Harry Potter: The Atypical Alchemist

After twenty days, it was still very happy to see a familiar face again. Stone walked over with a smile on his face:

"Principal Dumbledore, why are you here?"

"As the president of the International Alchemy Association, I am obliged to present you with the award."

"If you want to show off, I only accept you." Stone gave a thumbs up.

"Haha -" Dumbledore smiled gently and said, "Okay, hurry up and get there."

"Ok."

The four contestants came together. After nodding, Stone walked towards the podium. As he passed by, the Ramadan sisters and Krum who followed him also expressed their respect to Dumbledore - the first white wizard. It's not just talk.

The table on the judges' stage was removed and replaced by a medal podium. The four people stood on the side of the stage. After the host finished his opening remarks, he turned to them with applause.

"Let's go," Memphis said, and he and Nyx walked to the front.

Stone was second and Klum was third. They walked to the back of the podium and then stepped onto the podium hand in hand.

When they stood on the podium, the heights of Stone, Memphis and Klum reached the same level, which looked quite harmonious.

Afterwards, Dumbledore came up from the other side and handed the three gold, silver and bronze trophies to them.

Just when he was about to say some words of congratulations, the door at the archway was suddenly opened, and a middle-aged man who was somewhat stout walked in.

He was wearing thick wizard robes, and it looked like he had just come from a cold place.

Looking closely, Stone found that the Ministry of Magic official was following the middle-aged man. From this point of view, he should have sent a message to this middle-aged man in the morning.

"Minister Fudge." Dumbledore recognized the man's identity and said, "It's not easy to see you on such an occasion."

"When a wizard in our country wins an award, I, the minister, always have to come over and congratulate him."

With that said, Fudge walked up to the podium. His eyes scanned among the contestants for a while before he finally determined Stone's identity. After seeing the trophy in Stone's hand, his eyes showed a disappointed look. .

"Have the awards been given out yet?"

"Yes." Dumbledore said calmly: "If we had known in advance that you would come, we would have invited you to come up and present the award."

"It doesn't matter. As the principal of Hogwarts, it is most appropriate for you to present the award."

After smiling and being polite, Fudge stood next to Stone without leaving a trace, took the trophy from his hand, and faced the audience.

It looks like this is the picture that will appear on the headlines of tomorrow's newspapers. Stone felt extremely contemptuous in his heart, but a standard perfunctory smile appeared on his face.

Who doesn’t know how to play tricks on occasion? If you want political achievements, it’s reasonable for me to gain some influence, right?

Their postures and expressions were maintained for about five seconds, and after ensuring that the reporters had recorded the scene, Fudge... put the trophy away.

"???"

Stone looked at Dumbledore in confusion. He didn't have much obsession with the trophy, but a minister wouldn't be greedy for this thing, right? There's nothing left on the wall of the office?

Dumbledore, who noticed Stone's expression, did not speak, but smiled faintly, as if to signal Stone to calm down.

Sure enough, shortly after putting away the trophy, Fudge said loudly:

"To congratulate, uh... Stone Cappe for winning the championship, I will personally reward him with another five hundred gold galleons. I wish him to go further and further on the road of alchemy in the future."

The words came out, and the movements of his hands were unambiguous. Fudge took out a small bag and handed it to Stone.

"..." Stone looked at Dumbledore again.

To be honest, he was a little confused by Fudge's series of operations.

A trophy with no substantial meaning is definitely not worth five hundred gold galleons. The values ​​of the two are not equal, so the exchange conditions cannot be established. There is no such thing as a free lunch, so he suspected that the minister had other agendas.

"Hurry and take it," Fudge urged.

Stone said nothing and still looked at Dumbledore. It wasn't until he saw Dumbledore nodding that he took the bag containing the gold coins.

Dumbledore couldn't believe it all, but he was much more reliable than this minister, so Stone naturally believed him more.

As for whether Fudge will have feelings for Dumbledore because of his actions...

'It's not my business? ’ Stone thought irresponsibly.

"Must be stunned." Fudge responded well, and quickly explained Stone's behavior, saying, "Doubling the bonus is really a huge surprise, isn't it?"

Since everyone found their own steps to get off, Stone couldn't kick their stools away. He nodded and said:

"Yeah, sort of."

"Well -" Fudge patted Stone on the shoulder with satisfaction, "There is still something going on at the ministry, so I won't stay any longer. You continue."

After saying that, he walked out of the venue with the Ministry of Magic official who said very little.

The dinner began, and the four contestants sat at a table. Stone finally couldn't help but complained:

"Why is this minister so weird? What is he trying to do?"

"Emm..." Memphis thought for a moment and said, "I think I know why."

"You said."

"Judging from the situation just now, you and your minister have a normal relationship, at least you must not have known each other before, right?"

"Of course, but what does that matter?"

"Yes." Memphis said, "Hogwarts rarely participates in this kind of competition, so you don't know. At each Alchemy Exchange Conference, the top three will work together to refine a work for the Ministry of Magic of the winner's country, but It’s just a tradition, you can refuse the first place, and if you refuse, we don’t have to participate.”

"...So, do you want to go?"

"I can do it." Memphis shrugged, "It's paid, although it's not much."

"I want to go." Nyx raised his hand, "You still owe me some clothes!"

"Haha -" Stone shook his head and laughed, "The worst I can do is take a trip, can I still break my promise?"

"By the way, do you know when this cooperation will start?" He continued to ask Memphis.

"Before the next conference starts, but usually half a year later, that is during the summer vacation."

"Okay, I'll think about it."

Cooperating to refine an item sounds very tempting, but this kind of behavior that is almost forced to buy and sell is a bit disgusting. If he really wants to participate, he has to ensure enough benefits. Only a small amount of money can make up for his injured soul. .