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Chapter 349: What Are You Doing Here?
Chapter 349: What Are You Doing Here?
Mrs. Weasley was slightly surprised and regretful to hear that Albert was leaving that evening, and then enthusiastically served him five more dishes.
"Mr. Broad?" Mr. Weasley raised an eyebrow.
"Yes, Mr. Bud Broad." Albert didn't hide it either. "He used to be a professor of Dark Magic Defense at Hogwarts. After resigning, we have kept in touch through letters."
"Oh, him!"
Mr. Weasley looked at Albert with some surprise as he, too, was acquainted with Mr. Broad. The man was known for his peaceful demeanor and good relationships, and he was also a member of the Wizengamot.
"Then there's nothing we can do." Mr. Weasley said with some regret, as he quite enjoyed chatting with Albert about Muggle topics.
At around 7:30 in the evening, the house-elf Noel promptly knocked on the Weasley's door and took Albert to Broad's place—the familiar manor.
Upon entering the manor, Albert saw a familiar face.
"Long time no see." Albert raised his eyebrows at the red-haired girl sitting on the sofa and said, "By the way, I'm surprised to see you here!"
"I've been staying here for most of the summer." Isabelle looked up at the boy in front of her and smiled, "How has your summer been?"
"It's been good." Albert was about to sit down next to Isabelle when a sharp exclamation came from the entrance.
"What are you doing here?"
Albert froze, turning to look at the direction of the voice. Katrina stood at the doorway, her hands holding two glasses of drinks.
"Oh, it's you, long time no see, Katrina." Albert greeted the other red-haired girl.
"Strange, were you also invited by Uncle Maug?"
Katrina placed a glass of iced tea on the table in front of Isabelle and sized Albert up, a puzzled look on her face.
The atmosphere in the room suddenly turned odd, and it was Isabelle who finally broke the silence.
St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries seemed quite busy, and their mother couldn't get away for the moment. So, Maug McGauge invited the MacGauge sisters to vacation at the manor.
In fact, the manor belonged to the wealth of the Wildsmith family, and Maug McGauge was allowed to use it. Isabelle was the one who had been invited, and the other sister had just been brought along.
Of course, Isabelle must have known about this, and the only one kept in the dark was Katrina.
"Yeah, I was invited too." Albert smiled and casually brushed her off. "I won't be staying long. I'll probably be leaving in a couple of days."
"Did Uncle Maug invite you because of ancient magical texts?" Katrina eyed Albert suspiciously, feeling she had guessed the reason.
Albert didn't intend to answer. He casually picked up a book that Isabelle pushed toward him and started browsing. The more he read, the stranger the book seemed, and he couldn't help but raise an eyebrow. He quickly finished reading the entire book.
"So, what do you think?" Isabelle asked with a smile.
"I didn't notice this book the last time I was here." Albert recalled the contents of the book, feeling that it seemed familiar, though he couldn't quite place where he might have seen these things before.
"Uncle Maug gave it to me."
"What are you two talking about?" Katrina's gaze shifted between the two, sensing that something had transpired between Albert and Isabelle.
"But this theory is a bit outdated now." Albert flipped through the book again and murmured, "It seems vaguely familiar. Oh, right, I think Chadwick's Charm uses this theory."
Of course, Chadwick's Charm referred to the charm of his use of magic.
"What are you talking about? What's Chadwick's Charm? Don't leave me out of the conversation!" Katrina said, exasperated.
She could understand every word they were saying, but she couldn't make sense of their topic.
"Chadwick's Charm is the Dark Magic Defense textbook used at Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in the US. In terms of curse theory, it's a bit different from what we're taught... Never mind, you probably won't understand anyway since you haven't studied this part."
Albert paused in his explanation, feeling that some things were too complex to explain, and even if he did, it might fall on deaf ears.
Compared to the British textbooks, the book Chadwick's Charm did differ slightly. It taught students some spellcasting techniques, and although this particular section was outdated, it was still extremely useful for most students.
Katrina was a little annoyed, but Albert wasn't wrong; she truly didn't understand, which only added to her frustration.
After that, the two fell into an unspoken agreement, chatting about some academic issues and how to reasonably arrange their time for the upcoming semester.
After all, they were both about to take on twelve courses, so it was only wise to seek advice from Isabelle, who had already been through it, to avoid burning themselves out.
A large part of Isabelle's earlier words had been directed at Katrina.
As a genius herself, Isabelle didn't feel much academic pressure, and the same went for Albert, who was essentially cheating with his system. The one who might feel the pressure was Katrina, who could only barely be considered a genius.
As night fell, Albert bid the sisters farewell and headed back to his room. On his way, he encountered the house-elf.
Soon after, he found himself in the study, facing Mr. Broad, who was smiling as he awaited his arrival.
"I thought this manor was one of your more important bases of operations," Albert said, unable to resist teasing the elderly man who didn't seem to have any intention of offering him a late-night snack.
"You're referring to Katrina's matter?" Mr. Broad gestured for Albert to take a seat across from him.
Albert didn't deny it and sat down, awaiting the older man's explanation.
"Regarding the Wildsmith family's affairs, you've likely already learned a thing or two. In truth, we shouldn't be revealing these matters to you so early on," Mr. Broad said, choosing his words carefully and speaking slowly.
"Because we aren't the heirs yet?" Albert asked.
"Well, it is related to that," Mr. Broad admitted.
"There's nothing wrong with the term heir. But it might not be what you imagine. What we're inheriting isn't a fortune but a surname," he said with a smile.
"Of course, in a sense, this could also be considered a form of inheritance."
"Inheriting a surname?" Albert asked, recalling Isabelle's letter. "So, have I passed your test?"
"How should I put it?" Mr. Broad pondered. "In our eyes, both you and Isabelle are suitable candidates, at least for now."
"For now?" Albert repeated, "Isn't the evaluation period over yet?"
"Usually, we would only inform you of these matters after your graduation," Mr. Broad said with a mischievous smile. "This time, consider it a special case."
"You know, neither Isabelle nor I really care about these things," Albert said.
"The pride of geniuses!" Mr. Broad laughed. "Even without inheriting that stuff, you can just obtain whatever you want yourselves. I understand that, as I was like that once, too."
"Of course, if you don't want this surname, then it will eventually go to Isabelle, even though she doesn't really need it either. But someone has to carry on the legacy."
"Our task is to select the right person and convince them to inherit the surname," Professor Broad explained. "If you agree, I will tell you the ins and outs of this matter and share some very private information."
"Aren't you afraid I'll just pretend to agree?" Albert asked.
"Not at all," Mr. Broad said. "Since you've been deemed suitable, you naturally wouldn't do such a thing, or else you wouldn't have been considered suitable in the first place."
"Looks like your definition of 'suitable' covers a lot of ground," Albert remarked, raising an eyebrow.
"Naturally," Mr. Broad said. "Each person qualified to inherit the surname is handpicked from countless candidates."
"Handpicked from countless candidates? Do you have that many options? Don't underestimate my knowledge of the number of wizards in Britain," Albert said, rolling his eyes.
(End of Chapter)
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