Speaking of which, I wonder if my control panel is a cut-down version, since it doesn't even have a map function. Albert even had the mood to joke about his control panel's features; after finding the Room of Requirement, he was in a pretty good mood.
There's no way around it; in the online novels I used to read, the protagonist's built-in system was usually incredibly powerful. Once the scanning function was turned on, everything was exposed.
Now, thinking about it carefully, I realize that my control panel has very few functions.
Actually, Albert would be very happy to have this cheat code, the control panel.
"I remember the principal's office is also on the eighth floor, but I don't know which eighth floor it is," Albert murmured.
Of course, he had no intention of sneaking into the headmaster's office. If that old man Dumbledore noticed him, his life at school would be difficult from then on.
After all, there are portraits everywhere in Hogwarts Castle, so it would be easy for Dumbledore to find out what a student is doing.
Albert turned two more corners and found a staircase leading downwards.
I walked down the stairs and started wandering aimlessly through the castle, only to find myself lost.
Okay, maybe it's not called getting lost, it's just that he's never been here before.
Albert stopped in front of a wall, the light from his wand sweeping across the carvings on the wall. He reached out and tapped it lightly; it was solid.
However, Albert suspected there was a secret passage here. There was no way around it; the griffin carvings on the wall were too suspicious. Usually, such places would hide hidden doors or secret passages.
"Child, what are you doing here?" Nick emerged from the wall beside him, looking at Albert with surprise as he examined the carvings.
The sudden sound startled Albert, who felt as if his heart was about to jump out of his chest.
Albert quickly took a few deep breaths to calm his racing heart and couldn't help but complain to Nick, "Don't appear out of nowhere like that, you'll scare people to death."
"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you." Nick raised an eyebrow and asked again, "What are you doing here?"
"A walk," Albert answered honestly.
"A walk, at this hour?" Nick looked down the corridor in confusion; it was still quite early.
"Yes, just taking a walk. Sir Nicholas, do you have a moment to show me around Hogwarts? It's like a maze here; I got lost during my walk." Albert smiled at Nick, knowing that Nick's help would save him a lot of time.
"Oh, I think exploring the castle is a great pleasure for newcomers," Nick politely declined.
"You're right." Albert didn't mind Nick's rejection. After greeting him with a smile, he continued to study the sphinx sculpture in front of him.
Nick watched Albert's retreating figure, shook his head, and reminded him, "If you want to open that door, the switch is in the griffin's claws."
"Thank you." Upon hearing this, Albert reached out and tapped the griffin's claws a few times. The stone door slowly opened, revealing a narrow secret passage inside.
"See you later, Sir Nicholas." Albert nodded slightly to the ghost in thanks, raised his wand, and stepped into the secret passage.
It's very narrow inside, only allowing one person to pass at a time, so it's definitely not a good place for people with claustrophobia.
Albert could feel himself going down, and he didn't know where the secret passage led, but discovering its existence was good news for Albert.
Indeed, the ghosts and portraits living in the castle knew more about Hogwarts.
The exit was hidden behind a portrait. After Albert moved the portrait, the old man in his pajamas glared at him unhappily, complaining that Albert had disturbed his rest.
"Sorry to bother you!" Albert apologized to the old man in the portrait and continued walking, feeling that he might get lost again.
However, this time Albert found a movable staircase.
No matter how many times he saw it, he always thought the scene of the moving staircase was spectacular.
It's said that the moving staircase and the Room of Requirement were both designed by Rowena Ravenclaw. I wonder if I'll ever be able to reach that level?
By the way, could Rowena Ravenclaw be hiding some secret in the Room of Requirement?
After all, didn't Slytherin keep a basilisk in his Chamber of Secrets?
Thinking about it, it actually makes sense. Next time I go there, I can definitely give it a try. Maybe I can actually uncover some secrets.
It took Albert ten minutes to get down the stairs. He encountered a section of the stairs that had changed shape, forcing him to wait for them to return to normal. Thankfully, he didn't have to wait too long. Thank goodness—no, he should thank Merlin now.
As soon as Albert entered the foyer, he was drawn to a cat. The cat was rather thin, with dark gray fur, and was nothing like his own Tom.
He bent down to shake it, but the cat ran away very fast and disappeared in a flash.
Albert knew that it was probably the caretaker Filch's cat, something like Mrs. Filch. Although he had read the Harry Potter books and seen the movies, as time went by, he couldn't remember some unimportant things very clearly, especially the names of the minor characters.
If I hadn't written fanfiction and done a lot of research, I probably would have forgotten even faster.
The cat ran away, probably to call for help. Albert wasn't worried that Filch would come looking for trouble.
After all, it's already past six o'clock, and the sky isn't fully bright yet, entirely because it's raining outside.
Just as Albert was about to enter the auditorium, a series of huffing and puffing sounds came from behind him. The somewhat elderly Filch was carrying an oil lamp and walking towards them.
Albert noticed that Filch was still asleep, wearing only a cloak, and had a happy smile on his lips—the smile of someone who had caught their prey.
"Good morning, Mr. Filch." Albert raised his hand to greet him, as if he were meeting a familiar friend.
"Good morning?" Filch reached out to grab Albert, but Albert easily stepped back and dodged him.
"Of course, it's 6:15 now, Mr. Filch." Albert took out his pocket watch, checked the time, and handed it to Filch, asking, "When will the hall begin serving meals?"
Filch was also taken aback, because Albert had deliberately moved the wand closer to the pocket watch so that he could see the time more clearly.
Filch, who had initially thought he had caught a student loitering at night, suddenly looked dejected, like a child hearing that the Halloween party was canceled.
In fact, it was already morning, although it was still dark and no other students had gotten up yet.
"7 o'clock." Filch turned and left irritably, leaving with the parting words: "You'd better not let me see you..."
Albert didn't hear the last few words clearly, but they weren't important anyway.
But does Filch really hate students?
They wished they could arrest them all and lock them up in solitary confinement.
Pushing open the door and stepping into the auditorium, I found it dimly lit, the suspended candles extinguished, and the lively scene of the previous night gone.
Albert turned and left, intending to continue exploring the castle's kitchen.