The October cumulonimbus clouds had not yet dispersed from above everyone's heads, the heavy rain continued to fall, and a faint smell of mold could be smelled in the corners of the castle.
In preparation for the upcoming Halloween dinner, Hagrid had to spend a lot of time rescuing the large soaked pumpkins in the pumpkin field to prevent them from being rotten by the rain.
The weather was fine on the weekend, so Albert went to Hagrid's hunting lodge for afternoon tea and heard him casually mention Professor Kettlebur's hospitalization.
"When did it happen?" Albert asked, rubbing Yaya's head.
"Yesterday." Hagrid sighed softly, "Professor Kettlebur bought a house in Hogsmeade, planning to settle there to accompany his little cuties. While sorting out his belongings, he was tripped by a naughty Niffler. Fortunately, the house-elf who was delivering food found him in time. He is now recuperating in St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries."
"I'm afraid Professor Kettlebur will have to retire early." Albert was not surprised, as the professor's health was not very good. "If you want to apply for the position of Care of Magical Creatures Professor, you should think about what you want to teach in advance. Don't underestimate the risks of dealing with magical creatures. Students are not as tough as you, and they can't stand it."
Hagrid looked at Albert in surprise. The other party said bluntly that he would fill Professor Kettleburt's vacancy and become the professor of Care of Magical Creatures at Hogwarts.
"You can take some time to visit Professor Kettleber and ask him for teaching skills." Albert reminded: "Don't bring any strange things to class, especially those magical creatures that may harm students."
Albert doubted whether his words would have any effect, but as a friend he should still give a reminder.
As he left the hunting lodge, Hagrid was still in a daze, as if thinking about what Albert had just said.
There's no way, Albert's words are very accurate, maybe he can really apply for the position of professor of Care of Magical Creatures
However, Hagrid felt that he needed to sound out Mrs. Grubbly-Plank to see if she wanted to apply for the position of Professor of Care of Magical Creatures.
On the way back to the castle, Albert met Ginny Weasley. The red-haired girl walking towards him gave him an inexplicable sense of strangeness. Albert looked up and met her eyes, and found that Ginny Weasley's eyes seemed to have lost the agility that a child should have, which made his pupils dilate slightly.
"Has she been controlled by Voldemort?" After Albert walked away, he looked back at Ginny's back and hesitated for a moment.
If he took down Ginny Weasley now, he would definitely be able to find Tom Riddle's diary on her. As long as he destroyed the Horcrux, there would be no more attacks. However, his own panel tasks would most likely all be ruined, and it would be difficult to explain this to Dumbledore.
Albert never underestimated Dumbledore, and he would definitely be exposed.
Once could be a coincidence, but twice was something that Dumbledore should consider carefully.
"Forget it, just be careful and let everything else take its course." Albert raised his hand and pushed the frame, then continued walking towards the castle.
It’s not hard to guess what Ginny Weasley, or Tom Riddle, wants to do.
The crowing of a rooster is deadly to the basilisk.
Tom Riddle was naturally well aware of this, so he would never want to have roosters around the castle.
"Should I keep a rooster as a pet?" Albert muttered to himself, but he quickly put the idea behind him. Keeping a rooster was too troublesome. He thought that making a toy that could make a rooster's crowing sound would be a good choice, but he didn't know if it would be useful against the basilisk.
"The 'Screaming Chicken' was a best-seller in my previous life." After careful consideration, Albert felt that the "Screaming Chicken" was a good selling point. It didn't have to make screams, it could make other sounds, and it could be used as a joke prop in the future.
As for selling the "Screaming Chicken" as a talisman after the attack, Albert had never thought about it. After all, it would be easy to be targeted, and no one would probably buy that thing as a talisman.
After Albert walked away, Tom Riddle turned his head and looked at Albert's departing back. For some reason, he suddenly felt a surge of inexplicable anxiety in his heart.
Tom didn't realize at all that he almost died just now. If Albert had attacked and subdued Ginny directly, he would have been able to destroy his Horcruxes in a matter of minutes.
Tom had heard Ginny mention this Muggle wizard named Albert Anderson. He was said to be a genius and had won the International Wizarding Chess Championship not long ago.
Of course, Albert Anderson was unimportant to Tom. He cared more about Harry Potter and wanted to know how young Harry defeated Voldemort. Therefore, he did not pay too much attention to Albert, even though he was a famous genius in Hogwarts School.
After all, Tom Riddle has always been a genius in the school, and he has little interest in so-called geniuses. Treating the other party as prey is a good choice.
Such a genius being killed by a basilisk would definitely cause a sensation.
Suddenly I feel a little bit excited!
After discovering that Hagrid was at home, Tom did not attack the rooster in the chicken coop. He walked around the hunting lodge and then returned directly to the castle.
When Albert returned to the castle, he noticed that he had a new task. Before he checked the task, he saw Hermione jogging towards him and telling him about the last incident breathlessly.
Hermione proposed the establishment of a Defense Against the Dark Arts Club and invited Lockhart as the instructor, which won the support of a group of Lockhart fans. However, this matter was not organized by her, but by a senior student who admired Lockhart and founded a club called "Club that Worships Gilderoy Lockhart".
Hermione soon discovered that this club was not what she had imagined, so she wanted to invite Albert to form their own Defense Against the Dark Arts club.
"Sorry, I'm afraid not." Albert shook his head and refused.
He was very busy, with twelve classes to attend and several clubs to participate in, and he had no extra time to join the Defense Against the Dark Arts Club.
However, Albert still gave Hermione some advice and asked her to invite Harry Potter to join the club.
“Is this really okay?”
"Didn't you notice that Professor Lockhart paid special attention to Harry Potter?" Albert reminded: "If you want to succeed, you need to pull Harry Potter into the club, because Lockhart is only interested in Harry Potter. Believe me, as long as Harry Potter is in the Defense Against the Dark Arts Club, Lockhart will definitely be willing to come and guide you."
"But why is Professor Lockhart interested in Harry?" Hermione was very puzzled.
"I don't know, maybe Lockhart is interested in Harry defeating the You-Know-Who!" Albert made up an excuse to appease Hermione. He knew very well that a club that focuses on learning Defense Against the Dark Arts would not have any appeal to Lockhart.
Only Harry could attract Lockhart.
Although Hermione still didn't understand what Albert meant, she knew that Harry simply avoided Lockhart and would never be willing to join the "Defense Against the Dark Arts Club" unless... Hermione quickly thought of a solution.