"When did you start listening to the Ministry of Magic?".

Hearing this, Dumbledore was suddenly stunned.

He hadn't thought Professor McGonagall would suddenly appear here and say that.

...

Immediately, he frowned, and in a moment that others could not notice, a trace of loneliness flashed in Dumbledore's eyes.

Since when?

Maybe it's been since 1927...

That afternoon, after the arrival of the blood pact he had made with another man's blood, from Newt's hands...

"Minerva," the old headmaster was a little confused.

Rationally speaking, the relationship between the Ministry of Magic and Hogwarts is now very stiff, and he should give in in order to ease the relationship between the two parties.

After all, everyone knows that Fudge is already a grasshopper after the autumn, and it won't be long before he jumps.

At most, he will step down as principal for half a year.

When the next Minister of Magic comes to power, the new dynasty will definitely invite him back before distinguishing it.

But that's only rationally.

Emotionally, Dumbledore didn't do anything wrong in this matter. Even because he was in the middle of the bridge, there would be the first arrest of Jin Cangshui.

Otherwise, according to the relationship between Fudge and Mr. Huaker, they would never cooperate.

It can be said that on a macro level, he is not only right, but a hero.

Because he could have left it alone, he was the Headmaster of Hogwarts, not the Minister for Magic. There's no need to worry about the stability of the wizarding world.

It's not his responsibility.

If Dumbledore was more selfish, or even Voldemort's business, he could not care.

Shouldn't it be the responsibility of the Ministry of Magic that terrorists have appeared in a society? He's just a principal.

The headmaster of a magic school.

There was no need for him to get involved in outside affairs, with the power of Dumbledore's greatest white wizard, if he only stuck to Hogwarts, no matter how Voldemort ran rampant, he would not be able to break through this thousand-year-old castle.

But...

He can't, just as he did decades ago.

...

Professor McGonagall didn't see Headmaster Dumbledore's loneliness for a moment, but said bluntly: "Hogwarts is not a hat or clothes and shoes, and the Ministry of Magic can't decide who will change it to its headmaster." ”

Her tone was calm, but with an unquestionable meaning: "You know this very well. We all know that. ”

Yes, Dumbledore was well aware.

The castle is alive.

Every brick and tile of it is filled with magic, and thoughts of the past.

Only a wizard who is recognized, recognized by the Headmaster's Office, can become the Headmaster of Hogwarts.

This is not to say that whoever is assigned by the Ministry of Magic can do it.

In fact, the Ministry of Magic has never assigned anyone.

For many years, it has been the tradition of appointing the next principal before the previous principal retires.

The Ministry of Magic is at best an executive department in this process.

Armando Duppet, who was then the Headmaster of Hogwarts, was not relieved of his duties during the Secret Room incident decades ago, when a young wizard lost his life, but remained as Headmaster until his retirement.

The fact that the Ministry of Magic and the School Board had so easily ousted Dumbledore was infuriating to some wizards who were loyal to this tradition.

But at this moment, suddenly there was a noise from under Dumbledore's robes.

"Bang!"

The sound of something breaking.

Dumbledore frowned, and quickly pulled a broken silver necklace out of his pocket.

The pendant of the necklace is a red gemstone.

Bright red.

It's just that it's broken into several pieces by this time.

Suddenly, the old principal's face changed suddenly, and he saw that his surroundings suddenly distorted, and in the surprised looks of others, he suddenly changed shape and left.

...

Let's drag back the clock to half an hour ago.

In the lower room on the fourth floor of Hogwarts, Anthony and the others had already made it through two levels.

At this time, two flames of different colors appeared in front of them.

A black flame blocked the door as they went, and a purple flame blocked the way behind them, and they were trapped in the middle.

"Oh! Lo and behold, this time it turned out to be not magic, but reasoning. ”

The black-robed man held up the parchment paper beside seven bottles of different shapes on a table in front of him.

"Can you untie it?" The man asked.

Hearing this, Jin Cangshui glanced at the parchment.

After a moment of silence, he said, "The potion in the smallest bottle can make people pass through the black flames, and the one in the round bottle can pass through the purple flames and go back." ”

This is not good news.

Because Jin Cangshui had already sensed that the bottle of magic that could move them forward, there was only one bite left.

According to the imps, someone should be ahead of them.

The black-robed man also noticed this.

Both of them involuntarily felt a little vigilant.

"Can you crack it?" The man asked.

"Yes, but it's troublesome, and if you force it to crack, the movement will be big. It may attract others," Jin Cangshui said lightly, and then finally glanced at the man beside him.

"We don't have to go in, though."

"What do you mean?"

"These mechanisms can't exist forever, I think they'll disappear as soon as someone gets their hands on them." Jin Cangshui looked around and said, "We can wait here, no matter who gets it, he can't change his form and leave in this castle, so he must go back the way he came." ”

"And what if the guy inside can't get it?" The man asked.

"Can't get it?" Jin Cangshui under the mask chuckled: "If the guy inside can't get it, then what confidence do you have that we can get it?" ”

This sentence plunged the man into a brief silence.

Unlike Jin Cangshui, who had the idea of giving it a try, he, or rather, these people behind him had already paid too much for the information of the Philosopher's Stone.

Especially at the expense of the exposure of his identity.

Do you know how much time it takes to plant such a hidden weapon in the vicinity of Hogwarts?

If it fails, how many years of hard work will come to naught.

Seeing that the face of the man next to him was getting worse and worse, a sneer was drawn on the corner of Jin Cangshui's mouth under the mask.

Of course, she was telling a lie.

The flame trap was subtle, but it wasn't difficult for her to get through it safely.

Her teacher.

Qingqiu had taught them a certain spell.

However, that doesn't mean she has to tell that guy everything without reservation.

They're not friends...

"Perhaps, we should find someone to go in and have a look." This is, the man on the side suddenly spoke.

Finally, his voice was no longer full of softness.

It's full of jealousy.

Not only for the guy who took the lead, but also for the woman next to him.

"Yes." As he spoke, Jin Cangshui picked up the bottle of potion that was placed on the table.