Chapter 173
The British wizards were not so gentle to Dumbledore compared to the little wizards at Hogwarts.
The adult world is full of conspiracy theories.
Even though Dumbledore has made great contributions to the wizarding world, in their eyes, they have all become tools for cover-up.
Some people even think that the reason why the wizarding world has had problems in recent years is that Dumbledore is behind the scenes!
And Dumbledore was completely unaware of all the changes in the wizarding world.
Even Professor McGonagall learned about the specific situation after reading the Daily Prophet.
Unfortunately, she didn't know where Dumbledore had gone, and even if she wanted to do something for Dumbledore, she could only do very little.
In the office of the professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts.
Slughorn specifically called Argus to his office to inquire about the situation.
And he said that if there was any trouble, he could find someone to help Argus settle it.
This was not a boast.
In terms of the number of connections, it is estimated that there are few people in the whole Hogwarts who can compare with him.
Most Hogwarts graduates rarely contact professors and deans in the school after graduation, except Slughorn!
He would invite many students to his home every now and then, and these students were all outstanding figures in their respective fields.
Rather than being a guest, it is better to say that it is a banquet for expanding connections.
With the help of Slughorn's relationship, people who were originally not related to each other have the opportunity to contact each other.
Slughorn is happy about this, and these students are naturally willing to give Slughorn a face.
"No need to bother, Professor."
"You should have seen the Daily Prophet. The Ministry of Magic is here to find Headmaster Dumbledore. It has nothing to do with me."
"Albus... Alas!" Slughorn wanted to say something.
He opened his mouth, but only sighed.
He had just come here in the past few days and didn't know what had happened in Hogwarts before.
He was not qualified to point fingers at Dumbledore.
He raised his head, and his old eyes stared at Argus.
"Argus, tell me the truth."
"Who is the heir of Slytherin! Don't mention that idiot Gilderoy Lockhart to me. When he was in school, I hadn't retired yet! I know what kind of person he is!"
"Tell me, is it... that person!"
You can guess this?
Argus' heart trembled.
If we say that the person who knows Voldemort best is not necessarily Dumbledore.
Instead, it is more likely to be Slughorn!
Although he was deceived by Voldemort, it was more out of his expectation of genius that he dared not and was unwilling to believe in Voldemort's fall.
Otherwise, he in the original book would not have guessed Voldemort's mind repeatedly and hid for so long under Voldemort's search.
But now, it is not time to announce Voldemort's existence.
He shook his head: "I'm sorry, Professor Slughorn."
"I didn't find anyone else in the Chamber of Secrets at the time."
"Not necessarily a person! Have you found some... inappropriate items?" Slughorn racked his brains to give Argus a hint.
He was also worried that Argus would fall into madness like Voldemort after learning about the existence of the Horcrux.
"Inappropriate items?"
"That is... not something that would appear in the Slytherin Chamber of Secrets." Slughorn became more and more hesitant in his words.
"For example... things that don't look so shabby and have only appeared in recent decades."
"I didn't notice this." Argus smiled apologetically.
"But the Ministry of Magic and Headmaster Dumbledore have searched it. If there was any, they should have found it long ago."
"That's right." Slughorn knew.
With such a big incident, it is impossible for the other party not to search the entire Chamber of Secrets.
With Dumbledore's attitude towards Voldemort, there is no mercy.
"Tell me what happened that night again truthfully."
"Don't use the tricks that Dumbledore taught you to fool me!"
"Okay, Professor!"
...
Azkaban.
Several Aurors escorted the dark wizards who had just been captured into the prison.
The leader was holding a cigar and a rolled-up newspaper in his hand, with an impatient look on his face.
"What a hassle! I should have followed the director to Hogwarts earlier!"
"I don't want to stay in this kind of ghost place for even a minute!"
"Going to Hogwarts is not a good job! The director and his men are going to catch Dumbledore!" A tall and strong Auror behind him swallowed his tears.
Swallowing saliva.
"That's Dumbledore..."
The speaker is unintentional, but the listener is intentional!
In the cell next to him, a skinny, ragged man heard Dumbledore's name and quietly pricked up his ears.
"What are you talking about? Who would have thought that Dumbledore could do such a thing!"
"I guess all those things in the past were just pretending!" The leader with a cigar in his mouth sighed as he spoke.
"Poor Harry Potter and the Weasley kid, they are probably going to become idiots!"
"What did you say! Harry is going to become an idiot?" The skinny man who had just been sitting quietly in the corner seemed to be stimulated by something.
He suddenly got up from the ground and tore the cell door frantically!
"Who is Harry you are talking about! Is he the savior in the prophecy!"
"Tell me!"
The man with the cigar in his mouth was startled, and the newspaper roll in his hand fell to the ground unconsciously.
The front-page headline above was a report about Harry and Ron's accident.
The first photo was of Harry and Ron sitting at the head of the bed with a dull look on their faces.
Outside the door not far away was Mrs. Molly with a sad face.
The skinny man who saw the photo in the newspaper had red eyes instantly!
His eyes were full of bloodshot!
He screamed heartbreakingly at the top of his lungs!
"It's you! It's you! You're not dead!"
"I knew it! Hahahaha... I knew it!"
The howling gradually turned into a sneer.
The skinny man supported the cell door with both hands, his eyes fixed on the photo in the newspaper.
He could not see anything except that photo!
The man with the cigar in his mouth might have felt that he had lost face.
He spat fiercely in the face of the skinny man.
"Bah! Another crazy one!"
"If I had known, I should have let the Dementors give him a kiss!"
"Just end it all!"
"Okay, don't waste time." The tall and strong man reminded.
"Hurry up and send these people in. We'll leave early."
"I don't want to stay in this place for even a minute!"
The man with the cigar looked at the newspaper that fell on the ground, frowned, and was too lazy to bend down to pick it up.
He disappeared into the passage with heavy steps.
The skinny man in the cell didn't reach out his hand until he couldn't hear any sound anymore, and then he used all his strength to pick up the newspaper from the ground.
Even though many parts of the newspaper were soaked in water, he couldn't wait to read it from the beginning.
The more he read... the more wrong his face looked!
His right fist clenched into a ball unconsciously!
Blood dripped faintly!
"Why is this happening! Why!"
"What happened! Why did Dumbledore let a child like Harry do this!"
"What is he thinking! What on earth does he want to do!"
"James... Lily... I... I'm sorry for you..."
