Chapter 255 Milk and Sugar Cube

 The snow has stopped all night, and the field of vision is covered with white snow, which shines in the sun. The house elf Noel is using magic to clear a path for people to walk in the snow.

 In the villa, Albert put on a formal wizard robe, sat on an armchair in the library and flipped through books casually, waiting for the arrival of other wizards. It would be a lie to say that I am not curious about alchemy gatherings.

Albert's patience was not tested for too long. A very old wizard, supported by a house elf, slowly walked towards the villa hall.

"...Those guys have no sense of time now." Albert vaguely heard the old wizard's nagging and complaints.

"No, old man, I dare say that your pocket watch must be a few minutes ahead of others." Another younger old wizard glanced at his pocket watch and greeted the other party with a smile, "The agreed time has just arrived. .”

 Not long after, everyone appeared outside the villa one after another, as if they had made an appointment in advance, and entered the villa hall under the guidance of the house elf.

 Albert closed the book, tidied up his clothes, and walked towards the villa hall.

As soon as he walked outside the hall of the villa, the noisy chatter inside reached Albert's ears.

  “There are a lot less familiar faces than last time.”

"Why didn't Nico come? I remember he seemed to be living in seclusion in Devonshire."

“You said Nico, I remember Dumbledore invited him to the party last time.”

“Don’t think about it, Nico hasn’t come to the party for several years, and he probably doesn’t want to come either.”

 “Why didn’t Dumbledore come this year?”

 “Who knows?”

"I wrote a letter to Dumbledore. He said that he had something to do this year and would not attend."

The wizards spoke one sentence after another without lowering their voices. The hall was filled with noise. Albert did not go in immediately, but leaned against the wall to listen to the people inside.

“What about Gerber Smith? Why didn’t he come this year?” asked a loud voice.

 “Probably still on the way.”

“If this continues, I’m afraid we won’t be able to gather even five people for the next gathering.” Another wizard with a low-level voice couldn’t help complaining.

 “It’s not as exaggerated as you said.”

 “We haven’t had new blood join us for a long time.”

“It is difficult for today’s wizards to learn formal alchemy.”

　　"How about letting Dumbledore start alchemy in Hogwarts school?"

 “Are you going to teach?”

"No one is going back to teach. Most of the people here are semi-retired. Didn't Bud say that we should invite a new person to this party? Have any of you seen it?"

A middle-aged wizard quickly changed the topic. This happened to him at the last party. If he didn't say something, he would have to listen to these old people nagging for a long time.

“I’ve never seen it before. Bud said he would give us an unexpected surprise.” Another thin old man wearing a monocle and gloves said. He was a metalsmith named Yelon Balder.

"Last time, the guy from the Gerber Smith family had to do it. However, I heard that he won't come this year. Don't call me at the next party. No one will come, and it won't be interesting anymore." A bald and short old man who was over seventy years old couldn't help but complain. He is the famous Gobalot, a potion master who is good at preparing antidotes or using alchemy to extract the raw materials for potions. Anyone who is good at potions must know Gorbalot, or know Gorbalot's third law.

“Okay, old man, let’s just treat it like we’re meeting at a party. I don’t know who will leave that day.” Another old wizard was very optimistic.

"Come on, Tofty. You are older than us." Someone couldn't help but muttered.

“Next time, don’t invite me. This trip is so stressful that all the bones in my body are about to fall apart.” Another old wizard complained.

“You’re not even older than me. Besides, you’re not Nico. Do you have osteoporosis at your age?”

Tofodi shook his head and said, "Remember to drink some milk every day."

“By the way, haven’t you said you wouldn’t come to the party for a long time?”

“Bud told me that there will be a new person this year, and it is said that he is a genius. I will definitely come and take a look.” Professor Tofti is not very good at alchemy, but he is interested in the genius that Bud Brod calls him. Moreover, what they call not good at it is just that they are not good at it compared to these people here.

 After a moment, the house elf appeared in the hall with drinks and gave everyone their favorite drinks.

“Toles, if you don’t like it, you can add some sugar cubes to the milk.” Professor Tofty suggested with a smile.

"Only Dumbledore would do this. At my age, I cannot eat food that is too sweet." The old wizard named Thors couldn't help complaining.

“Dumbledore never thought of himself as old.”

Several old people unceremoniously teased Dumbledore for not coming to the party. Most of them have known each other for years and don't care much about these things.

 Maybe it’s because they are a bit old, their ears are a little hard to hear, and they speak loudly.

The famous Nico Flamel was actually ridiculed by them as suffering from osteoporosis? And Dumbledore often eats sweets but is not afraid of being diabetic.

Albert's face trembled slightly. Everyone outside the hall heard it clearly. He really didn't know what to say.

 “Why don’t you go in?” Professor Broad asked with a smile.

"It's very interesting to listen to them chatting." Albert explained casually. Once he went in, he would probably become a topic of conversation and wouldn't be able to hear those interesting things.

There were only nine people in total, most of them were very old wizards, and there were only a few younger middle-aged wizards. After Albert followed him into the hall, he unexpectedly became the focus of everyone, and the wizards in the hall all turned their attention. He looked over.

“Albert, you sit over there!” Professor Brod pointed to the seat next to him.

"Bud, is this Mr. Anderson you are talking about?" Everyone looked at Albert curiously. Fortunately, he had practiced, but he calmly sat down next to Professor Brod and looked at several people. The old people who looked at themselves nodded as a greeting.

Then, he said to the two old men who were speaking French: "I admit that I am indeed relatively young, but knowledge does not distinguish between ages, right?"

 The two old men looked at each other, but they were not embarrassed because their whispers were overheard. Instead, they were surprised that Albert could speak French fluently.

"French?"

 “British.”

 This time, Albert used English.

"He is indeed a genius." The old man said to Professor Brod, "At least, in terms of language."

 (End of this chapter)