Hogwarts Headmaster's Office.

When Aileen pushed open the oak door and walked in, neither of the two old wizards in the room looked at her immediately.

Dumbledore, who had just returned to his office, was not sitting behind the mahogany desk reading, as he usually did. Instead, the old man was gently tapping his exquisite silver instruments that rotated and puffed out smoke with his wand, as if he was adjusting and maintaining these magical "humidifiers."

Meanwhile, Grindelwald was by the bird perch near the door, teasing the phoenix Fawkes, while replenishing food and water for Professor Dumbledore's great bird. The division of labor between the two seemed particularly harmonious and heartwarming.

"Okay, I have only one question," Aileen said patiently after half a minute. "Who forged my signature?"

Grindelwald seemed eager to help explain the matter, but Dumbledore spoke first.

After so long, Dumbledore had come to understand one thing:

There is no such thing as a free scapegoat in this world—if you rely too much on others to help explain, you will pay a much heavier price in the future.

Although "Definitely-not-Dumbledore" was very useful when dealing with the Ministry of Magic, Dumbledore highly suspected his allegiance when dealing with the "Little Devil":

It wouldn't be the first time that two generations of Dark Lords had joined forces to plot against the poor, helpless, and kind-hearted Headmaster of Hogwarts.

"This was a plan I requested, but the magical handwriting was done by Professor Apocalyps," Dumbledore said.

"The notice at the entrance of the Great Hall was posted by Mr. Filch, but the specific actions and wording were jointly drafted and confirmed by the prefects of both Gryffindor and Slytherin. We merely authorized it. The reason your name was signed is primarily out of respect for the person who proposed the detailed rules."

Aileen nodded noncommittally.

After she had thoroughly lambasted the toad, she wasn't as angry.

She believed Dumbledore's explanation. As the most recognized white wizard in the magical world today, the old man, even if he had some calculations, would rarely deliberately shirk responsibility or distort the truth. If it were Grindelwald, it would be different. The old potato and she were both artists skilled in rhetoric.

"I understand how you feel right now, Aileen."

Dumbledore said in a soft voice, and before the girl could speak, he added,

"I had similar shocks several months ago—more than once."

"Oh, so you plan to continue this tradition? Rua?"

Aileen said, without any embarrassment or sign of anger.

With the interactions over this period, Dumbledore would occasionally "get cheeky" in response. In fact, the old wizard was not the kind of serious and rigid elder to begin with. This "tit-for-tat" approach to education also aligned with Aileen's understanding of Dumbledore.

Of course, if Dumbledore didn't provide a reasonable explanation, he would soon learn what the power of youth was.

"No, of course not..."

Looking at the threat in the little witch's eyes, Dumbledore gave a helpless wry smile.

Ever since Aileen learned the "Ancient Barbarian Strength," she was simply too dangerous in such enclosed spaces.

"Forget it, let me explain—"

Grindelwald shook his head and took the initiative to start the conversation.

"Hogwarts student activities are coordinated by the Heads of Houses. This is a result we discussed earlier. If the notice applied for by the two House Prefects doesn't have your signature, your influence among the students might be greatly diminished. Also, regarding the issue of 'secret duels,' I don't think we can rely on the students' discretion. Rather than waiting for rumors to be embellished, it's better to clearly and directly show it."

"Hmm, was the situation so urgent that we couldn't wait until after class today to discuss it in the evening before deciding?"

Aileen frowned, her gaze falling on the accomplice who forged her signature.

"No, because Professor Umbridge is from Slytherin," Grindelwald said. "By the time your classes are over today, that senior official from the Ministry of Magic will have had time to gather intelligence and react. This is the least variable way to respond, that's all."

The Ministry of Magic had always wanted to interfere with Hogwarts, a fact known even to the drunkards in the Leaky Cauldron.

Over the past few months, they had tried to insert house-elves and tried to scrutinize and win over official professors.

To this end, Dolores Umbridge even lost her position as Senior Undersecretary. In such circumstances, even the Great Arcanas could not confirm the extent of the school's infiltration—after all, there were nearly a thousand students in the castle, and there were bound to be one or two "good" children who had been won over.

"Okay, theoretically, this is indeed the most reasonable thing to do."

Aileen turned around and propped herself up on the claw-footed round table in the center of the room with both hands.

She wasn't the kind of unreasonable, immature girl. As the "Fool," one of the Great Arcanas, if Dumbledore and Grindelwald's decisions aligned with the overall strategy, Aileen didn't have many thoughts she could act upon. After all, the effect of this signature was merely "Aileen, a student."

As for the "three times" bet she lost to Hermione because of it, Aileen didn't think it was a bad thing. She wouldn't be at a loss anyway.

"So, there's another sudden situation now—"

Aileen raised her thumb and gestured towards the tightly closed oak door not far away.

"On my way here tonight, I seemed to have a toad following behind me. Although I don't know what she's trying to do, I'm guessing it won't be anything pleasant. She hasn't actively attacked, so I haven't been able to get the first strike to mark her, you know..."

Umbridge was arguably the most difficult and disgusting target Aileen had ever encountered.

This was not just because of the other party's disgusting personality and her nauseating "Wizarding Supremacist" views.

More importantly, no matter how Aileen provoked Umbridge, she wouldn't actively attack.

Due to the "Binding Oath" effect of Dumbledore and Grindelwald, Aileen's retaliation had to be based on counterattacks, and on this point, Umbridge had given Aileen almost no opportunities to mark her as "red-named," except for that one surprise capture. Umbridge had revealed very few flaws.

Perhaps this was also why Cornelius Fudge trusted Umbridge: she understood very well how to skirt the edges of the rules.

"Did you hear that, Albus?"

Grindelwald said with his hands behind his back, looking completely unconcerned.

"Mr. Headmaster should get out and about. There's a dangerous person lurking outside the corridor. Or, if you can handle the Ministry of Magic, I could reluctantly help you get rid of that woman outside, as long as you allow me to clean up the trash in the castle—"

"Thank you, Professor Apocalyps."

Dumbledore said, looking towards the door with a knowing smile.

"However, I don't think it's necessary, because Professor Umbridge seems to be planning to come in directly—"

Before Dumbledore could finish speaking, the doorknob of the Headmaster's office suddenly turned.

There was no knock.

Dolores Umbridge pushed open the door and barged in.

At the same time, the portraits of the male and female headmasters who had been pretending to sleep while Aileen and the others were talking also "woke up" one after another.

With Dumbledore's guarantee, the portraits in the Headmaster's office were finally able to avoid being locked behind the curtains for long periods, but when Aileen appeared in the room, most of them still chose to remain in a pretend slumber—after all, this little girl was too infuriating and too dangerous.

But when an "outsider" appeared in the Headmaster's office, they were obviously free to move around.

"Aha," Umbridge said, using a tone as if she had caught them red-handed. "Just as I suspected, Professor Dumbledore—"

As she spoke, she glared fiercely at Aileen with a venomous look like a snake.

Umbridge knew that the Ministry of Magic might not gain much advantage in this confrontation, but she had at least thought of a way to kill the chicken to scare the monkeys.

"You should know why I'm here, right?"

Umbridge said, squeezing out a disgusting, hypocritical smile, and said sweetly.

"After observing these past few days, I've discovered that Hogwarts has gone astray in many experiments and rules. Student duels full of violence and uncertainty are one aspect, but more seriously, some students who are beyond the norm obviously have—"

"Cough, cough! Cough cough!"

Just then, a sudden cough interrupted Umbridge's voice.

Umbridge turned her head and looked in the direction of the sound, still maintaining that hypocritical smile.

"Um... Professor Apocalyps?"

"I'm sorry, Professor Umbridge, I think you've come at a bad time—"

Grindelwald grinned, a mirror-like smile appearing on his face, and continued with restraint and grace.

"As you can see, I am discussing matters with Professor Dumbledore and Miss Kaslana. According to the order of arrival, shouldn't you wait until I am finished before continuing to express your thoughts? What you are doing now is not appropriate."

"Is that so? Then you go ahead and talk, I'll just be here on the side—"

Umbridge's gaze lingered on Grindelwald for a moment, and she took out a notebook from her handbag and walked towards the sofa in the Headmaster's office.

However, before she could take a step, a phantom wall of light suddenly appeared in front of her.

"What... do you mean by this? Mr. Paracelsus."

Umbridge's face darkened, her right hand moved, but she ultimately did not choose to draw her wand.

"This is Hogwarts, the British magical world. You should know the 'Pact of the Immortals,' right?"

As a senior official in the Ministry of Magic, she certainly knew the true identity of this "Otto Apocalyps."

Compared to Dumbledore, this ancient alchemist from Austria clearly would not have much regard for obeying and respecting the laws of the magical government, but the British Ministry of Magic was not worried that he would run amok either. The International Confederation of Wizards had the power to regulate immortals.

If these "elderly wizards" disrupted the magical order, the magical ministries of various countries would unite to administer and adjudicate them.

"Oh, I just wanted to ask a question—"

Grindelwald's smile did not diminish, but there was no hint of a smile in his tone.

Unbeknownst to her, the magic in the air began to stir, slowly compressing the air in the room.

"Arbitrarily interrupting conversations between elders..."

"Barging into rooms without knocking..."

"Being presumptuous..."

Grindelwald walked towards Umbridge step by step with his hands behind his back.

Unlike when they confronted each other in the entrance hall, this time she felt as if she was being stared at by some extremely ferocious monster.

Even though Grindelwald didn't say any more threatening words or use any profound magic, Umbridge still felt a subconscious tremor of difficulty breathing and cold sweats. Every small step Grindelwald took forward, she would instinctively take a step back.

The invisible "aura" pushed Umbridge backward, eventually pushing her to the outside of the Headmaster's office door.

Poof.

The aura suddenly disappeared.

Umbridge involuntarily fell to the ground outside the Headmaster's office.

Grindelwald looked down at the plump witch and asked gently one last time.

"Are you, polite?"

Bang!

The door to the Headmaster's office closed again.

Grindelwald turned around and said with a playful and smug expression.

"How was I just now..."

"So, how did you lock her outside again?"

Before the old Dark Lord could gloat, Aileen said in annoyance.

"Couldn't you have trapped her in a corner of the office and left her for Professor Dumbledore to deal with so I could go back to sleep?"

"Uh—"

"Forget it, let's just leave it at that. I have some things I want to say anyway—add a layer of soundproofing barriers."

Aileen sighed helplessly, and after Dumbledore lowered his wand, she continued unhurriedly.

"I plan to hand over the leverage of the 'Hanged Man' to the Ministry of Magic, of course, after it's been cleaned, and then find a way to let the Ministry of Magic detonate and complete the final redemption presentation, and by the way, conduct a final personnel review for the werewolf reversal that will follow."

Aileen paused, her eyes flashing with a meaningful look.

"Therefore, I hope that when dealing with Umbridge later, you can..."

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Yay!