Dumbledore was the first to walk up the spiral staircase to his office.

As soon as Dracula staggered up, he swung his wand and slammed the office door shut.

Dracula looked back at the closed office door and the tightly closed windows around him, looking a little strange.

Dumbledore, this is not a good person......

"Professor Dracula, I'd like to ask you a question—"

Sure enough, after Dumbledore had done everything he could to prevent the conversation between the two from being heard by others, he immediately asked bluntly:

"How can you take a student's time turner and use it for time recall?"

"What are you talking about, Dumbledore?" Dracula paused slightly, then said with a blank expression, "Time turner? Is there such a foul thing in the wizarding world?"

Looking at the "confused" expression on Dracula's face, the corners of Dumbledore's mouth couldn't help twitching.

"Professor Dracula, it's just the two of us talking here, you can be honest." He took a deep breath, forcibly suppressed the urge to fight Dracula, and said slowly, "And I don't know if anyone has ever told you that you're not very good at acting."

"I'm not acting." Dracula was still dazed.

"Professor Dracula, normally when you hear about a time converter, the most important thing you should show is an interested expression." Dumbledore tapped his fingers on the table and pointed out Dracula's acting problems, "It's a bit out of proportion to be at a loss on the count's face."

"Really?" Dracula thought for a moment, then nodded, "You're right, Dumbledore."

As a result, the expression on his face seamlessly transitioned to the usual look of interest.

"Looks like I'm wrong about you, Professor Dracula." Dumbledore's forehead was bruised, and his tone was unconsciously mixed with some gnashing of teeth, "Your acting skills are very good!"

"Thanks for the compliment." Dracula laughed with satisfaction, "But I really don't know what a time turner is."

"Good...... Since you don't want to admit it, then I have to come up with a substantial piece of evidence." Dumbledore let out a slow breath, then waved his wand.

A silvery-white phoenix patronus flew out of the principal's office through the wall in front of Dracula.

Seeing Dumbledore's actions, Dracula secretly said something was wrong.

Within a moment, the Phoenix Patronus flew back, and as its beak opened and closed, a clear human voice came out of it.

First, Dumbledore's voice said, "Professor Dracula, I wonder if you have time to come to the Headmaster's office right now?" I have something I want to discuss with you."

Below was Dracula's voice: "No time, no going."

Dumbledore's voice, "But it's important."

Dracula's voice: "That's not available."

「……」

The Phoenix Patronus closed its beak.

Dumbledore put away the Patronus and looked at Dracula teasingly.

Dracula lifted his hand to his forehead and slammed into the couch in the principal's office. ….

He also just remembered that before he could return to the time, while he was staring at Hermione's movements on the title deed, Dumbledore also sent a message from the Patronus asking him to go to the Headmaster's office to discuss important matters.

But Dracula was obsessed with stalking the little wizard who loved to learn, so he rejected him without even thinking about it.

"Well, Professor Dracula, there's nothing to say now, are you?" Dumbledore watched Dracula's movements happily, feeling that all the anger he had suffered on Dracula before was now returned.

"Well, I did get a time turner." Dracula lay on the couch and said weakly, "But I didn't want to do anything to break the line time, so don't dwell on it."

"It's not a matter of dwelling on this, Professor Dracula." Dumbledore couldn't help but laugh

"Did you know that items like the Time Turner are extremely dangerous, especially when teleporting a powerful being like yours back in time?"

"Is this any different from a teleportation wizard?" Dracula asked.

"The difference is quite significant." Dumbledore said, "You can take out the time turner and see if it still has as much time energy as it used to."

Dracula pulled the golden necklace out of his pocket and looked at the hourglass in the ring.

I don't know when it began, but there seems to be a lot less golden gravel in this hourglass, and only a little gravel is still flowing thinly in the hourglass.

"It's ......"

"That's right, the sand in the hourglass is the solidified form of the energy of time." Dumbledore bowed his head slightly, "Originally, the amount of energy that the Department of Mysteries poured into this time-turner was enough for a young wizard to use for an entire school year......

"However, your use of it this time has consumed more than half a year's stock. In the future, Miss Granger is afraid that she will not be able to finish all of her homework for the second half of the year anyway."

"Ahem...... I'm doing it for her good, too." Dracula's face was a little unbearable, and he retorted with a cold face, "Didn't you see? Miss Granger has been in a rather poor state of mind lately in order to attend classes. Wouldn't it be nice for me to confiscate a time turner in order to protect her health and improve her efficiency?"

"Then why don't I tell her that Professor Dracula has used up her time and energy, and now I can thank Professor Dracula for his kindness?" Dumbledore said with a smile.

"Forget it, I can't afford to lose that person...... Dracula's face froze for a moment, and then he changed his words, "Well, you tell me where the Department of Mysteries of the Ministry of Magic is, and I'll get some time and energy myself."

"Don't!" Dumbledore was startled and hurriedly dissuaded.

He was afraid that Dracula would go to the Department of Mysteries and make a big mess of the entire Ministry of Magic.

He knew that Dracula had exactly that ability.

If it's really just a fight with the Department of Mysteries, it's better to snatch back some of the time energy...... But Dumbledore's concern was the greater possibility of Dracula completely destroying the Time Chamber, draining all the energy of time. ….

The time room doesn't have much time energy in the first place, and it's already very tense to allocate a part of it to a little wizard every year. If it is destroyed again, the application of the magical world in the realm of time will probably stagnate for hundreds of years.

"Professor Dracula, you still don't have to worry about this." Dumbledore rubbed his eyebrows and resigned himself to Dracula, "I'll find a way to solve Miss Granger's time-turner problem......

「…… I'll write a letter to the Ministry of Magic and tell them that something is wrong with the time-turner this time, and that I won't mention Professor Dracula's role in it." He said, "I hope my old face still has some face."

"Is that really good?" Dracula was a little reluctant to let Dumbledore clean up the aftermath, "Otherwise, I'd better go to the Department of Mysteries and talk to them, don't worry, I'll be friendly."

「…… Don't do that, Professor Dracula, don't be polite to me." Dumbledore said with some headache, "I'm the Headmaster of Hogwarts, this is what I should do, you really don't have to worry about it."

"Okay...... I'll trouble you, Mr. Headmaster." Dracula nodded regretfully and handed Dumbledore the time-turner he had scammed from Hermione.

As for whether he gave up the idea of going to the Department of Mysteries to "communicate amicably" with the silent people, the old headmaster was completely uncertain......

Just as the two of them were thinking about each other, there was a sudden knock on the door outside the principal's office.

"Albus! Albus!" Professor McGonagall's voice came from outside the office door, "Hurry up and open the door, something is wrong!"

Dumbledore's face became solemn, and he slumped

With a wave of his wand, he opened the door to the office and lifted the one-way soundproofing magic that had just been arranged.

"What's going on, Minerva?" He looked at the old lady in the top hat at the door and asked in a low voice.

Professor McGonagall hurriedly walked into the principal's office and looked surprised when she saw Dracula on the couch.

"Professor Dracula is there too? That's even better, and I just want to tell you about it." She hurriedly said, "There's an attack on the Gryffindor common room!"

……

The Headmaster's office and the Gryffindor common room were on the eighth floor of Hogwarts Castle, so the three professors, Dumbledore, Dracula, and McGonagall, quickly arrived in front of the Gryffindor common room.

When they arrived, they found that there were many people crowded in the corridor.

"Is anyone hurt?" Dumbledore asked the crowd with concern.

Dracula looked past the heads of the young wizards towards the entrance to the Gryffindor common room, and saw that the portrait of the fat lady who used to guard the doorway did not seem to be in the portrait.

"Please let me pass," a boy's voice came from the crowd.

The red-haired Percy squeezed through the crowd and walked over, looking a little flustered, but the pride and aura of his identity were not hidden on his face.

"I'm sorry, please excuse me, I'm the president of the boys' student council." He held his head high and said, "Let me go, I'm going to report to the president and the professors." ….

"Oh?" Dracula looked at Percy, who was striding over, and said with a smile, "I just knew, so you are the president of this year's boys' student council, Wes."

Percy reflexively shrank when she heard Dracula's voice, and the look of anger on her face immediately collapsed.

"Ah...... It's not a big deal, it's better cultivated by Professor Dracula." He said with a smile.

Professor McGonagall gave him a reproachful look, as if to complain that he had not thanked his own dean for his cultivation.

"Alright, Percy, let's put the rest of the matter aside, and tell me what's going on here." She pursed her lips and said.

"Here's the thing, we had just finished eating and wanted to go back to the common room to rest, and then we saw this sight......" Percy pointed to the original entrance to the Gryffindor common room.

There was supposed to be a chubby lady guarding the doorway in the portrait.

"Oh my God—" Professor McGonagall exclaimed, clutching the book in her hand.

The Fat Lady has disappeared from the portrait, and the portrait has been vandalized, with small pieces of canvas scattered everywhere on the ground, and large pieces of canvas completely torn from the frame.

"Has anyone witnessed the sabotage?" Dracula asked.

Then he shrugged his shoulders, "Forget it, no one should have seen your performance, otherwise you wouldn't have been so dazed, and you should have spread the news a long time ago."

Dumbledore took a quick look at the damaged painting.

"Professor McGonagall, please go to Filch at once, and tell him to look for the fat lady on every painting in the castle." "We must find out as soon as possible who is responsible for the destruction," he said rationally.

Professor McGonagall nodded, and trotted briskly down the stairs.

The crowd in front of the lounge had not yet dispersed, and the little wizards were a little noisy.

They were all speculating about who was so desperate to paint the portrait of the fat lady who had worked so hard to open the door to them.

Some people speculate that it was done by naughty bags who like to go out on night trips, and the naughty bags hate the fat lady's control over them. Fred and George protested strongly against the speculation;

There is speculation that the young wizards of other houses are responsible, most likely the bad guys of Slytherin, who don't want the Gryffindor students to return to their dormitories to rest in order to gain a form advantage at next weekend's Quidditch match;

There is even more outrageous, speculating that a prisoner from Azkaban has sneaked into the castle and destroyed the portrait of the fat lady. This guess got the most

A lot of opposition, because Hogwarts is full of protective magic, and no dark wizard can get out of here!

"Ah, you're in luck!"

Just as the young wizards were arguing, a hoarse voice rang out.

Dracula looked up and saw a very short looking ghost dressed in bright colors, wearing a tie, wearing a hat, with a wide face, a large mouth, and round eyes.

The mischievous elf was floating in midair, his slippers cracking long, revealing dirty toes.

It was Peeves, a pester, who jumped over the heads of the crowd as if he were happy—as he always had when he saw destruction and depression.

"You seem to be having a good time, Peeves?" Dracula asked, curling the corners of his mouth.

Peeves' smile faded a little, and he thought of the Defence Against the Dark Arts professor's reputation in the ghost that could even scare off Barrot the Bloody. Barrow the Bloody Man is the only ghost Peeves fears.

So, he switched to a slick tone, which sounded better than the hoarse.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Dracula." Peeves said, "Her territory was in ruins, and she didn't want to be seen, so she ran away to another portrait."

"I happened to see her running past that landscape painting on the fifth floor, sir, hiding among the trees, crying and saying something horrible."

"What a poor fellow." He added, but he didn't mean to pity anyone else.

"Did she tell who did it?" Dumbledore asked quietly.

"Oh, that's it, Professor." Peeves said, a spicy smile on his face, "He's annoyed that she won't let him in, you know what I mean?"

Peeves somersaulted in the air, grinning at Dumbledore from between his own legs.

"He's got a bad temper, Sirius Black."

……

…….

Ripples of dust