Chapter 454: Hermione's Discovery
Chapter 454: Hermione's Discovery
"ALFG is you, isn't it!"
As the two walked out of the Great Hall and into a secluded corner, Hermione couldn't contain her curiosity any longer. "Or, should I say, it's all of you, right?"
"When did you figure it out?" Albert asked, his expression unreadable as he looked at the girl before him, suddenly smiling.
He had no intention of denying it.
Hearing Albert's response, Hermione's expression became complex, as she hadn't expected him to admit it so readily.
"Is there something on my face?" Albert asked in return.
"A few days ago, I saw you receive a thick letter," Hermione recalled.
"I didn't think you'd pay special attention to me," Albert teased, raising an eyebrow.
"It was an accidental discovery," Hermione said dryly.
"And then?"
"The sender was Mr. Nicholas Flamel," Hermione took a deep breath and answered.
"I see, Mr. Flamel is quite famous indeed!" Albert nodded, understanding Hermione's expression. It was like finding out that a celebrity you knew of was actually a friend of a friend, giving an unreal feeling.
"Last time, when Harry, Ron, and I were looking for Nicolas Flamel, we checked the books 'Contemporary Famous Wizards', 'Major Discoveries in Modern Magic', and 'A Study of Recent Developments in Witchcraft', and his name was in all of them," Hermione added in a lowered voice, "Mr. Flamel is an expert in alchemy."
"Makes sense," Albert nodded along, his interest piqued as he studied Hermione, waiting for her to continue.
"I heard that you often receive many thick letters," Hermione took a deep breath and voiced her guess, "You must know a lot of famous wizards and keep in touch with them through letters."
"Yes, I do know quite a few renowned wizards and we correspond regularly," Albert admitted, noticing the hint of expectation in Hermione's gaze.
"Then... why can't you know Nicolas Flamel?" Hermione asked, her voice trailing off as she watched Albert take out his wand and wave it. She looked at him, puzzled, "What did you do?"
"Just a simple spell to ensure our conversation remains private," Albert explained with a smile as he put away his wand, "I don't like too many people knowing my business, and I think you can understand that."
Hermione nodded, only partially understanding.
"Please, continue," Albert gestured for her to go on, making Hermione feel a little embarrassed.
She composed herself and continued.
"On the French version of the Philosopher's Stone formula and on the treasure maps Harry found before, there were similar initials—ALFG. We thought ALFG must be someone's initials, and we wondered who it was."
"I suspected it was you, but your initials are A.A."
"Why suspect me?" Albert asked, curious.
"Because you seem to like... being mysterious."
Hermione spoke softly, but Albert's hearing was excellent.
However, her words made him feel a bit awkward.
Was he really the type to revel in mystery and put on an act?
Well, Albert admitted that he did to some extent, but those so-called prophecies had all come true, hadn't they?
"Then it hit me," Hermione continued, lowering her head and not looking at Albert's reaction, "You have three friends, and when you put their initials together, it forms ALFG." She rattled off her entire speculation, only looking up at Albert when she was done, wanting to know if her analysis was correct.
"Yes, you're absolutely right," Albert confirmed.
"Fred, George, and Lee Jordan suggested we should leave something fun behind at school, so we made a lot of treasure maps and buried some small treasures."
Albert calmly replied, "Of course, I won't deny that there was an element of prank involved. The Philosopher's Stone formula is not exactly rare in the wizarding world. Anyone with knowledge of alchemy would know that there are numerous variations, but all the formulas circulating outside are fake."
"So, you deliberately provided a French version of the Philosopher's Stone formula because Nicolas Flamel is French?" Hermione seemed to have realized something. She took out the formula for the Philosopher's Stone from her pocket, the one Albert had given her before.
"You're angry," she said.
"I'm not angry," Albert denied.
"Then that's anger," Hermione insisted.
"I just feel like a fool being played around," Hermione pouted, her lips tightly pressed together.
"I didn't expect that either, that Dumbledore would hide the stone in Hogwarts, and that you would find the formula for the Philosopher's Stone," Albert spread his hands and shrugged helplessly at Hermione, indicating that it was all an unfortunate coincidence.
Yes, it really was just a coincidence.
"Then why did you tell us the answer?" Hermione asked, her curiosity getting the better of her once more.
"Because I realized that you, Harry, and Ron had your eyes on that stone," Albert said, looking directly at Hermione. "I don't know what you were planning, but given the Gryffindor spirit, even if I hadn't told you, you would have eventually found the answer yourselves. By disclosing it early on, I wanted to prevent you from snooping around for information about the stone and causing more trouble."
"Gryffindor House is never short of troublemakers," Albert said, looking straight into Hermione's eyes. "Now, Miss Granger, can you tell me what you were planning to do with this information?"
"We were just curious," Hermione replied.
"That excuse is terrible," Albert said with a hint of self-mockery. "I can come up with ten better ones."
"We didn't intend to steal the stone," Hermione hesitated and then spoke honestly. "We were just worried that someone else might steal it."
She looked around to ensure no one was eavesdropping and then continued in a hushed tone, "Harry believes that Snape is after the stone. He overheard Snape pressuring Professor Quirrell to reveal the enchantments protecting it."
At that moment, Albert felt an urge to laugh.
Undeniably, this accusation fit Snape perfectly.
Especially coming from Hermione, it was all too amusing.
"Harry's speculation makes sense," Albert nodded seriously, agreeing with Harry's perspective. "Snape is indeed not a good person."
"Actually, you know Nicolas Flamel, don't you?" Hermione asked suddenly. "That's why you know so much about the Philosopher's Stone."
"Yes, I do know Nicolas Flamel, and we are in contact," Albert admitted the first part but denied the latter. "However, my knowledge of the stone comes from the fact that every alchemist aspires to create the Philosopher's Stone, and I'm no exception."
"Don't tell anyone else about this, okay?" he whispered to Hermione. "Not even Harry Potter. Can you keep this secret for me?"
"If it's a secret, why are you telling me?" Hermione asked, perplexed.
"I believe you can keep your promise and maintain this secret," Albert said, flashing a warm smile.
Of course, this was complete nonsense intended to manipulate her.
If Hermione lied and had no intention of keeping his secret, Albert could easily detect it and cast the Forgetfulness Charm to erase this memory from her mind.
Moreover, it wasn't a significant secret anyway.
However, if Hermione agreed to keep it, their relationship would deepen, allowing Albert to gain more favor points from her. He also wanted to see if he could trigger any quests from the trio, as they were the saviors of the wizarding world, and it would be beneficial to cultivate a good relationship with them as the protagonist of this world.
"I won't tell anyone. I promise," Hermione nodded earnestly, agreeing to keep Albert's secret.
(End of Chapter)
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