Mysterious Journey

Chapter 925: Places, everyone! Action!

"Bending the knee a bit? This old codger nearing retirement is certainly fine with it..."

Dumbledore said calmly, not losing his composure at the future Eileen was outlining.

"Quirinus might have a somewhat difficult time, but I believe he can handle it properly. After all, compared to the abyss of despair he once found himself in, these criticisms are nothing to him. Over the years, there have been quite a few wizards who dared to stand up against Tom, but I've only ever met two who dared to fool and deceive Tom and walk away unscathed."

"I didn't expect you to think so highly of Professor Quirrell. Then why last year..."

Eileen looked at Dumbledore in surprise. It was the first time she had heard Dumbledore comment on Quirrell.

More importantly, in her original impression, Dumbledore didn't seem to value Quirrell very much. After all, if it weren't for her little butterfly wings flapping the course of history, Quirinus Quirrell would have died at the final stage of the Philosopher's Stone challenge.

"Quirinus is an extremely talented wizard, and talented people always crave more—"

Dumbledore sighed, his gaze shifting to the envelope in his hand—Eileen felt he was more like avoiding her gaze.

"After he returned to Hogwarts from the Albanian Black Forest, I noticed that Quirinus might be in some extremely bad situations. I had to carefully observe and monitor his words and actions... Tom is a very clever student, and so is Quirinus. Therefore, even if he risked giving information, I could only make some arrangements, rather than—"

The old man paused for two seconds, his silvery-white beard trembling slightly, his voice a little weary.

"I didn't know how deep he was in it, but this is Hogwarts, I couldn't take risks—and when I realized that his soul was still worth saving, his connection with Tom was too close..."

"Eileen, one day you will understand that the world is not a fairy tale. Often, you cannot save everyone."

"Oh, well, I did, and more than once—"

Eileen shrugged, ending a question that she, Old Potato, and Old Carrot had argued about many times.

"I said, perhaps sacrifice and erudition are unavoidable, but at least wizards can prevent it from happening to people."

Under Fawkes's indignant but unspoken gaze, Eileen grabbed the small fish rice again and began to pick and choose, saying softly.

"Which also means another problem. If Quirinus Quirrell believes that Hogwarts is controlled by dark wizards—or, more extremely, that Professor Dumbledore, you have turned from a guardian into a new Dark Lord, what do you think he will do? He will definitely lurk as before, trying to use external forces to seek hope of breaking the deadlock..."

"Professor Quirrell's IQ is quite high. Judging from the progress feedback from the research institute, he is even faster than Lockhart, who uses memory magic. Since he plans to provoke the power struggle between the Ministry of Magic and Hogwarts, why not give him an even bigger stage."

A gleam of excitement flickered in Eileen's eyes, making Dumbledore's heart clench reflexively.

"I'm sorry, Miss Kaslana, I don't understand what you mean... What do you mean by a bigger stage?"

Dumbledore frowned, looking at the mischievous little witch in front of him with vigilance.

Whenever this little witch started to get excited, it was usually the most dangerous time for his heart.

If Dumbledore remembered correctly, the last time he heard Eileen mention a wider stage, it seemed to be when she went to Russia to release and recover a Horcrux, and the time before that was the public trial of Peter Pettigrew, the time before that was secretly buying a flying "big ship", the time before that was buying half a Muggle country and Gringotts by selling potatoes, the time before that was...

Anyway, based on Dumbledore's experience over the past year, it was never a worry-free thing.

"It's simple, since the Ministry of Magic and Professor Quirrell want to increase Hogwarts' attention in the magical society..."

Eileen gently waved her wand, and copies of magazines floated onto Dumbledore's desk one by one.

"Whether it's Hogwarts professors facing Azkaban's prison disaster, or Ministry of Magic Aurors openly breaking into the school for violent strip searches... Professor McGonagall's academic innovations are obviously not enough to ignite public enthusiasm. What they crave is eye-catching and intense collisions. Perhaps the Ministry of Magic has the ability to seal small-scale public opinion, but..."

Eileen wagged her finger triumphantly, winking slyly, and said softly.

"If dozens of news media outlets simultaneously and unexpectedly witness the Aurors' actions in a moment, even if the Ministry of Magic issues a gag order in time, most magazines will know what to do in the face of the game between interests and distrust—"

"A simple coincidence? That's a good idea. So, what's the reason?"

Grindelwald nodded in approval, as expected of the successor he had taken a fancy to at a glance.

If he had noticed this back then, he might have been more cautious in promoting his views when he rose to power. Even if he couldn't win over too many centrists, he could at least confuse public opinion, so that there wouldn't be an either/or choice.

"Oh, isn't there a ready-made reason? Professor McGonagall falsified the long-standing basic theory of Transfiguration."

Eileen picked up *Transfiguration Today* and shook it in her hand, turning to look at the two old wizards sitting in the office.

"But we have to get there before the Ministry of Magic's owls, otherwise the reporters won't need to come here after the Aurors all arrive. So, I have a small suggestion—"

As the girl spoke, she unfolded two pieces of parchment on the table, and lightly tapped them with her wand.

"Why don't you two old men go out and do some activities? For the greater, um... Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry?"

…………

About an hour and a half later.

"...This is the last one, *Witch Weekly*, does anyone really read this kind of thing?"

Grindelwald released the owl in his hand, watching it flap its wings and fly towards the village not far away. He lowered his head and looked at the mailing label that belonged to him, checking for any errors, shaking his head helplessly.

"I wonder if Albus has finished sending his letters. Um, his list seems to be a page longer than mine, right? Tsk..."

Under Eileen's persistent pleas (the old dark lord's own mental image), he and Dumbledore reluctantly agreed to her suggestion: using Apparition and illegal Portkeys to travel to the vicinity of various magazine offices to release the owls, creating the illusion that the academic conference invitation letters had been sent long ago, thereby achieving a "coincidental" audience solicitation.

After triple-checking that everything was correct, Grindelwald cheerfully lit the parchment.

"Okay, the last stop is Lovegood's. After a short rest, we can go back to Hogwarts to watch the show—"

For Grindelwald, the wizarding village built around the *The Quibbler* headquarters was arguably the best place in all of Britain. Only in the aging village of Quiberon could he eat and drink with confidence.

Of course, compared to satisfying his appetite, the good show that was about to happen at Hogwarts was even more important.

Even though he had long retired from the world, this kind of teasing and designing of the magical government was still one of Grindelwald's favorite performances, and what interested him even more was that Dumbledore was finally on the list of participants this time.

Perhaps he would never be able to reverse the tragedy of the past, but he had finally waited for the opportunity to cooperate with Albus again.

…………

Night fell, and the sky gradually began to darken.

The lights of Hogwarts Castle gradually lit up, stubbornly dispelling the deepening fog.

At Eileen's suggestion, two rows of magical lamps were also erected on both sides of the covered bridge at the front gate of the castle. For energy saving and reduction of light pollution, they were mostly in a silent state unless someone passed over the covered bridge.

At this time, a fearsome team of Aurors was striding across the covered bridge towards the school.

Leading the way was Rufus Scrimgeour, the Head of the Auror Office, followed by four elite Aurors.

Under the illumination of the magical lamps on both sides, Rufus Scrimgeour looked like an old lion. Streaks of gray were mixed in with his tea-brown hair and thick eyebrows, and behind his gold-rimmed glasses were a pair of sharp eyes. Despite a slight limp, he walked with a brisk air that immediately made people feel he was a keen and tough guy.

Umbridge didn't like Scrimgeour, but she had to admit that Scrimgeour was indeed the best Head of the Auror Office.

"Only five of you? Director Scrimgeour, I'm not questioning your ability, but you should also know what today's task entails: arresting and searching a full professor at Hogwarts, which may encounter some..."

At the gate of the castle, Umbridge looked at Rufus Scrimgeour behind him, frowning.

You know, in order to ensure the success of this arrest operation, Umbridge even used her special privilege as Senior Undersecretary to the Minister of Magic to sign a Undersecretary Decree, but from the current personnel configuration, it was obviously not the optimal solution.

"I am the Head of the Auror Office of the Ministry of Magic, and I know how to allocate personnel reasonably."

Rufus Scrimgeour replied in a stiff tone, not paying attention to Umbridge's stiff smile.

"If the evidence is conclusive, then our imaginary opponent is only Quirinus Quirrell alone. This is just a routine raid, not a conquest of Hogwarts. The other professors at the school are well aware of the Auror Office's responsibilities—"

The middle-aged wizard strode through the entrance hall towards the inside of the castle, and continued briskly.

"On the other hand, in addition to the five of us, Dawlish and Shacklebolt should also be here."

"Huh? Where are they?"

"Upstairs, the Headmaster's office—after receiving your letter, the Minister decided to divide his forces into two groups. Dawlish and Shacklebolt are accompanying him in the office to hold up Dumbledore, and we will take this opportunity to quickly find the evidence..."

"Oh, great... As expected of the Minister, it's so wonderful."

Umbridge nodded in sudden realization, quickening the pace of her short, thick legs to keep up with Scrimgeour.

"Quirinus Quirrell is now in his own office, let's go over there quickly. The search warrant and arrest warrant are all ready, right? We can't leave any loopholes for Hogwarts to exploit—"

At the same time, beside a window on the upper floor of the castle.

Eileen stared at the Aurors below, turning to look at Lockhart.

"Well, all the actors for today are in place. You can almost go and inform Professor McGonagall that the interview is over—"

Then she turned to look at the old dark lord, who was sitting comfortably in a soft chair, picking his teeth not far away.

"Grandpa, there are five Aurors below. If things get out of control, I might need you to stall for some time. How long can you stall for? Not kill, I mean, if you come forward to stall for time..."

Before Eileen could finish speaking, Grindelwald grinned and shook his hand.

"Five minutes, I can allow them to last for five minutes at most under my hands... After all, I have to maintain my identity, right?"

"Uh, okay—I probably won't need you to take action."

Eileen pursed her lips, she shouldn't have asked for this pretentious old man's opinion.

Anyway, if things go wrong, it won't be her and Grindelwald who have headaches. If Dumbledore dares to be late at this time, it can only mean that the Headmaster of Hogwarts has temporarily changed his mind and is ready to support the forced armed uprising of the Dark Lord's army.

"Now, everyone to your positions... Action—"

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Yay!