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Chapter 676: Academic Politics
Chapter 676: Academic Politics
As dusk fell, the sky gradually darkened.
An owl flew by in the distance, heading towards a small manor on the outskirts of the secluded Senas Village. It circled above the manor before finally flying directly through an open window and into the house.
The sudden appearance of the owl startled the house-elf busy in the kitchen. It quickly shielded the freshly prepared dinner and called out to the uninvited owl, "Don't fly around, give me the letter, and I'll give it to my master."
The owl clearly had no intention of handing over the letter to the house-elf. It flapped its wings, hovering over the kitchen, causing the house-elf to shriek, "Don't do that! You'll ruin my master's dinner and make a mess of Mara's kitchen!"
The house-elf tried to grab the intruding owl, but soon realized it was a futile effort. With a huff, it opened the kitchen door and screamed, "I'll take you to my master. Stop flying around!"
The owl gracefully glided through the door and down the corridor towards the dining room, where it dropped a letter onto the lap of a middle-aged man perusing the Prophet.
"Sorry, Master. I couldn't stop it," Mara said anxiously.
"It's alright. Is dinner ready?" Hectork asked, setting down the newspaper.
"It's all prepared. I'll bring it right away," Mara replied. She opened the window to shoo out the troublesome owl, then hurried back to the kitchen to fetch the freshly cooked meal.
"Who's the letter from?"
Hectork set aside the Prophet and picked up the envelope. To his surprise, it was from Albert, whom he had met not long ago. He tore open the envelope and quickly scanned the contents of the letter.
Halfway through the letter, Hectork's brows furrowed as he read Albert's mention of a magical potion to extend life, along with some of his thoughts and research on the subject.
A faint smile played at the corners of the master potion maker's mouth. He wasn't mocking Albert; instead, he mused that Albert had reached that stage of life.
Only those daring to challenge death were geniuses in the field of potions.
And only arrogant potion-making geniuses would dare to entertain the notion of conquering death with their concoctions.
Once upon a time, the dream of countless master potion makers was to create an elixir of eternal life! Ironically, the wizard who succeeded in crafting the Sorcerer's Stone was an alchemist.
Moreover, the creation of the Sorcerer's Stone had little to do with potions; it relied more on alchemy.
In his youth, Hectork had also been immersed in research on the elixir of life, attempting to brew it himself. After countless failures, he had even secretly collected the ingredients used by Mr. Nicolas Flamel in the hopes of reverse-engineering the formula. But all his attempts had ended in disappointment.
Reading Albert's letter, Hectork suspected that the formula mentioned was similar to the one Nicolas had used for the Sorcerer's Stone, perhaps obtained from the alchemist himself and then improved upon.
It was understandable.
Hectork examined the letter closely and found that the ingredients listed for the potion were very similar to those he had experimented with in the past.
However, he didn't believe that such a formula would be successful. Nicolas had once told him that without the Sorcerer's Stone, following the formula for the elixir would only result in a toxic concoction.
After that, Hectork had lost interest in pursuing the so-called elixir of life.
"Mara, bring me some parchment and a quill. I need to write a letter," Hectork said, not intending to lecture but rather to share some of his own experiences from his younger days. He also offered to lend Albert his research records if he was interested.
"By the way, has the letter from the Extraordinary Potion-Maker's Association arrived?" Hectork asked, pausing midway through his letter as he recalled something.
"Not yet, Master," Mara replied in a shrill voice. "I've been keeping an eye out for letters from the Association, just as you instructed."
Hectork muttered, "It seems that old Bernard doesn't want me to be a judge."
The Magic School Potion Championship was held once every five years, and most gold cardholders of the Extraordinary Potion-Maker's Association were eligible to be on the judging panel. The fact that he hadn't received an invitation yet implied that he wouldn't be part of the judging committee.
This went against what had been initially discussed.
Hectork didn't need to guess who was behind this; he knew it had to be Bernard's doing.
However, Bernard wouldn't dare go too far, and the judging position would most likely be offered to Damocles.
"I should write to Damocles to inquire about the situation," Hectork grumbled. "And I need to write to Dumbledore as well to finalize this matter."
This summer, Hectork had heard rumors, and while he wasn't overly sensitive to certain matters, he knew that outstanding achievements and a collection of titles could reduce the obstacles in Albert's path to becoming a Wizengamot member.
Albert needed to win the Magic School Potion Championship, and Hectork hoped he would.
If he missed this opportunity, Albert would lose his chance at the championship, just like Damocles.
Moreover, he certainly didn't want the championship title to go to Bernard's protege. Everyone knew that Bernard had lowered the entry age requirement to pave the way for his grandson.
As for being ostracized? Bernard wasn't concerned about that. Politicians were known for their thick skins.
Besides, even if his grandson was lacking, Bernard would pull strings to help him. Who could object if Bernard presented his own research as his grandson's work?
However, this wasn't the main reason why some potion-makers despised Bernard. After all, no one would complain about how he chose to present his inventions.
But Bernard's attempt to control the Extraordinary Potion-Maker's Association and turn it into his political pawn was what many potion-makers found intolerable.
The Association had initially been a loose organization, a place for like-minded individuals to gather and exchange knowledge about potions and obtain rare ingredients more easily. Bernard's scheming and faction-forming had caused nothing but trouble, including disrupting the supply of ingredients for some wizards and setting a terrible precedent.
Potion-makers who had once been on good terms began to form their own cliques, vying for power within the Association. Everyone wanted Bernard out as the chairman in the next election, but in the process, they ended up creating a mess.
Thinking about these troublesome matters only made Hectork more determined to thwart Bernard's plans.
After finishing his reply to Albert, he continued writing to Dumbledore. As for Damocles, Hectork planned to pay him a visit in person another day.
(End of Chapter)
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