never admit that he was actually interested in Cho Chang's appearance.
After all, in Harry Potter's story, Cho Chang was a lovely girl with an East Asian appearance. However, one thing everyone had to admit was that there was a difference in aesthetic taste between Europeans and Asians—no, it should be said that people from every country have differences.
Perhaps in the eyes of most Europeans, Africans and Asians all look pretty much the same.
Fortunately, Albert didn't have the face blindness problem that many Europeans had.
Cho Chang was in the front row, and unlike Europeans, her face shape leaned more towards that of an Asian. Yes, she was indeed a lovely girl.
Here's an app interjection: A perfect replica of the old version of the book-chasing Divine Artifact APP with interchangeable sources—Mimi Reading.
However, compared to Cho Chang, what interested Albert more was a boy named Zacharias Smith. Albertdidn't have any particular impression of his name, but he himself paid special attention to the surname Smith.
Incidentally, this Smith was sorted into Hufflepuff.
Gryffindor also welcomed a few new students, Katie Bell being one of them. Albert had some impression of this girl; she seemed to be one of Gryffindor's three Chasers.
"Is that the Rowena Smith you mentioned?" Fred asked Albert curiously, looking at the Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor.
"Yes, it's her. It seems we don't need to worry about not learning anything in Defense Against the Dark Arts Class this year," Albert said. Across from him, Angelinawas discussing Flying Brooms with George. She hadn't bought a broomstick yet and wanted to hear the opinions of others on the team.
"A Comet 1700 is good, that series of broomsticks has always been good," Wood interjected.
"What did you guys buy?" Angelina asked Fred and George.
"A Shooting Star 5," the Twins said in unison, looking at each other.
"What about Albert?" Angelina asked Albert.
"He didn't buy a Flying Broom," Fred answered for Albert.
"I suggest you borrow a broomstick from someone on the team to try it out, and then consider what to buy," Albert offered his suggestion.
However, this suggestion wasn't very good. Most people bought Comets and Shooting Stars; no one bought a Nimbus, because that series of broomsticks was more expensive.
"What's your budget?" Wood asked. "If it's not high, I suggest you buy the latest Shooting Star 6. Comet hasn't released a new Flying Broom in several years. Of course, the Comet 260 is also a good broomstick, just a bit slow. It's up to you how you choose."
While they were talking, the last student was sorted into Ravenclaw. After the Sorting Ceremony, Professor McGonagall took away the Sorting Hat and the stool.
"Welcome to Hogwarts for a new school year!" Professor Dumbledore stood up from the head table. He smiled at all the students, spreading his arms in a welcoming gesture.
"This year, I am delighted to welcome a new teacher to our ranks, Professor Smith, who fills the vacant position for Defense Against the Dark Arts."
Some applause rippled through the Great Hall.
"Well, I imagine you're all hungry, so let's begin the feast." Dumbledore tapped his goblet with a spoon.
Suddenly, the golden plates and goblets in front of everyone were filled with food and drinks. The Great Hall echoed with laughter and the clinking of knives and forks.
Albert wasn't particularly hungry. He picked out his favorite foods, cutting steak while discussing with Nick the academic question of whether ghosts could eat.
Nick said that ghost feasts usually only offered rotten food, and when ghosts wanted to taste food, they would pass through the dining tables laden with food.
"I guess they let the food rot to make the taste stronger," Albert said to the person next to him, which earned him a lot of eye rolls.
After the last of the desserts had been cleared, Dumbledore stood up once more, and the buzzing chatter in the Great Hall ceased abruptly.
"Alright!" Dumbledore looked at everyone with a smile and said, "Now that everyone has eaten and drunk their fill, I have a few announcements to make."
"Mr. Filch, the caretaker, wishes me to inform you all that this year, students are forbidden from planting garlic in the Castle, and from carrying any items related to garlic."
When Dumbledore mentioned this, many people couldn't help but want to laugh. They all remembered someone pranking Filch with garlic before the summer holidays last semester.
Fred and George, after being kicked by Albert, managed to stifle their laughter, both holding their breath uncomfortably... The first-year welcoming feast finally ended when Dumbledore announced that everyone should go to bed.
"I didn't expect Filch to actually forbid everyone from carrying garlic," Fred finally burst out laughing after leaving the Great Hall.
"What a shame, garlic scrambled eggs taste pretty good," Lee Jordan said solemnly.
This made Fred and George want to laugh.
Albert followed everyone to the entrance of the Gryffindor Common Room.
"Password?" the Fat Lady asked as they approached.
"Balderdash," Percy stepped forward and said.
The portrait swung forward, revealing a large hole in the wall.
Everyone climbed through. The circular Common Roomstill had its familiar furnishings, with a roaring fire burning in the fireplace.
The boys all surged up the spiral staircase, heading to their respective dormitories.
Four four-poster beds stood against the wall, draped with crimson hangings, and everyone's trunk was already placed at the foot of their bed.
"Good night." Fred was too full. He pulled out his pajamas from his trunk, changed into them, and then just flopped onto his bed, not wanting to move.
"Good night." Albert also changed into his pajamas and climbed into bed; their bedding had already been warmed by a charcoal stove.
Lying on the comfortable bed, listening to the rain outside, Albert closed his eyes and sighed, feeling that life at Hogwarts was very pleasant.