"What a pity. If the Disillusionment Charm's effect could last longer, using it on a cloak would turn it into an invisibility cloak, wouldn't it?" Lee Jordan stared at the towel that had lost its magic, feeling regretful.
If he could possess an invisibility cloak, the entire Hogwarts Castle would be completely open to him.
It wasn't that Lee Jordan didn't want to go out at night; he simply considered the consequences first. Gryffindor's bravery never meant recklessness or foolishness.
"Once I return the book, you can borrow it again to learn the Disillusionment Charm yourself." Albert noticed his expression and said with a smile, "The Disillusionment Charm can be used directly on people. Do you want to try it?"
"You haven't used it on yourself, have you?" Lee Jordan asked warily.
"No," Albert replied.
"Then forget it," Lee Jordan said irritably. "When you've used it on yourself, then let me try."
"Do you two want to try?" Albert looked at the Weasley twins with a grin.
The two shivered involuntarily and shook their heads in unison. "No, no."
"What a shame."
"There's nothing to be ashamed of," the three said together.
"An invisibility cloak? Actually, making a low-quality one isn't too difficult." Albert pulled a cloak from his trunk, picked up his wand, and cast a spell on it. The cloak immediately blended into its surroundings, as if it had vanished.
Albert draped it over himself and asked, "How is it?"
"Wow, it disappeared."
"It's really an invisibility cloak."
The three of them chose to forget the short duration of the Disillusionment Charm and immersed themselves in the excitement of seeing an invisibility cloak for the first time.
Albert lowered his head; only his face hovered in mid-air, his body completely invisible.
"Let me try," George urged.
Albert handed him the cloak, and George eagerly wrapped himself up. The next moment, he vanished from the room.
Albert's Disillusionment Charm still had flaws, but if you didn't look closely, you wouldn't notice them immediately.
"Alright, let me try." Lee Jordan reached out and fumbled in the air, like someone searching with his eyes closed.
"Guess where I am?"
"Ahem, Revelio!" Albert raised his wand and cast the Revealing Charm toward the voice. George, who had been wrapped in the cloak, immediately appeared before them.
Everyone watched George tiptoe across the room, trying not to make a sound, until Fred finally burst out laughing.
"Why did the invisibility effect disappear?" George asked, startled. Then he remembered Albert's spell. He poked his head out of the cloak and saw that the invisibility had faded.
"It's the Revealing Charm. An invisibility cloak made with a spell is easily countered," Albert explained, patting George's shoulder. "The more precious cloaks are woven from Demiguise hair, but even those eventually lose their effect."
In Albert's memory, the only true invisibility cloak was Harry Potter's.
As for cloaks made with the Disillusionment Charm, they were merely passable—perhaps not even worthy of being called Alchemy items.
What should Alchemy tools look like?
Albert thought of the Deluminator, the Mirror of Erised, the Pensieve, the Golden Snitch, the Goblet of Fire… those could be considered Alchemy tools.
Like Potions, Alchemy should also be a branch of magic.
Speaking of which, Hogwarts didn't even teach Alchemy.
His task as the inventor of the magic lamp still hadn't been fulfilled.
"Albert, Albert!"
Snapped out of his thoughts, Albert asked, "What is it?"
"Why did you suddenly space out?"
All three looked at him speechless. They had been chatting so nicely, and then he suddenly stopped.
"Nothing, I was just thinking. Since the Disillusionment Charm can be used on objects, what about other spells?" Albert picked up his wand and tried to light up the crumpled Daily Prophet, but nothing happened.
"What are you doing?" George asked in confusion.
"I'm trying to make the paper ball glow."
"And the result?"
"Didn't you see it?" Albert said irritably. The result was, of course, nothing—perhaps his spell level wasn't high enough.
"Why are you trying to do this for no reason?" Fred asked, puzzled.
"Haven't you noticed that the joke items at Zonko's shop all use spells?"
"That makes sense." The three immediately thought of the cloak from earlier.
"Protego!" Albert tried again, attempting to give the paper ball the effect of a Shield Charm.
Still, no reaction.
"What are you doing now?" Lee Jordan asked.
"Casting a Shield Charm on the paper ball."
"Casting a Shield Charm on a paper ball?" The three were baffled, completely unaware of what Albert was attempting.
"So… did it succeed?"
"I don't know. You hold it, I'll test." Albert shoved the paper ball to Fred.
"Whoa, wait—you're not going to cast a spell on me, are you?" Fred shouted quickly.
"No, I'll use this to test." Albert grabbed a pillow and threw it, hitting Fred in the face.
"Looks like your Shield Charm isn't working!" Fred glared at Albert resentfully.
"As expected." Albert wasn't surprised. His current magic power wasn't strong enough, and whether he could use magic to modify objects still needed further research.
"So you were definitely doing that on purpose just now!" Fred slammed a pillow into Albert's face and laughed triumphantly, only to be hit by Lee Jordan. George joined in, and soon all four were in a pillow fight.
They laughed and played for a while before settling down.
"Alright, I'm tired. I'm going to rest." Albert yawned and lay down on his bed.
"Good night."
"Good night."
If I could make protective items, they would sell well—especially during Voldemort's reign, when everyone lacked a sense of security. The thought suddenly popped into Albert's mind.
Trying to exchange Muggle currency for Galleons was truly unwise. The goblins at Gringotts had said they would never allow large amounts of Galleons to be exchanged for pounds.
It wasn't difficult to understand. Wizards rarely needed pounds, and there was little interaction between the two worlds, except for those who frequently dealt with Muggles.
Oh, right—the Ministry of Magic also seemed to have a similar department.
Albert raised his hand and lightly patted his forehead. Unconsciously, he had thought about money again. He didn't consider himself greedy, but he couldn't deny that sometimes it was truly difficult to move forward without it.
The wizarding world was no exception.
Just as Albert was about to fall asleep, he heard movement in the room. The twins were tiptoeing, preparing to sneak out.
Are they planning to go out at night tonight?
"Be careful, don't let the Fat Lady lock you out of the common room," Albert warned, not intending to stop them. They had the Marauder's Map, so unless they deliberately courted death, they weren't afraid of being caught by Filch.