Hermione's Discovery

"ALFG, that's you, isn't it!"

As the two walked out of the hall and reached a secluded corner, Hermione said impatiently, "Or rather, you two, right?"

When was it discovered?

Albert looked at the girl in front of him expressionlessly, then suddenly smiled and asked.

He made no attempt to argue or conceal anything.

Hermione's expression became very complicated upon hearing Albert's answer; she probably hadn't expected Albert to admit it so readily.

"Is there something on my face?" Albert asked back.

"A few days ago, I saw that you received a thick letter," Hermione recalled.

"I didn't expect you to pay special attention to my affairs," Albert teased, raising an eyebrow.

"It was an accidental discovery," Hermione said dryly.

"Then what?"

"The sender is Mr. Sera Harishis," Hermione replied, taking a deep breath.

"I see. Mr. Harishis is indeed quite famous!" Albert. He understood why Hermione had that expression. It was like accidentally discovering that a celebrity was actually a friend of a friend of someone she knew well, giving people a sense of unreality.

"Last time, when Harry, Harry, and I were looking for Nicolas Flamel Ron, we checked the ' Notable Magical Names of Our Time,' ' Great Discoveries of Modern Magic,' and ' Studies in Recent Witchcraft Development.' His name appeared in all of these books." Hermione added, deliberately lowering her voice, "Mr. Harishis is an expert in alchemy."

"Hmm, that makes sense. Anything else?" Albert continued to nod, looking Hermione with interest, ready to hear what she had to say next.

"I've heard that you often receive many thick stacks of letters," Hermione said, taking a deep breath and offering her guess. "You must know many famous wizards and maintain good correspondence with them."

"Yes, I do know quite a few famous wizards and keep in touch with them through correspondence." Albert noticed the slightly expectant look in Hermione's eyes and readily admitted it.

"Then...why can't you know Nicolas Flamel?" Hermione paused abruptly after speaking, looking at Albert had taken out his wand and waved it, and asked in confusion, "What did you do?"

"A simple spell that can effectively prevent others from eavesdropping on our conversation." Albert put away his wand and explained to Hermione with a smile, "I don't really like too many people knowing about me, and I think you can understand."

Hermione nodded, seemingly understanding but not quite.

"You may continue," Albert gestured, making Hermione a little embarrassed.

She composed herself before continuing.

"On the French version of the Philosopher's Stone recipe, there are similar initials ALFG to those on several Treasure Map that Harry found last time. We all thought that ALFG must be an abbreviation of a name and speculated about who ALFG might be."

"I also suspect that you are ALFG, but your initials are AA."

"Why do you doubt me?" Albert asked curiously.

"Because you seem to really like... mystery."

Hermione spoke very softly, but Albert had excellent hearing.

However, Hermione's words made him a little embarrassed.

Was he really someone who liked to act mysterious and pretentious? Well, Albert admitted that he was a bit like that, but all those so-called Prophecy had come true.

"Isn't that right?" Hermione said, her head bowed, not looking at Albert's changing expression. She rattled off all her deductions in a rapid-fire manner. Only after she finished did she look up and stare into Albert's eyes, wanting to know if her analysis was correct.

"Yes, you're absolutely right."

"Fred, George, and Lee Jordan once suggested that we should leave something fun in the school, so we made a lot of Treasure Map and buried some small things as treasure," Albert said calmly. "Of course, I don't deny that there was a bit of a prank involved. The recipe for the Philosopher's Stone is actually not uncommon in the Wizarding World. If you've ever been exposed to alchemy, you'll know that there are actually many of them, but all the Philosopher's Stone recipes circulating outside are fake."

"So, you deliberately got a French version of the Philosopher's Stone recipe because Nicolas Flamel is France?" Hermione seemed to realize something, and pulled the Philosopher's Stone recipe out of her pocket, the one Albert had given Hermione last time. "You're very angry."

"I'm not angry."

"That means he's angry," Albert said.

"I just feel like a fool being played for a fool." Hermione pursed her lips tightly.

"I never expected that Dumbledore would hide that stone in Hogwarts, and that you would find the recipe for the Philosopher's Stone." Albert spread his hands and shrugged helplessly at Hermione, indicating that it was just an accident.

Yes, it really was just an accident.

"Then why did you tell us the answer?" Hermione asked, voicing her doubts.

"Because I discovered that you, Harry, and Ron all have your eyes on that stone," Albert said, looking at Hermione. "I don't know what you're planning, but given Gryffindor's nature, even if I didn't tell you, you would eventually find out. I'm telling you in advance to prevent you from asking around about the Philosopher's Stone and causing more trouble."

"Gryffindor has no shortage of troublemakers." Albert looked Hermione straight in the eye and asked, "Well then, Miss Granger, can you tell me what you're trying to do with all this information?"

"We were just curious."

"That's such a lame excuse," Albert said with a self-deprecating laugh. "I could come up with ten of them in one go."

"We didn't intend to steal the stone," Hermione said hesitantly, then honestly replied, "We were just worried that someone would steal it."

She looked around to make sure no one was eavesdropping before whispering to Albert, "Harry thinks Snape has his eye on the Philosopher's Stone. He overheard Snape pressuring Professor Quirrell to reveal the mechanism Protect the Philosopher's Stone."

At that moment, Albert suddenly felt like laughing.

Undeniably, this blame really fits perfectly onto Snape's head.

It was especially funny coming from Hermione.

"Harry's guess makes a lot of sense." Albert nodded seriously, agreeing with Harry's point of view. "Snape was definitely not a good person."

"Actually, you know Nicolas Flamel, right?" Hermione suddenly asked. "That's why you know so much about the Philosopher's Stone."

"Yes, I do know Nicolas Flamel and have contact with him." Albert directly denied the latter part of his statement, "But I know about the Philosopher's Stone because every alchemist hopes to successfully create Philosopher's Stone, and I am no exception."

"Don't tell anyone else about this, okay?" He lowered his voice to Hermione, "Not even Harry Potter. Can you keep this a secret for me?"

"If it's a secret, why did you tell me?" Hermione asked, puzzled.

"I believe you can keep your promise and keep this secret for me." Albert gave him a warm smile.

Of course, this is pure nonsense and a way to fool people.

If Hermione is lying and doesn't intend to keep his secret, Albert will be able to tell and can simply use Memory Charm to make Hermione forget the memory.

Moreover, this is not an important secret.

Of course, if Hermione could keep his secret, their relationship would deepen, helping Albert gain more favor with Hermione in the future. He also wanted to see if he could get any quests from the trio; after all, they were the saviors, the protagonists of this world, and worth befriending.

"Yes, I won't tell anyone, I promise." Hermione nodded seriously, promising to keep Albert's secret.