"Did you go to the bathroom for prefects just now?" Hermione's eyes moved away from Crookshanks and fell on Albert. She had smelled a faint fragrance on Albert since just now.
"Do you know the prefect's bathroom?" Albert was a little surprised that Hermione actually knew the prefect's bathroom.
"I heard Percy mention it somewhere before. He said that being a prefect has many advantages," Hermione explained quickly.
"I rarely go to the prefect's bathroom. Myrtle, um, maybe you know that female ghost. She likes to hide there and peek at others taking a bath." Albert said helplessly, "Besides, sometimes you might run into people dating there."
"Date?" Hermione's cheeks flushed red and she stammered, "Date in the prefect's bathroom?"
"That place is indeed suitable for a date. At least you don't have to worry about being disturbed." Albert nodded as if he agreed. "Normally, not many prefects would go there to take a shower, and Filch can't get in, so it's a good place for a date at night. As far as I know, Percy likes to ask his girlfriend out there for a date."
"Percy and his girlfriend?" Harry pricked up his ears curiously, seeming to be very interested in Percy's gossip.
"You can also bring your girlfriend over for a date in the future." Albert glanced at Harry and Hermione, and said in a firm tone: "You can definitely be useful. Even if you can't become a prefect, you should be able to become a Quidditch captain."
"No, no, we're just good friends." Harry noticed Albert's gaze and quickly shook his head to deny it.
"Maybe you two will become a couple someday. Sometimes, many things are hard to say." Albert did not continue to dwell on this topic, but asked, "Where is Weasley? I thought you three were always together."
Speaking of Ron, both Harry and Hermione felt slightly embarrassed.
"Fell out because Harry became a warrior?" Albert took out some dried fish from his pocket and teased Crookshanks. "I still think cats look better when they are fatter."
"Tom is too fat," Hermione continued. "I don't want Crookshanks to become a big fat cat."
"Don't worry, after Weasley finishes watching the first event, I think he probably won't be jealous of you becoming a warrior anymore. Not everyone has the courage to face those ferocious magical creatures." Albert said calmly.
"Have you divined the specific content of the first project?" Hermione couldn't help but ask.
"I don't have a prediction, but I can guess that this is the charm of Arithmancy." Albert turned to Hermione and said, "Believe me, there will definitely be someone willing to help us cheat."
"You mean Professor Moody?" Harry had also heard about Professor Moody's deeds.
"It's Hagrid. He likes those ferocious magical creatures. As long as those monsters arrive around Hogwarts, Hagrid will definitely know it at the first time. Believe me, Hagrid will definitely be happy to tell us what we need to face in the first project."
"Do you really think we're going to encounter an Acromantula?" Harry demanded.
"I think it should be a magical creature classified as XXXXX." Albert corrected, "To be honest, the eight-eyed giant spiders are not scary. They only pose a threat to wizards when there are a large number of them. If the Ministry of Magic can get a group of eight-eyed giant spiders from the Forbidden Forest to serve as our opponents, it would be a happy thing. I have dealt with them a lot in the past."
"What do you think it will be?" Hermione couldn't help asking. She felt that Harry needed to do something during this time, otherwise it would be difficult for him to pass the first project.
"It's probably a fire dragon. After all, every warrior needs one. Many of XXXXX's magical creatures are not that easy to find. There are a lot of Acromantulas in the Forbidden Forest, but they are better at sneak attacks. They are a bit sloppy if they face the warriors head-on, and they may be easily dealt with."
"Fire dragon?"
Harry couldn't help but gasp. He simply couldn't imagine how he would face a terrifying dragon.
"It's just speculation Harry." Hermione consoled him, "They can't really let the warriors fight the dragon. Even adult wizards would need many people to subdue a dragon."
"No, actually I think it's very likely to be a fire dragon. This thing is really hard to deal with, and it tests the courage and wisdom of a warrior. In fact, there are quite a few fire dragons, and they are relatively easy to find among the known magical creatures. I remember Charlie's job is to tame fire dragons. Of course, it could also be a chicken-bodied snake-tailed monster, if they still dare to use it after what happened last time. Anyway, as long as it's not a basilisk or a leopard, I can accept it."
"Whatever comes, I'll find it hard to accept," Harry muttered. He really couldn't imagine whether he would be scared to death when facing those monsters.
"Don't worry, you can let Black and Lupin train your fighting ability. There are many trolls and eight-eyed giant spiders in the Forbidden Forest. They are all very good training targets. You can accumulate combat experience and then you won't be stage frightened."
Albert's nonchalant look gave Harry the impression that going into the woods to fight trolls and kill spiders was a common occurrence.
"How did you do it? Crookshanks seemed so comfortable." Hermione changed the subject, noticing that two younger students were trying to eavesdrop on their conversation.
"Have you never petted a cat before?" Albert pointed at Crookshanks' ears and began to demonstrate to Hermione: "Use your thumb and index finger to gently rub the cat's ears like I do, from the inside to the outside along the direction of the cat's ears. It will make the cat feel very comfortable."
Hermione watched Albert's movements with interest.
"Most cats like people touching their chins. When they rub their chins against your hand, you should scratch the cat's chin with your fingers. Some cats like to be scratched gently, while others like it with more force. It varies from cat to cat. If you scratch well, the cat will feel very comfortable, like this." Albert demonstrated to Hermione again, and Crookshanks made a series of purring sounds comfortably and seemed to be enjoying it very much.
If the cat feels comfortable, it will make the same sound.
"Then there's the neck area. You can massage it a little harder." After Albert finished, he put his hand on Crookshanks' back and said, "For the back, you can stroke it gently with your palm, or use a cat comb to comb its hair. My Tom likes to lie down and let me comb his hair. You can also prepare a comb."
"So, you spoiled the cat." Harry finally couldn't help but interrupt.
"Do you keep a cat hoping it can catch mice for you?" Albert asked with a strange expression. "Harry, you seem to have misunderstood the meaning of keeping a cat. Many people keep cats to relieve stress and anxiety and to improve their mood. Hogwarts lets students keep cats because it hopes that students can get companionship, comfort and emotional satisfaction after leaving home. You should be able to sense this from Filch."
"So, that's why you're warning others not to go after Filch's Mrs. Norris?" Harry was suddenly silent. He originally thought that Albert liked cats, so he stopped students from hurting Filch's cat. It seems that the situation is not what he thought.
"If you kill or maim Filch's cat, believe me, Filch will spend the rest of his life harassing you until you leave Hogwarts." Albert had a strange smile on his face.
Harry couldn't help but shudder as he remembered Filch's bad mood when Mrs. Norris was petrified.
After listening to Albert's words, Hermione suddenly felt a little regretful. Last year, when she was busy with schoolwork, Albert told her that she could use the help of a cat to relieve the fatigue caused by schoolwork, but Hermione didn't care, or she never cared about it from the beginning.
When the other students heard the three people discussing how to pet a cat, they lost interest in eavesdropping.
After eleven o'clock, the Gryffindor common room was deserted.
The three of them moved their seats closer to the fireplace, and Harry, feeling a little silly, watched Hermione learn how to properly stroke Crookshanks under Albert's instruction.
"Why do you always like to lock Tom in the dormitory?" Hermione gently stroked Crookshanks' back and couldn't help asking.
"Because Tom is stupid, at least compared to your Crookshanks, he is not really smart. Besides, some people don't like me. They can't make trouble for me, but can't they make trouble for my cat? Sometimes killing a cat is not a big deal for them."
"I don't think they would..."
"No, Hermione, I think you may be a little wrong." Albert interrupted impatiently, "Children are more cruel than you think. They can definitely kill a cat without any psychological pressure. I don't want to regret it after Tom gets hurt."
"Would they really do that?" Hermione doubted.
"They'll do that. Slytherin students are all rotten as festering." Harry sneered, obviously agreeing with Albert's point of view.
"It's not that Slytherin is so bad, but most of the descendants of dark wizards are so bad. This is related to their family education."
"I think you are prejudiced against them." Although Hermione also disliked Slytherin students, she always felt that Albert was prejudiced against them.
"Do you know what black magic is?" Albert's face hidden in the shadows was a little gloomy. He said to himself, "You must have the determination and strength to kill the other person in order to really hurt him. Otherwise, even if you aim at a rabbit and recite the Killing Curse, you can't kill it. This is why there is no black magic in Hogwarts, because wizards who often use black magic are a group of twisted and cruel lunatics, and their descendants are also easily affected by extreme emotions and become crazy."
Harry and Hermione opened their mouths, not expecting to hear such words.
"I also have a few acquaintances in Slytherin, good friends." Albert had a strange expression, "but their families are a group of people who are hard to describe."
"But I don't think they would kill an innocent cat just because they don't like you," Hermione argued.
"They don't like me? No, I think you're wrong. They hate me, not that they don't like me," Albert corrected.
"How could it be..."
"Because I brought shame to the purebloods." Albert explained impatiently.
"What?"
"Just imagine, a Muggle wizard actually won a lot of international awards. For most British pure-blood wizards, it is absolutely a shame. It's like someone stepped on their face, rolled it back and forth a few times, and then spitted on it.
"I like your description." Harry couldn't help but chuckle.
"Pure-bloods always boast that they are better than Muggle wizards." Albert raised his hand to interrupt, "and my existence is very likely to be seen as pure-bloods being inferior to Muggles, so they would rather I didn't win the award. This is the current situation of the British wizarding world. The status of Muggle wizards is actually very embarrassing. It is difficult for them to have a relatively high position in the Ministry of Magic. So if you want to work in the Ministry of Magic, you'd better hope that the environment at that time is good, otherwise you will only be humiliated and bullied when you go there."
"I think Albert is right. Malfoy is just like that." Harry agreed with Albert's point of view. "Maybe others won't be as extreme as Malfoy, but..."
"But Percy said the Ministry..."
"Percy probably didn't tell you that I was the one who picked that job for him."
"You picked it for him?" Hermione's eyes widened.
At this moment, the voices of the three people stopped abruptly because they heard a somewhat unfamiliar voice coming from the two-way mirror.
"Is it Sirius?" Harry picked up the two-way mirror excitedly.
"Harry?"
Sirius' voice was heard again from the two-sided mirror, and soon Sirius's appearance appeared in the two-sided mirror.
"Harry, didn't you give the note to Anderson?" asked Sirius.
"He's right next to us." Harry handed the two-way mirror to Albert.
"Long time no see, Sirius." Albert took the mirror, greeted Blake and asked, "How is the sales of the Defense Guide now?"
"We followed your suggestion and started cooperation with other stores. The sales of Defense Guide are gradually increasing, but the profit is not as high as expected. We are still operating at a loss." Sirius couldn't help laughing. "Lupin has been worried that the magazine will go bankrupt due to losses."
"Definitely not for the time being." Albert said, "Remember to ask Mr. Lupin to prepare a financial report. I will make some minor adjustments to the magazine depending on the situation. By the way, what do you want to talk to me about?"
"Lupin is right next to me. He has heard what you said and said he will send what you need in two days." Sirius said.
"By the way, what do you want from me?"
"It's about Harry becoming a Hogwarts warrior." Sirius suppressed the smile on his face and said seriously.
"Perhaps, you should go to Dumbledore." Albert said without hesitation, "Headmaster Dumbledore must know more about this than I do."