Dumbledore sat at the table, gently picking up Newt's carefully crafted secret letter with his slender fingertips, and frowning.
The main content of the letter is actually very simple:
Albania has nothing to do this summer.
Nothing means something is happening, or even bad, because in that dark forest lurks a lonely ghost that everyone thought was dead long ago...Voldemort.
Dumbledore has always known about this. Even though he has been to Albania several times, he has not found the lonely ghost...
But he just knows!
Over the past ten years, a large number of animals have been dying mysteriously in the forests of Albania, which has become serious enough to attract the attention of the Ministry of Magic. Even as time goes by, local residents have gradually become accustomed to it...
Therefore, when the dark forest suddenly became quiet and death no longer appeared, it meant Voldemort's departure.
But the world is too big. Even if the Dark Lord leaves Albania, there are too many places to go. Where will he go?
Dumbledore took out two more letters from the drawer, and placed the three letters side by side on the table.
A letter of apology from Gringotts, the goblins.
Dumbledore's vault was broken into by wizards. Although nothing was lost, the goblins wanted to pay a compensation and hoped that he would not pursue the case and continue to use their absolutely "safe" vault...
Another letter came from Minister of Magic Fudge, who was very sorry for not catching the wizard who broke into Gringotts and said he would not give up...
What Dumbledore is best at is collecting intelligence, peeling off the pieces of information that may be true, false, invalid or inconspicuous, finding truly useful clues, and connecting them together.
From these three letters, Dumbledore can easily draw an obvious conclusion:
After the Dark Lord left Albania, he returned to England and found a capable assistant who was powerful enough to sneak into Gringotts and even avoid pursuit by the Ministry of Magic.
Dumbledore stood up, put his hands behind his back, stood by the window, and looked down into the distance.
Hogwarts under the night has fallen into silence, like a dozing dragon.
But the old man knew that the Dark Lord was hiding in a corner nearby, spying on the sleeping dragon at close range.
The reason is simple, because the magic stone is here!
Whether it was the news that the Sorcerer's Stone was in the vault or in Hogwarts, it was actually Dumbledore who spread it.
Rather than letting Voldemort disappear without a trace after leaving Albania, it would be better for him to take the initiative to stay under his nose.
Dumbledore could also further observe the Dark Lord's condition, explore the secret of his immortality, and verify some of his guesses.
Of course, you can also use him to train and sharpen the people you want to train. The half-dead Dark Lord is the best whetstone.
At this moment, the door was pushed open again, and Snape walked in angrily.
"I just met Scamander on the road. He said you didn't punish him?"
"Punishment?" Dumbledore did not turn around. He just stood with his hands behind his back and said softly: "Did Mr. Scamander make any mistake?"
"What mistake did he make?" Snape said angrily: "He brought a motley rat and attacked an innocent student..."
"But as far as I know, it was Goyle and Crabbe who insulted Longbottom's parents first, and then Malfoy broke into someone else's carriage and wanted to throw his luggage out of the train." Dumbledore turned around and looked at Sneezy.
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"The fault of the three of them seems to be bigger."
"Besides, Professor McGonagall has already written to the Ministry of Magic and will confirm whether Scamander is carrying Motler rats..."
"We all know what's going on!" Snape interrupted the principal rudely, pacing back and forth in the room and saying:
"Scamander's box is very dangerous. There must be many dangerous magical creatures. Aren't you worried about the safety of other students? We must effectively supervise his box..."
Dumbledore looked calm. He stared at the string of wind chimes on the window sill that could predict the weather. It seemed that the box was not as important as whether it would rain tomorrow.
"I agreed that Rolf could bring the box to Hogwarts, and he could raise some less dangerous magical creatures in it."
"You agreed?" Snape could hardly believe it.
"The child was going to Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, where his mother was a professor." Dumbledore reached out to hold the string of wind chimes and said with a smile:
"Due to some reasons, Hogwarts has had a slightly poor reputation in recent years, and its academic atmosphere is not as strong as Ilvermorny. As a result, many parents prefer their children to go to school there... In fact, we are not far behind."
Hearing this, not to mention the old headmasters hanging on the wall, even Snape felt blushing.
A school ranked fourth from the bottom can force itself into the top 2, right?
"So, Ilvermorny doesn't agree with Scamander raising magical creatures, and you use this condition to attract him to Hogwarts?" Snape's voice was full of sarcasm.
"Yes."
"I'm just an ordinary student." Snape sneered, "Do you deserve this?"
"Every great wizard grew up from an ordinary person." Dumbledore said calmly.
Snape looked angry and unconvinced.
"Actually, not only Rove, but all students, I am willing to provide appropriate tolerance within a safe and controllable range." Dumbledore sighed:
"It not only protects their nature, but also allows them to grow more freely and do what they want to do, instead of being completely restricted by school rules.
Isn’t this the responsibility that a teacher should fulfill?”
Snape looked at Dumbledore, and for some reason, he suddenly thought of the werewolf Lupin. If it hadn't been for the old man in front of him, he probably wouldn't have been able to come to Hogwarts in his life.
"Of course, it's not just that. I think more students come to Hogwarts to cultivate enough talents."
Dumbledore looked at Snape who was still thinking about him and said softly:
"You know, Voldemort will come back sooner or later. When he comes back, we need enough power to protect everyone."
Snape looked horrified. He hadn't heard this name in almost ten years.
"He's coming back?"
"I don't know either." Dumbledore shook his head and said, "But please pay attention to Quirrell for me, okay?"
"Quirrell?"
When Snape heard the name, he only felt chills running down his spine. He didn't notice anything. If Quirrell really had a problem, he was so good at disguising it that it escaped his eyes.
Dumbledore was sure there was something wrong with Quirrell.
He was not like this before, and he clearly went to Albania next summer. When he came back to apply for a job, he did not mention it, only that he went to the Black Forest and Africa.
These anomalies were enough to alert Dumbledore, especially according to his speculation that Voldemort had found a powerful helper.
"By the way, Severus, have you seen Harry?" Dumbledore asked.
"I saw it!" Snape shook his head violently, as if trying to shoo away a nasty fly.
"He really looks like his mediocre, arrogant, arrogant, pushy, and impudent father James Potter!!"
"But his eyes are like his mother's, exactly like Lily." Dumbledore sighed:
"It's been more than ten years, do you still remember the shape and color of those eyes?"
"Remember……"
Snape sat slumped on the chair, holding his tearful face with both hands, twisted and ferocious.
"Over the years...I have seen it many times in my dreams..."
Dumbledore walked over, patted the middle-aged man's trembling shoulder, and sighed: "Then keep Harry safe."
After Snape left, Dumbledore took out a stone from somewhere and tapped it lightly with his left and right index fingers, making a crisp sound.
It's just that the blood-red stone has a very dull luster, and the blood color has almost disappeared, just like a residue.
It is like a bait, hanging on the dragon's neck, attracting the Dark Lord lurking in Hogwar...
This is a game, a stealing game.
Dumbledore knew Voldemort was coming to steal.
Voldemort also knew that Dumbledore knew that he would come to steal it.
Dumbledore also knew that Voldemort knew that he knew...
This is a game of endurance and intelligence to see who is more skilled.
It just so happened that Dumbledore had never lost in his life, while Voldemort was already a loser.
The bell at the window rang, indicating that a heavy rain was about to hit.
Dumbledore stood by the window, looking at the cold wind that was rising, looking up at the sky with a lonely expression.