Professor Brod was a witty old man, and Albert was looking forward to the invitation. Just as he was about to raise his hand to knock, the door of the Defense Against the Dark Arts office opened automatically.
Albert's hand froze on the spot. He knew this was Professor Broad's invitation, so he gently pushed open the door and stepped into the Defense Against the Dark Arts office.
Professor Brod had already prepared cake and drinks.
Of course, there's also a set of Wizards chess pieces.
"Wait a moment." Professor Brod sat at his desk, staring at some parchment in front of him, seemingly busy with something.
Albert didn't disturb the other person. He sat quietly on the sofa, made himself a piece of cake, and ate it by himself.
Ten minutes later, Professor Broad finally finished his work, sat down in front of Albert, and said with a smile, "I've heard about your story from Professor McGonagall. She's very proud of you."
"About 'Today's Transformation'?" Albert asked, somewhat puzzled.
"Yes," Professor Brod nodded. "For your age, that's remarkable."
Albert fell silent, suddenly unsure of what to say. Actually, he hadn't really paid much attention to this kind of issue.
Professor Brod noticed the fleeting surprise and silence on Albert's face and asked in confusion, "You seem... not to care?"
"Uh?" Albert nodded somewhat awkwardly. Actually, he wanted to say that the fame he gained was not as beneficial to him as Galon.
Hogwarts students do not receive payment for publishing papers in *Transfiguration Today*. Of course, the relationship between the two parties has always been mutually beneficial.
Only students who win the Best and Most Promising Newcomer Award will receive a symbolic Galon reward from "Today's Metamorphosis." The number of Galons is also limited, with the greater honor coming from the title of Best and Most Promising Newcomer.
"White moves first." Professor Brod stopped discussing the topic and gestured to Albert to move first.
Albert immediately focused his attention and began cautiously probing Professor Broad's abilities. He was well aware of his own situation; his wizard chess level was only one, and reaching the second level was still a long way off.
This level of skill is fine against ordinary people, but it's far from enough to beat the international wizard chess champion.
In fact, even though Professor Brod deliberately held back during the head-on attack, Albert still couldn't withstand the opponent's offensive and was checkmated by Professor Brod's knight in less than ten minutes.
Although he lost the game, Albert benefited greatly from playing against Professor Brod. In the second game, Albert slowed down his pace, avoiding some of the minor mistakes he made in the first game. After a twenty-minute battle, Albert was ultimately checkmated by Professor Brod's queen.
"We lost again," Albert remarked. "Is this the level of the international wizard chess champion? The level of wizard chess competitions must be very high."
"No, you're actually wrong. The wizards who participate in the International Wizard Chess Tournament are all of average skill level." Professor Brod took a sip of his milk tea and explained gently, "In fact, very few wizards actually train in this area. They may have some skill, but that's about it. In two years, you should be able to reach that level as well."
"You mean... all the players participating in the International Wizard Chess Tournament are amateurs?" Albert was taken aback.
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In fact, it is said that people begin to reach their peak in many aspects at the age of seventeen, and Albert once suspected that this was the reason for turning seventeen into adulthood.
"Yes, there's never really been such a thing as professional or amateur. But it's always like this in every competition. When you're an adult, you can also participate in the International Wizard Chess Championship." Professor Brod said with a smile, "Although the prize money isn't much, the championship title is still pretty good."
"Hmm," Albert replied absentmindedly. In truth, he didn't care much about whether he was famous or not.
"Being famous can be quite useful sometimes," Professor Brod smiled meaningfully.
What he said sounds... well, a little strange.
"What were you busy with just now?" Albert changed the subject. "Of course, if it's inconvenient..."
"Studying ancient runes." Professor Brod didn't seem to mind at all. "Basilida just helped me organize them. However, I haven't touched these things in a long time, so it's quite difficult to study them now."
"Ancient runes?" Albert raised an eyebrow. "I heard it's an elective course for third-year students."
"Yes, yes, it's an elective course for third-year students," Professor Brod nodded repeatedly.
Albert suddenly said, "It is said that in the era of the Four Greats, they used this kind of magical runes to cast spells."
"Yes, that's a theory." Professor Brod looked Albert up and down. "Some people have speculated that the power of ancient wizards was inseparable from ancient runes."
"Indeed…it is very powerful," Albert said softly. "The fact that Hogwarts' ancient magic has been able to last for thousands of years is, in my opinion, nothing short of a miracle. Although it may be impolite to say this, I doubt whether Headmaster Dumbledore could have done the same."
"Haha, Dumbledore." Professor Broad put down his teacup. "He's widely recognized as the most powerful wizard of this century, and he's been the chief wizard of Wizengamor for decades!"
"Rumor has it that even the mysterious man is afraid of him," Professor Brod continued. "Well, you know who the mysterious man is, right?"
"I know." Albert nodded. "I've read about him in the books. It's said that Harry Potter defeated this Dark Lord."
"This matter was widely discussed. At the time, many people thought that Void would be defeated by Dumbledore, but he was defeated by..." Professor Brod realized that this topic should end here. He paused and then brought the topic back: "There are many legends about ancient runes. It is said that it is a kind of magical script, and using it to chant spells can enhance a wizard's magical power. Well, Dumbledore also used them, and he himself was an expert in this field."
"Professor," Albert suddenly said.
"What is it, Mr. Anderson?" Professor Broad asked, looking up in confusion.
"I also tried to learn runes on my own," Albert hesitated for a moment before asking, "but I couldn't sense the mysterious power of this ancient magical script as you described."
"You've taught yourself?" Professor Brod was quite surprised.
"Yes," Albert said. "I taught myself runes during the Christmas holidays this year and could barely read them, but… in fact, they're not as magical as you say."
"After all, it's just a legend..." Professor Brod said softly, "but you've certainly given me quite a few surprises."
"Surprise," Albert frowned slightly.
"It's nothing," Professor Brod chuckled. "Actually, many wizards have studied ancient runes, but at their level, they can usually only achieve basic recognition and simple application. There are very few true experts in this field anymore."
Albert fell silent.
After a long pause, he finally said, "Nobody's digging deeper."
"Digging deeper," Professor Brod shook his head and said, "For most people, it's good enough if they can even understand this ancient script. After all, nobody uses it, so why would they waste time and effort digging into its secrets?"
"But the school..."
Professor Brod interrupted, "Hogwarts offers classes in Ancient Runes simply so that future generations won't forget these ancient scripts."