Study Days at Hogwarts

“Are you getting used to campus life?”

Albert moved a chess piece, looking at his daughter, asking the question he nagged about every year.

“It’s alright, just a bit boring!” Alice stroked the head of the fat cat, Tom, and actually responded to the question: “Were you like this before?”

“Not really, I actually had a pretty good time at school.”

A glimmer of reminiscence flashed in Albert’s eyes: “When I first entered the school, I often explored the castle with friends, then ran off to adventure in the Forbidden Forest, and later… the savior Harry Potter came to school.

He was like the protagonist in a novel, bringing a lot of trouble to Hogwarts as soon as he entered, but of course, it was also very interesting.”

“I think you’re more like…” Alice looked at her father’s face and spoke her mind, “…the protagonist in a novel.”

“I used to think so too, but being the protagonist isn’t good, it’s too tiring.

The author constantly torments the protagonist for the sake of the plot.” Albert looked at his daughter’s astonished expression, chuckled, and changed the subject, “Have you been to the Forbidden Forest?”

“I’m not you, and I’m not a Gryffindor student.

“For me?”

Alice glanced at the parchment and retorted, “Did you bury it?”

“When you come of age, if you still find Hogwarts too boring, go find this treasure.

I remember you have a good friend, you can call her along.

I think her name is…”

“Daphne, Daphne Greengrass.”

“That Greengrass from the Muggle world?” Albert asked with interest.

“Yes, she’s a pretty girl with a lot of schemes!” Alice added, “She also admires you a lot, she’s your fan, do you want me to introduce her to you?”

“She doesn’t admire me, she admires the strong, that’s how the world is.” Albert corrected.

“Was Mom like that back then?”

“Not really, we mainly got along well.” Albert smiled and looked at his daughter, “Aren’t you the same?”

“You’re right, it’s just that she’s a bit too deliberate, it makes me want to learn Legilimency.” Alice’s evaluation of her “best friend” of several years was rather average.

“Prying into other people’s minds, you won’t have any friends in the future.” Albert kindly reminded.

“Oh, no wonder Mom…” Alice paused, seeming to realize something, and changed the subject, “She said she wanted to visit our home and see the legendary Albert.”

“It’s up to you to decide.” Albert moved his knight, checkmating Alice’s king, “As for whether she’s worth making friends with, I believe you have your own judgment.”

“Then forget it.” Alice curled her lips, teasing her overly young father, “I think if Daphne sees you, she will definitely be completely infatuated with you, and then I’ll be annoyed to death by her.”

“Sometimes having too much charm isn’t a good thing!”

When Albert went out with his family, he often encountered similar situations.

“What do you think Daphne wants?” Alice suddenly asked, “Don’t tell me she just wants to latch onto a strong leg.”

“Ordinary people and nobles in the Muggle world are completely different groups of people, you can’t look at Muggle nobles in a normal way, they are more utilitarian in their actions.”

“So she’s a replica of Valeria, but I think even if she weren’t a witch, she should be able to live well.” Alice still couldn’t figure it out.

“You’re making it easy for Alice to lose the joy of childhood!” Isobel looked at her husband with a blaming gaze: “I think children should have a happy childhood, not think about these schemes and deceptions.”

After speaking, she stroked Alice’s head and said, “Your friend definitely wants to be friends with you too, at least you get along very happily, don’t you?”

“If you guys were willing to spend more time with us, I think everyone would have a happier childhood!” Alice looked at this pair of irresponsible parents and said quietly.

“I knew Alice would say that.” Katrina couldn’t help but chuckle, “Alright, dinner is ready!”

“Aren’t we always making time to be with you?”

“A childhood without playmates is incomplete.”

“They’re all a bunch of childish ghosts, and I have to help take care of them every time.”

“That shows that Alice is also a very gentle person.”

Dinner was very lavish, with the house-elves preparing a lot of food that the children liked.

After eating their fill, everyone squeezed on the sofa to watch a movie, spending the second half of the night in laughter.

During this time, Alice mentioned something to Albert.

“Oh, they contacted you.”

Albert wasn’t surprised, as the genius Alice was undoubtedly the best candidate at the moment.

Moreover, Alice was Albert’s daughter, so she could complete the relay very well.

Yes, Bard and the others wanted Alice to replace Albert.

“I refused!” Alice said calmly.

“Oh, it seems you convinced them!” Albert showed a gratified smile.

“I don’t think it’s necessary.

I don’t lack Galleons, I don’t lack knowledge, and I don’t need to borrow power, so why should I bear such a surname?”

Alice never denied that the advice given by Bard was something that most wizards couldn’t refuse, but those things had no appeal to her now.

“Moreover, if similar situations are concentrated in a wizarding family, it would only take three generations for the entire nature of the Wildsmith family to change, and this family that has been maintained for nearly a thousand years should not disappear into the long river of history.”

“I will convince them and make them stop bothering you.” Albert asked with a smile, “Want to come?”

“No, I think it’s about time to rest.” Alice casually found a reason to refuse.

“Good night, dear.”

“Good night!”

When Alice picked up Tom and walked out of the screening room, she turned back and said, “I’m planning to invite Daphne to our house for a couple of days.”

“She’s grown up.” Isobel said softly.

“Yeah.” Albert said with some emotion in his voice, “The child has finally grown up, it’s really gratifying.”

“What are you going to do next?”

Quitting halfway was indeed a bit of a jerk move.

“Let’s wait a bit longer.”

Albert looked at Isobel’s belly and said softly, “There will always be a suitable candidate, and besides, isn’t there Ian?”

“Ian isn’t as outstanding as Alice.”

“What they want is just a suitable candidate to inherit the political legacy.”

After Albert directly played vanishing act and no longer attended Wizengamot meetings, their power in the Ministry of Magic couldn’t find a suitable successor, so the requirements for Albert’s agent weren’t actually that high.

As for Alice’s “concerns,” everyone knew that it was just an excuse to decline.