Late at night, the bright moonlight and the sound of waves constantly lapping at the cliff have accompanied Hogwarts Castle for thousands of years. The first week of school is about to pass, and the energetic little wizards have already spent their time. In the initial excitement period, tonight, apart from the clanking armor in the castle, the occasional whispers from the portraits who stayed up late, and Peeves who regularly patrolled the territory, everything was quiet and peaceful.
"You know who that guy is, right?"
In front of the two ugly stone monsters on the eighth floor, Professor Snape asked Dumbledore expressionlessly.
"What gave you this misunderstanding, Severus?"
Dumbledore shook his old face in surprise, his waist-length beard shining silvery white in the moonlight through the window, and his eyes looked innocent.
Snape moved his thin lips and turned around to leave without asking another word.
In the past, he might have had a good fight with Dumbledore, but today his emotions experienced intense turmoil. After confirming that the dark wizard was not Sirius Black, he no longer wanted to care about it. , even if the dark wizard brought a lot of trouble to Dumbledore and the Ministry of Magic.
Dumbledore stood there without moving. He stared at Snape who was leaving quickly until his back disappeared around the corner of the corridor. Then he lowered his silver eyebrows and turned around and walked into his office.
Fawkes, who rarely moved around, was perched on a golden branch in the brazier and had fallen asleep. Dumbledore leaned on his office chair, with his slender fingers intertwined on his desk, silently staring at the hangings on the wall. Portraits of past Headmasters of Hogwarts.
According to the usual routine of these portraits, they should also be sleeping at this time, but tonight, none of the portraits were asleep. They stayed quietly in their own frames, all looking at Armando Duppe. The empty picture frame at the back.
The waiting process was extremely long. The previous headmasters could not bear the loneliness and talked quietly to each other. The only living person in this office was Dumbledore, who had always maintained admirable patience.
"Already confirmed, Dumbledore!"
Finally, the original owner of the empty frame came back. Before anyone could ask, he said in a cheering voice,
"No, during this period of time, except for an old house elf, there is nothing alive in the old Black house. My clever great-great-grandson has never returned."
"clever?!"
The portrait of Armando Dippet said in a very stiff voice, "Principal Black, I think you must know that your 'clever great-great-grandson' is a dirty, smelly traitor, right?"
Armando Dippet's naked ridicule stung a hornet's nest, and Phineas immediately started shouting loudly!
It swung its goatee and rushed into Dippet's portrait to argue with him, shouting something like 'Noble Black family', 'The Wizengamot must have made a mistake', 'The child is innocent', "You are targeting me" and the like. If Ms. Delise Derwent hadn't caught them in time, there might have been a wonderful battle between the principals in the office.
Benefit, Benefit--
"Please be quiet, everyone, I cannot let this historic office be destroyed in my hands."
Dumbledore tapped the table with his fingers and said calmly.
The orders of the current headmaster of Hogwarts have a strong binding effect on these portraits. Under Dumbledore's intervention, the portraits returned to their own frames. Armando Dippet and Phineas Blake's portraits are next to each other, but they look in different directions and ignore each other.
Even after her death, Ms. Dai Lisi, who still had high prestige, asked the key question on behalf of all the principals.
"You must know what the kid wanted to break into the Black Mansion, right, Albus?"
"Oh, this question--"
Dumbledore took off the half-moon glasses frame on his nose, and while gently rubbing his eyebrows, he smiled helplessly, "I have some guesses, and I think my guesses are very close to the truth."
"What is it?" Ms. Delis asked.
"It's not important, Delis--" Dumbledore leaned back in his chair again after getting the answer, and said tiredly, "What's important is that he did it."
The topic about Amosta Blaine has obviously been discussed more than once in this office. Those portraits all know how much Albus Dumbledore values the young man. Seeing Amosta make something almost... Their hearts were involuntarily cast into a dark cloud by their 'crazy' move.
"Speaking of-"
The kind-hearted Ms. Delis hesitated for a moment, "Could it be a mistake, Albus? According to you, the dark wizard hid his magic power very well... Maybe, I mean, you have to Admit it, everyone has their eyes peeled sometimes, right?"
"I don't have to rely on appearance and magic power to recognize who a person is, Dai Lisi--"
Dumbledore's blue eyes sparkled, and he said gently.
The office fell into silence again. According to the opinions of the vast majority of the principals, they all believed that Dumbledore should take action to send Amosta to Azkaban... But in fact, they all knew that even with Dementors Guarding, Azkaban may not be able to control a wizard of this level.
"Sin is sin, Albus."
Armando Dippet said forcefully, "We should nip evil in the bud while we still have the ability to do so. Albus, if Azkaban can't imprison that disobedient little boy... Son, then you should just kill him!"
"I finally figured it out!"
Principal Dippet's suggestion immediately ignited Phineas, and he spit at Dippet.
"You are just jealous, aren't you? Jealous that the great Slytherin House has produced another outstanding genius, and you want to destroy him!"
Principal Black's words of defense hit too wide a target. Many principals came forward to accuse Slytherin. Armando Dippet hit the nail on the head.
"The great Slytherin House? Huh, I think you have not forgotten how much panic the Slytherin's secret room caused to Hogwarts last year!"
"The secret room is not that simple!" Phineas argued,
"Albus has told us that there is a hidden secret in that Chamber of Secrets. To be honest, I am extremely grateful to Amosta Brain. He cleared away a conspiracy against Salazar Slytherin that has been circulating in the wizarding world for thousands of years. Slander, Slytherin himself left the Chamber of Secrets and the Basilisk for other purposes than to kill the little wizards in the school!"
Phineas's statement was the conclusion after a joint discussion and did not represent his personal opinion. Therefore, Armando Dippet did not refute, but remained silent.
As if he had won a holy war, Phineas puffed up his chest, looked at Albus Dumbledore with twinkling eyes, and said proudly,
"Want to hear my opinion, Albus, about Amosta Blaine."
"I look forward to hearing your insights, Phineas," Dumbledore said sincerely with a smile, "I hope your wisdom will point us in the right direction."
Phineas, who was promoted by Dumbledore, was full of energy. In a daze, he seemed to have returned to the days when he was the current headmaster of Hogwarts and had great power. Mundo Dippet, cleared his throat,
"First, I have a question that needs an honest answer from you, Albus—"
After receiving Dumbledore's nod in response, Phineas Black's little eyes shone shrewdly.
"To this day, Albus, can you still deal with Amosta Brain?"
Reading Pavilion
