Hogwarts: This professor is too Muggle.

Chapter 321 Memories
Dumbledore snapped out of his daze. The hot cocoa had gone cold. He could clearly feel the ice cubes sliding down his throat and into his stomach as he drank it. After the sweetness, a bitter aftertaste lingered, but he was already quite content.

During their time living in Godric Valley, they experienced hunger and cold. Their mother's meager salary was insufficient to feed her three children. Ariana had a poor appetite and ate very little at each meal. Aberforth and he would save up any candy that would allow her to eat a little more.

Whether it was because he had a poor appetite or because he wanted to save food so that his two older brothers could eat more, he still doesn't know.

After receiving their acceptance letters and arriving at Hogwarts, they no longer suffered from hunger and cold. When talking about school with Ariana and Aberforth in the attic, their younger siblings only showed longing for the classroom, without much desire for food and a warm bed.

Even at over a hundred years old, Dumbledore, who still had a sweet tooth, sometimes wondered if Ariana were alive today, would she still like sweets, and would she still pester him for Honeydukes candies?

He put down the porcelain cup, wanting to reach out and touch the gem, but a strange sense of timidity arose in his heart. Dumbledore hesitated for a long time, his deep blue eyes growing more and more eager.

"Albus..."

Dumbledore paused, hearing the call of Headmaster Armando Dippet from behind. Without turning around, he could sense the whispers of the portraits on the wall.

"The Deathly Hallows and the Resurrection Stone are both ominous signs."

Headmaster Depp reminded him somewhat anxiously, and the familiar yet unfamiliar words unlocked long-sealed memories, allowing those sounds and images to travel across decades to reach Dumbledore's ears.

The memory begins with the summer after graduation, when he felt trapped in Godric's Hollow, possessing magical powers surpassing those of many wizards yet unable to use them. While his peers were traveling the world, his sister's illness kept him tied down.

While he was trapped in the old attic of Dumbledore's house, his neighbor Bathilda Bagshot's nephew knocked on his door.

From initially being wary of him noticing Ariana's unusual behavior, to finally opening up about future ideals and ambitions, from discussing transfiguration papers to dark magic techniques, and later dreaming of changing the world, it all happened in less than a summer vacation.

Gellert Grindelwald was educated at Durmstrang, a school that promoted the study of the Dark Arts, where Gellert's talents were fully developed. However, even such an enlightened school could not tolerate such an outlier.

For Dumbledore, who had been bound by constraints for years, the man's unrestrained style was captivating. What he initially paid no attention to as casual conversation gradually evolved into a terrifying plan, and before he knew it, he was already deeply involved.

"The Elder Wand and the Resurrection Stone will grant us invincible magic and an endless army of Infernals... The Invisibility Cloak can be given to your sister, and Ariana can wear it to play outside."

"The Invisibility Cloak... Can Ariana run in sunlight and snow?"

Two boys sat side by side on a tree branch, one with azure eyes and the other with flowing blond hair. Green vines drooped down to provide shade. Dumbledore stared at the Deathly Hallows symbol on the parchment until sunset, when he finally snapped out of his reverie and looked at the boy who had stayed at his neighbor's house with bright eyes.
“Gellert, we will definitely find the Deathly Hallows and create a better world.”

"For the greater good!" the blond boy declared resolutely.

"..."

Listening to Headmaster Dippert's nagging, Dumbledore reached out and grasped the Resurrection Stone. It was covered with ancient, rough markings, triangles encircling circles, and vertical lines dividing the left and right sides, just like the patterns he had seen on parchment years ago.

"Long time no see," the principal said softly, looking at the gemstone.

He grasped the Resurrection Stone, slowly spun it three times, watched the dreamy moonlight and white mist seep into the window, and slowly closed his eyes.

Fox silently watched the tall, thin, and lonely figure. Compared to a hundred years ago, he had changed a lot: wrinkles, beard, and a less upright back. Humans cannot be reborn; they are older than they were the day before each time they wake up.

The resurrection stone pulsed, and indeed, a girl's figure appeared, stepping onto the moon.

The old wizard in the white mist closed his eyes, tears flowing silently down his face.

A few minutes later, a small, delicate, and ethereal hand reached out from the moonlight, clumsily touching his cheek and wiping away his tears. Reality and illusion intertwined, and the small hand passed through his head.

The old wizard's tears also fell into the porcelain cup, splashing up bitter cocoa.

……

Saturday evening.

Inside the Prophet's office, editor Gilderoy Lockhart was busy working, casting forgetting and false memory spells with ease. His wand moved as fast as a machine on a Muggle assembly line, and he quickly produced a video about vampires.

The development of the Shadow Mirror was just beginning. At that time, wizard media was still very rudimentary. The positions of reporters and editors were all transferred from newspapers, and very few people were proficient in editing memories.

Lockhart's mind was filled with fragmented and trivial memories, but it could not bury his instinct to show off and be mysterious; it was ingrained in his bones, or as the editor-in-chief put it, his subconscious.

When the news reports reached him, he pieced them together, cutting out the beginning and the end. What was clearly just a story about an old witch tripping and falling was edited by him to first dabble in blood curses, enemy plots, and magical creature attacks, grabbing the audience's attention before finally revealing the mystery—

The boots didn't fit properly, and I tripped and fell because of the heel.

At the end, the clothing store's sign should flash by briefly, saying nothing, yet subtly implying something.

The old witch, the shop owner, and the audience all sent a letter with shouts. The Prophet's newspaper was bombed several times, and the editor-in-chief, Gu Fei, stopped him from doing news and instead made him do a few minutes of popular science introduction.

As long as it doesn't deviate from reality and the information isn't fabricated, it doesn't matter how much attention it tries to attract.

"Miss Skeeter, please take a look."

Lockhart showed it to his superiors, and Rita glanced at it briefly. Although the footage was suspected of defaming vampires and a few shots involved the pure-blooded Greengrass family, overall, there were no major flaws.

The main reason is that the Greengrass family is relatively low-profile, generally doesn't communicate with the outside world, and rarely gets into conflicts. Even if a conflict does occur, and they file a lawsuit with the Ministry of Magic, these images cannot be used as evidence.

At most, I'll send a few shouting letters to the editor-in-chief; they won't actually reach her.

The spell is sealed in a glass bottle, and the bottle stopper is marked with the mark of Skeeter. The surface can be sent to the Department of Transportation for screening.

Lockhart and Rita finished their work, tidied up the office briefly, capped the ink bottles, and prepared to leave.

Just then, Editor-in-Chief Gu Fei suddenly knocked on the door and came in, stopping the two of them: "There's an emergency. We'll add a special report to the evening news, to unravel the mystery of Sirius Black's prison break and uncover the truth behind Godric Hollow."

"Didn't Umbridge warn us a while ago that we had to suppress the news? Why are we suddenly reporting it now?"

“Umbridge isn’t a minister. Even if he were, could he compare to Dumbledore and Levent?”

"Mr. Levent has spoken out?" Rita was both surprised and delighted.

"Not yet. Professor Levente hasn't made any public comments. It was Dumbledore who appeared at the bar with the Three Broomsticks and talked about the feud between Black and Peter in front of the other patrons. Professor Levente wrote to me about it."

"What about the special lesson at Hogwarts last night?"

"Just a few words, it's not important."

"..."

When Editor-in-Chief Gu Fei gave the order, the entire newspaper immediately sprang into action, working overtime to produce a special report. A group of reporters, editors, and hosts, though complaining about working overtime, were very motivated to get things done.

That damned Umbridge, I've had a problem with her for ages! The news was produced quickly, the materials and manuscripts were all ready, and it was supposed to be reported before the end of the Christmas holidays, but then Umbridge warned us, so we just sealed it away instead of destroying it, and it can be used with a few minor modifications.

That evening, the completed news report was sent to the Department of Transportation and handed over to Mrs. Eckmore.

……

In the past, news from print media such as daily newspapers and magazines would take several days to spread.

If it were a news report from the Mirror, the information would spread at an explosive rate. In addition, it was a major news story that had already broken out during the summer vacation. Wizards gathered in bars all over the place that night to start discussing it. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Magic had just finished get off work and only a few interns were left on duty.

The minister's office was still in a state of shock and didn't know how to respond.

In the fifth-floor bedroom of the Burrow in Ottley St Catchpol, Devon, England, Arthur lay on his four-poster bed, tossing and turning, unable to sleep, occasionally letting out a sigh.

"Snapped!"

Molly gave him a light tap on the back. The middle-aged witch's scolding was more severe than the girl's, making him gasp in pain: "Don't you have work tomorrow? Why aren't you asleep yet!"

"I……"

Arthur froze on the bed, hesitating for a moment.

During the evening news, his wife was cleaning in the kitchen and happened to miss the report about Sirius. He didn't know whether he should tell Molly now and make her lose sleep too, or wait until tomorrow morning.

Just as he was struggling with his decision, he suddenly heard a faint snoring sound.

"..."

Arthur sighed.

Let's talk about it tomorrow morning. Anyway, Mirror News has been following up on it.

Memories of the Order of the Phoenix floated through my mind. I seemed to be asleep, yet also awake, half-dreaming and half-awake. The faces of James and Lily kept appearing, along with Sirius, Peter, and finally Harry.

Arthur opened his eyes, sighed dejectedly, and lay there for a long time. Noticing that the fire in the fireplace was getting weaker, he got up and added some charcoal.

Looking at the glowing embers, he pondered for a moment, then grabbed a handful of Floo Powder and sprinkled it in, causing green flames to suddenly burst forth.

Diagon Alley!

……

The Leaky Cauldron bar was brightly lit.

Familiar faces were everywhere, gathered in front of the bar. Even the fans had left the screen, ignoring the Scottish fun game being played.

The last time we were this united was when we defended the Leaky Cauldron and worked through the night to revise the Muggle government's development plans for Charing Cross Road. Even during the Goblin Rebellion, there weren't this many people gathered here.

The area in front of the bar was packed with people, some even squeezing inside. Besides him, there were several Ministry of Magic employees, but Arthur looked around carefully and realized that none of the minister's office was there.

This is a good thing; there are no reservations in the conversation.

Arthur ordered a butterbeer and squeezed into the box using his size advantage.

Before I could even get my bearings, someone came up to me and handed me a stack of fries sprinkled with bright green parsley. It was a colleague and neighbor, Amos Digori, who lived on the other side of the village of Autri San Cachipol.

"Arthur, will you attend the meeting tomorrow?"

The middle-aged male wizard was short and stout, with a large belly, and wore black-rimmed glasses.

Amos is a mid-level employee in the Department of Magical Creatures Control, a typical Hufflepuff—gentle and kind, and close to most people in the department. Aside from always showing off his outstanding son, he has no flaws.

"what?"

Arthur paused for a moment: "Is this the end-of-month work summary meeting?"

"It's considered a monthly meeting, but it's more than just a meeting. Ms. Burns specifically notified us, and Umbridge also notified us..."

"I don't know, nobody told me." Arthur was somewhat withdrawn.

"I sent a notification after get off work, but the owl probably hasn't been delivered to your house yet."

Amos was also silent for a while, holding a piece of fries in his hand: "Whatever the meeting is, it must be to discuss the trial plan for Black and Peter. Ms. Burns wants to dominate the trial court, Umbridge wants to be the presiding judge, and Fudge is in cahoots with her."

"It's unimaginable that a Death Eater could hide for thirteen years, while an innocent wizard has been suffering torture in the deepest part of Azkaban."

Arthur shook his head, listening to the chatter around the bar. For everyone else, tonight was also a sleepless night. The number of patrons chatting all night in the tavern far exceeded the usual number, and occasionally wizards from other places would emerge from the fireplace, bringing new news.

"To be honest, the conflict between Ms. Burns and Umbridge is unimportant. I just want to see Peter receive the punishment he deserves." Amos was a little drunk, and his words were slurred.

Arthur was also a little confused. As a Ministry of Magic employee, he had known for a long time that Black and Peter were awaiting trial, but so far only the Prophet's Newspaper had given an incomplete report on the truth of the events of that year.

Recalling the days he worked with Peter, he suddenly felt a sense of fear.

He sat alone at the bar for a while, holding his wine glass, and ate Amos's fries until they were just crumbs. The other patrons were still talking loudly, some of whom were his colleagues from the Ministry of Magic, and all sorts of unfounded speculations kept reaching his ears.

"The Ministry of Magic has seven departments in total. If an internal vote were held, the Department of Mysteries would always abstain, and the Department of International Cooperation would probably abstain as well. Umbridge has also won over the Department of Magical Creatures and the Department of Magical Accidents and Disasters..."

"Wait a minute, if the Department of Magical Creatures Management is on Umbridge's side because those executioners of the Committee for the Disposal of Dangerous Animals are as twisted as she is, then why is the Department of Magical Accidents and Disasters involved?"

"What else could it be? Because Fudge was promoted from the Disaster Management Department, which is his stronghold."

"Whom did Ms. Burns win over?"

"She oversaw the Executive Division, Mrs. Eckmore's Transport Division, and the Sports Division."

"Three to two, we have a very good chance of winning."

"Don't forget that the minister's office also has voting rights."

"..."

(End of this chapter)