"Hey, Albert, come down!" Charlie looked up at the black figure soaring up and down in the sky above the pitch. He felt both relieved and helpless. When he glanced at Fred and George, they immediately turned their heads in different directions, trying to avoid eye contact with Charlie, as if they had nothing to do with the situation.
"He's coming down now," Angelina suddenly said.
In everyone's sight, Albert was rapidly descending at an astonishing speed, as if he didn't have a parachute and was jumping directly from an airplane. In the blink of an eye, he was about to make intimate contact with the ground.
"Ah!"
"He's going to crash."
In the chaos, someone screamed, and some even closed their eyes in fear, unwilling to witness Albert's possible terrible fate.
However, just a few feet above the ground, Albert stopped his dive, and then he ascended again, bringing with him a gust of powerful wind that blew everyone's hair.
The next moment, cries of amazement and applause echoed through the air.
"Oh my, how did he do that?" Alicia's face turned pale, while the Weasley twins were cheering loudly. Even Cormac McLaggen, who was also a reserve, had his fists clenched tightly.
Whether the players admitted it or not, Albert's flying skills indeed surpassed most people. What he just did was something even Charlie wouldn't dare to try, as he would have certainly crashed. Yet, Albert succeeded. Such an adventurous feat seemed like a thrilling game to him.
A few seconds later, Albert descended slowly, and after his feet touched the ground, he closed his eyes and savored the exhilarating sensation of flying on a broomstick. The Six-Star Sweep was even better than he had expected; a slight touch on the broomstick would make it turn exactly as he wished.
Admittedly, the broomstick itself still had some shortcomings, but Albert was still very satisfied with the Six-Star Sweep.
"That dive just now almost scared my heart to a stop," Angelina laughed.
"Great flying!" Charlie raised his fist and lightly punched Albert's shoulder, putting his arm around him. He smiled and said, "Since you rarely visit the Quidditch pitch, don't slip away like that again!"
After a thrilling day of flying, when the training was over, Albert and the others returned to the Gryffindor common room. As they entered, they found people talking excitedly, their faces filled with enthusiasm.
"What happened?" Albert asked Lee Jordan, who was sitting next to the fireplace playing wizarding chess with Seamus.
"The first Hogsmeade weekend," Lee Jordan pointed to the notice on the bulletin board and winked at the three, "It's in early November."
Hogsmeade trip! The three exchanged knowing smiles. Hogsmeade was nothing special for them, as they could go to Hogsmeade anytime through the secret passages if they wanted to.
"It's none of our concern, is it?" Fred shrugged and laughed. They returned to their dormitory, took a refreshing hot shower, and when they were back in the common room, George somehow had a mouse in his hand.
"Where did you find this mouse?" Albert's gaze fell on the mouse George was holding, asking with curiosity.
"Guess?" George's mouth curled into a mischievous smile.
"Percy's pet?" Albert reached into his pocket, took out a biscuit, and after unwrapping it, he offered it to the mouse.
Sure enough, Scabbers happily started nibbling on the biscuit. It was no wonder; after all, he was still a human being and must crave for decent food despite being transformed into a mouse.
"This rat has been through a lot," Albert clicked his tongue as he looked at the mouse's paws, which were missing a toe. "Its lifespan probably won't be too long. The average lifespan of a rat is about 3 to 4 years, and it's already considered quite long. Given its age, I doubt it will survive past next summer."
"Okay, should we go there?" Fred didn't pay much attention to the mouse's lifespan issue and asked in a low voice, "Before Percy finds out, we better sort that out."
"Sure." Albert took out his wand and waved it, turning the biscuit wrapper into a long cage. He placed the mouse inside and left some biscuits for it before putting the cage in his bag.
The four of them hurriedly left the Gryffindor common room and headed to the Room of Requirement.
"No problem, no one around," Albert checked the Marauder's Map, saw Peter Pettigrew's name on it, and a pleasant smile appeared on his face.
Albert was delighted to see new tasks on the mission board again. It was truly an enjoyable thing! However, he didn't rush to check those missions. Instead, he entered the Room of Requirement. Inside, it turned into a spacious room with only four walls and a door, with torches lit on the walls.
"Alright, let's begin!"
Albert gestured for everyone to put on earplugs and then took Scabbers out of his bag.
"Why aren't you wearing them?" Albert looked puzzledly at Lee Jordan.
"Mandrake is not fully grown yet; at most, it'll just cause a fainting spell," Lee Jordan didn't seem to care much, "Plus, you're not wearing them either, are you?"
"I'll stuff my ears," Albert took out earplugs.
"If I faint, remember to take me to the hospital wing," Lee Jordan seemed to want to test the power of the Mandrake cry himself.
The three looked at each other.
Albert decided not to force them. The Mandrakes were fully mature, but it would still take a few months before their cries became potent enough to cause petrification.
After everyone was ready, Albert also put on earplugs, took out the magical item storing the Mandrake cry from his pocket, and raised his hand towards the others, counting down with a three, two, one gesture. Then he pressed the button to release the cry.
The sharp and piercing sound was amplified countless times in the room, and even Albert could vaguely hear it, but he didn't feel faint.
Lee Jordan furrowed his brows slightly, covering his ears to resist the Mandrake cry. He felt a bit dizzy but didn't faint.
However, poor Scabbers fainted. Perhaps the cry was too loud for him.
The Mandrake cry disappeared from the room the next moment.
Albert gestured for everyone to remove their earplugs and asked Lee Jordan, "How was it?"
"It seems to have some effect. I feel a bit dizzy," Lee Jordan said.
"The Mandrake cry can be deadly due to some sort of curse in the sound. However, when I recorded the cry and played it back, the power of the curse was significantly weakened," Albert explained.
The principle was similar to that of the Basilisk's stare. The Basilisk's eyes could kill, but when the gaze was reflected by a mirror, the power was greatly reduced, only causing petrification. Similarly, the Mandrake cry indeed had the power to kill, but as it was still immature and its power had been severely weakened, it couldn't cause lethal harm.
The Mandrake's cry was indeed a curse, not related to ultrasonic waves or anything like that. It was quite a normal phenomenon.
"Let's go; we better return this poor mouse before Percy finds out," Albert didn't want any unpleasant incidents to happen to the three brothers.
On second thought, Scabbers was fundamentally a wizard. Using him for this experiment was probably not a wise decision.
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