Albert felt that he should seize this opportunity to have a good talk with Dumbledore and try to get the headmaster to answer his questions.
In the past, he didn't want to have too much contact with Dumbledore, simply because his level of Occlumency was not high and he didn't want to expose his magical attainments in advance. But now it's different. He is an adult and has won so many international awards. Dumbledore must have known him and would not have any ill will towards him. He believes that both sides can communicate well.
Of course, the most important thing is that Dumbledore may be dead in a few years.
Honestly speaking, Albert had always felt that it was an extremely extravagant waste for legendary figures like Nicolas Flamel and Dumbledore to take their knowledge and skills into the coffin after their death. Much of the knowledge and skills they possessed were not passed down, and the magic level of the entire wizarding world directly declined with their deaths.
Before going to the principal's office, Albert did not forget to take out the notebook from his pocket and look through the records on it. Those were the questions he had sorted out over the past few days, and he planned to take advantage of this meeting to get answers from Dumbledore.
Albert couldn't help but curl his lips in pleasure at the thought of using the principal as a tool. He quickened his pace and walked along the corridor on the eighth floor to the stone monster.
"Cockroach pile." Albert gave the password.
The stone monster immediately jumped to the side, and the wall behind it split into two, revealing a spiral staircase hidden behind it.
Albert stepped on it and took the magic elevator to the principal's office. He raised his hand and knocked on the door three times.
"Come in." Dumbledore's voice came from inside the room.
Albert opened the door and walked into the principal's office. He greeted the old man who looked up at him from behind the desk: "Good evening, Professor Dumbledore. What do you want to talk to me about?"
"Good evening, Mr. Anderson. Please sit here and we can chat while we drink." Dumbledore pointed to the chair in front of the desk and asked with a smile, "What would you like to drink?"
"Black tea." Albert sat down opposite Dumbledore and didn't feel restrained at all, as if he was chatting with an old friend.
"Someone wants me to pass them on to you." Dumbledore poured Albert a cup of black tea and pushed two letters and a package in front of Albert.
"I'm curious, is there anything that needs to be passed on to me through the principal?" Albert didn't touch the tea on the table, and the smile on his face became gentler.
"Letters from the Ministry of Magic, as well as letters and packages from the Wizengamot." Dumbledore gestured to Albert, "Would you like to open the letters and see what's inside?"
"This is really strange." Albert's mouth curled up a faint smile, "They didn't even send the package and envelope to me directly by owl."
Dumbledore pretended not to hear the boy's sarcasm and waited for Albert to open the envelope and read its contents.
Albert didn't care. He tore open the letter from the Ministry of Magic and quickly scanned the contents.
This is an insincere apology letter.
It was very short, meaning that he was already of age, and the Wizengamot British Teen Representative title was an award given to underage wizards, so the award was cancelled and they apologized for it.
Albert calmly put the letter on the table, without a trace of emotion on his face, as if the letter only contained some insignificant things.
Yes, the things mentioned in the letter were indeed insignificant to Albert.
He opened another letter from the Wizengamot, which roughly meant that he had become a candidate member of the Wizengamot. The package contained a Wizengamot uniform, but Albert was too lazy to open the package.
"Does that group of people want you to explain to me?" Albert asked casually, putting another letter on the table.
"Yes." Dumbledore asked with a smile, "What do you think after reading it?"
Just now, Dumbledore clearly saw the deep disdain and contempt that flashed across Albert's calm eyes. It was obvious that he had no interest in becoming a candidate member of the Wizengamot.
"To be honest, I'm not really interested in the Ministry of Magic's crap, and I don't think it's necessary to bother you with these trivial matters." Albert paused and said with a smile, "Maybe we can talk about other topics!"
"What topic?" Dumbledore happily put aside those annoying things. Albert's reaction was a little unexpected to him. He was not angry because the Ministry of Magic deliberately cancelled his title of British Youth Representative of the Wizengamot. Instead, he looked indifferent.
"Do you know how to remove the Imperius Curse?" Albert asked. "Professor Moody used the Imperius Curse on all the students in the class."
"I think it is not a bad thing to approach and understand these terrible spells in a more gentle way," Dumbledore crossed his fingers on the table and looked calmly at the most outstanding student in the history of Hogwarts.
"I agree with your point of view, but I want to know if there is any way to remove the control of the Imperius Curse?" Albert lowered his eyes and looked away, not looking at Dumbledore. He continued, "I mean, besides resisting through will, is there any other way to remove the control of the Imperius Curse?"
"Unfortunately, no. The Imperius Curse usually requires one's own willpower to resist." Dumbledore seemed to remember something and sighed, "Otherwise, Voldemort would not have used the Imperius Curse to cause chaos in the Ministry of Magic during the First Wizarding War."
"As far as I know, after Professor Moody used the Imperius Curse on his students, he quickly removed the Imperius Curse from them." Albert continued to ask: "Does this mean that if necessary, the caster can actually remove the Imperius Curse from the controlled target?"
"Yes, a skilled wizard can do this," Dumbledore explained, obviously not expecting Albert to care so much about this matter. "Ordinary wizards can only use the Imperius Curse to command the controlled person to do something, and they are usually freed quickly. But when a skilled dark wizard uses the Imperius Curse to control a person, it is often difficult to be discovered and difficult to resist. Voldemort used this method to gain the support of others during the First Wizarding War."
"Can a second Imperius Curse be used to counteract the first one?" Albert raised his doubts again.
"Unfortunately, no. Repeated use of the Imperius Curse will only intensify the effect of the spell and strengthen the control over the caster. Moreover, the person who is cast with the Imperius Curse will be the first to execute the last command." Dumbledore said gently, "That is why this spell is so feared."
"Can it be washed away?" Albert felt that he was very lucky to have acquired a skill to resist the Imperius Curse.
"I remember that Gringotts has a defense called Thief-Proof Waterfall, which is said to be able to wash away all spells and all magical disguises."
"Yes, the Thief-Proofing Waterfall is indeed a very practical thing. Just as you said, it can wash away all spells and all magical disguises." Dumbledore explained: "However, the effect of the Thief-Proofing Waterfall is actually limited. It is undeniable that it can indeed wash away some ordinary magic, but it is relatively powerless when facing some more powerful black magic."
"It's really hard to guard against." Albert frowned and changed his mind. "What if many people use a spell to break the Imperius Curse on a wizard? Or, let them drink a powerful restorative potion made from Mangra roots, is it possible to break the curse?"
"I think the method you mentioned should be effective and can weaken the power of the Imperius Curse. But to break free from the Imperius Curse, people often have to rely on their own willpower or wait for the wizard who cast the curse to die." Dumbledore seemed to realize that Albert came to discuss academic issues with him. His expression suddenly became a little subtle, and he had to bring the subject back.
"Sirius came to see me a while ago. He said you helped him predict what would happen to Peter."
"To be precise, Black paid me to help predict the events of Peter Pettigrew. This happened when we were watching the Quidditch World Cup." Albert had already guessed what Dumbledore wanted to ask next, so he made it clear: You can ask me to make predictions, but you can't do it for free.
"Harry said, you think he will be a champion in the Triwizard Tournament." Dumbledore asked again.
"Yes." Albert nodded.
"Why do you think so?" Dumbledore asked curiously, "You have predicted the candidates for the Triwizard Tournament a long time ago?"
"Harry Potter is a student who likes to make trouble." Albert said calmly, "Even without divination, I can guess some things. You can think of this as a premonition after mastering both Arithmancy and Divination."
"That's incredible. I remember Nico once said something similar." Dumbledore asked again, "Do you have any other magical premonitions?"
"There's something wrong with your new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor." Albert said without hesitation, "Or rather, during Harry Potter's time at Hogwarts, all his Defense Against the Dark Arts professors had problems."
Dumbledore opened his mouth as if he wanted to refute, but when he thought of the previous three Defense Against the Dark Arts professors, it seemed that what Albert said was not wrong.
"I know you don't believe it, but don't worry, just wait." Albert said mysteriously, "Time will prove my words."
"I am looking forward to your prediction." Dumbledore suddenly said, "Now, can you also make a prediction for me?"
"Of course, you are my third customer." Albert smiled and said, "However, I can help you predict for free, but I hope to invite you to my wedding and borrow the house elf to hold the wedding."
"Are you getting married?" Dumbledore was very surprised.
Not only Dumbledore, but all the portraits that had been eavesdropping on their conversation stared at Albert with wide eyes.
"Yes, after I graduate from school, I will marry Isobel. In fact, we are already engaged." Albert was not embarrassed. He knew that if he wanted his wedding to go smoothly, he had to invite Dumbledore to attend the wedding and let him become the mainstay to deter those annoying Death Eaters.
"Do you need me to be your witness?" Dumbledore asked with a smile.
This is considered as agreement.
"No, Mr. Flamel will be our witness, and I don't think he would want anyone to take his place." Albert said with a smile.
"It seems that Nico likes you very much." Dumbledore said gently, "Well, let's talk about our prophecy!"
"What do you want to know?" Albert asked
"Do you know anything about Horcruxes?"
"I know something. It seems to have been invented by the despicable Hercules, a dark wizard in ancient Greece. It's a crazy black magic that can split a person's soul. It is said that this thing was once used to ensure the immortality of its owner." Albert felt that he had suffered a great loss. Would Dumbledore, the old bee, want to drag him into this
"It seems that you are not completely unaware."
"Mr. Flamel once mentioned this matter. He said that two hundred years ago, he was troubled by a man named Herbo," Albert recalled.
"In fact, there is information about Horcruxes in the Hogwarts library." Dumbledore stood up and took a book about Horcruxes from the bookshelf behind him. "There was a student who read those books and made a Horcrux. I think you should have guessed who he was."
Albert was silent.
"It was thanks to you that I discovered that Voldemort had split his soul." Dumbledore didn't care that Albert chose to remain silent. He smiled and said, "Ravenclaw's diadem, and later Riddle's diary."
"You want me to predict the Horcrux of You-Know-Who?" Albert asked with a strange expression. "You want to drag me down, but I think it should be Potter's job to defeat You-Know-Who. After all, he is the savior, and I am just an ordinary person who is relatively smart."
"You knew that already, didn't you?"
"The diary that teaches people how to reopen the Chamber of Secrets made me realize this. After all, that thing is a bit weird, and the name itself means flying away from death." Albert no longer denied that he knew about Voldemort's creation of the Horcruxes.
"I hope you can help me predict the whereabouts of the Horcrux." Dumbledore waved his wand, and a somewhat old crystal ball appeared out of thin air in front of Albert.
"Okay, as you wish."
Albert focused his attention on the crystal ball. The moment his hands touched the crystal ball, the white mist inside began to churn, and finally an image of a snake appeared.
Of course, what Albert divined was not Voldemort's Horcrux, but Voldemort's snake named Nagini.
"A snake?"
Dumbledore stared at the crystal ball, which had returned to normal, for a long time and frowned deeply.
"Very Slytherin, isn't it?"
"It is a very risky act to entrust part of your soul to something that can move and think on its own." Dumbledore turned his eyes away from the crystal ball and said lightly, without avoiding Albert at all.
“Although the predictions for the future may change, I am very confident that there will be no mistakes when predicting the past,” Albert said confidently.
"However, this is good news. We have found another Horcrux, which brings us one step closer to defeating him." Dumbledore seemed to be in a good mood. "I hope you can keep this a secret."
"Of course, no problem. I don't want the mysterious man to know that I discovered his secret of immortality." Albert directly stated that he would definitely keep the secret, then raised his hand and pointed at the portraits around him and said, "It's not me you need to worry about, but them."
"They'll keep it a secret."