The Gryffindor common room was already packed with students despite the early afternoon hour. The limited sofa seats were occupied, and the space was loud and chaotic, filled with excited chatter and the occasional burst of laughter. Albert had no intention of staying; the sheer noise was antithetical to focused thought.
He efficiently posted the first-year class schedule on the bulletin board, stored his Muggle camera and photos back in his trunk, and then walked purposefully out of the Common Room and headed straight for the Library on the fifth floor.
The Library offered a stark, blessed contrast to the Common Room. It was silent and vast. Very few students, even among the academically inclined Ravenclaws, would voluntarily step into the Library before classes officially commenced.
The only person present was the formidable librarian, Madam Irma Pince. She sat bolt upright behind the high counter, a severe-looking, gaunt woman with a face like a grumpy bird, reading quietly beneath the soft glow of a desk lamp.
When Albert approached the counter, Madam Pince raised her head, her expression one of faint, startled surprise that anyone would dare interrupt the sacred stillness of her domain at such an hour.
"Ma'am, excuse me," Albert began, keeping his voice respectfully low. "I'd like to find books concerning Charms, specifically more advanced invisibility spells. Do you know which shelf section those would be under?"
He knew he could search the towering shelves himself, but that would be a time-consuming, tedious, and altogether unpleasant task. The fastest, most direct method was to consult the sole authority in the room.
Madam Pince peered at him over her spectacles, her gaze sharp and assessing. She seemed to size up his first-year status and his ambitious request in a single glance. She pointed a long, bony finger toward a distant row of wooden bookshelves. "Section C, fifth bookshelf. And absolutely no noise, Mr.—?"
"Anderson, ma'am. Thank you."
Albert nodded and walked toward the designated shelves. His gaze paused instinctively on the thick, roped partition that guarded the Restricted Section—a silent, magnetic barrier promising dark, powerful knowledge. He mentally logged the path and continued deeper into the main section. The fifth bookshelf of Area C was indeed crammed with books on spells, curses, and counter-charms.
As Albert reached out and allowed his fingers to trail across the dusty spines, two distinct prompts flashed across his Panel, snapping into existence with the soundless chime of opportunity.
NEW QUEST ALERT!
Reading Maniac
As a true lover of knowledge, you cannot afford to miss out on the largest magical library in Great Britain. Immersion in its vast catalog will permanently alter your connection to magic.
Objective: Read and internalize the contents of 100 books of approximately 1-inch thickness or greater.
Reward: Master 3 random magics and instantly raise them to Level 3.
Current Progress: 0/100
NEW QUEST ALERT!
Magic Restricted Area
The Restricted Section of the Hogwarts Library conceals many of the most valuable and dangerous magical secrets. As a magic enthusiast, you must not ignore this invaluable resource. Studying the forbidden will dramatically accelerate your magical skills.
Objective: Successfully obtain signed borrowing notes from five different Hogwarts professors, allowing you to check out five books from the Restricted Section.
Reward: Bonus skill level increased by 1 (permanent increase to one chosen skill level).
Current Progress: 0/5
Albert's internal monologue was dominated by a single, exasperated thought: Both of these tasks are truly insane!
Reading Maniac was a monumental undertaking. A hundred one-inch-thick books—he estimated that to be the equivalent of about fifteen to twenty thousand pages of dense, magical text. He couldn't speed-read this information; he had to internalize it.
Even with his superior memory, this task would require hundreds of hours of focused, unrelenting effort. Finishing it within three years seemed optimistic, yet the reward was incredible: three skills instantly mastered to Level 3. It was a potent promise of power earned through relentless study.
The second task, Magic Restricted Area, was socially and politically difficult, but the reward was vastly superior. A permanent increase of +1 Skill Level was far more potent than simply accumulating skill points. It meant raising one of his core magical abilities—like Transfiguration or Charms—to a level that would usually take months, perhaps even years, of practice. The problem lay in the objective: five different professors.
He quickly ran through the possibilities. Snape was clearly impossible (unless Albert could somehow frame the request as a trap). McGonagall and Flitwick would only agree for highly exceptional academic needs. Sprout was too kind but likely too cautious. The easiest target, Albert concluded, would be the future Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, the vain and easily flattered Gilderoy Lockhart, but he wouldn't arrive until next year. For now, he needed a solid, long-term plan to gain the trust or leverage the vanity of five distinct faculty members.
I have to compartmentalize, Albert decided, clearing his mind. The quests were long-term goals. The immediate need was the Disillusionment Charm.
He began his search. He first pulled out a book titled "Selected Spells of the Eighteenth Century." He quickly scanned the table of contents. No Disillusionment Charm. He shelved it. The spells listed, though useful, were not relevant to his immediate defensive and evasive needs. Spending time and experience points on them now would be inefficient.
He then pulled out "Spell Achievements," a broad survey of magical innovations. Here, he found a dedicated section mentioning the Disillusionment Charm, though it offered no precise incantation. Crucially, the text cross-referenced the actual methodology to a book dedicated to more modern innovations.
His search narrowed. He found "Selected Spells of the Nineteenth Century." This was it.
Albert took the dense volume and walked to a deserted wooden desk deeper in the library. He sat down and opened the book. The news was undoubtedly good.
The book detailed that the invention of the Disillusionment Charm was directly inspired by the natural camouflage of Muggle chameleons. The core principle was to create a focused mental wave that caused the subject's skin and clothing to mimic the texture, color, and light refractions of the surrounding environment, resulting in a near-perfect optical cloaking effect.
The text was clear: "It is difficult for a proficient wizard using the Disillusionment Charm to be detected. However, a clumsy application will leave the subject's form slightly warped or uneven against the background, giving a feeling of inexplicably out-of-place air, easily spotted by a vigilant eye."
While Albert was deeply engrossed in reading the precise wand movement and concentration required for the Charm, the chair directly opposite his desk was quietly pulled out.
Albert looked up. Sitting down was the red-haired Ravenclaw girl he had met that morning in the Great Hall—Arya. She had a stack of thick, academic-looking volumes piled next to her. She met his gaze, gave him a brief, curt nod of acknowledgment, and immediately turned her attention to her own book, demonstrating the pure, focused dedication Ravenclaws were known for.
As expected of Ravenclaw, Albert thought, a small, involuntary smile touching his lips. He returned to his own task, meticulously memorizing the precautions and execution of the Disillusionment Charm.
He realized the book did not explicitly list the counter-spell. It was crucial to know how to instantly break the Charm. Although the spell's duration was temporary, he certainly didn't want to be invisible for an unnecessarily long time, forced to wait for the magic to dissipate naturally.
He briefly flipped back to Spell Achievements and cross-referenced the section on general dispelling magic, identifying Finite Incantatem and other, more niche counter-curses.
Confident he had the theory locked down, Albert decided to borrow the text. He took "Selected Nineteenth-Century Spells" to Madam Pince, completed the formal borrowing procedure, and then left the Library. His first goal was complete.
He also made a mental note to pick up a smooth, fist-sized stone outside the castle to use as his initial target for practice—he certainly wasn't going to be foolish enough to test an advanced, potentially warping spell on himself.
Just as he was debating the best secluded spot for practice—perhaps an unused courtyard on the third floor or an abandoned classroom—the air was shattered by the sound of frantically pounding feet.
The Weasley twins and Lee Jordan appeared, leaning against the wall of the fifth-floor corridor, completely winded and drenched in sweat, their faces flushed bright red.
"Where... where did you go... at noon?" Albert asked, amused by their state of absolute exhaustion.
"Fifth floor... mirror," George gasped out, struggling for breath, his hand clutching his side.
"That passage," Fred managed to choke out, a manic grin fighting his exhaustion. "It leads... outside. To Hogsmeade Village!"
Albert raised an eyebrow. The realization of the scope of their exploit was stunning. They had discovered a passage leading out of Hogwarts on their first weekend.
"So... how many hours did you spend fooling around in Hogsmeade before coming back?" Albert pressed, looking skeptical.
"No, that secret passage... it's incredibly long," Lee Jordan wheezed, sliding down the wall. "We walked for at least an hour each way."
"You boys... are truly something," Albert managed, barely squeezing the words out.
Walking for an hour through a cramped, dark tunnel would be an absolute torture for Albert. As a practical and largely sedentary person, why would he subject himself to a two-hour round trip just to visit a small, sleepy village when he could simply sit on a comfortable sofa and read, or, better yet, master a high-level charm? His risk-reward calculator immediately spat out a negative value.
"This is my achievement for the afternoon," Albert said, raising the newly borrowed book in his hand.
Fred instantly recognized the significance. "You found it! The Disillusionment Spell?"
"Well, I found the theory and the incantation," Albert confirmed, impressed by Fred's quick deduction. "It's going to be difficult to master, however. If you want to learn it, you must be mentally prepared to spend quite a lot of time repeating the wand movements and maintaining the visualization."
The twins and Lee looked at the book, then at their sweaty, tired hands. The allure of the hidden path to Hogsmeade was strong, but the promise of instant invisibility was stronger. They knew, as Albert knew, that the true treasure of the day was not the long, tiring walk, but the knowledge he now possessed.