Albert found something nice on the catalog order: a delicate little silver phoenix badge, but it was a bit pricey, costing one gallon.
However, Albert still planned to have the owl order it as a Christmas gift for Nia.
After closing the catalog and putting the order back in her bag, she closed the thick book on the table and prepared to put it back in its original place. As Albert passed by the bookshelf with the book, he looked at a familiar face with surprise.
"You've run into a lot of trouble lately!" Truman said in a low voice, a hint of surprise on his face when he saw Albert. "But well done."
"Thank you." Albert put the book back on the shelf and asked curiously, "What are you looking for?"
"A curse, a useful curse!" Truman muttered to himself. "I'm going to have a duel with Ravenclaw Prefect Noch."
Albert was stunned by what he heard. What kind of crazy move was this?
"You're going to duel with a Ravenclaw prefect?" Albert asked in a low voice.
Truman nodded.
"What's going on? Are you planning a friendly spar, or... to resolve your conflict through a duel?" Albert had already guessed the latter possibility. If it were a friendly spar, Truman wouldn't have come here looking for a useful curse. "However, the school probably won't be too happy. They won't want to see students resolve issues through duels, and..."
Albert believed Truman had little chance of winning. Since his opponent was a Ravenclaw prefect, it meant that his grades were not bad, and there would be a difference in their mastery and use of magic.
"Noch insists that Bridget Winlock is from Ravenclaw." Truman's tone carried a hint of annoyance.
"Bridget Winlock?" Albert asked, puzzled. He had never heard of the name before.
"Bridget Winlock was a famous 13th-century arithmetic diviner who was the first to discover the magical properties of the number seven," Truman began to explain. "I was studying arithmetic and talking about it with someone. Later, he passed by and said that Winlock came from Ravenclaw, and I argued about it, and that's how it came about."
"Therefore, Bridget Winlock is from Hufflepuff."
"Of course, the Chocolate Frog picture card has an introduction to Bridget Winlock." Truman took out a Chocolate Frog picture card and handed it to Albert.
After Albert finished reading it, he asked, "Why didn't you give this to him back then?"
"I got this from a friend later," Truman explained. "Besides, I don't think even if I showed it to him, he wouldn't admit it. That guy definitely knew he was wrong all along, but he just wouldn't admit it."
Albert already understood the reason for their duel.
The typical argument escalated into mutual insults, and then devolved into physical violence.
Albert had seen far too many things like this in his past life; there were tons of people like this online. However, because of the internet, and because they couldn't physically cross over to attack each other, they could only exchange insults on online forums.
This time was different; both sides were now furious.
Perhaps, at the beginning, the Ravenclaw prefect himself made a mistake. When the two sides were arguing so fiercely that they were red in the face, even if they realized their mistake, they would not admit it, which is why it turned into this duel.
Clearly, the Ravenclaw prefect was furious, or at least that's what Truman thought.
Not everyone has the courage to admit their mistakes like Gryffindor. In fact, even among Gryffindor, few have that courage. As Dumbledore famously said: "It is easy to forgive others for their mistakes, but difficult to forgive others for their correct ones."
Truman was upholding Hufflepuff's honor; at least in their eyes, their house had finally produced a famous person, and this guy had the audacity to claim he was Ravenclaw.
"Do you need a little advice?" Albert said softly.
"Great!" Truman was a little excited about Albert's suggestion.
"It's not a duel, that would get you into trouble," Albert warned. "Don't admit it's a duel."
Truman said with a hint of regret, "..."
"You certainly don't want to be put in solitary confinement!" Albert said.
"I don't want to," Truman nodded repeatedly.
Do you know the Disarming Spell?
"No," Truman said dejectedly.
"Come with me!" Albert gestured for Truman to come out with him. The library was not a good place to talk. He had already noticed Mrs. Pince looking this way. If he didn't want to be kicked out by the feather duster, he would have to leave on his own.
The two walked out of the library one after the other and came to the corridor outside.
Albert glanced at the Slytherin students passing by, narrowed his eyes, and said to Truman, "The Disarming Charm is the spell to remove your weapon; that's what it means—to remove the opponent's weapon."
"You mean, get rid of Noch's weapon?" Truman's tone was somewhat excited; if a wizard lost his wand, it would be like a tiger losing its claws.
"Yes. But you have to be the first to use it." Albert suddenly said, "When you duel, you'll definitely count to three, right? When you count to one, you should make the first move and ambush him, otherwise you probably won't be his match."
"But…" Truman seemed to want to say something, but was interrupted by Albert.
"This isn't a duel, is it?" Albert said casually. "Once you remove Nochi's weapon, while he's distracted, use a full-body binding charm. You know how to do that, right?"
"Yes," Truman nodded.
"Then, go up and beat him up until he realizes he was wrong." Albert made a fist-throwing motion.
"With fists?" Truman couldn't quite understand Albert's way of thinking.
"There's a saying that truth lies in the fist," Albert said, looking at the dumbfounded Truman. "Besides, he was wrong. He's stubborn and won't admit it, and he even wants to teach you a lesson through a duel. Don't forget, he's two years older than you and knows more about magic than you…"
Albert suddenly paused, his gaze falling on a redhead from Ravenclaw.
"You know Izebel, right?"
"I've met people from the same club a few times," Albert said, making sure no one was around. "There's a saying: you can't wake someone who's pretending to be asleep. The best way to wake them is…"
"Give him a good beating!" Truman suddenly felt that this made a lot of sense. So what if it was a sneak attack? He just wanted to teach the other party a lesson.
Albert nodded and said, "Remember, don't use evil curses. Using evil curses is worse than using fists. When you get caught, just tell Professor Sprout why you fought. Remember, it was a fight, not a duel. Your dean certainly won't punish you, after all, you fought for the honor of the academy."
"That's possible." Truman was dumbfounded. He was already seven or eight parts convinced. Yes, he was fighting you for honor. Just as he was getting excited, he suddenly realized something: he didn't know the Disarming Charm.
"Come with me, I know what you need… a collection of self-defense spells." Albert led Truman in. "You need to find someone to practice with. Don't look at me, I don't have that kind of free time. You can find a Hufflepuff friend."
"Alright, thanks. Remember to come watch the duel this weekend," Truman grinned. "On the lawn near the Black Lake."
"I will." Albert nodded, watching Truman's retreating figure, his gaze falling on his own mission panel.
Enthusiastic help
Your friend Gabriel Truman seems to be in some trouble, and as the first wizard friend you've met, you should do your best to help him solve the problem.
Reward: 100 experience points, Gabriel Truman's favorability +10
A distant victory
Your friend is at a disadvantage in the upcoming duel, and as his friend, you should try to help him turn the tide.
Rewards: 1000 experience points, randomly obtain one skill from the mission target, and increase Gabriel Truman's favorability by 10.
Albert was somewhat interested in randomly acquiring a skill from a mission target. When he returned to his seat, Shanna, who had just finished her homework, asked curiously, "What were you doing just now?"
"It's nothing, I just ran into a friend and we chatted for a bit." Albert noticed Mrs. Pince looking over, so he quickly shut his mouth, checked the homework he had just finished, and put it away.