History of Magic was truly boring; during class, all the students in the classroom were drowsy until the bell rang for the end of class, when everyone regained their energy.
Before dinner, Albert prepared to write replies to others. There was an advantage to maintaining correspondence with those famous Wizards: when discussing and researching a certain field, experience grew particularly fast, but the price to pay was spending a lot of time and effort writing replies.
After all, everyone was a professional, and apart from simple greetings in their letters, most of the content was academic questions or views on a certain field.
To be honest, such a letter was much more prestigious than writing an article for an academic journal, it was just that the content was a bit informal.
But no one really cared about this problem; for them, being able to explain it clearly was enough.
Albert often raised his doubts and novel ideas in his letters, and if the other party knew, they would be happy to help answer and discuss them.
Albert ate alone in the Great Hall; Fred and George had gone to the Quidditch player tryouts, and Lee Jordanhad gone to cheer them on and watch the tryouts.
After dinner, Albert first returned to the Gryffindorcommon room to put his bag back in his dormitory, and then appeared before the stone gargoyle at the Headmaster's Office entrance before seven in the evening.
"Mead," Albert said the password to the stone gargoyle.
The stone gargoyle suddenly came to life, jumped aside, revealing the gap hidden behind it.
Albert passed through the gap in the wall and stepped onto the spiral stone staircase. The gargoyle re-blocked the gap, and the stone staircase began to slowly ascend, carrying him to a wooden door with a brass knocker.
"Is this the magic version of an elevator?" Albertcouldn't help but mutter, taking out his pocket watch to check the time, and then knocked on Dumbledore's office door precisely.
The next moment, the office door opened.
"Good evening, Headmaster," Albert nodded slightly towards Dumbledore.
"Come in, Mr. Anderson," Dumbledore said with a smile.
This was Albert's first time in the Headmaster's Office. It was a circular room with portraits of previous Hogwarts Headmasters hanging on the walls; the portraits were all pretending to be asleep.
Albert was not the only visitor in this office, which was not unexpected.
Hertok Dagworth had arrived early.
"Hertok told me that there was a small misunderstanding between you two," Dumbledore said to Albert. "He hopes to sit down and talk with you calmly, you wouldn't mind, would you?"
"Yes, a small misunderstanding," Albert nodded and said, "I also hope this matter can be resolved smoothly."
"No, no need. After all, he is a Potions Master." Albert's tone was calm, but Dumbledore couldn't help but raise an eyebrow, clearly understanding Albert's unspoken meaning.
Hertok Dagworth was a Potions Master.
Who knew if he would put something in the drink?
For example: Veritaserum.
"Oh, that's a shame," Dumbledore glanced at the silent Hertok, not very optimistic about the outcome of this meeting.
The relationship between the two parties was no longer just 'not very friendly' as Hertok had said.
"I went to the Ministry of Magic two days ago," Hertokfinally spoke. "I talked to the other party about this, but that short, fat, ugly woman just refused to admit it and refused to apologize."
"I suddenly couldn't hear anything just now," Dumbledore pretended he hadn't heard Hertok's words.
"That's a shame," Albert shrugged, but there was no hint of regret in his words on his expressionless face.
"One hundred, no, five hundred Galleons," Hertokoffered his price. "There's really nothing I can do about the Ministry of Magic."
"Why don't you bribe her?" Albert asked curiously.
"I'd rather give this money to you than to that annoying ugly woman." Hertok's face showed an expression of disgust, clearly having no fondness for the woman he was speaking of: "One thousand Galleons, give me back the gold membership card."
"I see," Albert nodded and said, "Ten thousand Galleons, and I'll give you the card back."
"Ten thousand Galleons, are you crazy? This is outright blackmail." Hertok's face instantly flushed red; he was almost amused by Albert's words, feeling that he had already shown enough sincerity.
"Yes, I am indeed blackmailing you right now," Albertadmitted directly.
These words made Hertok feel stifled, and even Dumbledore couldn't help but raise his eyebrows. Neither of them had expected Albert to admit it so straightforwardly.
"Mr. Anderson, what would it take for you to return the gold membership card to Hertok?" Dumbledoreinterjected.
"It's simple, Dagworth resolves the trouble he caused, and the Head of the Improper Use of Magic Officepersonally writes me a letter of apology," Albert stated his conditions, then spread his hands helplessly towards Dumbledore and said, "I don't think my demands are excessive at all."
"That's it?" Dumbledore frowned. He had already noticed that Albert was directly calling Hertok by his last name, clearly having no good feelings for him.
"It always has been. I only need Dagworth to resolve the trouble he caused, and I will return the gold card to him, without any Galleons or any thank-you gifts," Albertretorted, "That's fair, isn't it, Headmaster Dumbledore?"
"Indeed it is," Dumbledore admitted that Albert's approach was flawless; he couldn't find any fault with it, because the other party's demands were completely reasonable, which instead made it seem like Hertok was deliberately causing trouble.
"Sometimes, having reason isn't enough to solve a problem," Hertok said irritably.
"I know, so I'm not reasoning with you; I'm threatening you now." When Albert delivered the threat, it was as if he was discussing what to eat for dinner.
"Mr. Anderson..." Dumbledore knew this was the only way; unless Hertok fulfilled that not-too-excessive request, he could forget about getting that gold membership card back.
"I understand what you mean, Professor Dumbledore, but unfortunately, I don't see an ounce of sincerity from Dagworth," Albert's voice was calm, and precisely because it was so calm, it made Hertok feel a deep unease. "In my opinion, respect is mutual. If Dagworthdoesn't give me respect, do you expect me to give him respect?"
Dumbledore was very surprised. To be honest, he had a good impression of Albert, but he had never imagined that this young boy in front of him would have such a tough side.
"I told you, I already went to the Head of the Improper Use of Magic Office, but she disagreed, and there's nothing I can do," Hertok gradually calmed down.
"Then use special methods," Albert said.
"Special methods?" Hertok repeated.
"If the Head of the Improper Use of Magic Office still refuses to apologize for her mistake, then just let the new Head apologize," Albert said calmly. "You can publish an apology article in The Daily Prophet, pushing all the blame onto the Head of the Improper Use of Magic Office. Anyway, this matter itself is the Ministry of Magic's fault, and it's also the Head of the Improper Use of Magic Office's own fault. If you don't know how to handle this well, I can recommend a reporter to you; she's very good at this sort of thing, as long as you're willing to pay a small amount of Galleons as a fee."
Not only did Hertok's eyes widen, but even Dumbledorelooked at Albert in surprise.
"Don't look at me like that, I'm just stating the truth of the matter," Albert shrugged. "Of course, I don't want Ministry of Magic personnel showing up near my house afterwards. Honestly, I've never doubted the Ministry of Magic's way of doing things."
Hertok suddenly felt a chill run down his spine.
The boy in front of him was merely stating facts, yet the facts spoken in that calm tone made Hertok feel terrible.
He even felt that if he used aggressive methods, perhaps the other party had already thought of how to deal with him.
Just as he said, this was the truth.
A terrifying truth.
"I know what to do," Hertok remained silent for a long time, then nodded and said, "Although I can't understand why you want that damned apology letter, I think you'll soon receive a handwritten apology letter from the Head of the Improper Use of Magic Office at the Ministry of Magic."
"You want to know why I want it?" Albert narrowed his eyes at Hertok, then turned his head to look at Dumbledore.
The latter seemed very interested.
Hertok also nodded.
"This isn't my fault, so why should I endure such a result? Why should I pay for the Ministry of Magic's mistakes?" Albert retorted.
Hertok opened his mouth, but said nothing.
"If you made a mistake, apologize obediently. This is already the cheapest and most peaceful way to resolve it," Albert curled his lips in disdain. "My family taught me from a young age that when others are unwilling to resolve problems peacefully, there's no need to be polite; just go up and punch them until they are willing to resolve the problem peacefully."
Both Dumbledore and Hertok's expressions froze.
Of course, they didn't think Albert's upbringing was problematic; after all, he was still willing to try to resolve things peacefully first.
It was just that this situation happening to Hertok gave him an immense headache. He realized he was the unfortunate one who got punched in the face.
"Why don't you want Galleons? A thousand Galleons is a lot of money for anyone, isn't it?" Hertok, feeling relieved, was no longer in a hurry to leave. He sat down and conversed amiably with Albert.
Just as Albert said, if you give me respect, I'll give you respect too.
"Knowledge is humanity's greatest wealth," Albert said without hesitation.
Hertok was stunned for a moment, but then heard the other party continue, "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."
Hertok was speechless. Although he felt this statement was far-fetched, he knew he had been convinced by the other party.
Albert was an expert in Runes, which meant his words were actually a display of his own confidence.
"I now understand why Bard thinks so highly of you; his judgment of people is indeed beyond mine," Hertoksighed, then extended his hand to Albert and said, "I'll resolve this matter very soon. If you're interested in Potions, or have any questions, you can write to me."
"If I do, I'll write to you, Mr. Dagworth," Albert nodded.
"If you can't stand the Ministry of Magic, you can resolve it yourself. I believe with your talent, you could become Minister of Magic in thirty years at the latest," Hertoksuddenly turned back before leaving. "Bard's circle is even wider than you imagine."
"I'm not interested in those things."
"That's a shame!" Hertok vanished into the fireplace.
"It seems this matter has been perfectly resolved," Dumbledore said with a smile, looking at Albert. "I imagine Filius will be very disappointed that you didn't go to Ravenclaw."
"Aside from Slytherin House, the remaining houses are all suitable for me," Albert said, then turned and left.