Chapter 91

The following weekend was going to be a good one. The four boys had done their homework and had no projects to do. Their weekend was just for relaxation. They could sleep in and not worry about being told to 'hurry' by every member of staff they met. The boys had no worries and took a breath of fresh air.

However, at the break of dawn, the Weasley twins left for the kitchen to get an earlier start. They went to find Hagrid and started growing Luminara garlic in his vegetable patch. It turns out it isn't hard to grow. All it took to grow it was three things: ash from a dying flame, not being touched by moonlight, and watering it with boiling water. To be honest, Albert was unsure why they were adamant about making those bracelets, but it was a decent way to make money.

Before leaving for breakfast around nine o'clock, the twins returned with dirt all over their robes. They asked for him to wait for them to shower before they joined him for breakfast. During breakfast, they talked about how they grew garlic and gave Albert a rough timeline of when it would be ready. Lee joined them later and invited them to join him in quidditch practice. Angelina and Alicia joined him while Shannon went to the library and the twins went to Hogsmeade.

After rejecting Lee's and Shannon's invitation, Albert walked past the suspension bridge, taking a right before and stopping before an office. Reaching for his pocket watch and checking the time, he knocked on the door before waiting for a response. Once he got the all clear, he entered the office and took a seat opposite Professor Brődt.

"Give me a few minutes, Mr Anderson," the professor said as he picked up a stack of paper. "Let me finish marking these assignments before we start."

"Okay, sir," Albert said as he got 'Ars Alchemiae: Fundamenta et Initiationes' and 'Potentiae Potionum et Elixirum Arcana: Iter in Alchimiam' from his bag.

Upon entering, Albert was enveloped in an atmosphere of deep purple hues. He adorned the walls with tapestries of ships sailing in storms and a picture of a viola odorata. The room was lit by the soft light of everlasting candles casting a gentle glow. The centrepiece of the office was an impressive mahogany desk, carved with intricate floral patterns. He organised the desk, with leather-bound journals at the edge of the desk. Professor Brődt filled them with notes from his journey across Europe.

Against the back wall stood a large bookcase, reaching from the floor to the ceiling. He filled it with ancient tomes and modern research papers with a focus on the theory of magic, magical creatures, and the Dark Arts. Some books seemed to emit a faint glow. Most of the books were written in Norwegian or Sami. He adorned the room with artefacts from his journey across Europe. The artefact that caught Albert's eye was the fang of a Hungarian horntail. The windows had deep purple curtails on the side, offering a breathtaking view of Hogwarts' grounds and a glimpse of the Forbidden Forest.

"Enjoying the view, I see," the professor said. "Help yourself to a drink. It's by the bookcase."

Albert got up and went to the table of drinks. He picked up a glass bottle and turned to face the professor.

"Do you have anything other than..." Albert asked.

"Whisky? Sorry about that. I had a Friday night drink with Minerva and Filius and forgot to put it away. I cracked open my 8-year-old single-malt Talisker Xpedition Scotch Whisky," Professor Brődt said as he levitated it out of Albert's hand. He tapped his desk, and a house-elf popped out of nowhere. "Could you change my drinks so they're suitable for students?"

"Missy understands. Missy will do it right away," the house-elf said. The house-elf waved her hand, and the drinks changed to be more suitable for students.

"Thank you, Missy," Professor Brődt said as the house-elf disappeared. "You can pick another drink now."

"Thank you," Albert said as he poured himself a glass of apple juice. "Were you in Ravenclaw, sir?"

"No, I didn't go to Hogwarts. I attended Durmstrang, but I can see where you're coming from. Ravenclaws' house colours are a dark blue and gold," the professor said as he poured himself a drink. "My wife's favourite colour was purple, and I've come to grow fond of it."

"Oh, I was going to ask you a question about Ravenclaw, but oh well," Albert said.

"Just ask the question. There's no harm in trying," the professor said.

"Is it true that they have a knocker that asks them questions before they enter the room?"

"Let me tell you something strange. Rowena Ravenclaw was said to have purple eyes and, as a result, their house colour. Legend says she had a pet raven, but the knocker is in the shape of an eagle. And Ravenclaw's emblematic animal is an eagle. Why is that?" Professor Brődt said.

"I have no clue," Albert replied.

"The eagle represents wisdom," the professor said. "Every student must answer a riddle in order to enter their common room. Most Ravenclaw have no bias towards any political ideology. They are pursuers of knowledge, and as long as you can answer the riddle, you can enter the common room."

"You can stay in the Ravenclaw dormitory? I thought that wasn't allowed," Albert said.

"I said you could enter the common room. They have their own private library, and anyone can enter it. Professor Flitwick has warded the Ravenclaw common room so anyone other than Ravenclaw can access the corridor leading to the dormitories," Professor Brődt said as he took another sip. He put the stack of paper to one side and then rang a bell on the side of his desk, and two plates appeared on the desk. "Pumpkin pie? They're freshly baked."

"Thank you, sir," Albert said as he took the plate. "I have a few questions to ask about 'Ars Alchemiae: Fundamenta et Initiationes'. Do you mind?"

"No. Not at all," the professor said. "However, I may not be the best person to talk to. I don't want to claim that I'm an expert on this topic. My knowledge is limited to the books I've read and watching my friends make stuff. If you want help with alchemy, I would recommend you go to Dumbledore. But I already told you this, so why are you here, Mr Anderson?"

"I was reading 'The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection' and found that the spells here are not that useful when you are actually in danger. Sure, they help warn others, but there's nothing here that helps us protect ourselves," Albert said.

"That. I would blame the ministry for that. They don't want you to learn any spells that can harm other students until you have a grasp on magic. That's why there aren't any spells for self-preservation," the professor said.

"But the spells we learned could be used to harm others in the right situations. For example, you can blind someone with 'Lumos' and then transfigure their clothes into pins using 'Tansfiguro Mundum' and let them bleed out. Or levitate an object using 'Wingardium Leviosa' and repeatedly hit them until you bludgeon them to death," Albert said.

"You answered your own question," Professor Brődt said as he looked at the confused Albert. "You said 'in the right situations'. The spells you learn for self-preservation do not care about the situation. We can use almost anywhere them and could help us kill anyone. This is one of the few things I agree on with the ministry. I've seen many young witches and wizards killed by their own hubris."

"I'm not sure if you are aware of this, but every week, every member of the teaching body gets together to discuss the students and to check their performance. From what I've heard about you from the other professor, I believe you are sensible enough to learn about self-preservation magic. If I do recommend you a book, come to me for help, or if you're stuck, okay?" The professor said this as he waited for Albert to nod his head. "Okay. I would recommend the book 'Disillusionment Charm and Co.: The Basic Guide for Any Aspiring Aurors'. From what I remember about the book, it should have the Lumos variants, the levitating variants, the previous iterations of the shielding charm, the disillusionment charm, and the disarming and stunning charm. It would be a great start to get you ahead for next year."

"But, sir, I've already read that book. And the disillusionment charm, the stunning charm, and other offensively minded spells aren't in the book," Albert said.

"When you opened the cover, did you read when it was printed?"

"1947, I believe."

"That's the reason. The ministry started its censorship campaign again after the fall of Grindelwald. It wasn't enforced harshly until He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named. As long as you find a version printed before 1939, it should be in there," the professor said. "How far did you get?"

"I learned the disillusionment charm and the shielding charm. I didn't need the other spells," Albert said.

"Thor's lightning! I knew you were talented, but this is above my expectations. I'm sure the other professor would be surprised," Professor Brődt said.

"They wouldn't be shocked. Why?"

"There were students far more talented than you, Mr Anderson. Take Professor Snape, for example. By his second year, he was editing recipes to make them easier to brew and more efficient. Professor Filtwick had learned the first four years of charms but the Christmas of the second year. You are talented, but there are others that exceed your talent," the professor said. "I don't know why you weren't sorted in Ravenclaw."

"The sorting hat said I could go to any house, but I chose Gryffindor," Albert said. "I have another question. In our first lesson, you said that if Dumbledore tried, he couldn't get rid of the curse. Why is that?"

"I can't tell you. I got in trouble for saying that," the professor said. "You didn't hear this from me. Later, you will learn that there is always a price to pay to get rid of a curse. The stronger the curse, the stronger the effect. There are other factors, such as the intention behind it, how they applied the curse, and how powerful the person who made the curse is. Also, whether they are alive plays a massive part."

"So you're saying Lord Voldemort is still alive?" Albert asked.

"I didn't say anything."

"You also said that the curse was tied to the position of professor of defence against the dark arts. Why not change the name?"

"Magic cannot be tricked that easily. The curse will still exist even if you change the position's name."