The person is at Hogwarts, but the system is in Middle-earth!

Professor McGonagall stopped in front of an ugly stone beast.

"Lemon Olaf," she said.

This was clearly a coded message. The stone beast seemed to come alive as it leaped aside, revealing a slowly rotating spiral staircase behind it. Harry and Rowe followed Professor McGonagall up the stairs.

For Lovis, he was climbing a legendary tower. The stone steps beneath his feet rose slowly, as if leading to the clouds, to the core that held the fate of Middle-earth in its hands.

[Map loading: Olsanne Tower]

[Area: Sage's Council Hall/White-Robed Wizard's Observatory]

[WARNING: High concentration of magical energy reaction]

[Environmental Suppression: Intelligence Judgment -2 (You will feel insignificant in front of a legendary mage)]

When they pushed open the gleaming oak door, Lowe's pupils contracted slightly, and his breath caught in his throat for a moment.

It was a spacious, beautiful circular room filled with subtle, gear-like sounds. On a long-legged table sat many strange and wonderful silver objects, spinning and emitting wisps of smoke and a soft hum. The walls were covered with portraits of former headmasters, all in their frames, gently snoring or pretending to sleep while secretly peeking.

"This is the pinnacle of alchemy..." Lowe murmured in admiration. "That rotating silver ring... is it a sphere of true knowledge monitoring the situation in Middle-earth? Or some kind of time-flow controller used to detect Sauron's gaze?"

[Item Identification: Dumbledore's Silverware]

[Function: Unknown (may involve dimensional monitoring, black magic warnings, or simply brewing coffee)]

[Value: Priceless (Do not attempt to touch it, or you will be turned into a ferret)]

Professor McGonagall had them sit down at the table and then left, leaving the two anxious boys behind.

Only Harry, Rowe, and a large bird perched on a gilded branch behind the door remained in the room.

The bird looked terrible. Its feathers hung sparsely on its body like a pile of moldy straw, its eyes were cloudy, and its head drooped listlessly.

Harry looked at it with some concern: "It looks sick."

"No, Harry. Don't be fooled by appearances." Rowe narrowed his eyes; the system interface was frantically refreshing data. "This isn't an ordinary illness. This is energy overload."

[Target Analysis: Unknown Mythical Creature]

[State: Critical Point]

[Energy reading: Exponential increase]

[Countdown: 5... 4...]

"What do you mean?" Harry had just asked when the bird suddenly let out a strange, choking sound, like a hiccup.

Immediately afterwards, a ball of golden-red flame burst out from its body, instantly engulfing its entire body.

"Fire!" Harry yelled in terror, jumping up.

"Damn it! Element out of control! Reactor meltdown!" Lowe reacted with lightning speed, displaying an agility disproportionate to his size. Without the slightest hesitation, he instantly removed his cloak and rushed forward like a firefighter.

"Hold on, my beast!" Rowe shouted, draping his heavy cloak over the flames to cut off oxygen. "Harry! Get water! Or sand! We need to break the chain of fire!"

Harry frantically searched around for the water jug, but all he saw was the Sorting Hat. He grabbed the Sorting Hat and was about to put it on the fire—luckily, he stopped in time.

Rowe pressed hard on the cloak, but he could feel that the heat below had not disappeared. Instead, he felt a strange pulsating sensation, like a burning heart beating.

"This fire can't be extinguished!" Rowe was shocked, beads of sweat forming on his forehead. "This is magical fire! Damn it, could it be spontaneous combustion caused by excessive absorption of magic network energy? Or did it swallow a fire dragon egg?"

Just then, a clear cry came from beneath the cloak. It wasn't a scream of pain, but a joyful celebration of new life, like the first rays of dawn piercing through the darkness.

Lo Wei froze, then slowly lifted a corner of his cloak, his movements cautious.

There was no charred corpse in that pile of ashes. Instead, a wrinkled, ugly little chick poked its head out of the ash heap, covered in eggshell-like slime, and looked at Rowe curiously.

[System Notification: Mythical Creature Reborn]

[Race Identification: Phoenix]

【Skill: Nirvana ()

[Comment: This is unscientific, but it's magical!]

Rowe stared in disbelief at the ugly little thing, his cloak slipping from his hand and falling to the ground.

"Necromantic magic?" he murmured, his eyes filled with awe. "No... this is more advanced than that. It's a cycle of life, a gift from the Vera. It burns itself to death, then rises from the ashes? How much courage... or how much masochism does that take? To undergo a burning at the stake just to refresh its status bar?"

The office door opened, and Dumbledore walked in. He was wearing a long grey robe and didn't seem surprised at all; instead, he had a gentle smile on his face, like Gandalf returning from a walk.

"Ah, it seems you've made it in time," Dumbledore said with a smile. "Fox is a phoenix, Harry. When they get too old to die, they spontaneously combust and rise from the ashes."

He walked to the perch, gently stroked the baby bird's head, then turned to look at Rowe, whose face was covered in soot and who was still clutching his cloak.

“Mr. Baggins,” Dumbledore’s blue eyes gleamed behind his half-moon spectacles, “I’m glad to see you so…concerned about my bird. Although using a cloak to extinguish the fire is a first for a phoenix. Very…creative.”

Somewhat embarrassed, Lowe picked up the cloak, dusted it off, and casually tucked the few burnt feathers he had just picked up into his sleeve (these were precious alchemical materials).

"I thought it had encountered an accident, sir," Rowe straightened his back and replied neither humbly nor arrogantly. "In my homeland, we don't stand idly by when our allies are on fire. Even if it's just a... mythical beast that looks like a turkey. Protecting our teammates is a ranger's instinct."

Dumbledore chuckled softly. "'Allies.' A fine word. I think Fawkes will appreciate your sentiment. In fact, it does look a bit like a plucked turkey right now."

Harry breathed a sigh of relief: "So, it was going to die anyway? I didn't do anything to it?"

"Of course not," Dumbledore said with a smile. "Phoenixes are very magical creatures. They can fly carrying heavy loads, their tears can heal wounds, and they are extremely loyal."

[Intelligence Update: Phoenix's Abilities]

[Strength: S (Extremely high load-bearing capacity, suitable for use as an aerial transport aircraft)]

[Treatment: S (Tears are the elixir of life)]

Loyalty: S (Alignment locked, cannot be charmed)

[Evaluation: A perfect logistical support unit, a top-tier healer and transport soldier.]

Just then, the office door was suddenly kicked open with a loud bang, like a battering ram hitting a city gate.

Rupert Hagrid burst in, his face streaked with tears and carrying a dead rooster.

"Not Harry! Professor Dumbledore!" Hagrid cried out, his voice making the silverware jingle. "If you ask who the murderer is, I swear to Merlin it wasn't Harry! I practically raved about that kid!"

"Hagrid, I..." Dumbledore tried to interrupt.

"This kid would never harm anyone!" Hagrid brandished the dead rooster like a warhammer. "This rooster was killed by dark magic! But I assure you, Harry wouldn't even hurt a fly! Anyone who dares to touch him, I'll..."

Luo Wei stared at the dead rooster, his brow furrowed.

[Item: Murdered Rooster]

Cause of death: Dark curse

[Speculation: Strategic resource deprivation. The enemy is eliminating some kind of biological weapon.]

"Hagrid!" Dumbledore raised his voice. "I know it's not Harry."

Hagrid froze, blinking his dark eyes. "Oh... really? Okay then."

He stood there awkwardly, the dead rooster in his hand still dripping blood, staining a patch of the carpet red.

"I'll be waiting outside," Hagrid said loudly, then turned and slammed the door shut, leaving the room silent.

Dumbledore turned to Harry and Rowe, his expression turning serious. In that instant, the kind old man vanished, replaced by a powerful white-robed wizard.

"I called you here, Harry, not because I believe you did it," Dumbledore said, staring into Harry's eyes, "but because I wanted to ask you... is there anything you want to tell me?"

The air grew heavy.

Harry hesitated. He thought of the strange voice, of Rowe's "Whisper of the Ring," and of the rejection and suspicion from everyone. He wanted to speak, but looking into Dumbledore's seemingly all-seeing eyes, he felt a surge of fear.

Rowe stood behind Harry, coughed lightly, and subtly nudged Harry's heel.

In Rowe's judgment, this was a trial.

[WARNING: Legilimency Detection]

The white-robed wizard is testing the psychological defenses of the ringholder.

[Strategy: Gandalf once refused to touch the Ring because he feared he would fall. If we tell Harry now that he can hear the Whispers, he might isolate Harry for the sake of the "greater good," or even...]

"Don't say it," Rowe gestured with his eyes. "Now is not the time. We must bear this burden ourselves."

"No, Professor," Harry finally said, his voice a little hoarse. "No."

Dumbledore glanced at Harry, then gave Rowe a long look.

"Very good," Dumbledore said softly. "You may leave now."

As he walked out of the principal's office and the spiral staircase slowly descended, Luo Wei let out a long sigh of relief.

“He knows,” Rowe said softly. “The white wizard… I mean the headmaster, he knows everything. But he chose to let us face this trial ourselves. Just like Gandalf always entrusted the most dangerous tasks to the hobbits.”

"What do we do now?" Harry asked, feeling helpless. "The whole school thinks I'm the murderer."

Rowe clenched his fists, his gaze fixed on the dungeon, the location of the Slytherin common room.

"There's only one way left," Lowe said firmly, his eyes burning with the fervor of a tactician. "Into enemy territory. Since they believe you are Slytherin's heir, then we'll go and ask the real Slytherins."