"Albert!"
A surprised voice rang out in the room along with the creaking sound of the door opening. Hermione stood at the entrance of the Room of Requirement with books in both hands, looking at the figure sitting on the sofa with her mouth slightly open.
"What's wrong?"
Albert asked, confused, as he turned to look at Hermione.
"Nothing, I'm just... surprised you're still in school?" Hermione walked into the Room of Requirement with a book in her hand, with Crookshanks following at her feet.
"Everyone knows?"
Albert put down The Quibbler and turned to ask.
"Well, some people suspect that you left school quietly, and some people think that you are hiding in the Room of Requirement, after all, you always disappear as soon as the weekend comes." Hermione put the pile of books in her arms on the table, reached out and touched Tom's head, sat opposite Albert and said, "There are too many people in the library. I hope I didn't disturb you."
"No."
Albert waved his wand and conjured up a cup of milk tea for Hermione out of thin air.
"Thank you." Hermione looked away from the cup of milk tea, blinked her big eyes and asked curiously, "Do you often sneak out to play?"
"I'm almost done with the school courses." Albert smiled and changed the subject. "I'm just waiting for graduation and I'm going to use the school library."
Hermione could actually guess what Albert was doing when he sneaked out, so she didn't continue to ask, as that would only cause embarrassment.
Her eyes fell on The Quibbler on the table. This magazine was very popular recently and was almost as famous as The Defence Express in Hogwarts. Some people said that they transferred the content of The Defence Express to The Quibbler and thus successfully circumvented the ban of the Ministry of Magic.
"Rita Skeeter has changed a lot."
Hermione picked up The Quibbler and flipped through it. She turned her head to look at Albert who was feeding Crookshanks and asked softly, "I'm more curious about how you convinced her?"
"It's actually very simple." Albert stroked Crookshanks' head and said, "Also, it's better to take care of your cat. Although it's okay to leave it alone, it's bound to cause problems over time."
"Your Tom is overfed." Hermione picked up Crookshanks and said to herself while combing his hair. "I asked Dobby before, and he said that my things caused trouble for the house-elves. To be honest, I was sad for several days."
"Some ideas cannot be changed in a short time." Albert looked at Tom who was yawning lazily, and stroked his big belly with a smile, "Otherwise, Tom would have succeeded in losing weight long ago."
“I’m so confused now!”
Hermione looked at Albert petting the cat and expressed her doubts: "I don't know how to help them. I'm thinking about whether I should join the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures in the future."
"Are you planning to join the House-Elf Resettlement Office?" Albert was a little surprised. His knowledge of the Ministry of Magic came from Bud's explanation. He knew most of the departments of the Ministry of Magic and their work content to ensure that they would be useful when needed in the future.
"House-Elf Resettlement Office?" Hermione was a little confused. She had never heard of this office, but from what Albert said, it was undoubtedly related to house-elves.
Hermione pulled a stack of employment information from the pile of books, but found no information about the House-Elf Resettlement Office.
"What is this office for?" Hermione asked.
"Literally, it's said to be boring." Albert looked at the confused Hermione and gave her some advice: "I suggest you climb up to the Director of the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures first, so that you have the opportunity to compile some laws that are beneficial to house-elves. Of course, you can also work in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, which is the most important department in the entire Ministry of Magic. The Minister of Magic is usually the Director of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. If you become the Minister of Magic one day, you can also pass some magic that is beneficial to house-elves."
Hermione felt a little numb. She felt that the Director of the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, the Director of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement and the Minister of Magic were all too far away from her.
"It's said that it's hard for Muggle wizards to get high positions in the Ministry of Magic," Hermione muttered.
"There is indeed such an underlying rule, but..."
"But what?" Hermione asked.
"However, these are not the things you should worry about the most." Albert said softly, "People change, especially when it comes to politics. It is a big melting pot and it is easy for people to change. After being baptized by the wizarding world and the Ministry of Magic, you may not care so much about current events."
"Is this really the case?" Hermione was a little confused and obviously unwilling to believe it.
"Fudge is the best example. I remember mentioning it before." Albert said softly, "In order to hold on to the power of the Minister of Magic, he finally chose to discredit Dumbledore. Otherwise, do you really think Fudge is an idiot? No, he knew very well that the return of the mysterious man would cause him to lose his position as Minister, so he held on to the hope of getting away with it and delayed the matter as long as possible, preferably until the end of his term so that he could throw this heavy burden to the next one."
"Fudge really messed things up very badly." Hermione thought about what Albert had said.
"I've actually seen this in Percy as well. He's changed a lot and become more snobbish. I heard that Percy is about to fall out with his girlfriend. Maybe for the sake of his own future, he'll marry a powerful pure-blood witch." Albert said softly.
"So, that's why you don't want to join the Ministry of Magic?" Hermione had heard many people say that if Albert joined the Ministry of Magic after graduation, he would be expected to become the youngest Minister of Magic in history within ten years.
"Too tiring." Albert shook his head and said, "Besides, I'm not really interested in power. Isn't it good to do something I like? If I become the Minister of Magic, I will probably throw everything to other people and just slack off in the office, eating and waiting to die."
In fact, Albert did just that. He threw most of the things to Fred, George and Lee Jordan on the pretext of training them. As long as both parties had enough interests tied together, there was no need to worry too much. With what Albert had in his mind, it was actually very easy for him to really make money.
"You don't look like that kind of person. I dare say there is no one in the school who works harder than you."
Hermione didn't believe such nonsense. In her eyes, Albert had always been the most diligent student in the entire Hogwarts. Maybe Albert was a genius, but his success was absolutely inseparable from his hard work and dedication.
In Hermione's memory, when she met Albert, he was mostly reading, writing or doing other things.
"You know, I hardly ever lie," said Albert.
"Almost never lie? That's still a lie." Hermione rolled her eyes, pretending not to hear, and changed the subject to ask, "Do you know why Dumbledore didn't become the Minister of Magic? If he had been the Minister of Magic, perhaps the situation wouldn't be as bad as it is now."
"Dumbledore, he thinks he can't resist temptation, so it's best for him not to touch or control power." Albert said softly, "I think it's good for him to be the headmaster. He can ensure that students have a good college life at Hogwarts and make Hogwarts another new home for students. For many people, this is very important, and the headmaster obviously realizes this."
"Hearing what you said, I don't even dare to join the Ministry of Magic." Hermione threw the employment information on the table and looked up and asked, "So what do you plan to do after graduation?"
"I may write some books occasionally to preserve my knowledge. Then I will live the life I like. Anyway, I am not short of money. The most important thing is to make myself happy." Albert said without hesitation.
In fact, this was actually his life goal in his previous life. As for making money and gaining more knowledge and power, it was just because of need.
"That's surprising." Hermione couldn't believe her ears. "I thought you would..."
"Do something?" Albert asked with a smile.
"Or become an expert in a certain field." Hermione suspected that Albert was fooling her.
"I think I am one," Albert said with a smile, "although I really don't like the word expert."
"Well, you haven't told me how you're going to convince Rita Skeeter?" Hermione brought the subject back.
"I didn't convince her. It was the Galleons that convinced her." Albert probably saw the confusion on Hermione's face and explained with a smile, "I told Rita Skeeter that Fudge wouldn't be in that position for long. When he steps down, the Ministry of Magic will reshuffle and will not be so hostile to Dumbledore. They may even help restore Dumbledore's reputation."
"But what does this have to do with money?" Hermione was even more confused.
"Although Rita Skeeter won't earn any Galleons from these articles for now, once Fudge steps down, the Daily Prophet will definitely buy the rights to reprint these articles in order to change his tone. Then she will be able to earn a large sum of Galleons, and she will also be able to get a large share of it."
"So, that's why Rita Skeeter published those articles in The Quibbler?" Hermione's previous good impression of Rita Skeeter disappeared in an instant.
Although Hermione also liked the recent articles of The Quibbler, which mainly talked about why no one wanted to listen to Albus Dumbledore's voice and no one wanted to believe the truth.
… People all hope that things will develop in a good direction and are unwilling to face the cruel reality that may exist… Before the lies are ruthlessly exposed, not many people are willing to believe what Dumbledore said… But if those who are willing to help them fall into the hands of their own people, who can help them out of the predicament
"It may be painful to burst it at the beginning, but it is short-lived and can minimize the losses. When the bubble of fantasy expands to the point where it bursts, the cruel reality may completely crush people." Albert said softly, "But sometimes people tend to choose the latter. It is very realistic and helpless."
"What's so helpless?"
Just then, Fred, George and Lee Jordan walked in from outside.
"How about it."
"I've checked them all. Some of them have good locations." Fred took the photos out of the paper bag and arranged them on the table. These photos were taken inside and outside the stores.
"I've talked to them and will give them an answer before the holiday." George raised his hand and pointed at the pile of photos and said, "There are some good locations here. We have selected these few."
"These two stores have the best locations, but they are also the most expensive. If you want to buy them, you will need to pay a large sum of Galleons. I suggest you rent a store first and then see if you can buy it. This is also the advice Bill gave me." Fred took out photos of the two stores and said to Albert.
"If possible, it's best to get it done in one go. There won't be such a good opportunity next time." Albert said as he looked at the photos.
"Are you planning to buy a store?" Hermione asked with wide eyes.
"Yes, is there any problem?" All four of them looked at Hermione in confusion.
"No, I meant it might cost a lot of Galleons," said Hermione weakly.
"It's not much, and it's not a loss." Albert explained, "The prices of shops in Diagon Alley will definitely plummet in the future, so I plan to open a few more stores now."
Hermione finally understood what Albert meant by "not short of money". He really was not short of money!