Returning to the Gryffindor common room from the library, Albert found that all three of his roommates had disappeared.
Pushing open the dormitory door, he confirmed there was no one inside. It was better this way; no one would disturb him while he wrote his letter.
Albert picked up his wand, tapped the cabinet to unlock it, took out a box, and continued writing the letter to his family.
After finishing the letter, Albert used the Duplication Charm to duplicate the parchment and all the original photographs.
One copy was for his parents, and the other was for his grandfather, Luke. Although he was far from the wizarding world, Albert knew that the old man would surely want to see the legendary Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
After all, it was a childhood dream—and a regret.
As for the beginning and end of the two letters, Albert naturally needed to write them separately.
After writing, Albert placed the letters into separate hard cardboard boxes, which he had transfigured, and also put the gifts he had bought from Hogsmeade into them.
Of course, the special beverages of the wizarding world—pumpkin juice and butterbeer—were absolutely essential.
Once packaged, Albert found that the parcel for his family was a bit large. He couldn't help but worry if his owl's small body could bear the weight of the parcel and safely deliver it to its destination.
"It seems I'll have to borrow an owl from the school," Albert muttered, picking up a quill nearby and writing his name, the sender's name, and the mailing address on the parcel.
Then, he stacked the two parcels together, held them in his arms, and didn't forget to close the door behind him as he left the dormitory.
Passing through the common room, Albert, holding the parcels, attracted the attention of others.
However, he didn't pay attention to the occasional curious glances from others. He continued walking upwards in the castle, finally reaching the West Tower, where the Owlery was located on the topmost floor.
Fortunately, he had practiced karate and exercised regularly, so his physical fitness wasn't as poor as in his previous life. Otherwise, climbing up and down with the parcels would have been exhausting.
As Albert walked up the outer stairs, he heard hurried footsteps behind him. He immediately moved to the side of the stairs and saw a large man rushing upwards, presumably also needing to send something, nearly bumping into Albert.
"Is he really in that much of a hurry?" Albert looked up at the man's back and mumbled.
A moment later, Albert saw the person again. He didn't know what happened to him, but it looked like he had fallen, and his robes were covered in straw and… owl droppings.
As the man walked past Albert with a grim face, Albert could smell the foul odor of bird droppings on him.
The Owlery was a circular stone room with open windows. Being high up, the air inside was quite flowing.
However, Albert had no intention of going inside, because the floor of the Owlery was covered in straw, owl droppings, and rat bones. Slipping on bird droppings in that place was not a pleasant experience.
The clumsy unfortunate person from just now was the best example.
Albert stood at the entrance, looking inside, and found hundreds, even thousands, of owls perched in the Owlery, of all sorts of breeds. He simply couldn't find Shera among the vast number of owls.
"Shera," Albert called softly into the room. His call annoyed some of the owls, but this method was clearly effective. Shera noticed Albert's arrival and flew towards him.
"This is a parcel for Grandfather Luke. If there's a reply, remember to bring it back," Albert handed the parcel for Grandfather Luke to Shera. Shera chirped a few times, as if reassuring him. Then, the owl gripped the rope on the parcel with its talons, spread its wings, and disappeared into the sky with the parcel, which was slightly smaller than its body.
After Shera flew away, Albert looked at the Owlery again. He still needed another one or two stronger owls to send out the other parcel for him.
The school's owls were available for students to borrow.
However, Albert couldn't tell which owl belonged to the school, so his approach was very direct: "I have another large parcel that needs to be sent. I wonder who is willing to help me."
As soon as he finished speaking, a strong great grey owl landed in front of Albert, clearly willing to take on the task.
"Thank you. This is my gift for you. I hope you like it," Albert took out some owl nuts from his pocket, placed them in his palm, and extended his hand towards the great grey owl. It seemed very satisfied with Albert's reward. After gobbling up the owl nuts, it grabbed the remaining larger parcel, spread its wings, and flew away.
What truly human-like magical creatures!
Albert watched the owl fly out of sight, sighing softly, and then turned to leave the Owlery. He had no intention of staying in a place full of straw and owl droppings.
As Albert was about to head to the castle's Great Hall, he unintentionally saw Fred, George, and Lee Jordan being chased out of the Forbidden Forest by Hagrid. His mouth twitched involuntarily; these three guys really had a death wish, secretly sneaking into the Forbidden Forest and getting caught by Hagrid.
Albert walked towards the three of them, just in time to hear Hagrid scolding them and stating that if they tried to sneak into the Forbidden Forest again, he would tell Professor McGonagall and give them all detention.
"Good afternoon, Hagrid!" Albert greeted Hagrid with a smile, then looked at Fred and the other two and casually asked, "What happened to them?"
"It's you! These three mischievous rascals are truly bold. They've only just started school and already dare to sneak into the Forbidden Forest. Aren't they afraid of being carried off by some dangerous beast!" Hagrid, dragging a dead branch, glared fiercely at Fred and the other two. "I know I can't control you. But Professor McGonagall…"
"Hagrid, what are those creatures in your hair?" Albert cleverly interrupted Hagrid, pointing to some strange creatures on Hagrid's head and shoulders that looked like bark and small twigs.
"What? Oh, you mean these? They're Bowtruckles. These two are injured, and I need to bandage their wounds," Hagrid was indeed successfully distracted.
"Hagrid, you can care for magical creatures?" Albert said with an expression of admiration. "I heard that the Care of Magical Creatures class can only be taken in third year."
In fact, the admiration on Albert's face was genuine. After all, Hagrid's fingers were so thick, yet he could bandage these tiny creatures.
"I learned from Professor Kettleburn. He's the Professor of Care of Magical Creatures. However, he's very old now, and I occasionally go help him take care of those magical animals," Hagrid said with a proud expression.
"Can I watch you bandage the Bowtruckles?" Albert asked, while raising his hand and waving at the three, signaling them to apologize quickly.
"Hagrid, we know we were wrong," Fred quickly said. "We also want to see how you bandage these little creatures."
George and Lee Jordan nodded repeatedly, looking as if they truly understood their mistake.
"Don't let it happen again. Come with me!" Hagrid didn't refuse and invited Albert and the other three into his hut.