Compared to the junior wizards at Hogwarts, the British wizarding community was far less lenient towards Dumbledore.
The adult world is inherently rife with conspiracy theories.
Even though Dumbledore made enormous contributions to the wizarding world, in their eyes at this moment, it all became a tool for cover-ups.
Some even believed that the reason why the wizarding world had encountered a series of problems in recent years was because Dumbledore was behind it all!
Dumbledore was completely unaware of all the changes taking place in the wizarding world.
Even Professor McGonagall only learned the details after reading the Daily Prophet.
Unfortunately, she didn't know where Dumbledore was now, and even if she wanted to do something for him, there was very little she could do.
Inside the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor's office.
Slughorn specifically called Argus to his office to inquire about the situation.
He also stated that if there were any problems, he could find someone to help Argus resolve them.
That's no exaggeration.
In terms of connections, there were probably very few people in the entire Hogwarts who could compare to him.
Most Hogwarts graduates rarely kept in touch with their professors or deans after graduation, except for Slughorn!
He would invite many students to his home every now and then, and these students were all outstanding figures in their respective fields.
It was less of a guest visit and more of a networking event.
Through Slughorn's connections, people who would otherwise have no connection had the opportunity to come into contact.
Slughorn was happy to do so, and the students were naturally willing to give him face.
"No need for that, Professor."
"You should have seen the Daily Prophet by now. The Ministry of Magic is here to see Headmaster Dumbledore; it has nothing to do with me."
"Albus... sigh!" Slughorn wanted to say something.
He opened his mouth, but it only turned into a sigh.
He had only arrived a few days ago and was unaware of what had happened at Hogwarts.
He and Argus had no right to tell Dumbledore what to do.
He raised his head, his aged eyes staring intently at Argus.
"Argus, tell me the truth."
"Who is Slytherin's heir?! Don't mention that idiot Gilderoy Lockhart to me. I wasn't even retired when he was in school! I know exactly what kind of person he is!"
Argus thought, How could you guess that?
A chill ran down his spine.
If they were talking about who knew Voldemort best, it wasn't necessarily Dumbledore.
It was more likely to be Slughorn!
Although he had been deceived by Voldemort, it was more out of expectation for genius that he dared not and did not want to believe Voldemort's depravity.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to repeatedly guess Voldemort's thoughts and hide for so long under Voldemort's search.
But now was not the time to reveal Voldemort's existence.
He shook his head: "I'm sorry, Professor Slughorn."
"I didn't realize there were other people in the secret room at the time."
"It's not necessarily a person! Have you noticed any… inappropriate items?" Slughorn racked his brains trying to give Argus a hint.
He also worried that Argus, upon learning of the existence of Horcruxes, would descend into madness like Voldemort.
"Unsuitable items?"
"It's just… not quite like something that would appear in the Chamber of Secrets of Slytherin." Slughorn's words became increasingly hesitant.
"For example... things that don't look so dilapidated, things that have only appeared in recent decades."
"I hadn't noticed that," Argus said with a forced apologetic smile.
"But the Ministry of Magic and Headmaster Dumbledore both searched the place, and if it were there, they would have found it long ago."
"That makes sense," Slughorn conceded.
With something this serious happening, it was impossible for the other party not to thoroughly search the entire secret room.
Given Dumbledore's attitude towards Voldemort, there was absolutely no question of him showing any mercy.
"Tell me again what happened that night, truthfully."
"Don't try to fool me with the tricks Dumbledore taught you!"
"Yes, Professor!"
...
Azkaban.
Several Aurors escorted the newly captured dark wizard inside.
The leader, with a cigar in his mouth and a rolled-up newspaper in his hand, looked impatient.
"What a hassle! I should have gone to Hogwarts with the Master!"
"I don't want to stay in this godforsaken place for even a minute longer!"
"Going to Hogwarts isn't a good job either! The headmaster and his men are going to capture Dumbledore!" A tall, burly man behind him swallowed hard.
"That's Dumbledore..."
What was said in jest was taken seriously by the listener!
In the cell next door, a gaunt man in tattered clothes quietly pricked up his ears when he heard Dumbledore's name.
"You're the one who should be talking! Who would have thought Dumbledore would do something like this!"
"I bet all those things before were an act!" the leader, a cigar in his mouth, said with a click of his tongue.
"Poor Harry Potter and the Weasley boy, they're probably going to become idiots!"
"What did you say! Harry is going to become an idiot?" The gaunt man who had been sitting quietly in the corner seemed to have been provoked.
He suddenly scrambled to his feet and frantically tore at the cell door!
"Who are you talking about, Harry?! Is he the savior from the prophecy?!"
"Speak quickly!"
The man with the cigar was startled, and the rolled-up newspaper in his hand involuntarily fell to the ground.
The headline on the front page was a report about Harry and Ron's accident.
The first photo showed Harry and Ron sitting blankly on the edge of the bed.
Not far away, outside the door, stood Mrs. Weasley, her face filled with sorrow.
Upon seeing Harry in the newspaper photo, the gaunt man's eyes instantly welled up with tears!
His eyes were bloodshot!
He let out a heart-wrenching scream at the top of his lungs!
"It's you! It's you! You're not dead!"
"I knew it! Hahahaha... I knew it!"
The howl gradually turned into a cold laugh.
The gaunt man braced his hands against the prison cell door, his eyes fixed on the newspaper photo.
All he could see was that photograph!
The man with the cigar probably felt he had lost face.
He spat hard into the face of the gaunt man.
"Pah! Another one who's gone mad!"
"If I had known, I should have let the Dementor give him a kiss!"
"Let's just end it all at once!"
"Alright, stop wasting time," the tall, muscular man reminded him.
"Get these people in quickly so we can leave as soon as possible."
"I don't want to stay in this place for even a minute longer!"
The man with the cigar glanced at the newspaper lying on the ground, frowned, and didn't bother to bend down and pick it up.
He disappeared into the passage with heavy footsteps.
The gaunt man in the cell could no longer hear any sound before he laboriously reached out and, with all his might, picked up the newspaper from the ground.
Even though many parts of the newspaper were soaked with water, he couldn't wait to start reading from the beginning.
The more he looked, the more off his expression seemed!
His right fist clenched into a ball without him even realizing it!
A faint trickle of blood was seeping out!
"Why did this happen! Why!"
"What happened! Why would Dumbledore make Harry, a little kid, do such a thing?!"
"What is he thinking! What exactly does he want to do!"
"James…Lily…I…I'm so sorry to you all…"
…
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