Benitez frowned, raised his voice slightly and shouted to the white-haired dumpling not far away.
Perhaps in the eyes of others, this girl has a prominent status and unlimited potential, but he will not be afraid of or underestimate her.
"Hermione, come along, dad has something to ask you..."
"Hannah? Come here."
At the same time, the other two parents also greeted their daughters.
Xenophilius didn't make a sound this time, but after Luna looked at the atmosphere around her, she obediently followed her friends and came closer.
"What's wrong, dad? What are you..."
Elena looked at Benitez, who looked a little strange, and subconsciously glared at Mr. "Hermit" who was huddled in the corner.
Her intuition and her past experience told her that this kind of atmosphere and demeanor was obviously a posture of uniting to launch an army to prosecute the crime - but why didn't this Major Arcana have any warning?
You know, although Xenophilius Lovegood is not outstanding in terms of magical strength and resourcefulness, he is quite talented in seeking advantages, avoiding disadvantages and discerning the truth. According to Elena's original idea, with
In the presence of this fantasist who is good at talking nonsense, the parents will soon fall into the whirlpool of all kinds of weird theories and have no time to make things difficult and question them.
But on the other hand, even if Xenophilius didn't say a word, as the top honors students in the school, they had nothing to question or blame.
Oops, that explanation just now seems to make the situation more complicated?!
Xenophilius quickly recovered from his fugue state, pursed his lips, and carefully considered his words.
"Well, that's actually the case. We were just talking about Christmas..."
"Elena, please be honest - where did you lead a group of classmates to secretly go during the Christmas holiday this year?"
Before Xenophilius could come up with a plan to smooth things over, Benitez asked straight to the point and in a deep voice, scanning the middle-aged wizard with a strange look from the corner of his eye.
"Mr. Lovegood, leave it to me to inquire about the last holiday... Anyway, this girl Elena must have done something wrong."
After many years of getting along, Benitez knows the communication skills with Elena very well. The simplest and most direct way of asking can eliminate all roundabout nonsense.
On the other hand, as a cleric who is responsible for listening to the lives of believers and solving the daily troubles of those who pray, Benitez's ability to observe people's emotions is comparable to that of some famous detectives.
Although there is no effective evidence, there is one thing that Benitez is at least 98% sure of:
——Elena definitely knew Mr. Lovegood in advance, and there was some kind of connection between the two.
After contacting the two wizards who had chatted with him in front of the castle, a certain word that he had just heard quickly emerged in his mind... Major Arcana?
Christmas vacation?
Where did they go?
The little witches were stunned for a second or two, and then reacted immediately.
Oops! The parents must have discovered that they lied, and now they are going to prosecute them!
"...well, we are not...over there with you at the orphanage during Christmas vacation..."
Elena said bravely, a cute smile and faint fluorescence appeared on her delicate little face, while she blinked quickly at Benitez.
I almost forgot that the terrible threats at parent-teacher conferences do not only come from professors and schools.
In fact, the most fatal danger is often not from grades or discipline violations, but mostly from other parents, or... the inadvertent sharing of information between parents.
"Don't make excuses. I'm not trying to accuse or criticize you. I just want to know where you were during that month's vacation?"
Benitez shook his head indifferently, not at all confused by Elena's cute show of weakness, and said calmly.
"Mr. Granger said that those ladies have been in Luss town with you, but that's obviously not the case, right?"
"Well, that's right, Hermione, where have you been?"
Mr. Granger also asked, frowning tightly and looking at his flustered daughter.
Although Mrs. Abbott did not ask the question together, the look in her eyes when she looked at Hannah was almost the same oppressive question.
"Well, this..."
Elena hesitated a few words, her eyes wandered a few times, and inadvertently fell on Mr. "Hermit" standing on the edge.
The biggest problem now lies in Xenophilius' previous "testimony". It's not difficult to make up a story. What's difficult is to make up a story that won't be contradictory under the prisoner's dilemma.
At least in the minds of most parents, Lovegood's position, who is also in the "parent camp," should be within the trustworthy range, and this also gives Elena an opportunity to make a comeback.
"actually……"
Elena gave Xenophilius a vague look, indicating that he would be ready to cooperate later.
After being together for so long, she knew very well the character of the editor-in-chief of "The Quibbler" and his position in the Council of the Major Arcana.
It is true that it is difficult for Xenophilius to make strong, personalized key proposals in some general direction decisions, but this is also his greatest advantage:
When no other Major Arcana wizard comes up with a contrary idea, Xenophilius will most likely cooperate with her performance unconditionally...as long as it does not involve harming Luna.
Um...me? You mean...
Mr. Lovegood obviously noticed the look Elena gave her, and pointed at him in surprise.
Then, under Elena's firm eyes, Mr. Lovegood nodded with a grimace - just as Elena judged, in the "post-Dumbledore" era, she was the king.
"Actually, our...last Christmas vacation was actually..."
Elena's voice was drawn out, and she spoke softly and hesitantly, trying her best to show how a normal little girl should admit her mistake.
"—At Mr. Lovegood's..."
"Luna told me that you secretly hid in the kitchen to avoid the inspections of school professors and Ministry of Magic officials."
Before Elena could finish her words, Xenophilius suddenly raised his voice and spoke quickly, instantly attracting everyone's attention to him.
"Miss Kaslana, our agreement is only to capture first-hand information, but it is not limited to helping you deceive others or make up stories——"
Xenophilius interrupted softly with a calm look on his face. He looked around, took a breath, and then looked at Benitez. Mr. Granger and others continued to explain.
"Yes, as you may think, I also participated in the 'Christmas Hide and Seek' plan of this group of children, because I hope to capture some exclusive footage..."
"How could you-"
"This kind of thing——"
"But! You should note that The Quibbler did not publish this issue."
Before the other three parents could get angry, Xenophilius said in a deep voice, his originally wandering expression gradually becoming serious and serious.
"This involves another secret identity of mine. I belong to an ancient secret organization that protects the magical world... What we pursue is the truth of the world and the continuation of civilization."
"I'm very sorry. For various reasons, I can't explain much to you about my work for the time being - because we should be completely hidden in the dark."
"However, there are some things that I really should inform you of in advance——"
"As an ancient organization that has lasted for thousands of years, we regularly look for potential wizards to guard the fire in the magical world."
Mr. Lovegood crossed his fingers, looked at the other three parents sincerely and seriously, and said softly.
"And Miss Caslana, Miss Granger, Miss Amber...and of course, my cute little Moon."
"The four of them are now junior investigators of this secret organization."
After glancing at the doubtful parents, Mr. Lovegood thought for a few seconds and then added.
"By the way, there is one thing that may prove what I just said..."
"As dark forces become increasingly dangerous, various magical governments have banded together to form an agency called S.H.I.E.L.D."
"As junior investigators, they will receive a monthly allowance from their Gringotts accounts from the time they join the job - you can go to the Diagon Alley bank to check...Due to the relationship between the guardian and the minor, you should be able to check
To the details, as for more things..."
Mr. Lovegood coughed slightly, imitating the posture of Mr. "Tall Tower" and said arrogantly.
"Unfortunately, you do not have the permission to understand at the moment -"