In an interview with the Daily Prophet, Rita Skeeter, a well-known journalist and non-fiction writer, referred to the current state of Hogwarts, saying that the historic school had "become Albus Dumbledore's private military stronghold", suggesting that the wizard who had played a great role in the Battle of Greenwald "was engulfing and brainwashing his students through a cult of personality", and was gradually embarking on a path that was "familiar to the discerning man".

"—If you take a look back at Hogwarts now, my dear, it's become completely different from when you were studying there. Dumbledore kept the castle in check, using his portraits to keep an eye on every corner of the school to make sure no one could disobey him. Combined with his uncooperative attitude towards the Ministry of Magic in recent years, I think something is all too obvious. ”

This story was published almost five or six years ago, when a number of Ministry of Magic officials, led by Deputy Secretary Dolores Umbridge, were pushing for a draft that would impose stricter controls on the range of demihuman movements. Dumbledore refused to expel the centaurs and merfolk from the school as they demanded, and the relationship between the Ministry of Magic and Hogwarts deteriorated...... Naturally, the propaganda offensive followed.

The controversy didn't last long, though, as the Sarpsburg Slime Riot engulfed across most of Europe, drawing everyone's attention to how to spell the drain in their drain to prevent something from invading through the cracks.

Most people thought that Dumbledore's secret recruitment at Hogwarts was just a rumor created by the Ministry of Magic to discredit him, but Neil took a different view - for the simple reason that he could see a negative example in the mirror every morning when he washed up.

But on the other hand, Neil doesn't see anything wrong with the former's approach. With Dumbledore so convinced of the so-called "Return of the Mystery Man", it was better to prepare early than to put everything in the hands of someone else, especially if that "other" didn't seem very reliable.

However, he was deeply skeptical of the Ministry of Magic's claim that "Dumbledore knew everything within Hogwarts" advocated by public opinion.

After all, it was obvious that Mr. Headmaster could not have guessed what he was doing now.

……

Even in the daytime, the sky of the Forbidden Forest was still narrow and dim, and although the morning fog had lifted, the slimy smell in the air remained, and the ground under his feet had accumulated for many generations of dead branches and leaves and even more numbing things, and every step on it would sink slightly, and the feeling of shoes being gently wrapped in a circle of soft rotten matter around them was extremely disgusting.

The Forbidden Forest is more dangerous during the day than at night, Hagrid himself said. He based his judgment on the fact that most nocturnal beasts only attack humans for food, but the centaurs, who start wolf rush in broad daylight, are always aggressive.

Given that he often mistook wild animals for a sign of closeness, this conclusion is unreliable, but Neil, who had snuck into the Forbidden Forest in broad daylight to find a place to test his broomsticks from the crowd, was now hoping he would have been right.

"Okay, let's do it again......"

The tattered meteor was placed on a half-stump two or three paces in front of him, and it seemed to blend in perfectly with the desolate landscape around him, as if it were more suitable for it than the broomroom shed at Hogwarts.

"Now, I know you understand me, so let's talk openly and honestly — if you agree, just spin around in the same place, how about that?"

Although he thought he had shown full sincerity, even more so than the many financiers who had spent a lot of Galleons in his small shop, the broom remained motionless. It makes him feel like he's become a recluse who likes to talk to succulents.

"You're going to play dumb, huh?"

Neil frowned, lowered his voice with anger on his face, and threatened - he wasn't really sure if the other person had vision, but there was nothing wrong with getting the details right.

"Generally speaking, only objects that have been used for more than a hundred years can be turned into yin things, I don't know how you do it, but don't think you can fool me." He paused to see if the broom reacted to the remark, "In the place where I was born, the artifact must be destroyed as soon as it becomes sperm, and you should be glad that this is England, and according to your attitude, we can deal with this matter with a more flexible principle." ”

The broom still didn't respond, and if it hadn't been caught in between them, Neil might have thought it was just a normal broomstick. Unfortunately, such an "if" did not exist, and seeing that the coercion and temptation did not seem to work, he could only sigh and pull out the wooden sword from his sleeve.

"Okay, this is your own doing, and I also want to solve this problem in a gentlemanly way - the essence of the sun, the nature of pure yang, bullying frost and insulting snow, and anti-cowardice and Xin!"

This time, the movement from drawing the sword to making a move was extremely fast, and the sword flower was in front of him, and a piece of yellow woolly edge paper had already been picked on the tip of the sword.

"Haste as the law!"

The two-finger-wide piece of yellow paper burned to ashes in an instant, and a ball of fire fell from the sky, through the gap between the canopies, and smashed straight at the broom placed on the stump. The latter was still holding on at first, but seeing that the blazing fireball was getting closer and closer to him, the rope tied to the broom's head began to smoke, and finally failed to overcome the desire to survive, and a carp jumped down from it.

The poor stump was not so lucky, the heat left it too late to burn before it turned into a cloud of black charcoal, which exploded to pieces in the billowing smoke and pungent smell.

The impact of the explosion caused the broom to roll on the ground several times until it reached Neil's feet. Neil wanted to bend down to meet it, but after thinking about it, he stopped again, and just stretched out a hand and beckoned gently like a dog. The broom, which was slightly charred on the surface, immediately understood, floated into the air and automatically landed on the palm of that hand.

"What am I talking about? Toast without eating and eating penalty wine. ”

Neil smiled smugly and held it in his hand. The shiver that I had felt in flying class before had now returned, and it was evident that the radical temptation had taken it into place. This time, though, it feels much more obedient.

"That's right, you can't fall twice in the same pit, let alone a broom...... Now, can I assume that you are willing to cooperate with me? ”

The broomstick head moved back and forth in a small increment, as if it was nodding.

"Excellent! Now, I have to recall how it was done to get the object to recognize its owner...... It seems that you need to spray a sip of water made of incense ash? No, no, that's going to be an exorcism......"

The word "exorcism" is pronounced in Chinese, but for some reason, the broken broom in his hand seems to understand the meaning of these two words perfectly, and the trembling is further intensified.

"Theoretically, the way to confess the Lord by dripping blood should be the simplest, but my situation is a little more limited and complicated...... The strength of the spirit aside, I'm worried about whether your rotten wood can withstand that gift—oh, what's that? ”

A sudden chill from behind him instantly freed Neil from his deep thoughts, and took a step back to dodge the arrow aimed at his toes. He looked in the direction where the sound of bowstrings was heard, and saw a dark gray centaur hiding behind a tree, bow in hand, looking at him with a mixture of alertness, anger, and hatred.

Neil could see that the arrow was aimed so accurately that if he didn't have time to react, the arrow would have stuck right in the toe of his shoe, opening a hole in it, making him as embarrassed as Charles Chaplin in "The Gold Rush" without actually getting hurt.

The wizards' descriptions of centaurs led him to subconsciously think that these creatures were similar to the horse-bodyed human-faced beasts that were occasionally encountered on snowy mountains—half-human, half-beast monsters who claimed to be mountain gods, often taking over a mountain and forcing those who lived in the surrounding area to pay tribute to them...... They are one of the few species that can communicate among the demon beasts, but in most cases, it is still easier to kill them directly. But judging by the non-lethal intent shown by this arrow, perhaps the centaurs have more room for communication in comparison?

Neil cleared his throat and gently soothed the jivering broom with two fingers as he owed to the other man.

"Hello, dear sir, what can I do for you?"

Neil never expected him to answer this question with a pleasant face, but he didn't expect that this sentence would make the centaur who was still cautiously on guard almost staring out his eyes.

"You shameless thing, you still have the face to say such things? Not only did you trespass into our territory, but you also planned to set it on fire, and if it weren't for you or your foal, that arrow would have pierced your head long ago! ”

Neil looked at the remaining smoking pit where the stump had been, and at the wooden sword he hadn't had time to withdraw

"I think there might be some kind of misunderstanding here."

"Lie!" The centaur was furious, "That's what you humans have always done? You may be used to fooling each other, but don't try to fool the centaurs! Look at this tragedy, you must have used magic to harm our forest! ”

Neil's face remained unchanged, and he calmly raised his hands to show the other party his wooden sword and broom, "Like I said, this is a misunderstanding, sir—do you see me holding a wand?" You can't do magic without a wand, right? ”

The gray centaur hesitated.

It's easy to pretend to see through the lie and continue to denounce humans, but it's an indisputable fact that human wizards need wands to use magic - even if some wizards with advanced magic can cast spells without a wand, it has nothing to do with a child under ten years old - and if the person in front of you is really innocent, you need to find the enemies who are really trying to destroy the territory of the centaurs and protect the safety of the tribe.

Thinking of this, he drew an arrow from his quiver and put it on his bow and aimed it at Neil.

"Follow me, human. We want to hear your confession. ”