That night, Argus secretly returned to Saints' Manor with the Galleons and the wand and cloak.
He told Vinda everything that had happened recently, leaving her bewildered.
"No wonder you're so confident!"
"Looks like you've completely got that idiot figured out!"
She picked up the wand and cloak, examined them, and a disdainful smirk appeared on her lips.
"I'll take it to them tomorrow and let them see how to fix it."
"If all else fails, we'll make him another one."
"Fifty thousand Galleons is enough to support their research for a period of time."
"However…" Vinda's expression suddenly turned serious.
"Argus, have you decided what to do with Lockhart?"
Vinda Rosier did not understand what Argus was thinking.
Although Lockhart helped her recover a significant amount of money this time, she also exposed one of her future secret weapons to him.
Such trump cards, which can play a decisive role in the future, must never be known to others.
What she was most worried about at that moment was that Argus would forget the bigger picture for the sake of short-term gains.
This is the most common mistake among young people!
"You don't need to worry about that, I've already thought it through."
Argus smiled slightly, a hint of coldness flashing in his eyes.
"He can't possibly leave Hogwarts alive."
...
Inside Hogwarts Castle.
A thin, red-haired figure quietly emerged from the Gryffindor common room.
Ginny spent several days in her dorm room thinking about it before finally deciding to throw the diary away.
During this time, she recalled her memories of being controlled.
How to release the terrifying monster from the locked room, how to write the words in blood, and how to guide that terrifying monster to attack the classmate!
The appearance of the Aurors terrified her to the extreme.
She lived in constant fear, terrified that her actions would be discovered by the Aurors.
Their father was almost dismissed from the Ministry of Magic, causing the family's income to plummet, and everyone was trying to find ways to supplement the family income.
If my father gets implicated again because of me...
She shook her head, trying to stop herself from thinking about these things.
To avoid being seen by Aurors and her classmates, she deliberately chose to sneak out after curfew, when everyone was asleep.
She arrived at the first-floor laundry room.
The ground was covered in water.
The weeping Myrtle was sitting on the toilet, sighing.
Suddenly, something black flew from the doorway and hit her on the head!
She screamed in fright, and when she tried to chase after the culprit, she found that there was no one outside the door.
She could only sit alone on the toilet, feeling wronged and sulking.
Argus, returning from Saints' Manor, happened to pass by and, upon hearing footsteps around him, subconsciously cast a Disillusionment Charm on himself.
Hidden in some corner.
Seeing the figure quickly running upstairs, he frowned slightly.
"Ginny? What's she doing here so late at night instead of sleeping?"
Suddenly, as if he had thought of something, he hurriedly chased after Ginny in the direction she had come from.
Upon arriving at the washroom, he saw Myrtle weeping, sitting cross-legged on the toilet with her legs drawn up to her chest.
Because he had used the Disillusionment Charm beforehand, Argus's actions went unnoticed.
Quietly picking up the diary from the ground, he walked towards the dormitory.
"Just as I thought! Ginny sensed something was wrong and wanted to throw the diary away."
"Unfortunately, without Hermione's brilliant mind, Harry doesn't have the time or intellect to investigate who the true heir to Slytherin is."
A slight smile subtly curved the corners of Argus's lips.
But as soon as he got back to the dorm, he saw a huge turkey standing on his desk.
It was as if it had been waiting for a long time.
Argus could read a hint of impatience in its eyes.
"What could Dumbledore possibly want with me?"
He frowned slightly and grabbed Fawkes with one hand.
The next second, a man and a bird appeared in Dumbledore's office.
Fawkes cried out in pain!
It flapped its wings and came to Dumbledore to complain.
Dumbledore's aged, wrinkled hand touched Fawkes' back gently a few times as a gesture of comfort.
Turning to Argus, he said, "Mr. Grindelwald, disappearing from the dormitory during curfew can easily cause some unnecessary trouble."
"Especially since the Aurors are currently investigating the Slytherin heir, you know better than I what the consequences will be if they are discovered."
Argus showed no sign of being frightened and remained calmly seated in his chair.
"Any accusation without evidence can only be called a false accusation."
"What do you think, Headmaster Dumbledore?"
"When Hagrid was arrested, there was no evidence either." Dumbledore picked up a Sherbet Lemon and put it in his mouth, his eyes slightly narrowed, thoroughly enjoying the sweet and sour taste of the candy.
"And shouldn't you explain why you disappeared from school?"
Argus knew it! Dumbledore was definitely hiding something!
Otherwise, it would be impossible to let Harry deal with Voldemort and the Basilisk alone!
"Something came up in Diagon Alley, so I went back there."
"I have classes during the day, and it's easy to get spotted if there are too many people, so I can only go at night."
Argus spoke nine parts truth and one part falsehood, concealing only the most crucial information.
He knew that Dumbledore's words were just to put pressure on him so that he could take the initiative in the upcoming negotiations.
Do you really want to use the curfew to nail me to the status of Slytherin's heir?
Dream on!
Even if it were true, he would have the support of Alan Mitchell and Fudge, plus the Board of Governors led by Lucius.
Want to clear your name? It's a piece of cake.
"The Headmaster didn't call me here just to ask where I went tonight, did he?"
"Of course not, every little wizard has his own secrets." Dumbledore realized that his words had no effect on Argus.
Let's stop talking about what we were just discussing.
"Do you remember our trade last semester?"
"Now, Harry needs your help."
"Our deal is merely to guide him, not to help him." Argus wouldn't easily fall into Dumbledore's verbal trap.
Dumbledore sighed: "Mr. Grindelwald, you are a smart man."
"Even if I don't point it out, you should be able to guess many things."
"Taking the lives of Hogwarts students to play the savior game with Harry?" Argus's tone was tinged with sarcasm.
Dumbledore was not angered by Argus's words. After a moment of silence, he slowly said, "For the sake of the wizarding world, some sacrifices are inevitable."
"Harry needs to grow up, and he also needs... a certain level of prestige."
"I'm too old to be a match for Voldemort, only Harry..."
"Ha!" Argus sneered.
If he hadn't read the original novel before he transmigrated, Argus might have believed it!
In the movie, Dumbledore's battle with Voldemort at the Ministry of Magic appeared to have only a slight advantage.
That's not how it was in the original story!
Dumbledore practically dominated Voldemort the entire time! In the end, he forced Voldemort to flee in disarray!
More importantly, no dark magic was used from beginning to end! And he even had Harry as a burden!
In other words, this old man still had some energy left to spare!
Judging from the timeline, that battle happened in Harry's fifth year, which was three years from now!
Argus believed that if Voldemort dared to resurrect now, Dumbledore would be absolutely confident enough to strangle him again!
By consuming his Horcruxes, we can also buy time for Harry to grow.
Seeing that Argus didn't respond, Dumbledore continued, "Harry's situation is very bad right now."
"The Dursleys were unwilling to accept him, and the young wizards of Gryffindor were hostile towards him."
"Mr. Ron Weasley is not exactly a good friend either."
"If this continues, I'm worried he'll be crushed by his surroundings."
"I can't stop people from talking," Argus said, refusing before Dumbledore could finish.
"No one can control these things. You just need to comfort him."
Dumbledore, looking quite old, sighed softly, "The future belongs to you."
"I'm over 110 years old..."
"Yes, in the blink of an eye, my father has been in Nurmengard for over fifty years."
…
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