Persuade People with Virtue
As Fred had said, the news spread quickly throughout the school. Many people were speculating about how Albert had somehow managed to add a hundred points to Gryffindor, propelling the previously bottom-ranked Gryffindor to first place and even pushing Slytherin, whom everyone disliked, to second place.
Slytherin is not very popular; their various shady tactics have made students from other houses dislike them and not want to see them win the House Cup.
After this incident began to escalate, many Slytherin students would point fingers at Albert and say insulting things about him.
On that day, several upperclassmen from Slytherin stopped Albert and his three companions and, in front of him, called him a liar and said a series of very offensive things.
Fred and his companions all looked hostile, ready to fight these guys. They had been practicing their combat skills for a long time and were itching for a fight.
The other Gryffindor students, of course, wouldn't let their own house's hero suffer, and were ready to join in the fun. They didn't mind making things worse, since this wasn't the first time they'd clashed with Slytherin.
The atmosphere around them grew increasingly heated, the air thick with the smell of gunpowder, and a brawl could break out at any moment.
Albert ignored the atmosphere around him, simply looking calmly at the people who had just been attacking him, and said with a hint of helplessness, "As expected, you are all still too young. You heard a little rumor and came here to scold me. How reckless... Do you have any evidence to prove that what you just said is true? Don't tell me that your so-called rumor is evidence?"
"I..." The Slytherin student was about to speak when Albert's hand landed on his shoulder without him noticing.
Albert sighed and shook his head, saying, "To be honest, I'm also very bothered by your constant rumors."
The others around them began to whisper.
"I know you're not very bright, but next time don't believe every rumor you hear. What you're doing now is completely thoughtless, making me wonder if you're mentally challenged or deliberately trying to cause me trouble?"
Albert glanced emotionlessly at the Slytherin student who was trying to interrupt him, and continued, "Frankly, I hate it when people cause me trouble, and I'm sure you don't like it either, right?"
The surroundings fell eerily silent! "So, apologize for your slip of the tongue just now," Albert said softly. "Otherwise... although I don't usually like using violence, I wouldn't mind hanging you outside the castle. You can try it; I always keep my word."
"I'm... sorry!" After staring at Albert for a while, the older student finally chose to back down.
"No exception." Albert patted him on the shoulder and said meaningfully, "Also, don't take things as gossip just because you hear a few rumors. Doing so will make you look stupid."
Everyone except the Slytherin students burst into laughter, but they soon stopped laughing because Albert bluntly stated that those who believed the rumors were idiots, and most of the people here were clearly idiots.
"Exams are coming up, how come they still have time to pay attention to those rumors? Are they just bored out of their minds, or do they have too little homework? Why can't they focus on the exams?" Albert muttered to himself, ignoring everyone else, and headed straight for the library.
Fred, George, and Lee Jordan looked at the people around them with strange eyes and quickly followed Albert.
The Slytherin student, who had suffered a series of blows, was now flushed red and almost exploded on the spot, but he didn't dare to chase after Albert to cause trouble.
He never imagined that he would be suppressed by Albert's imposing presence.
Actually, this is related to Albert's previous battle with Smith. That life-or-death struggle made Albert's aura very sharp.
He had finally made up his mind to "kill someone," so how could he possibly be compared to other students?
However, what most people found hardest to accept was Albert's behavior. He didn't get angry at all; he just looked at him with pity in a very calm tone.
Yes! They looked at him with pity, as if they were looking at someone with intellectual disabilities.
Moreover, this wasn't just directed at that Slytherin student, but at most people; those who easily believed rumors were, in Albert's eyes, mentally challenged.
"Funny, hahaha... This is so funny! How did you do that? I can't take it anymore, my stomach hurts so much."
As soon as they turned into a secluded spot, Albert looked at his roommates, who were laughing so hard they were doubled over, speechless. He suddenly didn't know what to say.
"Did you guys notice the constipated expressions on those Slytherin students' faces just now?"
Albert's words just now amused them; none of the three had expected it to be like that, it was really funny.
"Speaking of which, how exactly did you do that?" Fred wiped away the tears from the corner of his eyes and couldn't help but ask.
"I'm just asking them to listen to me," Albert said calmly.
"What if he doesn't apologize?" George asked curiously.
"Of course I will keep my word and hang him outside the castle," Albert said, squinting. "I'll only take him down when he's genuinely willing to apologize."
The three looked at each other, initially thinking it was just a threat, but it turned out Albert wasn't joking.
What they don't know is that, since ancient times, the phrase "winning people over with Persuade people with virtue" has not only been a lip service, but also means to subdue others with force.
The news spread quickly throughout the school, but no one laughed at the Slytherin student. Everyone calmed down and thought about what really happened.
After all, that incident really was just a rumor circulating at school.
Although everyone says that Albert gave Gryffindor extra points, there is no concrete evidence, and even Albert himself said he was unaware of it.
People actually know about it, and they spread it everywhere, even using it as a topic of conversation.
No wonder Albert said those things.
It would make you seem really stupid to believe something you just heard.
No one would admit to being stupid or idiotic, so everyone shut up.
But what exactly happened? There are always a few people with strong curiosity who want to uncover this secret.
However, Dumbledore didn't reveal any information, Albert, the person involved, also stated that he was unaware of it, so the matter remained unresolved.
As for the Special Contribution Award, nobody really paid any attention to it.
Soon everyone lost interest in thinking about it, because the shadow of the exam had quietly descended, and everyone had to devote more attention to studying.
Albert also heard that, due to the effects of the Baruffio's Brain Elixir, this exam would be more rigorous than the last one to prevent anyone from using the Baruffio's Brain Elixir cheat.
In reality, the Ministry of Magic hadn't changed anything. They simply didn't have the capacity for large-scale monitoring of whether anyone had taken Baruffio's Brain Elixir. Moreover, while the Ministry of Magic had been heavily publicizing the dangers of Buffet, and the actual victims had only recently been discharged from the hospital with some unpleasant side effects, they never expected that someone had secretly used Baruffio's Brain Elixir and even achieved good results as a result.