Although you can use magic at will in Hogsmeade village, it is still not a good idea to be too conspicuous when practicing Apparition.
As for using the shielding spell to block the trace effect on his body, Albert did not intend to take the risk at all. If he failed, he would get himself into a lot of trouble.
However, it was still necessary to practice Apparition, as he needed to adapt to the discomfort it brought.
Half an hour later, Albert began to wander around Hogsmeade village, and on his way to Devos and Bans's shop, he met Fred, George, and Lee Jordan coming out of Honeydukes candy store.
"Why are you here alone?" Fred was very surprised to see Albert alone.
"Did you get dumped?" George asked in feigned shock.
Lee Jordan came over, put his arm around Albert's shoulders, and comforted him: "Don't be sad, you are so popular, you will be able to find a new girlfriend soon."
"That's enough for you guys." Albert couldn't help but roll his eyes at the three of them. After breaking free from Lee Jordan's arms, he took the initiative to change the subject, "By the way, where are you going?"
"Zonko's Magic Joke Shop." George said without hesitation.
"I'm going to the Shrieking Shack, would you like to come with me?" Albert asked.
He planned to take advantage of his free time now to go over and see if he could trigger a new task.
"It is said that there is a ghost there."
"By the way, when we came here just now, we found that the secret passage behind the mirror on the fifth floor had collapsed and was completely blocked." Fred nodded and said, "Now if we want to sneak into Hogsmeade, we can only go through the Bee Duke Candy Store. Fortunately, we all know how to use the Disillusionment Charm, otherwise it would be troublesome."
"It collapsed under the weight of the snow?"
"Yes, it's very thorough. Even if the snow melts, we probably won't be able to leave unless we use magic to dig through that part again."
Several people had obviously given up on that passage. Anyway, there were more than one passage that could lead to Hogsmeade village secretly.
As they talked, they were already walking on the snow and approaching the outskirts of the Shrieking Shack. Lee Jordan also shared with them the intelligence he had gathered: "It is said that about 20 years ago, creepy screams were heard from the Shrieking Shack. People thought that they might be the sounds made by some ferocious ghosts, and the shack got its name from this."
"In fact, we tried to break in once, but failed." Fred looked at the eerie house not far away and said, "The entrances to the shack may all be sealed with wooden boards. We suspect there is a secret passage that can lead to the inside of the Shrieking Shack."
"Unfortunately, we never found the secret passage, so we just gave up." George added, "I remember I mentioned this to you at the time."
Albert looked at the dilapidated shed in front of him, pulled out his wand and knocked on the door, then reached out and pushed it, but the door did not move, and there was not even a sound.
"It can't be opened from the front, but it shouldn't be difficult to get in." Albert began to look around the shed, looking for the entrance.
"How are you going to get in?"
The three of them looked at Albert together. They had never doubted Albert's ability.
"It's very simple, that's it."
Albert used the cutting spell quickly to create an entrance on the right wall for them to enter and exit freely.
Just like that, the four of them easily made their way into the Screaming Shack.
“Why didn’t we think of it before?”
Fred, George and Lee Jordan looked at the cut wall and spoke in annoyance.
They were messy, dusty houses that had not been lived in for a long time, and everything was covered with a thick layer of dust.
The wallpaper had fallen off the wall, there were stains all over the floor, and all the furniture was broken, as if someone had smashed it. The door next to it was nailed shut with wooden boards, and there was a strong magic on it to prevent anyone from secretly opening it.
But... the other party obviously didn't expect that someone would go out of their way to dig a hole from the side.
All right!
Honestly, this doesn't feel like a haunted house at all.
At least, after these uninvited intruders broke in, no ghosts came out to greet them.
"The doors and windows here are all sealed shut." Albert checked the wooden-boarded windows and said, "There's still some kind of magic left on them, probably to prevent people from breaking in."
"Come on, look here," Fred screamed.
As they walked quickly, they found old scratches on the surrounding furniture and walls.
"What's this?"
"Perhaps, some terrible creature was once imprisoned here." Lee Jordan had drawn his wand and began to be alert to his surroundings, fearing that something would suddenly jump out and attack them.
"Don't worry, there's no one here anymore. Just look at the dust on the ground and you'll know."
Albert stretched out his hand and gently brushed across the scratches on the wall. He glanced at the newly appeared task and said, "In the beginning, the people trapped here should have been humans, or not ordinary people, otherwise there would be no need for such a place."
"You mean, someone is imprisoned here?" Fred's mind worked quickly.
"Imprisonment may not be used properly." Albert looked at the scratches on the handrail. "I suspect that there must have been a werewolf living here, or rather, there was a werewolf living in Hogsmeade, who would come here every month to transform."
"Werewolf!" the three said in unison.
There is no doubt that werewolves are not friendly guys in the wizarding world. At least, most wizards will instinctively stay away from werewolves.
"During the full moon, out-of-control werewolves can be very dangerous, so the doors and windows of the Shrieking Shack have been sealed with magic." Albert continued to analyze: "When a werewolf transforms, it is very painful, so it screams, or should it be a wolf howl. As for why this place is famous, it is probably because someone deliberately spread rumors to make people mistakenly believe that this place is haunted, in order to cover up the matter."
"You can guess all of this."
Fred, George and Lee Jordan all looked at Albert in shock. They didn't expect that Albert could infer so many things based only on the traces and names here.
Of course they didn't know that Albert had read the Harry Potter books. Otherwise, with just this little information, he probably wouldn't be able to come up with anything even if he racked his brains.
"Where do you think the secret passage is?" Fred asked.
"As long as you look carefully, you will definitely find the secret passage."
Several people searched for the location of the secret passage on the first floor.
In fact, the so-called secret passage was not secret at all. It was a trapdoor that led to a staircase leading down.
"Where do you think this leads to?"
Fred, George and Lee Jordan were all very excited at the moment.
This is the taste of adventure.
"You'll know when you go down and take a look."
The secret passage was dark and cold, and the air was not flowing smoothly, making it a little difficult for him to breathe.
"Forget it, let's go back!" Albert turned around and walked back.
"Go back?" Fred didn't want to go back.
"I can roughly guess where this leads to." Albert was about to reveal the plot again.
"where?"
"Hogwarts, this is a secret passage leading to Hogwarts." Albert suddenly stopped and said, "There is a problem."
"What's the problem?" Lee Jordan didn't understand what he was talking about.
"You mean there was a werewolf professor at Hogwarts?"
"It could also be a werewolf student." Albert added, "The probability of it being a professor is relatively low. I believe no one is willing to take the risk."
"How many secret passages are there leading out of Hogwarts Castle?"
"This is probably the secret passage that leads to the bottom of the Whomping Willow."
“Perhaps the Whomping Willow was planted specifically to protect this secret passage.”