Chapter 773: Bonding
Chapter 773: Bonding
As dusk fell, the shops along the main street of Hogsmeade Village prepared to close for the day.
Every day after sunset, Dementors would patrol the streets, and closing early was the best option to avoid encounters with these dark creatures.
Albert strolled alone along the deserted street. Just as he was about to approach the Three Broomsticks Inn, a crackling sound suddenly echoed from ahead, and Maug McGirdle appeared out of thin air without warning. He took out his pocket watch, glanced at the time, then looked up at Albert, who was walking toward him.
"Right on time."
Maug smiled and held out his hand to Albert. The two shook hands and vanished as if they had never been there.
Albert opened his eyes again and found himself in a secluded wilderness, with a hint of the sea's salty breeze blowing toward him.
Maug led the way, introducing Albert to the area as they walked.
They were currently on a remote seaside location in southern Wales, where a manor stood. This year's Easter gathering would be held here.
As they reached a cliff, Albert could clearly sense something ahead. The traces left by spells were unmistakable.
"We're here."
Maug raised his wand and whispered a spell. The air in front of them distorted, and a gate made of misty iron appeared out of thin air.
The two men stepped through, and the entrance vanished behind them.
"We have many similar estates like this one," Maug explained to Albert. "The one assigned to you is also among them. These houses were initially meant for our habitation, but not everyone wants to live in such places, considering that heirs like us are not usually short on money. Later on, those manors were magically protected and used for temporary gatherings, emergency shelters, or as factories for Floo Powder."
"Master, Mr. Bode and Mr. Gubbins have arrived, and we are only awaiting Mr. Tiberius," a house-elf bowed slightly to Maug, "The banquet can begin at any time."
"Let's start at the scheduled time," Maug said as he led Albert into the hall, where Bode and Gubbins were chatting while eating some snacks.
Upon seeing their arrival, they offered warm smiles and Bode even recommended a soft, pudding-like dessert to Albert, claiming it was a magical treat that would keep one's mood pleasant.
Albert suspected it might contain Cheering Charms. Nonetheless, it tasted delightful, somewhat reminiscent of egg custard.
"Good evening, I hope I'm not late."
Tiberius Ogden strolled into the hall right on schedule, greeting the others with a smile.
"You're always so punctual. Well, now that everyone is here, let's begin the dinner!" Maug raised a glass of champagne and said, "First of all, we should congratulate our champion, Albert, on winning the Magical Schools Potions Championship."
"You probably don't know, but those stubborn old fogies in the Wizengamot nearly twisted their noses out of joint when they heard the news," Tiberius said cheerfully as he raised his glass to Albert, "Those sourpusses would rather you had lost than see you win the championship."
"I've heard similar things,"
Gubbins Smith raised his glass to Albert and said, "They're not happy about it, but they have no choice but to grin and bear it since you brought the championship back to Britain!"
"How do you feel about winning your second international championship?" Bode asked with a smile, raising his glass.
"It was a terrible competition, never a fair contest. Everyone was cheating," Albert took a sip of champagne and shook his head disappointedly, "The so-called Golden Cauldron turned out to be a gilded one, not even made of real gold. I was looking forward to experiencing what it would be like to brew potions in a golden cauldron."
"It's normal to feel disappointed. In fact, a long time ago, the Golden Cauldron used to be made of pure gold," Gubbins recalled, "But at some point, it was changed to a gilded cauldron, I'm not sure when."
"It was probably about two hundred years ago," Tiberius interjected, "The organizers of that particular event claimed they didn't have enough funds, but in truth, someone had embezzled a large sum of money. In the end, they could only afford to give the champion a gilded cauldron. Since then, the symbolic Golden Cauldron awarded to the winner has always been gilded. Later, someone finally stepped in and added a bag of gold coins as a supplementary prize for the champion." Tiberius said with distaste, "Ever since the Golden Cauldron was replaced with a gilded one, the Potions Championship has lost much of its glory. It was probably after the gilded cauldron incident that the Potions Championship gradually evolved into what it is today."
"I never knew there was such a history behind it," Albert felt he had gained some new insight today.
"Are you a little disappointed?"
"Even if they brought back the Golden Cauldron, it would just be an unnecessary hassle," Albert expressed his understanding, "Besides, the Golden Cauldron is more of a symbolic gesture anyway."
"No, the original intention of the Golden Cauldron was to provide the winner with a valuable asset that they could sell in times of need, so they wouldn't end up destitute," Tiberius explained, "After all, to ensure that a talented Potioneer could dedicate themselves to their research without worry, one must at least guarantee their basic needs are met."
"By the way, what about the title of Britain's Youth Representative to the Wizengamot? Will it remain with you indefinitely?" Maug suddenly recalled something and asked, "I remember Albert will come of age by the end of October this year. Once he becomes an adult, the Ministry of Magic will have a reason to revoke his title as Britain's Youth Representative to the Wizengamot."
"It's just an insignificant title, I don't care if they want to take it back," Albert said nonchalantly as he slowly ate his plate of grilled shrimp, showing no concern for the so-called "Britain's Youth Representative to the Wizengamot" title.
"They'll give it to you," Tiberius reassured him, "And I doubt Albert needs that title anyway."
In fact, not many in the room truly cared about that title anymore, considering Albert already had plenty of other impressive accolades to his name.
Even if they didn't want to give it to him, they would have to in the future. This was no longer an era where pure-blood supremacy reigned unchecked.
The case of Abraxas Malfoy, who was killed by dragon pox, was a prime example of this shift.
"I remember you have a Wolfsbane Potion, how is that coming along? Have you tested its effects on a werewolf yet?"
"I haven't had the chance to test it on a werewolf yet, so I'm not entirely sure of its effectiveness," Albert replied honestly, not hiding anything, "As you know, I haven't really had the opportunity to try it out."
"We need to test its effects on werewolves," Maug said without hesitation, "A single Merlin's Honor is far more valuable than the title of Britain's Youth Representative to the Wizengamot. Even Dumbledore didn't receive a Merlin's Honor during his school days.
"The Human Restoration Curse is a highly challenging transformation spell." Bard explained to the group, "I believe Albert should be the one to successfully cast it for the first time."
"I don't mind such things." Albert said nonchalantly as he ate his lobster, indicating that he didn't care for such empty fame, "And werewolves are dangerous."
"Yes, werewolves are dangerous, but we can have him take the Wolfsbane Potion in advance and put him in a sturdy cage to ensure he poses no threat after transforming." Bard suddenly asked, "I remember your Defense Against the Dark Arts professor is Remus John Lupin, right?"
"Yes, it's Professor Lupin." Albert guessed their intention and frowned, "You want me to try it on him, that's not a good idea."
"No, we can wait until Lupin resigns from Hogwarts, then invite him to participate in the test. He'll agree. You probably don't know that last June, Dolores Umbridge drafted an anti-werewolf law, causing those werewolves who wanted to behave themselves to hardly find any work. He'll definitely need the substantial salary. Also, if the test is successful, countless werewolves will benefit, and people will be safer when facing werewolves."
"Sounds like something that pink toad would do." Albert didn't have a good impression of Dolores Umbridge, and he had never forgotten that one of his task rewards involved reducing Dolores Umbridge's favorability.
"Toad? That's quite an apt description." Tiberius elegantly sipped his red wine and smiled as he commented, "She's a hypocritical and venomous woman, and staying away from her is always a good idea."
"You probably don't know that Umbridge has been claiming in the Ministry of Magic that her late father was an outstanding member of the Wizengamot." As Gubbins spoke, he seemed to want to laugh, "But in reality, Umbridge's father worked in the Magical Maintenance Department and was named Orford Umbridge, and his mother was a Muggle named Ellen. Later, she persuaded Orford Umbridge to retire early and gave him a small sum of money to ensure he disappeared from the Ministry of Magic without a trace, so as not to embarrass her. Then, Umbridge began to fabricate a bunch of impressive backgrounds for herself."
"You guys have investigated quite thoroughly?" Albert was very surprised.
"Of course, we keep a close eye on those in the Ministry of Magic who need to be watched out for, so we can stay away from them. By the way, your position as the British Youth Representative to the Wizengamot is stalled, and this guy is the reason."
"By the way, there's a Barnabus Finkley Outstanding Spellcaster Award competition this summer. Are you going to participate?" Gubbins suddenly said.
"I'm not very familiar with that award." Albert was caught off guard by the sudden change in topic.
"It doesn't matter. Later, Bard can explain it to you in detail. I dare say you'll definitely be able to win it easily." Tiberius suggested, "If I were you, I would sweep up all the awards I could get before graduating from Hogwarts. That way, you can graduate with countless accolades. Whatever work you want to do after leaving school will go smoothly."
"Speaking of competitions, I heard that the Ministry of Magic is trying to revive the Triwizard Tournament." Bard interjected, "Maybe you can also win the Triwizard Championship next semester."
"I've heard of this competition; it was banned because people often died, right?"
Albert, of course, knew that the Triwizard Tournament would be held next semester, and he had already planned to participate and use it to trigger a task, reaping a large amount of experience points as a reward.
"Yes, it is quite dangerous." Bard said, "If you want, I'll help you sign up for the Barnabus Finkley Outstanding Spellcaster Award competition. After that's over, we can also go watch the Quidditch World Cup Finals this year."
"Who else is planning to go to the Quidditch World Cup?" Tiberius Ogden looked around and asked.
"I need three tickets. How about you, Albert?" Maug asked, turning his head.
"Probably about four?" Albert said uncertainly.
"That's good, too. Then you can go to the Quidditch Finals with them." Maug nodded.
"I'll send you an owl." Tiberius suddenly asked, "When do you plan to marry Isabelle? I can be your witness."
"Haha, it's too late, Tiberius." Bard mentioned this matter and laughed particularly heartlessly.
"Bard, I'm older than you, so I'm more suitable to be the witness." Tiberius reminded him.
"Look, I'm no use to them, either. Their witness isn't me, either."
"Gubbins, could it be you?" Tiberius asked suspiciously, although he knew that Gubbins wanted this position.
"No." Gubbins shook his head, "I just heard about this now."
He had never wanted to associate himself with Albert in that way; doing so would only make their relationship worse.
Anyway, they now shared the Wildsmith surname, and that was enough for Gubbins.
"Could it be Sierra Harries? Or perhaps Dumbledore?" MacDougal asked suspiciously.
"You definitely can't guess it, do you want me to announce the answer?" Bard also wanted to be the witness, but later found out that someone had already taken the position, and he was upset for a while.
Now, it was the others' turn to be upset.
Without giving Bard a chance to keep them in suspense, everyone looked at Albert.
"It's Mr. Nick. He's like a teacher to me." Albert announced the answer, "He has prepared everything for me."
Albert told them about his visit to Nick's house last year.
"It seems that Nick really has high hopes for you. He has prepared everything for you." Tiberius was a little disappointed but didn't have a better option.
The banquet lasted until evening, and most of the time was spent chatting about various trivial matters, strengthening their bond.
When Albert returned to Hogwarts Castle, it was almost curfew at 11 o'clock.
When he returned to the Gryffindor common room with a box full of sweets, there were hardly any other students there.
"You're still working hard during the Easter holidays?"
"Where have you been? And you've been drinking?" Hermione asked, as she smelled a faint hint of alcohol on Albert.
"I went to a banquet. By the way, this is for you." Albert took a sweet from the box and placed it in front of Hermione.
He had brought back quite a few, and aside from the one he had already sent to Isabelle via a house-elf, there were still five left in the box, enough to share with others.
"What is this, a pudding?" Hermione curiously examined the pudding-like sweet in front of her.
"I don't know. It's supposed to be a magical treat that makes people feel happy." Albert finished speaking and prepared to return to the dormitory to share the box of sweets with Fred, George, and Lee Jordan.
(End of Chapter)
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