About two weeks after the Daily Prophet announced that Cornelius Fudge would be the next Minister for Magic, the prize for the Daily Prophet's guessing contest arrived by owl.
It was still snowing outside, and the owl messengers crowded into the auditorium as usual.
One of the owls threw a frost-covered envelope in front of Albert. A moment later, another owl threw a heavy-looking animal skin bag on the table in front of Albert, and the dull metal sound immediately attracted the attention of others around.
Albert reached out and picked up the animal-skin bag, weighed it twice, and after listening to the crisp sound inside, he guessed what was in the animal-skin bag.
He did not open the animal hide bag on the spot, but put it into his backpack. Then, he took out his wand and used a drying spell to remove the frost on the envelope, then opened the envelope and read the contents.
The letter reads:
Congratulations, Mr. Albert Anderson.
You have won 100 Galleons in the guessing game for the next Minister of Magic. Please sign. Barnabas Guffey
Note: Do not open the leather bag before signing; it is enchanted to ensure that Albert himself receives the Galleons.
Inside the envelope, there was another piece of parchment, which was a magical contract to ensure that the money was signed by Albert himself.
If anyone else tried to take money that did not belong to them from the animal-skin bag, they would be in trouble. The letter did not say what kind of trouble it would be. Albert guessed that it might be some kind of curse, or some kind of tracking magic that would allow them to find the thief who stole the money.
Albert wanted to keep this secret as low-key as possible, but secrets always spread quickly.
Soon, all the teachers and students in the school knew that he had participated in the Daily Prophet's guessing game and won a large sum of gold Galleons.
As for how much
No one knew the exact number. Some said 50 Galleons, some said 100 Galleons, and some guessed 200 Galleons. In the end, George couldn't help but tell the truth, making a lot of people envious.
Every time someone talked about this, the tone was so sour that it seemed to corrode a big hole in the ground.
"Now, everyone calls you 'Lucky Albert'." Shanna sat in front of Albert and turned to ask, "What do you think?"
"That's great. I like this title, and I hope I can continue to be lucky. Maybe I can win the jackpot again." Albert said with a smile.
"You can lie on the table and take a nap now. Maybe you will dream about winning the lottery." Shanna couldn't help rolling her eyes.
"My luck has always been good." Albert took out his wand, waved it in front of the others, and continued to deceive them: "Mr. Ollivander told me that a wand made of redwood will bring luck to the user. My wand is made of redwood."
"Redwood can bring luck?" Angelina looked skeptical and obviously didn't believe it.
"Indeed, there is such a saying. It is rumored that a wand made of red fir can bring luck to the user, so this kind of wand is very popular among wizards." Katrina looked at Albert up and down with a strange look. "Of course, some people think this is pure nonsense."
"Of course it's true. I guessed it right with the help of my magic wand." Albert looked as if my magic wand could really bring luck.
Lee Jordan's face was twitching slightly. In their memory, it was exactly what happened. At that time, Albert "put the wand vertically on the table and let it fall freely to one side", and then inexplicably decided to put 25 Galleons on Cornelius Fudge.
When Fred told everyone what happened, they were all stunned, with an expression like, "Are you kidding me?"
What kind of a cool move is this? Is this the correct way to win the jackpot
However, this matter did not remain a topic of discussion for too long, as the Christmas holiday was already approaching.
After packing his luggage, Albert took the school's Thestral carriage and drove along the snow-covered road to Hogsmeade station.
"What are you doing?" George asked in confusion. He saw Albert reaching his hand towards the front of the carriage.
"Aren't you curious about what's pulling the carriage?" Albert pointed to the snow and said, "Didn't you see the footprints on the snow?"
"Is there something pulling the cart?" The three of them were all shocked, but the footprints on the snow were the best evidence, the invisible horse.
"Thestrals," Albert said softly, "It is said that only those who have seen death can see the Thestrals."
"I've heard of these creatures. They're very unlucky." Lee Jordan tried to pull Albert away from the Thestral and whispered, "I heard that these creatures will bring terrible disasters to those who see them. It's a bad omen."
"You're overthinking it. Thestrals are a type of Pegasus with a bad reputation and are associated with death. Otherwise, do you think Hogwarts would use them to pull carriages?" Albert couldn't help but roll his eyes at Lee Jordan, and pulled his luggage into the express train, ready to find an empty carriage to rest.
Albert was in a good mood as he watched the scenery outside the window. Along the way, they ate snacks and chatted about what they were going to do during the Christmas holidays.
When we were bored, we played the game of Bibi's Many Flavour Beans, which Fred had suggested. The game was to close your eyes, pick up a Bibi's Many Flavour Bean at random and put it in your mouth to see who was unlucky enough to get a strange taste.
Li Qiaodan was the most unlucky one. He tasted a bean that tasted like soil. He once again declared in front of everyone that he would no longer eat Bibi Multi-Flavor Beans, which made everyone laugh.
When the train started passing through the Muggle town, Albert took off his wizard cloak and put on a Muggle coat. Fortunately, Daisy carefully prepared the coat for him, otherwise Albert would have really forgotten about it.
In the afternoon, the train finally stopped at King's Cross Station.
Everyone was about to leave Platform 9 3/4, but was stopped at the ticket gate by a shriveled old guard who did not allow too many people to pass at one time.
A large group of people came out of the solid wall at the same time, attracting the attention of the Muggles.
However, Hogwarts students still attract the attention of Muggles.
As soon as Albert walked out of the wall, he found a man in inappropriate clothing guarding the wall, and there were several people from the Ministry of Magic around him.
Among them, there was actually one who used the Disillusionment Charm on himself. However, his Disillusionment Charm technique was not very good, and Albert vaguely grasped his position.
Before he mastered the Disillusionment Charm, Albert might not have noticed the other party, but now he has some understanding of the Disillusionment Charm, so it is not too difficult for him to find the flaw.
"Bye, Albert!"
"Goodbye, Albert!"
Li Jordan and Sana waved goodbye to Albert.
"Goodbye." Albert also waved to them.
"He's there, Mom, Albert is there!" Nia waved and ran over. Albert waved to his family with a big smile on his face, then turned to Fred and George and said, "Goodbye, I'm leaving first!"
"Goodbye, my family is here too." Fred pointed to a place not far away, and Albert saw the red-haired Weasley family, as well as Fred's younger brother Ron and younger sister Ginny.
"What are you looking at?" Nia complained dissatisfiedly.
"Okay, okay, I've bought you some snacks. But I'll give them to you after we get in the car." Albert reached out and touched Nia's head, but the girl turned her head away.
"Don't touch a lady's head. It's very rude." Nia complained seriously.
Herb couldn't help but laugh, he reached out to take Albert's luggage and asked, "How is life at Hogwarts?"
"Not bad, I learned a lot of useful things." Albert said without hesitation.
"Welcome home." Daisy smiled and handed Tom to Albert.
"It's gotten heavier," said Albert, weighing Tom.
"Tom stayed at his grandfather's house for a few days a while ago." Nia whispered, "You also know the character of Grandma Sansa."
Albert looked at his fat cat and sighed. Sitting in the back seat of the car, Albert put Tom on his lap and combed his hair while muttering, "It's time to lose weight."