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Chapter 165: A Pot of Trouble
Chapter 165: A Pot of Trouble
Hector Dagworth was currently in a bit of a predicament. He had realized that his Golden Membership Card was missing, a prestigious token of his extraordinary contributions to the field of potioneering, granted by the Extraordinary Potioneers' Association.
The Extraordinary Potioneers' Association was renowned throughout Britain and even across Europe. They offered three types of membership cards to the public: gold, silver, and bronze. Each card represented the holder's achievements in the art of potion-making and served as a symbol of recognition within the magical community.
These membership cards were unique, bestowing upon their owners not just honor but also certain privileges. For instance, they could facilitate the purchase of small quantities of restricted trade items solely for the purpose of creating potions, acting as a convenient pass of sorts.
Hector Dagworth's trip to France was merely a pit stop to visit acquaintances and deliver some potion ingredients.
When his acquaintances expressed their intention to attend an opera, they invited Hector along, and he readily agreed.
To be honest, Hector wasn't much of a fan of Muggle entertainment, and he found operas rather dull.
As Hector left the opera house early to visit the Magic Garden, he suddenly realized that his gold card was missing. This resulted in him being turned away by the herbologists at the garden, leaving him in a foul mood. However, his annoyance only increased when he returned to the opera house to search for the card, only to come up empty-handed. Out of options, Hector resorted to using the Summoning Charm to try and retrieve the lost card, but to no avail. There was no sign of the card returning to him.
Hector Dagworth had no choice but to seek help from an old friend, hoping that their prophetic abilities could aid in finding the missing card.
"We thought you had already left France," Pereunal said as he poured Hector a cup of French tea.
"Yes, I have. I just came from the Magic Garden," Hector Dagworth replied as he recounted his unfortunate tale to the Lemay couple.
"You want me to help you find your gold card?" Nico didn't mind lending a hand, considering how helpful Hector had been to them as well.
"Yes, please," Hector said as he took a sip of his tea. It was imperative that he retrieved his card; losing it was simply unacceptable. Without the gold card, many things would become much more difficult.
"Don't worry, I'm sure you'll get it back," Nico reassured him. After finishing his tea, he got up and walked over to his desk.
Hector followed suit, and they approached a crystal ball resting on the desk.
"Let me take a quick look," Nico muttered as he waved his hand over the crystal ball. The mist within began to shift, and the ball soon displayed a clear image: Hector's gold card, clasped in a brown palm.
The next second, the crystal ball shifted to show the owner of that hand—none other than Albert's face.
"I know this boy. He was sitting next to us," Nico said. "He's a wizard, I presume."
"A wizard?" Hector was taken aback, still processing this unexpected turn of events.
"Did you notice his wrist? He's wearing an alchemic item; I spotted Runic engravings on it," Nico explained, noticing Hector's bewilderment.
"But how did he… take my gold card?" Hector furrowed his brows, stopping short of using the word "steal."
"Take?" Nico frowned, correcting him. "I'd say he more likely found it."
"Perhaps I was negligent," Hector conceded, nodding in agreement. He didn't believe that a minor wizard could have taken something from him without his knowledge.
"If you want your card back, you'd better hurry," Nico said, pointing at the image in the crystal ball. It was a plane, the very same one the Anderson family was about to board.
"What is this?" Hector asked, his brow furrowed as he stared at the aircraft. Like most pure-blood wizards, he was clueless about the Muggle world.
"It seems to be a Muggle means of transportation," Nico replied, unable to recall the name of the contraption at the moment.
"I should be going now. Thank you for your help," Hector said hastily as he took his leave.
"I hope he finds it," Pereunal said, setting down his teacup and watching Hector's retreating figure.
"He will," Nico assured, unconcerned about the prospect.
However, despite Nico's assistance, Hector failed to find Albert, as he knew nothing about the Muggle world and had no idea where the airport was located.
He didn't even know what planes were called, let alone ask for directions.
Hector regretted not adding a tracking function to the gold card.
Next time he visited the Extraordinary Potioneers' Association, he vowed to suggest this improvement.
With no other options, Hector sought help from the French Ministry of Magic, requesting their assistance in finding a wizard familiar with the Muggle world. By the time Hector and the ministry officials rushed to the Muggle airport, it was already much later.
The plane carrying the Anderson family had long taken off and returned to Britain.
Upon confirming that the person he sought had left France, Hector's mood sank even further. He felt that this trip to France had been an utter disaster.
However, Hector wasn't the only one feeling glum; there was also an unfortunate owl that had crossed paths with Albert.
As Albert had guessed, due to Hector's use of the Summoning Charm near the Bastille Opera House, the blame fell squarely on Albert's shoulders.
The Misuse of Magic Office in Britain promptly sent him a warning letter.
However, as the owl crossed the English Channel, the Anderson family happened to be boarding the plane back to Britain. By the time the owl entered French airspace, Albert was already en route to Britain himself.
This unlucky owl was now in a bind, realizing that its intended recipient was moving away.
The beleaguered owl had no choice but to find a place to rest, replenish its energy, and prepare to cross the English Channel again. As an owl with professional ethics, it was determined to deliver the letter to the recipient, no matter what.
Albert, oblivious to these events, was studying the gold card in his possession.
As for the Extraordinary Potioneers' Association, he had never heard of it and didn't know much about it.
However, given that they could create a gold card made of gold, he surmised that they must be a sizable and perhaps well-known organization of potioneers.
Albert suspected that this gold card, like wizarding coins, was unique and impossible to replicate. By the way, the owner of the gold card was someone named Hector Dagworth.
How did Albert know this?
Well, the information was conveniently provided by the panel task, of course.
Honesty is the Best Policy.
You have accidentally come across Hector Dagworth's Golden Membership Card. It would be wise to return it to its rightful owner.
Rewards: 100 Experience, Hector Dagworth Favorability +10.
What an honest fellow, returning lost items.
Albert temporarily ignored the task and continued studying the Runic text on the gold card, feeling that deciphering its secrets would help him improve his understanding of Runic.
Suddenly, the plane began to shake violently, most likely due to encountering air turbulence. Everyone's faces turned pale.
"Don't worry, it'll be fine. It's just some turbulence," Albert said, noticing Nia's pallor and quickly taking her hand to comfort her.
"It's alright, don't worry," Herb's voice came from beside him, though his face was equally pale, not looking very convinced.
There was nothing they could do. Plane accidents were rare, but if it happened, it would mean the whole family perishing together.
The flight attendant's voice sounded over the intercom, attempting to soothe the passengers.
"Don't worry, it will be fine," Albert said calmly. "It's nothing to worry about."
Even if the plane did crash, Albert could use the Disillusionment Charm to get himself and his family out safely.
So, he wasn't worried about their safety at all.
His calm voice quickly dispelled the anxiety in the Anderson family, and they soon regained their composure.
As Albert had said, it was just a false alarm.
The plane had encountered air turbulence, and a little shaking was inevitable.
"Weren't you scared at all?" A pale-faced woman across the aisle asked Albert, marveling at his calmness in such a situation.
Didn't she see the flight attendant who was just as pale-faced?
"What good would being scared do?" Albert retorted, leaving her at a loss for words.
Indeed, if the plane crashed, being scared wouldn't change the outcome.
Not being scared was because he knew they wouldn't die.
This was merely a small hiccup on their journey home.
Once the plane landed safely, the passengers breathed a collective sigh of relief.
"Were you really not scared at all?" Nia asked, still curious.
"Not at all," Albert said, patting the girl's head and smiling. "Because I knew we wouldn't die, even if the plane had an accident."
"Did you use magic?" Nia guessed.
"Yes, I did," Albert admitted.
"But you didn't have your wand," Nia pointed out.
"That's called a wand, and not all magic requires one," Albert explained.
"You're truly our son, always so reliable," Daisy said, unsure if Albert was just reassuring them, but she was still happy to hear his words.
"What if the plane had fallen?" Herb asked curiously.
"You should focus on driving," Albert reminded him, then added after a moment's thought, "I want to visit Grandpa Luke first and pick up Tom and Sheila."
"Good idea, and we can give them the gifts we bought in France," Herb agreed. The first thing the Anderson family did after returning to Britain was to deliver gifts and pick up their pets.
"How was France?" Luke asked with a smile, hugging Nia as he looked at Albert.
"It was good, I quite liked it," Albert replied with a smile. "I also learned how to surf at the Basque Beach."
"Just like my grandson, surfing isn't easy."
"Albert picked it up quickly," Nia mumbled, doubtful about Luke's statement.
"Come in, Sasha is making your favorite chocolate cake," Luke said, leading them into the house with a smile.
As soon as they entered the living room, Albert spotted Tom lounging lazily on the sofa. He walked over and picked up the cat, exclaiming, "You've gotten fatter!"
"Meow!" Tom protested, as if denying Albert's claim that he had gained weight.
"Tom looks much healthier than before," Sasha said, placing a slice of chocolate cake in front of Albert. "He looks better with a little extra weight."
Albert was speechless.
"Isn't that the saying, 'nine out of ten orange cats are fat'?" Albert scratched Tom's chin and muttered, "By the way, Tom isn't an orange cat."
"Indeed, he needs to exercise and lose some weight," Albert muttered to himself. Tom seemed to understand and jumped off Albert's lap, scurrying over to Sasha's side.
Albert: "..."
Indeed, Tom needed to work on his weight.
At that moment, an owl flew in through the window and dropped a letter onto Albert's cake.
"Why don't we make some soup out of it?" Albert glared at the owl with malicious intent. His cake was ruined before he could even take a bite?
"It looks tired," Nia said, poking the owl as it perched on the table. "Should we give it some water and food?"
"Never mind it," Albert said glumly, staring at the letter from the Ministry of Magic. He knew his premonition had come true, and he didn't need to open it to know its contents.
Last year, he had tricked Truman, and now someone had done the same to him?
Was this karma, or just bad timing?
"Who's the letter from?" Luke asked, busy unwrapping a parcel.
"It's nothing, I'll just write a reply," Albert said with a smile. "I'll have Sheila take it for a flight, so she doesn't get too fat from all the treats."
Albert wrote two letters, one to the Ministry of Magic, explaining the Summoning Charm incident.
Since he hadn't done it, Albert felt no guilt and pointed out that he hadn't brought his wand, so the blame couldn't fall on him.
The other letter was to Professor Broad, telling him about the trip to France and inquiring about the Extraordinary Potioneers' Association. He also complained about the extremely unreliable Trace from the Ministry of Magic and sought the professor's opinion.
In Albert's opinion, the Ministry of Magic would most likely ignore his reply.
After all, the Ministry of Magic was notoriously unreliable, and he didn't have high expectations or hopes for them to do anything meaningful.
However, Albert intended to use this incident to prove how unreliable and error-prone the Ministry's Trace was.
In the future, if he ever truly broke the rules, he could use this as an excuse to prevent the Ministry from causing him trouble.
"What? You're saying I used magic?"
"But I didn't have my wand, and your Traces have been wrong numerous times before. Are you sure this isn't your mistake again?" (End of Chapter)
Chapter end
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