Chapter Nine hundred and forty-six Take your place! Action!
"Are you aggrieved? Of course it doesn't matter to me, an old man who is about to retire..."
Dumbledore said calmly, not losing his calm because of the future described by Elena.
"It may be a little difficult in Quirinas, but I think he can handle it properly. After all, compared to the abyss of despair he once fell into, these challenges are nothing to him - for so many years, he has dared to
There are not a few wizards who stand up to Tom, but I have only seen two people who dared to fool and deceive Tom and escaped unscathed."
"I didn't expect that your evaluation of Professor Quirrell is quite high. Then why last year..."
Elena looked at Dumbledore in surprise. This was the first time she heard Dumbledore comment about Quirrell.
And more importantly, in her original impression, Dumbledore didn't seem to think much of Quirrell. After all, without her little wings to flap the course of history, Quirinus Quirrell would have died at the Sorcerer's Stone.
the last position.
"Quilinas is an extremely gifted wizard, and gifted people always crave more—"
Dumbledore sighed and moved his eyes to the envelope at hand - Elena felt that he was avoiding her gaze.
"After he returned to Hogwarts from the Black Forest of Albania, I noticed that Quirinas might have fallen into some extremely bad situations. I had to carefully observe and monitor his words and deeds... Tom is a very smart person.
student, and so is Quirinas, so even if he risks giving out information, I can only make some arrangements instead of——"
The old man paused for two seconds, his silver-white beard trembled, and his voice was a little tired.
"I don't know how deep he's in it, but this is Hogwarts and I can't take any chances - and the connection between him and Tom is too strong when I realize his soul is still worth saving.
Already..."
"Elena, one day you will understand that the world is not a fairy tale. Many times, you cannot save everyone."
"Oh, I did it anyway, more than once -"
Elena shrugged and ended this issue that she had argued with Old Potato and Old Carrot many times.
"I said that perhaps sacrifice and erudition cannot be avoided, but at least wizards can prevent it from happening to people."
In the eyes of Phoenix, who dared not speak with anger, Elena grabbed the small fish and rice and started picking them, while speaking softly.
"This also means another question. If Quirinus Quirrell thinks that Hogwarts is controlled by a dark wizard - or even more extreme, Professor Dumbledore, you have changed from a guardian to the new Dark Lord.
What do you think he will do? He will definitely lurk like before, trying to use external forces to seek hope of breaking the deadlock..."
"Professor Quirrell's IQ is quite high. Judging from the progress of the research institute's feedback, he is even faster than Lockhart who uses memory magic. Since he intends to provoke a fight between the Ministry of Magic and Hogwarts, it is better to give him
He has a bigger stage.”
Elena's eyes flashed with excitement, which made Dumbledore's heart tense reflexively.
"Sorry, Miss Kaslana, I don't understand what you mean... What does a bigger stage mean?"
Dumbledore frowned and looked at the little witch in front of him warily.
Whenever this little witch starts to get excited, it is usually the time when his heart is at its most dangerous.
If Dumbledore remembers correctly, the last time I heard Elena talk about a larger stage, it seemed that she went to Russia to release and recover a Horcrux, and the last time it was the public trial of Peter Pettigrew.
Last time, I secretly bought a flying "big ship". Last time, I bought half a Muggle country and a Gringotts by selling potatoes. Last time, I bought...
Anyway, based on Dumbledore's experience over the past year or so, it is never a worry-free thing.
"It's very simple. Since the Ministry of Magic, Professor Quirrell hopes to expand Hogwarts' attention in the magical society..."
Elena waved her wand gently, and magazines floated to Dumbledore's desk one after another.
"Whether it's a Hogwarts professor facing Azkaban, or an Auror from the Ministry of Magic openly breaking into the school to conduct a violent strip search...Professor McGonagall's academic innovation alone is obviously not enough to ignite public enthusiasm.
, what they long for is a fierce and eye-catching collision. Perhaps the Ministry of Magic has the ability to silence a small range of public opinion, but..."
Elena shook her fingers proudly, winked slyly, and said softly.
"If dozens of news media accidentally witness the actions of the Aurors at the same time, even if the Ministry of Magic issues a timely hush request, most magazines will know what to do in the face of the game of interests and distrust.
——”
"A simple coincidence? This is a good idea. So, what's the reason?"
Grindelwald nodded approvingly, he was indeed the successor he had chosen at first sight.
If he had noticed this back then, he might have been more cautious in promoting his views when he was gaining momentum. Even if he couldn't win over too many centrists, he could at least confuse the public eye and prevent an either-or choice.
"Oh, isn't there a ready-made reason? Professor McGonagall has falsified the long-standing basic theory of transfiguration."
Elena picked up "Today's Transfiguration" and shook it in her hand, then turned her head to look at the two old wizards sitting in the office.
"But we have to arrive earlier than the owls from the Ministry of Magic. Otherwise, after all the Aurors arrive, there will be no need for reporters to come here. So, I have a small suggestion -"
As the girl spoke, she unfolded two pieces of parchment on the table and tapped the wand lightly on them.
"Why don't you two old people go out and do some activities? For the greater, um... Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry?"
…………
About an hour later.
"...This is the last one, "Mrs. Punk's Magic News", does anyone really read this kind of thing?"
Grindelwald let go of the owl in his hand and watched it fluttering its wings towards the village not far away. He lowered his head and looked at the express order that belonged to him, checking whether there were any errors or omissions, and shook his head helplessly.
Shake his head.
"I don't know if Albus's letter has been sent yet. Well, his list seems to have one more page than mine, right? Tsk..."
Under Elena's pleading (the brain-filling effect of a certain old devil), he and Dumbledore reluctantly agreed to her proposal, using phantom migration and illegal portal keys to be released near the locations of various magazines.
Owl, forged the illusion that letters calling for academic conferences were sent out long in advance, thereby achieving a "coincidental" audience recruitment.
After repeatedly confirming that it was correct, Grindelwald happily lit the parchment.
"Okay, the last stop is Lovegood. After a short rest, we can go back to Hogwarts to watch the show——"
For Grindelwald, the wizarding village built around the headquarters of "The Quibbler" can be said to be the best place in the UK. Only in the aging village of Quebir can he eat and drink with confidence.
Of course, the fun that will happen at Hogwarts later is more important than the appetite.
Even though he has long since retired from the world, this kind of teasing and designing a magical government is still one of Grindelwald's favorite performance projects. What interests him even more is that this time, Dumbledore is finally on the list of participants.
profitable.
Perhaps he could never reverse the tragedy of the past, but he finally waited for the opportunity to work with Albus again.
…………
As night falls, the sky gradually begins to get dark.
The lights of Hogwarts Castle gradually turned on, stubbornly dispelling the deepening fog.
Under Elena's suggestion, two rows of magic lanterns were erected on both sides of the covered bridge at the main entrance of the castle. For the sake of energy saving and reducing light pollution, unless someone passes by the covered bridge, most of the time they are in the dark.
silent state.
At this time, a group of formidable Aurors were striding across the covered bridge towards the school.
The leader was Rufus Scrimgeour, the director of the Auror Office, and behind him were four elite Aurors.
Under the illumination of the magic lamps on both sides, Rufus Scrimgeour looked like an old lion, with tawny hair and thick eyebrows mixed with wisps of gray, and a pair of sharp eyes behind gold-rimmed glasses. Although he was a little lame.
, but he walked with a graceful stride, making people immediately feel that he was a sharp and tough guy.
Umbridge didn't like Scrimgeour, but she had to admit that Scrimgeour was indeed the best Auror director.
"Are there just five of you? Director Scrimgeour, I'm not questioning your ability, but you should also know what today's mission is. To arrest and search a formal professor at Hogwarts, you may encounter some...
…”
At the gate of the castle, Umbridge looked behind Rufus Scrimgeour and said with a frown.
You know, in order to ensure that this arrest operation is foolproof, Umbridge even specially used her privileges as Senior Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Magic to sign the Deputy Minister's Order. However, judging from the current staffing, it is obviously not the optimal solution.
"I am the director of the Auror Office of the Ministry of Magic. I know how to allocate personnel reasonably."
Rufus Scrimgeour replied stiffly, not paying attention to Umbridge's somewhat stiff smile.
"If the evidence is conclusive, then our imaginary opponent is only Quirinus Quirrell. This is just a routine surprise inspection, not a conquest of Hogwarts. The other professors in the school are very aware of the responsibilities of the Auror Office -
"
The middle-aged wizard strode through the foyer toward the inside of the castle and continued speaking eloquently.
"On the other hand, in addition to the five of us, Delis and Shacklebolt should also be here."
"Hmm? What about them?"
"Upstairs, the principal's office - after receiving your letter, Mr. Minister decided to split his forces into two groups. Delis and Shacklebolt accompanied him in the office to hold off Dumbledore, while we took this opportunity to quickly find evidence...
…”
"Oh, that's great... As expected of Mr. Minister, it's really wonderful."
Umbridge nodded in realization, and her stubby legs quickened to keep up with Scrimgeour's pace.
"Quirinus Quirrell is in his office now. Let's go there quickly. Are the search warrants and arrest warrants all ready? We can't leave any clues to Hogwarts-"
At the same time, at a window on the upper floor of the castle.
Elena stared at the Aurors below, then turned to look at Lockhart.
"Well, today's leading actors are all in place. You can almost tell Professor McGonagall that the interview is over——"
Then she turned her head and looked at the old devil who was sitting in a soft chair not far away and picking his teeth.
"Grandpa, there are a total of five Aurors below. If the situation gets out of control, you may have to intervene to delay it for a while. How long can you delay at most? It's not about killing, I mean if you intervene to delay...
…”
Before Elena could finish her words, Grindelwald grinned, raised his palms and shook them.
"Five minutes, I can allow them to stay under my hand for up to five minutes... After all, you still have to maintain your identity, right?"
"Uh, okay - you probably don't need to take action."
Elena curled her lips, she shouldn't have asked this pretentious old man for his opinion.
Anyway, if things go wrong by then, it won't be her and Grindelwald who will have a headache. If Dumbledore dares to be late at this time, it can only mean that the Hogwarts principal has temporarily changed his mind and is ready to support the Demon King's army.