Chapter 106 Aging Fox

"Member of the Order of the Phoenix?" Rogge put the magic photo on the table.

Since there is no flash, the quality of the photo is not very high. But the clarity was passable, enough to make out what he and Fletch were talking about.

Of course, today's magic photos have no color or sound. After zooming in, you can analyze what they are saying through their mouth shapes.

"Principal, I hope you are still at school." Roger carefully put away the photo and disappeared into the fireplace.

Some of the fireplaces in Hogwarts were connected to the floo network. Roger shook off the ashes from his shoulders and sneezed out of the almost unattended fireplace.

"Roger? Why are you here?" Snape was studying the potion formula and was a little surprised to see him suddenly appear.

"Teacher, is the principal here? I want to confirm something with him." Rogge handed the photo to Snape and briefly explained the whole story.

Snape put the photo on the table and looked at Roger in confusion: "He is just a thief. Is it necessary to go to the principal? You can go to the Ministry of Magic and the Aurors will help you catch him."

"Teacher, Fletcher claimed to be a member of the Order of the Phoenix and said that the principal personally invited him to join. I suspect he is lying, but just in case..."

"Members of the Order of the Phoenix?" Snape muttered to himself. The Order of the Phoenix once formed by Dumbledore played an important role in the fight against the mysterious man.

But Snape really didn't know who the members of the Order of the Phoenix were.

"You may be overly worried, and you should never believe a thief's words. He may be bragging. But the principal happens to be at school, come with me." Snape arranged his clothes and led him to the principal's office.

Along the way, he thought about the news brought by Rogge, and felt vaguely suspicious in his heart. A thief who claims to be a member of the Order of the Phoenix. If this is the case, perhaps Dumbledore needs to be wary of him. None of these guys have good reviews.

The entrance to the office was guarded by an ugly stone beast, to which Snape spoke the Headmaster's favorite candy command: "Lemon Sherbets."

The stone beast heard the password and revealed the passage behind it, a staircase that spiraled upward automatically.

"Let's go."

Roger followed Snape up the stairs. This was his first time in the principal's office. The door is made of oak and is decorated with a brass knocker in the shape of a griffin's head.

Knocking on the door, Dumbledore was sitting in a spacious and beautiful circular room, looking at them through half-moon glasses.

"Severus, what's the matter?" Dumbledore was slightly surprised to see Rogge. The little wizard should have been on vacation.

"Oh, and Roger? If I remember correctly, it's summer vacation now, right?" He put down his quill and looked at the two of them with a smile.

"Albus, Rogue said that he met a wizard who claimed to be a member of the Order of the Phoenix." Snape looked at Rogue, who was staring at Fawkes on the gilded perch.

Fox stood listlessly on it, looking old and shaky.

"Order of the Phoenix?" Dumbledore was stunned when he heard the name. He had formed one before, but it had been disbanded 10 years ago.

"Principal, that's a thief. He is short and fat, with bow legs. He is slovenly and has a bad smell..."

Upon hearing Rogge's first words, Dumbledore knew who it was. Mundungus Fletcher himself personally invited him to join the Order of the Phoenix.

He took off his glasses and waited for Rogge to finish speaking and said slowly: "Fletch, I do know him. During the war, I invited him to join the team against Voldemort."

"It's just that the Order of the Phoenix has been disbanded a long time ago...Did something happen to him?" Dumbledore knew the dark wizard too well. If something happened, it would most likely be related to theft.

"Ah! Is he really from the Order of the Phoenix?" Rogge pretended to be surprised and said angrily: "This guy often comes to steal things when there is no one in my house. In the past, it was fine if no one was watching. I finally repaired it for Christmas. He took over the house and he came to steal it!"

"Principal, look at these photos. This is evidence that he is preparing to sell stolen goods." Rogge said as he placed the photos on the table and glanced at the letter next to him, which seemed to be addressed to the school board.

"Principal, if he does not claim to be a member of the Order of the Phoenix, I will offer a reward. Since you know him, can you talk to him?"

"Reward?" Dumbledore looked through the photos and understood that Fletcher was being fished. He walked down and looked at Roger with a smile.

"Kid, don't worry about me. You can report the case directly to the Ministry of Magic and let the law punish him." He handed the photo to Rogge, and did not ask Rogge to let Fletcher go because he was a member of the Order of the Phoenix.

"Ministry of Magic? No! They move too slowly! If reporting the crime was useful, Fletcher would have been sanctioned long ago." Rogge pretended to be dissatisfied and asked tentatively: "Principal, can we catch him with 10,000 gold galleons? ?”

"10,000?" Dumbledore paused and did not answer honestly. Instead, he asked, "This is not a small amount of money."

Snape was keenly aware of something and looked at Dumbledore worriedly.

"It's okay. Our business is good and our products are popular all over the world."

"10,000 Galleons is a bit much. But this guy is too hateful! When I build the house, I must add defensive magic, at least like Gringotts."

Although Gringotts' defenses are not foolproof, they certainly have merit in being able to operate for hundreds of years. But people like Harry are completely unreasonable, as if the whole world is defenseless against him.

After listening to Rogge's complaints, Dumbledore reminded: "The most powerful defense is your own heart. Fletcher never resists his inner desires, and that's why he refuses to change despite repeated admonitions."

There was a trace of regret in his eyes: "I have tried hard to guide him, but I can't force him to change. My child, just deal with it in your own way without any psychological baggage."

"Thank you, principal! I'll go back and issue the reward order first." Rogge nodded. Before he came, he was worried that Dumbledore would protect him, but he didn't expect that the principal was quite fair.

After watching Rogge leave, Snape asked hesitantly: "Albus, is there a problem with the funding for the new school year?"

"The situation is not optimistic. I am busy with this matter." Dumbledore sighed and said helplessly: "You know, the 12 school directors are all pure-blood families, and now Malfoy is the leader."

"Due to differences in teaching concepts, every meeting ended on bad terms with them. In fact, I have to thank Rogge, otherwise the last meeting would have been worse."

"Roger? Why should we thank him?" Snape was a little confused.

"Under his leadership, your grades in the first grade are very good. This allows me to at least reason with the school directors. Of course, Lucius doesn't think so. He also said that student performance has little to do with the school. It’s the result of their own efforts.”

"Now the school directors are stuck with donations, and the Ministry of Magic's funding has clearly been reduced by 30%."

Fox shook a few times on its perch, and as it aged, it dropped a few feathers from time to time.

"30%! What is Fudge doing!" Snape was upset when he thought of Fudge's fat face.

The useless minister had always been afraid of Dumbledore, worried that Albus would take his position. He was always trying to set up obstacles and tried every means to suppress Dumbledore.

But if he encounters a problem that cannot be solved, he will rush to ask for help. How disgusting!

In recent years, Hogwarts has been supported by Dumbledore, but due to funding constraints, the quality of teaching has had to decline. Today, the ranking is below the historical average.

"Albus, I can refine potions to fill this gap..."

"No." Dumbledore shook his head and interrupted him, "Not to mention the time required to refine the potion, the key is to treat the symptoms rather than the root cause."

"What if Malfoy is replaced?" Snape suddenly suggested: "Since most school directors have no objection to increasing donations, as long as Malfoy is replaced, the constraints of the Ministry of Magic will be irrelevant."

"Replace him?" Dumbledore pondered for a moment, then considered: "This is difficult. With the influence of the Malfoy family, other school directors need to be given a reasonable reason."

"When he was a Death Eater, he kept many dark magic items for mysterious people. If the Ministry of Magic conducts a thorough investigation..." Snape said coldly with a cold light in his eyes: "As long as those things are found, we will Can convince other school trustees to remove him.”

"No matter who the vacant position is given to, it will be better than the current situation." Snape looked at Dumbledore and his voice returned to calmness.