Sunday morning, clear skies.
Albert was eating in the Great Hall, humming an unknown tune while forking pieces of black pudding into his mouth.
Shera flapped her wings, landed between the salad and the sugar bowl, and placed a thick letter within Albert's reach.
"Good job." Albert moved the surrounding plates of food aside, reached out to stroke Shera's back, took out some owl treats from his pocket and placed them in front of her, then picked up the envelope and opened it.
Inside were letters from Luke, Herb, and Daisy, as well as a letter from Nia, which included a photo of Nia blowing bubbles with a Super Bubble Gum.
"What are you looking at?" Alicia walked over and sat down opposite him, asking curiously.
"Letters from home." Albert folded the letters and put them in his pocket.
After finishing her treats, Shera flew back to the Owlery to rest.
"Oh, right, Albert, are you going to the pitch for practice this morning?" Angelina also walked over and sat down next to Alicia, continuing, "Charlie said there's Quidditch practice this morning. He asked me to tell you that it's okay if you can't become a regular player for now; the team still needs reserves."
"Oh, it seems I have no reason to refuse." Albert nodded. "After I finish eating, I'll go wake Fred and the others."
"Don't… we're already up." Fred stretched a long yawn and greeted everyone, "Good morning, everyone."
"Good morning."
"Good morning, Albert." Charlie followed closely behind George and the other two, smiling as he greeted him.
"You don't know, Charlie is like possessed by a demon; who starts training so early in the morning?" George secretly made a face at Albert.
Charlie sat down next to them and asked, "Going together later?"
"Okay."
"Charlie, it's only seven o'clock right now." A well-built young man couldn't help but complain, "Are you sure we're starting practice now?"
"The early bird catches the worm."
"Isn't eating meat better?" Lee Jordan sat down on Albert's other side, put two slices of fried meat on his plate, took a bite, and mumbled, "What's so good about worms?"
Albert quickly covered his mouth to avoid spitting out the food in his mouth.
"What's wrong? Did I say something wrong?" Lee Jordan looked at Albert confusedly, blinking.
"Nothing."
"Cough, cough, this is Wood, our Keeper." Charlie patted a young man next to him and introduced, "Fred and George, my brothers. This is Albert; you didn't see him flying on a broom last time, he's simply a genius. You would never believe Albert was riding a broom for the first time—light, agile…"
Albert turned his head away; although it was someone else praising him, he felt awkward, especially with everyone around looking.
Angelina was smiling, mouthing silently, "I didn't realize you were so amazing!"
"Cough, cough." Albert lightly coughed, interrupting Charlie, and asked, "What do we do if we don't have brooms?"
"I've already explained to Professor Hooch and borrowed a few old brooms from the school for you to use." Charlie didn't forget to remind him, "Of course, don't expect the brooms to be very good."
After breakfast, everyone left the castle in groups, walking across the dewy grass and up the slope towards the pitch.
Along the way, Charlie continued to introduce the old Gryffindor Quidditch players to Albert and the other newcomers.
The Gryffindor Quidditch team consisted of six men and one woman, and they all got along well.
It was said that the two Beaters were even a couple.
Charlie pointed to the only girl among the regular players and said, "This is the violent Beater, Irene."
Irene was a lovely girl, not at all violent as Charlie's words suggested.
She smiled at everyone and introduced, "Mark and I are the team's Beaters. This is our last year at Hogwarts, and don't listen to Charlie's nonsense, I'm not violent at all."
"Haha… I haven't forgotten who it was that took a bat and knocked someone off their broom last time, getting directly suspended by Professor Hooch and causing us to lose last term's match."
"No way, that was just an accident; I just used a little too much force and accidentally hit his leg…"
"You almost broke someone's bone." Charlie complained helplessly. "Otherwise, why would Professor Hooch suspend you directly?"
"There's a big difference between a broken bone and almost a broken bone." Irene protested. "Besides, he was the one who tried to knock me off my broom first."
"Hmph." Charlie scoffed; he hadn't forgotten the conflict between the two of them, and continued, "The one next to Irene is her boyfriend, the cunning Mark."
"Hey, Charlie, when have I ever been cunning?" Mark lightly coughed, reached out and shook hands with Albert. "Don't listen to his nonsense. Oh, and this somewhat dull Wood next to me is the team's Keeper."
"When have I ever been dull?" Wood protested.
"In the second match against Ravenclaw last term, you just stood there like a blockhead, letting several quaffles through, like a piece of wood, and you say you're not dull?" Mark cleverly used Wood to divert everyone's attention.
"Cough, cough, back then…" Wood lightly coughed. "Back then… I was just watching you elbow someone's cheek, okay?"
"Did I? Well, that was just an accident, even Professor Hooch thought so."
Accident?
The others scoffed at this.
"Alright, well, that Kula guy was so arrogant, acting like he had us beat," Mark said, annoyed.
"Besides, at that height, he only suffered a minor fall. I remember the Slytherin Beater was even worse last time, hitting the Hufflepuff Seeker so hard he got a nosebleed, and that bastard only got a minor warning."
Albert was a bit numb from listening. Is this still the Quidditch I know? This is actually Violent Quidditch, isn't it!
"Charlie, has anyone ever died in Quidditch?" Albert asked cautiously.
"Basically no, at most severe injuries, but usually they receive timely treatment." Charlie realized the conversation was going off-topic and quickly changed the subject. "And then, these are our three Chasers, Mario, Danny, Jack."
"They're the Acrobat Trio," Irene added.
"Don't call us the Acrobat Trio." The three complained in unison. "Also, don't think we can't hear what you're saying."
"If you guys didn't cause trouble, our chances of winning last term would have increased by at least twenty percent." Charlie felt a bit tired; having just taken over as Quidditch captain, he really hoped to achieve something.