The History of Magic was so boring that all the students in the classroom were drowsy during the class. It was not until the bell rang that everyone regained their energy.
During this time before dinner, Albert was going to write back to others. One advantage of keeping in touch with that group of famous wizards was that when discussing and researching a certain field, experience increased very quickly, but the price he had to pay was spending a lot of time and energy writing back letters.
After all, we are all professionals, and apart from simple greetings, most of the content in the letters is about academic issues or opinions on a certain field.
To be honest, a letter like this is much more impressive than writing an article for an academic journal, except that the content is a bit informal.
But no one really cares about this issue. For them, it is enough to be able to explain it clearly.
Albert would often raise his own doubts and novel ideas in his letters, and if the other party had the same ideas, he would be happy to help answer and discuss them.
Albert was dining alone in the auditorium. Fred and George went to try out for Quidditch players, while Lee Jordan went to cheer them on and watch the tryout process.
After dinner, Albert went back to the Gryffindor common room and put his schoolbag back in the library. Then he appeared in front of the stone monster at the entrance of the headmaster's office before seven o'clock in the evening.
"Mead." Albert gave the command to the stone monster.
The stone monster suddenly came to life, jumped to the side, revealing a gap hidden behind it.
Albert passed through the gap in the wall and stepped onto the spiral stone staircase. The monster blocked the gap again, and the stone staircase began to rise slowly, bringing him to a wooden door with a brass knocker.
"Is this a magic elevator?" Albert couldn't help but mutter, took out a pocket watch from his pocket, checked the time, and knocked on the wooden door of Dumbledore's office on time.
The next moment, the office door opened.
"Good evening, Headmaster." Albert nodded slightly towards Dumbledore.
"Come in, Mr. Anderson." Dumbledore smiled.
This was Albert's first time in the headmaster's office, which was a round room with photos of all the past headmasters of Hogwarts hanging on the walls. The portraits were all pretending to be asleep.
Albert was not the only visitor to the office, which was not unexpected.
Hertoker Dagworth arrived early.
"Hetrok told me that there was a little misunderstanding between you," Dumbledore said to Albert. "He hopes to sit down and talk to you calmly. Would you mind?"
"Yes, it's just a small misunderstanding." Albert nodded and said, "I also hope that this matter can be resolved smoothly."
"No, that's not necessary. After all, he is the Potions Master." Albert's tone was calm, but Dumbledore couldn't help but raise his eyebrows, obviously hearing the hidden meaning of Albert's words.
Hertog Dagworth is the Potions Master.
Who knows what he might spike the drink with
For example: truth serum.
"Oh, that's a pity." Dumbledore glanced at the silent Hurtok and was not very optimistic about the outcome of this meeting.
The relationship between the two sides is no longer as unfriendly as Hetok said.
"I went to the Ministry of Magic two days ago," Hurtok finally spoke, "and talked to the other party about this matter, but that short, fat, ugly woman refused to admit it or apologize."
"I just suddenly couldn't hear it." Dumbledore pretended not to hear what Hurtok said.
"That's a pity." Albert shrugged, but there was no regret in his expressionless face.
"One hundred, no, five hundred Galleons." Hetok offered his price. "There's really nothing I can do about the Ministry of Magic."
"Why don't you bribe the other party?" Albert asked curiously.
"I'd rather give this money to you than to that disgusting ugly woman." Hertok showed a disgusted expression on his face, and it was obvious that he had no good feelings towards the woman he was talking about: "One thousand Galleons, and give me back my gold membership card."
"I see." Albert nodded and said, "Ten thousand Galleons, I'll return the card to you."
"Ten thousand Galleons, are you crazy? This is naked blackmail." Hetok's face turned red instantly. He was almost amused by Albert's words. He felt that he was sincere enough.
"Yes, I am blackmailing you now." Albert admitted it directly.
These words made Hertog feel upset, and even Dumbledore raised his eyebrows. The two of them never thought that Albert would admit it so straightforwardly.
"Mr. Anderson, what will it take for you to return the gold membership card to Hertork?" Dumbledore interrupted.
"It's very simple. Dagworth needs to solve the trouble he caused, and the Director of the Improper Use of Magic Office needs to write a letter to apologize to me personally." Albert stated his conditions, and spread his hands helplessly to Dumbledore, saying, "I don't think my request is excessive at all."
"That's it?" Dumbledore frowned. He had noticed that Albert called Hurtok by his last name, and he obviously had no good feelings towards him.
"It has always been like this. I just need Dagworth to help me solve the troubles he has caused himself, and then I will return the gold card to him without asking for Galleons or any thank you gift." Albert asked back, "This is fair, isn't it, Headmaster Dumbledore?"
"That's indeed the case." Dumbledore admitted that there was nothing wrong with Albert's approach. He could not find any fault with it at all because the other party's request was completely reasonable. This made people feel that Hector was deliberately making trouble.
"Sometimes, problems can't be solved just by being reasonable," Hetok said angrily.
"I know, so I'm not reasoning with you, I'm threatening you now." When Albert made the threat, it was as if he was telling someone what to eat today.
"Mr. Anderson..." Dumbledore knew that this was the only way out. Unless Hertog fulfilled his not-too-excessive request, he would never get the gold membership card back.
"I know what you mean, Professor Dumbledore. Unfortunately, I don't see any sincerity from Dagworth." Albert's voice was very calm. It was precisely because of this calmness that Hetok felt deeply uneasy. "In my opinion, face is given to each other. Dagworth doesn't give me face, and you still expect me to give him face?"
Dumbledore was very surprised. To be honest, he had a good impression of Albert, but he never thought that the young boy in front of him would have such a tough side.
"I've told you, I've already gone to the director of the Abuse of Magic Office, but she disagrees, and there's nothing I can do." Hetok gradually calmed down.
"Then use a special method." Albert said.
"In a special way?" Hetok repeated.
"If the director of the Prohibition of Abuse of Magic Office is still unwilling to apologize for his mistakes, let the new director apologize." Albert said calmly, "You can go to the Daily Prophet and publish an apology article, putting all the blame on the director of the Prohibition of Abuse of Magic Office. Anyway, this matter itself is the fault of the Ministry of Magic, and it is also the fault of the director of the Prohibition of Abuse of Magic Office. If you don't know how to make good use of this matter, I can recommend a reporter to you. She is very good at this kind of thing, as long as you are willing to pay a little Galleon as a manuscript fee."
Not only did Hertok widen his eyes, but even Dumbledore looked at Albert in surprise.
"Don't look at me like that, I'm just stating the truth." Albert shrugged. "Of course, I don't want the Ministry of Magic staff to appear near my home afterwards. To be honest, I've never doubted the way those people in the Ministry of Magic act."
Hetok suddenly felt cold all over.
The boy in front of him was just stating the facts, but the facts spoken in such a calm tone made Hertok feel very bad.
He even felt that if he used a tough approach, perhaps the other party would have already figured out how to deal with him.
Just like he said, it's true.
The horrible truth.
"I know what to do." Hetok was silent for a long time, nodded and said, "Although I can't understand why you need that damn apology letter, I think you will soon receive a handwritten apology letter from the Director of the Abuse of Magic Office of the Ministry of Magic."
"Do you want to know why I want it?" Albert narrowed his eyes at Hurtok, then turned his head to look at Dumbledore.
The latter seemed very interested.
Hetok nodded as well.
"This is not my fault, why should I endure such consequences? Why should I pay for the Ministry of Magic's mistakes?" Albert asked back.
Hetok opened his mouth but said nothing.
"If you did something wrong, just apologize to me. This is the cheapest and most peaceful way to solve the problem." Albert raised his mouth with contempt. "My family has always told me that when someone is unwilling to use peaceful means to solve the problem, there is no need to be polite. Just go up and punch the other person until he is willing to solve the problem peacefully."
Both Dumbledore and Hurtok had frozen expressions on their faces.
Of course, they also didn't think there was anything wrong with Albert's upbringing. After all, he was still willing to resolve the problem peacefully first.
However, this kind of thing happened to Hetok, which really gave him a headache. He found that he was the unlucky guy who was hit in the face by the fist.
"Why don't you want Galleons? One thousand Galleons is a lot of money for anyone." After Hetok relaxed, he was not in a hurry to leave. He sat down and had a friendly conversation with Albert.
Just like Albert said, if you give me face, I will give you face.
"Knowledge is the greatest wealth of mankind," Albert said without hesitation.
Hetok was stunned for a moment, but he heard the other party continue to speak, "This means that knowledge is equal to wealth. As long as you have enough knowledge and find the right way, you can quickly convert it into wealth."
Hetok was speechless. Although he felt that this statement was far-fetched, he knew that he had been convinced by the other party.
Albert is an expert in magic runes, which means that what he said is actually a reflection of his confidence in himself.
"Now I understand why Brod thinks highly of you. His vision of people is indeed beyond my reach." Hetok sighed and stretched out his hand to Albert, saying, "I will solve this matter soon. If you are interested in potions or have any questions, you can write to me."
"If there is, I will write to you, Mr. Dagworth." Albert nodded.
"If you don't like the Ministry of Magic, you can solve it yourself. I believe that with your talent, you can become the Minister of Magic within 30 years at the latest." Before leaving, Hector turned around and said, "Blode's circle is wider than you think."
“I’m not interested in that stuff.”
"That's a pity!" Hertog disappeared into the fireplace.
"It seems that this matter has been perfectly resolved." Dumbledore looked at Albert with a smile, "I think Filius will be very disappointed that you didn't go to Ravenclaw."
"Except Slytherin, the rest of the houses are suitable for me." Albert said, turned and left.