Chapter 169: Adults Like to Break the Rules
Chapter 169: Adults Like to Break the Rules
Aside from the troublesome incident with the Ministry of Magic, this summer vacation had been perfect.
Even without the use of magic during the break, Albert had plenty to keep him occupied, such as reading books he hadn't had time for before. Reading had always been one of his interests, and since it also helped him gain experience, it was a delightful pastime.
On the last night, Herb took the family out to an Italian restaurant for an authentic seafood pasta dinner, which was truly delicious.
After returning home, they gathered on the sofa, snacking and chatting while watching the latest comedy series.
Before ten o'clock, Daisy made hot cocoa for everyone, and they all headed to bed afterward.
The next morning, Tom woke Albert up again with his fluffy tail.
After getting dressed, Albert went to the desk, used the key to open the drawer, and took out the golden card.
There was also a letter on the desk from Professor Broad, containing instructions on magic techniques and a subtle mention of a visit from Hekou.
This implied that Hekou knew the golden card was with Albert.
However, Albert didn't mind. He planned to put the card in an envelope and give it to Sheila, who would deliver it to Grandpa Luke. From there, Grandpa Luke could forward it to Hogwarts by mail.
There was no way Hekou could retrieve the card through any other means; no doors or windows for him.
Albert had already decided that Hekou wouldn't get the card back until he resolved the issue he had caused.
After all, the request Albert had made wasn't unreasonable.
You caused the trouble, so you should be the one to fix it.
As for how to resolve it, that was none of Albert's concern.
Breakfast was abundant, with Daisy making Albert's favorite dishes and even preparing a ham sandwich for him.
At 8:30 sharp, the family set off for King's Cross Station.
Unfortunately, their luck seemed to take a turn for the worse. On their way to London, they encountered a traffic jam due to an apparent road accident ahead. By the time Albert arrived at the station, it was already 10:15.
Herb helped locate a trolley for their luggage and unloaded Albert's trunk from the car.
"You're not taking Tom with you, are you?" Nia asked, hugging Tom close.
"No, Tom will stay home with you," Albert reassured her, patting her head gently. "I know you can take good care of yourself and Tom."
"Don't pat a lady's head," Nia pouted, not moving away. "Remember to write to me and don't forget about the photos."
"I know, I won't forget," Albert promised, reaching out to ruffle Tom's head. "And don't eat too much, or no one will be able to carry you, big fat cat."
"Meow!" Tom meowed in what might have been a protest, eliciting laughter from everyone.
"Here, take this bag of Galleons in case you need to buy a broomstick," Herb said, pushing the luggage trolley in front of Albert and handing him a bag of coins. He spread his arms for a quick hug and added with a smile, "I'm really looking forward to seeing you play."
"If I can find a wizard who knows how to take photos, you'll get to see them," Albert said, shaking his head with a smile. "But don't expect too much."
"See you during the Christmas holidays!" Daisy hugged Albert and kissed his cheek. "If you encounter any troubles, you can write to us and we'll figure something out."
"I will," Albert assured her, turning to Nia with open arms.
Nia passed Tom to Daisy and stepped forward for a big hug.
"All right, see you during the holidays," Albert said, pushing the luggage trolley and jogging towards the wall between platforms nine and ten.
Since there was no one around, Albert didn't bother to hide and simply walked through the wall to enter the platform nine and three-quarters.
As he looked up and saw the Hogwarts Express, a small sense of disappointment vanished. After returning to the magical world, he would be able to use magic again.
The scarlet steam engine puffed out smoke, and there were already witches and wizards on the platform seeing off their children.
As Albert pushed his luggage towards the train's door, someone suddenly blocked his path. He stopped and looked up at the middle-aged man in a suit and tie, narrowing his eyes.
His memory was excellent, and he immediately recognized the man.
Hekou.
He hadn't expected to run into him here. While it was a bit of a surprise, it was also within his expectations.
Albert's expression froze for a moment but quickly returned to normal. Feigning ignorance, he attempted to push his trolley past Hekou.
However, Hekou spoke first.
"Albert Anderson!" Hekou exclaimed, a hint of excitement in his tone as he scrutinized the boy before him, certain that this was the person who had picked up his golden membership card.
"Who are you?" Albert asked, feigning confusion.
"Hekou Dagwaorth," Hekou introduced himself.
"Never heard of you," Albert replied bluntly. "What do you want? If it's nothing important, don't block the way."
Hekou's face twitched; he had never encountered someone who didn't give him face like this.
In the wizarding world, Hekou was a renowned master of potions, and most who knew him were polite and respectful.
However, this boy was an exception.
But Hekou didn't get angry. According to the information he had gathered, Albert was a Muggle-born wizard, about to start his second year at Hogwarts, and likely didn't know much about the wizarding world or him.
"We met in France, at the opera house," Hekou reminded him. "'Romeo and Juliet.'"
"Oh, you were there too," Albert said, examining Hekou. "And? If you have something to say, just say it. Don't waste everyone's time."
"Yes..." Hekou stared at Albert, taken aback by his directness. A bad premonition crept into his mind.
"I know you picked up a gold card, a card made of gold."
The boy before him was different from the twelve-year-old Hekou remembered. It was hard to put a finger on it, but he was definitely different.
"Yes, that's true," Albert admitted, his candor surprising Hekou.
"I hope you will return the golden membership card to me," Hekou said, pausing briefly before continuing, "Of course, as a token of my appreciation for helping me find it, I will give you a gift."
"A gift?" Albert eyed Hekou with interest. "What kind of gift?"
"Twenty galleons," Hekou replied awkwardly. "I don't know what gifts you like, but I think this amount of money should be able to buy you a nice gift. I hope you won't feel offended."
"No, I won't," Albert shook his head.
"Then..." Hekou reached into his pocket and pulled out a bag of coins, intending to hand it to Albert, but the latter didn't take it.
"To be honest, even if you don't give me a gift, I would still return the gold card to you," Albert added with a smile. "Of course, if you want to give me some money, that would be great. But..."
"But what?" Hekou's heart sank, and his foreboding grew stronger.
"When I first left the opera house, the gold card showed signs of flying away," Albert said to Hekou. "You cast a Summoning Charm on the gold card, didn't you?"
Hekou opened his mouth but didn't deny it.
"Later, not long after I returned to Britain, the Ministry of Magic sent me this letter." Albert reached into his pocket, took out the warning letter from the Ministry, and handed it to Hekou. "Well, this has nothing to do with me. Considering the similar blunder the Ministry made last year, I'm not surprised."
"What do you want me to do?" Hekou seemed to realize what Albert was getting at, and Brod's prediction seemed to be coming true.
"Hmm." Albert continued as if he hadn't heard him, "Actually, I've already written a letter to the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Office at the Ministry, trying to explain the situation, but they seem to have ignored my letter. I guess they just threw it into the trash."
Hekou's foreboding grew stronger.
"My request is simple," Albert said calmly. "Since you caused this trouble, I can only ask you to explain the situation to the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Office at the Ministry. I know they don't want to hear my explanation, but they might listen to you."
"All I want is for the head of the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Office to write me a letter, apologizing for the Ministry's blunder. After all, it was their mistake, and an apology isn't too much to ask for. As soon as I receive that apology letter, I'll mail the gold card to you. As for your galleons, you can keep them. It's a good quality to be honest and return what you find. Don't you think?"
"By the way, your name is Hekou Dagwaorth, right? I'll remember it." As Albert pushed his luggage and started to walk away, he turned back to Hekou and said, "Make sure the head of the department writes it personally; otherwise, it won't count as sincere."
Hekou stood there, his face twitching as he watched Albert's departing figure.
The boy hadn't made any excessive demands.
It was only fair that he, Hekou, should fix the problem he had caused.
Making a mistake and simply apologizing for it showed great sincerity.
But... would the Ministry agree to apologize?
He looked down at the letter in his hand, already knowing its contents without reading it.
In the end, Hekou decided to take a tougher approach. As for whether the boy would accept his gift, that was no longer his concern.
"Accio Golden Membership Card!" Hekou drew out his wand and pointed it in Albert's direction, casting the Summoning Charm.
He had made up his mind. As soon as he retrieved the card, he would leave and have his owl deliver the galleons to Albert. Whether the boy accepted them or not was no longer Hekou's problem.
However, he was stunned when nothing happened after he cast the spell.
The golden membership card didn't appear, indicating that Albert didn't have it on his person.
"Don't bother trying," Albert said, turning around and facing Hekou. "I know you adults like to break the rules. Did you really think I wouldn't anticipate your move? Don't waste your time; the card is indeed with me. However, I won't take the blame for this mess. Since you caused the trouble, you should be the one to fix it."
"And stop using such underhanded methods," Albert continued with a mischievous smile. "Otherwise, I won't hesitate to melt the gold card down and sell it to a Muggle gold shop. I can assure you, it will be worth much more than your twenty galleons."
Albert wasn't sure if it would be worth that much, but he was determined to get an apology from the Ministry... somehow.
It would probably be difficult! Whatever Hekou chose to do was none of his concern.
If Hekou played dirty, Albert had a hundred ways to deal with him. Ever since his encounter with the spiders deep in the Forbidden Forest, Albert had changed a lot.
The most noticeable change was that he had become stronger, and with that strength came confidence.
As Albert's figure disappeared into the carriage, Hekou fell into a brief silence.
"This kid, whom Brod values so much, is indeed no ordinary boy." Hekou couldn't help but smile bitterly.
Their relationship was not particularly close, but he knew that Brod had his own circle, and those who were part of it were elites in their respective fields within the magical world.
Albert Anderson was evidently one of them.
In truth, Hekou didn't want to be on bad terms with him.
However, Albert was too young, almost unbelievably so, and that meant that in twenty years, he would likely become an expert in some field, and there was something about him that made Hekou feel an inexplicable sense of maturity.
Looking at the letter in his hand, Hekou suddenly realized something terrifying.
Had the boy known he would come looking for him? Had he been pretending all along?
Did Brod write to him about it?
But he knew that Albert didn't have any ill intentions. And that, in itself, was the most dangerous kind of intention.
Would the Ministry apologize for this?
Hekou didn't think so, as there was no precedent for such a thing.
Even if it was indeed the Ministry's blunder, as Albert had said, he had tried to explain the situation in a letter, only to be ignored. His letter was probably thrown straight into the trash.
Hekou wasn't sure if Albert Anderson knew this, but if he did, the boy was truly terrifying.
Or perhaps he had guessed it?
With a gloomy expression, Hekou disapparated from the platform.
To be honest, as someone who focused on potion research, Hekou didn't enjoy dealing with the Ministry, which was why the golden membership card, which served as a pass, was so important to him.
(End of Chapter)
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