Bab 148: Chapter 148: Rescued
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We are Halfway there.
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At this moment, Albert was running frantically in the blazing flame passage, with Yaya closely following behind him.
The sudden flames made the giant spiders extremely agitated. Instinctively, they kept their distance from the fire, giving Albert enough time and space.
As Albert hurriedly reached the base of the Whomping Willow, he immediately waved his wand and cast the Fire Charm again.
A ring of fire ignited in the direction pointed by Albert's wand, burning fiercely ten feet away from the Whomping Willow.
The fire seemed fierce, but without any material to sustain it, the rotting soil and fallen leaves on the ground couldn't keep the fire wall burning.
"Vingardium Leviosa!" Albert swung his wand towards Yaya, casting the Levitation Charm and causing Yaya to float in the air.
Yaya was terrified and let out a whimpering sound, clumsily flailing its legs in the air as if swimming.
"Quick, give me a hand!" Albert also started climbing the tree, and Fred and George reached out to pull him up, helping him quickly ascend.
Yaya was soon released from the Levitation Charm and shivered, curling up on the wooden platform created by Albert using the Transfiguration Charm.
"How did you get here?" Fred and George had snapped back to reality and looked at Albert in astonishment. They never expected that the one who came to rescue them would be Albert.
"Who else did you expect it to be?" Albert retorted, staring at the Weasley brothers without hiding his annoyance. "Professor McGonagall? Or Professor Dumbledore? By the time they discovered you were missing, you would have been torn to shreds by the giant spiders and become their meal."
Both of their cheeks flushed red, feeling somewhat ashamed. They had to admit that Albert was right—it was Easter, after all. If Albert hadn't noticed their disappearance right away, Hagrid could have come tomorrow to collect their remains, and even their bones might not have been found.
"Now what do we do?" Fred shifted aside to make room for Albert.
"We wait for rescue. When I arrived, I sent Lee Jordan to find Professor McGonagall," Albert replied calmly, regulating his breathing. "The professors should be coming soon. Continue firing red sparks into the sky to guide them."
"You... you came into the forest alone?" Suddenly, George realized something and stared at Albert in disbelief, finding it hard to believe the fact.
"Exactly. What did you expect?" Albert didn't pay attention to the astonishment on the twins' faces. Instead, he noticed that the fire ring below had already extinguished, and the swarm of spiders had surrounded them again.
"How did you provoke this group of giant spiders? Did you disturb their nest or steal their eggs?" Albert furrowed his brow slightly, raised his wand, and knocked down a spider that was trying to approach the Whomping Willow.
"No, we encountered a few big spiders on the way and ran here to seek refuge near the Whomping Willow. We never expected the number of giant spiders to increase so rapidly," Fred's face twisted with a mixture of emotions.
"This is the situation you see now," George added.
"Arania Atactum!" Another spider was knocked down by the spell. Looking down from the tree, a dense group of giant spiders seemed extremely intimidating.
"Keep firing red sparks. Don't stop," Albert reminded them.
"Oh!" George continued firing red sparks into the sky, secretly stealing glances at Albert.
To be honest, the twins found it hard to imagine how Albert managed to cross the forest at night and find them. Even if it was a professor, it would not be so easy to locate someone in the pitch-black depths of the Forbidden Forest.
"Protego Totalum! Protego Totalum! Protego Totalum!" Albert consecutively cast three Shield Charms, completely enveloping the Whomping Willow.
The large spiders outside crashed into the magical barrier, as if they were hitting an invisible wall, forcefully stopped.
"What kind of magic is this?" George exclaimed in surprise as they watched a spider rush toward the barrier and be repelled.
"Now we should be safe!"
"Don't think too much. If the professors don't arrive soon, we'll be eaten!" Albert gasped for breath, shaking his head. "Haven't you noticed how agitated these spiders have become?"
Fred and George looked at each other and soon realized that Albert was right. Initially, the spiders didn't dare to approach the Whomping Willow.
The twins couldn't help but feel fortunate. If Albert had come a little later, they could have been eaten by those giant spiders.
"Why didn't you come with the professors?" Fred couldn't help but ask, curious. According to Albert's personality, he shouldn't have entered the Forbidden Forest alone without careful planning.
"I was planning to ask Hagrid for help, but he wasn't in his cabin. So, I had to come with Yaya to find you. Thanks to Yaya, I wasn't ambushed by the giant spiders," Albert said, patting Yaya's head.
This timid dog had a tough time tonight as well.
"So, you entered the forest by yourself." The twins both had their mouths agape.
Now, Fred and George finally understood why Albert was sorted into Gryffindor. They couldn't possibly find another student who could match his courage and bravery, especially given what he had shown tonight.
"All right, bring it out!" Albert suddenly said.
"Bring out what?"
"Of course, the map—the secret treasure map of Gryffindor. You actually believed in that nonsense. Didn't I warn you before? The Forbidden Forest is dangerous, but you didn't listen. Now you've almost become spider food. Have you learned your lesson?"
Fred and George carefully recalled, and indeed, there was such a thing.
Back then, Albert had warned them that there might be a giant spider breeding ground in the Forbidden Forest, and he even mentioned being careful of getting eaten by the giant spiders.
That almost became a reality!
On another note, George remembered that when they went on their first nighttime adventure, Albert also warned them to be careful of getting locked outside the common room by the Fat Lady... and that also came true.
Are your words cursed or something?
Why is it that whatever you say becomes true?
"How did you know there was a giant spider breeding ground here?" Fred asked curiously. He wanted to know who was keeping these dangerous creatures in the Forbidden Forest.
"I heard it from Professor Broderick," Albert sighed, seeing through the twins' thoughts. "But don't be silly. This is probably not a breeding ground; otherwise, these giant spiders wouldn't be attacking you."
"But what's the deal with these giant spiders? Don't tell me they were originally living in the Forbidden Forest."
"It's likely that someone released the giant spiders into the Forbidden Forest. There are almost no natural enemies for them here, and the food supply is abundant, so these spiders have multiplied so much." Albert looked down at the giant spiders below and murmured, "Maybe it's Hagrid's fault."
Albert was well aware that the so-called giant spider breeding ground was just a joke. It was simply Hagrid releasing a pair of giant spiders into the Forbidden Forest, and after decades of reproduction, they had formed the massive spider colony seen today.
Crack!
While they were talking, the protective barrier created by Albert started to crumble. This was the downside of having a large-scale barrier—it was far less sturdy than the smaller version. After enduring the continuous impact from the giant spiders, cracks began to form in the defensive barrier.
"What should we do now?" Fred looked anxiously at Albert.
"Keep firing red sparks and drive away those spiders that come near."
After the defensive barrier collapsed, Albert immediately cast a Fire Charm, forcing the spiders attempting to approach the Whomping Willow to retreat.
The situation was not optimistic.
However, Albert was not worried about his own safety. He continued to cast the Spider Repellent Charm at the spiders below. Due to their overwhelming numbers, each spell knocked down a spider without the need for precise aim.
"What kind of spell are you using? It can knock down spiders so easily?" George couldn't help but ask. Albert's spells were powerful, causing significant damage to the giant spiders with each strike.
Albert didn't have time to answer the twins' question. He was busy reaping experience points.
The professors were probably on their way, but before they arrived, he wanted to gather as much experience as possible. After all, each spider was worth 50 experience points, which meant a level of magic proficiency.
To gain a basic mastery of a spell, a significant amount of time needed to be devoted to practice.
It was a worthwhile exchange.
After who knows how long, most of the giant spiders surrounding the Whomping Willow had been knocked down by Albert. Even these huge creatures started to feel fear, and there were no longer any headstrong spiders daring to charge at the Whomping Willow.
Fred and George watched in astonishment as the spiders knocked down by Albert piled up below. They were completely dumbfounded. They never imagined that Albert could be so brave!
One person taking on a whole group of spiders.
"My tongue feels tied up." Albert felt exhausted from casting spells and was stuffing chocolate into his mouth.
"The spider colony is retreating," George shouted excitedly. "Can we go back now?"
"It's better to stay here and wait. If you leave the protection of the Whomping Willow, you'll be easily ambushed by spiders," Albert reminded them unkindly. "And think about how you'll explain this to Professor McGonagall later, as well as the map."
"Why do you want the map?" George asked suspiciously.
"Obviously, I'm confiscating it. Do you expect me to let you continue your reckless adventures?" Albert reached out to Fred, demanding the map.
"Don't do this." George grumbled, "We won't."
"Do you believe that yourself?" Albert glared at George fiercely, maliciously reminding them, "I think it's best for you to think about how you'll explain this to Professor McGonagall and your families when we get back."
"Oh no!" Fred screamed in terror, almost falling off the tree. Luckily, Albert was quick and grabbed him.
George wasn't so lucky. He was farther away from Albert and fell directly from the tree, letting out a painful groan.
"Are you okay?" Albert bent down and asked.
"I'm not okay. It hurts!"
"Enough with the chit-chat. Give me that map!" Albert warned. "Next time, you'll probably end up right in the lair of the giant spiders. One foolish mistake is enough."
Reluctantly, Fred handed the map to Albert, who didn't even look at it and stuffed it into his pocket. Then he reached out and helped George back up the tree. Even though the spider colony had retreated, this place was still unsafe.
Close to three o'clock, the professors finally arrived.
To Albert's surprise, it wasn't Professor McGonagall who came to their rescue, but Professor Broderick.
The old man was draped in a deep purple robe, though it was a bit tattered, probably from navigating through the forest and getting scratched by branches.
"It seems like you're all right," Professor Broderick's eyes sparkled strangely in the darkness as he looked at Albert with a smiling expression. "Mr. Anderson, I must remind you that your actions were extremely reckless. However, I have to admit that you did well, and I'm quite impressed!"
"Good evening, Professor Broderick." Albert greeted the old man with a smile. "I didn't expect it would be you coming to our rescue. I thought it would be Professor McGonagall."
"It's a coincidence. I was going to the restroom and happened to run into Mr. Jordan," Professor Broderick said while walking towards the three of them. "He told me everything, so I hurried over. I was actually worried that you couldn't find the Weasley twins, but it seems I got myself involved first."
"I brought Hagrid's dog with me. With it around, the creatures in the forest won't harm me," Albert used Hagrid's words to counter Professor Broderick.
"Do you believe that?" Professor Broderick looked around, wearing a smile that seemed half-serious and half-playful.
Albert felt a bit embarrassed. Those words were just used to bluff others.
"By the way, what spell did you use to knock down these giant spiders? These creatures are extremely dangerous."
In fact, Professor Broderick had been tracking Albert's progress.
On the way, he was astonished when he found the knocked-down giant spiders, and the number of spiders defeated by spells was not insignificant.
However, all those combined were nothing compared to what Professor Broderick was currently witnessing. The number of fallen giant spiders here was not less than a hundred. It was a staggering amount!
Three first-year students couldn't possibly achieve such a feat with the spells they learned in their first year. The spells they knew were not enough to combat a giant spider.
Yet here, more than a hundred had been defeated—not just one or ten, but over a hundred. This number was truly astounding.
These defeated giant spiders undeniably proved Albert's strength.
"Watch out!" George shouted.
"Aranea Arte Muto!" Albert raised his wand and cast the Spider Repellent Charm at the struggling and crawling giant spider. He had lost count of how many times he had used the spell, but he had become quite proficient.
"Oh, thank you, Mr. Anderson. If one of these creatures had bitten me, I would probably have to resign early," Professor Broderick turned his head to look at the giant spiders that had been knocked down by the spell, quickly recovering from his astonishment.
Professor Broderick approached the three of them and, upon seeing the Whomping Willow, understood how Albert had defeated the giant spiders. He said to them, "Let's leave this place as soon as possible. Let me see if there's something suitable here to use as a temporary key."
"Use this!" Albert handed Fred's hat to Professor Broderick.
"Why are you carrying a hat with you?" Fred curiously eyed the hat that Albert took out, feeling a sense of familiarity.
"This is your hat. I originally had it to ask Yaya for help in finding you," Albert said impatiently.
"Montos."
The wizard hat immediately emitted a blue light.
"Alright, use the Portkey to go back. It might feel a bit uncomfortable, but bear with it!" Professor Broderick said gently.
"What about Yaya?" Albert asked.
"Don't worry, I'll bring it back using an illusion," Professor Broderick said. "Now, get ready. On the count of three, we'll all reach out and grab the hat."
"One..." Professor Broderick whispered, "Two... Three..."
Albert and the others reached out and grabbed the corner of the wizard hat. It felt as if an invisible force was pulling them, and they were lifted into the air, flying forward like a gust of wind. They couldn't see anything in front of them.
A few seconds later, Albert landed heavily on the ground, while Fred and George had a harder fall, their faces coming into close contact with the soil.
The wizard hat, serving as the Portkey, slowly descended from the sky and conveniently landed on Fred's head.
Ugh!
Fred and George stood up and began retching, clearly affected by the Portkey.
Albert fared a bit better. After all, he had previously used an illusion and had a higher resistance to the discomfort caused by Portkeys compared to the twins.
"Don't worry, it's just Portkey sickness," Professor Broderick looked at the two retching students and shook his head. "Madam Pomfrey will take care of them. We'd better take them to the hospital wing. Help me support one of them."
"I hate this feeling!" Albert grumbled. As he reached out to help Fred, he heard hurried footsteps approaching from behind.
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=> Sailing with Whitebeard: Starting with a Question
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(End of this chapter)
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