The portraits of the old male and female principals on the wall were taking a nap in the frame. Some of them lazily leaned their heads on chairs with armrests, while others leaned on the frame of the portraits. They all seemed to be asleep.
But they were actually pretending to be asleep, and their attention was focused on Dumbledore, Hagrid and Madame Maxime.
Dumbledore was sitting behind the table, his wand lightly touching a piece of silverware. It spun and emitted small puffs of smoke, which looked a lot like an air humidifier.
After doing all this, the old man asked:
"Mrs. Maxim, I think Hagrid has told you what happened tonight?"
"Hagrid did tell me something interesting."
Maxim's broad body was leaning on the back of the chair. She glanced at the man next to her who was almost as tall as her, and said softly:
"For example... the mysterious man is back? But I don't know if he is joking or not."
"It's no joke, Voldemort is really back." Dumbledore affirmed:
"Earlier tonight, Rove met and fought with him at the Black family cemetery."
The portraits of the principals on the wall were all whispering, and Phineas Black immediately opened his eyes in disbelief when he heard "Black Family Cemetery".
Maxim clicked his tongue twice. If someone said that she fought with the mysterious man and came back alive, she would not believe it at all.
But she believed in that boy Luo Fu.
He has the strength!
However, Mrs. Maxim was still confused and said:
"As far as I know, didn't the mysterious man die thirteen years ago? Can the dead still come back to life?"
"Death is the official word of the Ministry of Magic." Dumbledore explained:
"Voldemort is not actually dead. He just lost most of his power and went into hiding. Now, he has regained his peak power and is back again."
"That's really bad news," said Madame Maxime.
"Yes." Dumbledore said with a solemn expression, "So, I need your help."
Madame Maxime picked up the cup in front of her, put it on the tip of her nose and smelled the tea. She smiled and said:
"Professor Dumbledore, what useful help can I, a weak witch, give you?"
Mrs. Maxim's words made the principals on the wall couldn't help but curse:
Are you of such a weak physique? You can easily tear a wizard to pieces with your bare hands or pull out a weeping willow tree!
Of course, in Hagrid's eyes, Maxim, who was a head taller than him, was indeed a weakling who could not stand up to a chicken.
Mrs. Maxim took a sip of tea, put it back on the table, and continued:
"If you are worried that the students of Hogwarts will be persecuted when the mysterious man returns, we at Beauxbatons are willing to accept students from your school."
"Rolph, Shirley Swinton, who just won the Triwizard Tournament, and that little brown-haired girl with fluffy hair - oh, Hermione Granger - we all don't like it."
The old principals became more and more speechless. These are the best students in Hogwarts. Maxim really dared to speak.
"I still have confidence in protecting the safety of students, Mrs. Maxim." Dumbledore smiled and said, "I don't need to worry about it."
"Then what do you need me to do?"
Dumbledore did not beat around the bush and said bluntly: "Do you know the whereabouts of the giant?"
"Why do you think I know?" Mrs. Maxim narrowed her eyes with a dangerous look.
She has always been secretive about her identity as a half-giant, otherwise she wouldn't have told Hagrid that she just had a big frame!
"I don't mean to offend, Madam Maxime." Dumbledore said in a sincere tone:
"You know, I am not a wizard supremacist, and I deeply hate this idea.
Regarding centaurs, goblins and giants, I have always felt that they are equal races to wizards, and there has never been any discrimination or prejudice.
This is also true. These races worked together thousands of years ago and were absolute allies."
Madame Maxime's face looked better now.
"Sorry, Professor Dumbledore, I just got excited. I believe you can tell this from the professors you recruit from Hogwarts without prejudice."
Maxim glanced at Hagrid and continued:
"I do know the location of some giant villages. They live deep in the Alps, and it is difficult for ordinary people to find them. Why are you asking about these?"
"It won't be long before Voldemort will send Death Eaters to win them over." Dumbledore said with a hint of fatigue in his voice:
"During the Wizarding War, he did this before and allowed giants to cause many of the most brutal massacres of Muggles."
"So, I want Hagrid to contact the giants and win them over to our camp, but Hagrid doesn't know the specific location..."
"You want me to lead the way?" Madame Maxime raised her eyebrows.
"That's right."
"What if I say no?"
Hagrid was so anxious that he was about to persuade Mrs. Maxim, but Dumbledore raised his arm and stopped him. At the same time, he said in a gentle voice:
"If you refuse, this proposal will be dropped. It will not affect the friendship between the two schools, and I will not blame you."
Madame Maxime sat on the chair with deep eyes, and she suddenly asked:
Hagrid, were you at Hogwarts?"
Hagrid didn't know why Maxim asked this question, he nodded: "Yes."
"But I heard you said you were fired later?"
"That's because I raised Acromantulas in school and violated school rules, so I was expelled." Hagrid explained hurriedly:
"Dumbledore also said a lot of good things to me, and later he took me in as a keykeeper..."
"That's great." Mrs. Maxim looked at the night sky outside the window and seemed to be saying to herself:
"I wasn't as lucky as you back then, because Grindelwald and the Wiccan Party were raging in France and they were not allowed to recruit children with problematic identities like me."
"I always remember that it was an afternoon in the autumn of 1945. The newspaper said that Grindelwald was defeated by Dumbledore... My father excitedly told me that I could go to Beauxbatons to study."
Maxim moved her eyes again and looked at Dumbledore, and she said excitedly:
"Professor Dumbledore, I have always been grateful to you for defeating Grindelwald, so I promise to help you find the giant tribe."
Dumbledore never imagined that when he stood up to duel Grindelwald, he would sow a seed that would thrive many years later.
The old man, whose face was as wrinkled as the bark of an old locust tree, had a smile on his face.
"Madame Maxime, the British wizard will never forget your help."
…
…
After Maxim and Hagrid left, the principal's office fell into a huge commotion after a brief period of silence.
Phineas Black asked impatiently:
"Dumbledore, what is going on? Why did Voldemort appear in the Black family cemetery?"
"You have to ask your great-great-granddaughter Bellatrix." Dumbledore said. "She took Voldemort to the Black family cemetery and resurrected him."
"By the way, she also buried Voldemort's mother, Merope Gaunt, in your family cemetery."
Phineas looked gloomy and cursed: "This evil will be taken to the family cemetery by everyone!"
He asked further: "The battle between Scamander and Voldemort must have destroyed many tombs, right?"
Dumbledore said nothing.
Phineas said anxiously: "You can't destroy half of the tomb, right?"
"It's a pity," Dumbledore glanced at Phineas and said, "The pillars supporting the cemetery broke, and the entire Westminster Abbey collapsed, pressing all the tombs underneath."
"..."
"I don't believe it!" Phineas said rudely, and then strode away from his portrait, apparently going back to Blake's old house in Grimmauld Place to confirm the news.
There was another knock on the door, and Dumbledore said solemnly: "Come in."
The oak door was pushed open and Snape walked into the office.
Dumbledore looked at him and said: "Severus, you should go find Voldemort now."
"Are you sure?" Snape's face looked paler than usual, and his cold black eyes shone strangely.
"When the Dark Mark burns, all Death Eaters must apparate immediately and appear next to him, otherwise they will be considered traitors.
And I—already almost two hours late—if I show up, he will kill me immediately.”
"No." Dumbledore held up the cup, took a sip, and said confidently:
"Severus, you just need to tell Tom that you are my spy, follow my orders, and return to him as an undercover agent.
