Chapter 716: Villain
Chapter 716: Villain
“He’s finally out.” Standing at the exit of the Magical Gardens, Albert heaved a sigh of relief. Even though he had taken the return path, it had still taken a considerable amount of time, and it was undoubtedly a strenuous test of the contestants’ endurance as well.
He took out his pocket watch to check the time, then strolled towards the crowd gathered not far away.
As soon as Professor Slughorn saw Albert return, he quickly walked up to him, placing a hand on his shoulder and asking with concern, “Are you alright? I heard you were attacked.” “Yes, it certainly startled me.”
Albert glanced at the Wagadou School of Magic’s competitors and their leader, all scowling in various ways, and said calmly, “I didn’t expect him to suddenly attack me. Fortunately, I was prepared and managed to thwart him, or else I would have been carried out of here horizontally. By the way, am I the first one back?” “You’re the first. The other three have been eliminated,” Professor Slughorn said, a hint of schadenfreude in his voice. “By the way, how’s your collection of potion ingredients going? Do you have enough to brew a potion?”
“No problem. I collected two sets of ingredients,” Albert said, his eyes drifting towards a young wizard approaching him, a slight frown on his face. “This place truly lives up to its name as the Magical Gardens. I’ve seen quite a few rare magical plants along the way.” “Hand over your wand. We need to inspect it,” the young wizard, presumably from the event organizing team, said to Albert in a stiff, formal tone.
“Inspect my wand? Is this some new rule?” Albert looked at Professor Slughorn, confused.
“Guy Bernard, the contestant from Beauxbatons Academy of Magic, was attacked during the competition and had a large amount of Aliot leaves stuffed into his mouth,” Professor Slughorn whispered to Albert, glancing at Headmaster Bernard on the judges’ panel as he explained.
“Aliot leaves?” Albert’s eyebrows arched, as if he’d heard something amusing. “The attacker certainly has a sense of humor. Speaking of Guy Bernard, was he attacked at the entrance of the forest? Are you sure this isn’t some sort of joke?” Upon hearing this, Guy Bernard’s face darkened further. While it was true that there were a few Aliot plants at the entrance of the Magical Gardens, it wasn’t unreasonable for Albert to think that way, but he hadn’t been attacked at the entrance.
“He was attacked inside the Magical Gardens,” the young wizard repeated impatiently. “Hand over your wand. We need to inspect it.” “Are you suspecting me?”
Albert narrowed his eyes at the unfriendly young wizard, who seemed to be an accomplice summoned by Headmaster Bernard, unable to swallow the fact that his grandson had been eliminated. This was making everyone uncomfortable, and the black youth glanced over, his gaze at the young wizard less than friendly.
“But I was also attacked by another contestant,” Albert said, raising an eyebrow as he glanced at Valeria, the eliminated contestant from the Codorstodriz School. He then looked towards the judges’ panel, his tone cold and filled with displeasure. “Or do the organizers think that I, as a victim who wasn’t eliminated, am more suspicious?” “All contestants must undergo the inspection.”
The young wizard’s voice carried a hint of anger that he couldn’t conceal, as the guy had simply ignored him and walked towards the judges’ panel.
“I don’t think your inspection will yield anything,” Albert said as he reached the panel, his eyes coldly sweeping over the other judges before landing on Headmaster Bernard. “The attacker from the Wagadou School of Magic didn’t use a wand. I remember him saying, ‘They won’t find any evidence anyway.’” “I think so too. That guy is lying,” Professor Slughorn added.
The turn of events left Professor Slughorn feeling uneasy. He quickly moved to Albert’s side, intending to stop him, but Albert easily brushed him off.
Many people realized that things were about to take a turn for the worse. They never expected a Hogwarts contestant to be so unyielding and uncooperative towards the event organizers.
The other school heads could understand, however, as they were all aware that Albert Anderson was a genius who was well-acquainted with many “important” people and could interact with them as equals. Clearly, he held no reverence for the judges and wasn’t about to play by their rules.
Moreover, Albert was a Legilimens, and it was apparent that he had immediately recognized that the organizers were trying to make things difficult for him, or perhaps for the other students, as the contestant with the highest odds of winning the championship.
“That’s enough! This inspection is to ensure the fairness of the competition. Are you questioning the jury’s decision?” Headmaster Bernard’s face darkened further, and he was barely holding back from shouting. He never expected Albert to directly question him like this.
“Am I a criminal? Tell me, are you intending to interrogate me like a criminal?” Albert ignored the murderous look in the headmaster’s eyes and questioned calmly, “No, I’m a contestant in the Wizarding Potion Championship, a victim who has just suffered an attack. I’m not your criminal, and I’d like to know if it’s customary for the championship to treat contestants like criminals.” Although the last sentence was spoken calmly, it sounded harsh to everyone present. If the news spread that the organizers of the Magic School Potion Championship treated contestants like criminals, one could only imagine how the journalists would report the incident, especially since Albert was currently the favorite to win the championship.
“Are you questioning the jury’s impartiality?” “I think his qualification should be revoked.”
“We’re just ensuring the fairness of the competition. All contestants need to be inspected.” “I was attacked, and your patrol team did nothing to stop it,” Albert continued, ignoring the others. “As a victim, after collecting the ingredients and returning, I’m now being treated like a criminal and interrogated. In my opinion, this is the biggest injustice, do you understand what I mean?”
“We’re not targeting you, we just…” “‘They won’t find any evidence anyway.’” Albert repeated coldly. “Are you sure you’re not targeting me, or us?”
“As far as I know, similar cases have occurred in past Potion Championships, and no evidence was ever found.” “Is it because I wasn’t eliminated that I’m receiving this treatment? Don’t deny it, because I could tell that man was prepared to interrogate me about something else besides inspecting my wand. I’m not a criminal, I’m a contestant, and you’ve clearly forgotten that. You’ve forgotten that contestants deserve respect, so the organizers must apologize to me for your rudeness. This is non-negotiable.”
Professor Slughorn stood there, dumbfounded. He never expected Albert to demand an apology from the organizers so forcefully.
And indeed, not just him, but everyone else was also stunned.
This was probably the first time such an incident had ever occurred.
Especially the young black man from before, who was now clenching his fists, wishing he could step in and help.
Being disqualified for breaking the rules was one thing, but the humiliation inflicted by that young wizard had incensed him, and he wished Albert could spit right in those judges' faces.
The turn of events left Damocles feeling a bit surreal. He recalled something Hectork had told him—Albert Anderson was a genius, and it was best to communicate with him as a friend, or he would show you that "my temper is worse than yours."
It was said that when Hectork lost his gold membership card and tried to summon it back with Accio, Albert, who was nearby, received a warning from the Ministry of Magic.
Hectork had tried for a long time to get his card back to no avail. Even when he sought Dumbledore's help, he was rebuffed by Albert.
In the end, he had to compromise and threaten the Ministry of Magic to publish the incident, which prompted them to write a letter of apology to Albert, finally settling the matter.
Back then, Albert had only recently enrolled, and the Albert now was even less likely to compromise.
Moreover, this guy was said to have published various papers in the magical world, not just in the field of potions. He knew countless renowned wizards, and it was rumored that the famous French alchemist was very close to him. He had even been nominated as a reserve for the Wizengamot recently.
Damn, Muggle-born wizards would never receive such treatment.
More importantly, Damocles himself owed Albert a favor. Albert had provided him with a lot of help in improving the wolfsbane potion.
"Headmaster Bernard, I think this incident is indeed the fault of the event organizers." Damocles said with a smile, "Mr. Anderson is right. He is a participant in the Magic School Potion Championship, not a criminal. I think the way he was treated just now was unfair, especially considering that he is also a victim of an attack."
All the judges looked at Damocles in astonishment.
"As far as I know Mr. Anderson, he doesn't need to cheat. With his expertise in the field of potions, winning the Potion Championship would be effortless."
Everyone was dumbfounded, probably not expecting Damocles to say such a thing.
In essence, he was telling them that Albert didn't need to rely on cheating to win the championship because he already possessed the skills to do so honestly.
To be acknowledged by a Master Potioneer was testament enough to Albert's prowess in the field, and such an individual would neither need nor stoop to cheating.
"So, what do you think should be done about this situation?" The other judges, ignoring Headmaster Bernard's opinion, asked Damocles directly.
"If the inspection of his wand proves Mr. Anderson's innocence, then the event organizers should apologize to him. I think that's a reasonable request." Damocles said calmly, "Also, I must remind you that as judges, we ought to uphold fairness and impartiality. We shouldn't let the Potion Championship become a laughingstock in the eyes of the wizarding community."
The last sentence was both a reminder and a warning.
If Albert wasn't afraid to stand up to them, then what was to stop him from exposing the whole incident? And if he did, not only would the Potion Championship become a joke, but they, as judges, would also be ridiculed by their peers.
Would he dare to do such a thing?
Of course, he would.
And he had more than enough reason to do so.
"Mr. Anderson, what do you think?"
"Here," Albert tossed his wand to the young wizard, his voice cold, "You won't find anything."
The young wizard with the scowl on his face immediately felt something was amiss. He cast the Revelio spell on Albert's wand, only to find that Albert only used four spells: Accio, Diffindo, Ferula, and Relashio.
Well! The truth was out.
Albert was innocent of the attack on Guy Bernard.
"Are you satisfied now?" Albert took back his wand, awaiting an apology from the event organizers.
"Well, the fact is that this incident has nothing to do with Mr. Anderson, and I think it's reasonable for him to demand an apology." Another female judge looked at Headmaster Bernard, waiting for him to make a statement, while Headmaster Bernard looked at the young male wizard.
"I apologize for my rudeness earlier." The young wizard's face twitched as he reluctantly apologized to Albert.
"I don't want his apology; he doesn't represent the event organizers." Albert completely ignored the young wizard's apology and looked at the judges, "I want an apology from the person in charge of this event."
"You..."
"Do you know why I'm demanding an apology from the event organizers?" Albert said coldly, "It's because you treated me and the other participants as criminals. We are participants, not criminals. Such rude behavior deserves an apology, don't you think?"
"Do you think your behavior was polite?" Headmaster Bernard couldn't help but retort.
"My politeness is reserved for my friends and guests. As for evil people, sorry, they are neither, nor do they deserve my kindness." Albert was basically saying that they didn't deserve his politeness.
"Okay, Headmaster Bernard, you caused this problem, so you should be the one to solve it!"
Headmaster Bernard's face darkened even further upon hearing the principal of the Magic Gardens' indifferent response.
The other judges' intentions were clear—the problem was of his making, and he had to step up to resolve it.
"I apologize for my earlier outburst." Headmaster Bernard quickly regained his composure and said expressionlessly, "I apologize for our rudeness to you and the other participants, but our actions were solely to maintain the fairness and impartiality of the competition."
Another elderly male wizard nodded slightly to Albert and said, "I apologize, Mr. Anderson, for the unpleasant experience. However, I believe the Magic School Potion Championship is not as bad as you think. We still hope to award the golden cauldron, symbolizing the championship, to the most outstanding potion genius."
"To be honest, the Potion Championship has disappointed me. At least the International Wizard Chess Competition is fair, and such issues wouldn't arise. No matter what tricks some people are trying to pull, the championship will still be mine." Albert boldly proclaimed his claim to the championship.
Albert's declaration left everyone present a little stunned, but they soon remembered that the young man before them was the youngest International Wizard Chess Champion.
(End of Chapter)
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