Chapter 23： Secret Passage and Filch

Chapter 23 The Secret Passage and Filch

 Speaking of which, my panel must be an abridged version, as it doesn’t have a map function. Albert was still in the mood to joke about his panel function. After finding the Room of Requirement, he was in a good mood.

 There is no way. In the online novels I read before, the system that comes with the pig's feet is usually very powerful. After turning on the scanning function, nothing can be hidden.

Now, if you think about it carefully, your panel has very few functions.

 Actually, Albert would be very happy to have the golden finger of a panel.

"I remember that the principal's office is also on the eighth floor, but I don't know where it is." Albert murmured.

Of course, he had no intention of going to the principal's office. If the old man Dumbledore noticed him, his life in the school would be difficult in the future.

After all, there were portraits everywhere in Hogwarts Castle, and it was easy for Dumbledore to know what a student was doing.

 Albert turned two more turns and found a staircase going down.

　　Going down the stairs, I started wandering around the castle, but found that I was lost.

Well, maybe this is not lost, but he has never been here before.

Albert stopped in front of a wall. The light of the wand flashed across the carvings on the wall. He stretched out his hand and tapped lightly on it. It was solid.

However, Albert suspected that there was a secret passage here. There was nothing he could do. The gryphon carvings on the wall were too suspicious. There were usually hidden doors and secret passages in places like this.

“Child, what are you doing here?” Nick emerged from the wall next to him and looked at Albert who was inspecting the carvings in surprise.

This sudden sound startled Albert, and he felt as if his heart was about to jump out of his chest.

Albert took a few deep breaths, calmed down his fast heartbeat, and couldn't help complaining to Nick: "Don't be so mysterious, you will scare people to death."

"Sorry, I didn't expect to scare you." Nick raised his eyebrows and asked again, "What are you doing here?"

 “Take a walk.” Albert replied honestly.

 “Take a walk, at this time?” Nick looked at the corridor doubtfully, it was still very early.

"Yeah, let's take a walk. Sir Nicholas, I wonder if you have time to introduce Hogwarts to me. It's like a maze. I accidentally got lost when I was walking." Albert smiled and looked at Nick, if If the other party is willing to help, he can save a lot of time.

“Oh, I think exploring the castle is one of the great joys of being a new student.” Nick declined politely.

"You're right." Albert didn't care that Nick rejected him. After greeting him with a smile, he continued to study the griffin sculpture in front of him.

Nick looked at Albert's back, shook his head and reminded, "If you want to open that door, the switch is on the gryphon's claws."

"Thank you." Upon hearing this, Albert stretched out his hand to the griffin's paw and knocked it lightly a few times. The stone door slowly opened, revealing a narrow secret passage inside.

"See you later, Sir Nicholas." Albert nodded slightly towards the ghost to express his gratitude, raised his wand and walked into the secret passage.

 The inside is very narrow and can only allow one person to pass through. It is definitely not a good place for people with fear of isolation.

Albert could feel that he was going down, and he didn’t know where the secret passage led, but being able to discover its existence was considered good news for Albert.

 Sure enough, the ghosts and portraits living in the castle know more about Hogwarts.

The exit was hidden behind a portrait. After the portrait was moved away by Albert, the old man in pajamas stared at him unhappily and complained that Albert had disturbed his rest.

 “Sorry to bother you!” Albert apologized to the old man in the portrait and continued walking forward. He felt that he might be lost again.

However, this time Albert found the moving stairs.

No matter how many times he saw it, he still felt that the scene of the moving stairs was spectacular.

It is said that the moving staircase and the Room of Requirement were both the work of Rowena Ravenclaw. I wonder if I can reach this level in the future?

By the way, could Rowena Ravenclaw be hiding any secrets in the Room of Requirement?

 After all, didn’t Slytherin keep a basilisk in his own secret room?

It makes sense when you think about it. Next time you go there, you can give it a try. Maybe you can really dig out some secrets.

It took Albert ten minutes to walk down the stairs. On the way, he encountered a change in the stairs and had to stay where he was and wait for the stairs to return to their original shape. Fortunately, he didn't have to wait too long. Thank God. No, he should be thanking Merlin now.

As soon as he entered the foyer, Albert was attracted by a cat. This cat was a little thin and had dark gray fur. It was incomparable with his Tom.

 He ​​bent down and wanted to shake it, but the cat ran very fast and disappeared in a flash.

Albert knew the name of the cat who was probably the caretaker Filch, Mrs. Although he had read the Harry Potter book and watched the movie, as time passed, he couldn't remember some unimportant things clearly, especially the names of minor characters.

If it weren’t for the fact that I had written a fanfic before and looked up a lot of information, I would probably have forgotten it faster.

 The cat ran away, probably to call someone. Albert was not worried that Filch would come to trouble him.

 After all, it’s already past six o’clock now, and the sky is not completely bright yet, entirely because it’s raining outside.

Just as Albert was about to enter the auditorium, there was a squeaking sound, and the somewhat elderly Filch walked over to this side holding an oil lamp.

Albert noticed that Filch was still sleeping, with only a cloak on him, and a cheerful smile hanging on the corner of his mouth, the smile of catching prey.

"Good morning, Mr. Filch." Albert raised his hand to greet the other party, as if meeting a familiar friend.

"Good morning?" Filch reached out to grab Albert, but he easily backed away and dodged it.

"Of course, it's already 6:15, Mr. Filch." Albert took out his pocket watch from his pocket, checked the time, handed it to Filch and asked, "When will the hall start serving food?" Woolen cloth?"

Filch was also stunned, because Albert deliberately moved the wand to the pocket watch so that he could see the time better.

Filch, who originally thought he had caught a student traveling at night, suddenly fell down, like a child who heard that the Halloween party was cancelled.

 In fact, it is already morning. Although it is still dark, no other students have gotten up yet.

"Seven o'clock." Filch turned around and left angrily, leaving a message before leaving: "It's best not to let me see..."

 Albert didn’t hear the last few words clearly, and it wasn’t an important thing anyway.

However, does Filch really hate students?

I want to arrest them all and put them in confinement.

 Pushing the door and walking into the auditorium, it was very dark, the suspended candles were extinguished, and the lively scene last night no longer existed.

Albert turned around and left, ready to continue exploring the kitchen of the castle.

 (End of this chapter)