How Were You Here?

Mrs. Weasley was slightly surprised and regretful to hear that Albert would be going back that evening, but then she warmly served Albert five more dishes.

"Mr. Brood?" Mr. Weasley raised an eyebrow slightly.

"Yes, Mr. Brood. Bard Brod." Albert didn't hide the fact, and added, "He used to be the Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor at Hogwarts. After he resigned, we kept in touch through correspondence."

"That one!"

Mr. Weasley looked at Albert with considerable surprise. He also knew Mr. Brood, a mild-mannered and popular man who was also a member of the Wizengamot.

"Well, there's nothing we can do about that," Mr. Weasley said with some regret, as he quite enjoyed talking to Albert about Muggle topics.

Around 7:30 p. m., the House-elf Noel knocked on the Weasley family' door on time, taking Albert to Brood's place, the same familiar manor.

Upon entering the manor, Albert met an acquaintance.

"Long time no see." Albert looked at the red-haired girl sitting on the sofa, raised an eyebrow, and said, "Speaking of which, you're still here!"

"I've been living here for almost half a month now," Isobel said, looking up at the boy in front of her with a smile. "How was your summer vacation?"

"Not bad." Albert was just about to sit down next to Isobel when he heard a sharp cry of surprise from the entrance.

How did you get here?

Albert froze on the spot, turning to look in the direction the sound came from. Katrina, holding two drinks, was standing at the doorway.

"Oh, it's you. Long time no see, Katrina," Albert greeted another red-haired girl.

"Strange, Uncle Morg invited you too?"

Katrina placed a glass of iced tea on the table in front of Isobel, looked Albert up and down, and asked in confusion.

The atmosphere in the room suddenly became very strange, and it was Isobel who finally broke the silence.

St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries seemed quite busy, and the two sisters' mother couldn't get away for the time being, so Morg McDougal invited the MacDougal sisters to the manor for a vacation.

In fact, the estate belongs to the Wildsmith Family and is of good use to Morg McDougal. The person who actually invited him was Isobel, and the other person was just an afterthought.

Of course, Isobel definitely knew about this; only Katrina remained completely unaware.

"Yes, I was invited too," Albert replied casually with a smile. "I won't be staying here for long; I'll probably be going back in a couple of days."

"Uncle Morg is looking for you because of the Ancient Runes?" Katrina looked at Albert suspiciously, thinking she had guessed the answer.

Albert didn't bother to answer. He casually picked up the book that Isobel had pushed towards him and started flipping through it. The more he looked at it, the stranger it seemed. He raised an eyebrow and quickly finished reading the whole book.

"How was it?" Isobel asked with a smile.

"I didn't notice this book when I came last time." Albert recalled the contents of the book, which seemed somewhat familiar, and wondered where he had seen these things before.

"This was given to me by Uncle Morg."

"What are you talking about?" Katrina's gaze darted between the two men, sensing that something must have happened between Albert and Isobel.

"However, this theory is somewhat outdated now." Albert flipped through the book again and muttered, "It looks familiar. Hmm, that's right, ' The Chadwick's Charms ' seems to use this theory."

Of course, Chadwick's Charms refers to the allure of his use of Charms.

"What are you talking about? What is Chadwick's Charms? Don't exclude me, okay?" Katrina said, somewhat exasperated.

She could understand every word the two people said, but she couldn't understand what they were actually saying.

"The Chadwick's Charms is Defence Against the Dark Arts textbook from Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in the United States. Its Charm Theory is a bit different from ours now... Anyway, if you haven't read this part, you definitely won't understand it."

As Albert continued talking, he grew tired of explaining. Even if he did explain, the other person might not understand.

Compared to Britain textbooks, "The Chadwick's Charms" is indeed slightly different. The book teaches students some spellcasting techniques, although this part has been phased out, it is still very useful for most students.

Katrina was a little angry, but Albert was right, she really couldn't understand, which made her even more frustrated.

After that, the two had a very tacit conversation about some academic issues and how to make the most of their time this semester.

After all, I'm going to be taking Twelve courses this semester, so I need to learn some lessons from Isobel to avoid breaking down.

A large part of what Isobel said was directed at Katrina.

Isobel is a genius, so he doesn't have much pressure studying. Albert is also considered a genius, has even less pressure studying. The only one who might really have pressure is Katrina can barely be considered a genius.

After nightfall, Albert parted ways with the two and, on his way back to his room, encountered the House-elf.

Soon after, he met Mr. Brood in the study, where the old man was smiling and waiting for his arrival.

"I thought this manor was a very important place for you," Albert said, looking at the old man who wasn't planning on treating him to a late-night snack.

"You mean about Katrina?" The old man gestured for Albert to sit opposite him.

Albert did not deny it, and sat down to wait for the old man's explanation.

"You must already know something about the Wildsmith Family. Actually, these are things that shouldn't be told to you so soon." Mr. Brood seemed to be carefully choosing his words, speaking very slowly.

"Because we are not yet the heirs?"

"Yes, it is indeed somewhat related to this matter," Mr. Brood did not deny.

"The term 'heir' isn't wrong. However, it might not be what you're thinking. What we're inheriting isn't an estate, but a surname," he said with a smile.

"Of course, in a way, this can also be considered a kind of heritage."

"Inherit a surname?" Albert asked curiously, recalling Isobel's letter. "So, I'm qualified?"

"Well, how should I put it?" Mr. Brood thought for a moment and said, "In our opinion, you and Isobel are both suitable, at least for now."

"Is this how it is right now?" Albert repeated. "Is the observation period not over yet?"

"Normally, we would inform you of these things after you graduate," Mr. Brood said with a smile. "Well, this is an exception."

"You know, neither Isobel nor I really care about these things."

"The pride of a genius!" Mr. Brood said with a smile. "Even if you don't inherit that thing, you can get what you want yourself. I understand that. I used to do the same."

"Of course, if you don't want this surname, then it can only be inherited by Isobel in the end. Although she doesn't really need it, someone still needs to carry it on."

"Our task is actually to select the right person and then persuade him to inherit this surname," Professor Broad said. "If you agree, I will tell you about the background and some very private things."

Aren't you afraid I'll pretend to agree?

"Don't worry, since we consider you suitable, you naturally won't do such a thing, otherwise you wouldn't be considered suitable."

"It seems that what you mean by 'suitable' encompasses many aspects?" Albert raised an eyebrow.

"That's natural. Everyone who is qualified to inherit this surname is carefully selected."

"Choosing from the ground up? Do you have that many candidates? Don't think I don't know how many wizards there are in Britain." Albert curled his lip and couldn't help but complain.