Hogwarts: Starting as a Serpent Demon

“Professor Dumbledore,” Witt asked curiously, “what brings you to Paris?”

“I’ve come to see a friend, an old friend who has been missing for a long time and then suddenly reappeared,” Dumbledore said calmly, his eyes fixed on the ripples in his teacup.

The moment he lent his magic, Dumbledore vaguely sensed the range of the magic's transmission. He quickly notified the Austrian Ministry of Magic to confirm Grindelwald's location.

After confirming that Grindelwald was still in Nurmengard, Dumbledore understood that the Blood Pact was not in Grindelwald's hands, but in the hands of an unknown wizard.

Perhaps the other party repaired the blood alliance through some unknown means.

Dumbledore didn't know the other party's purpose in doing this, but this item that had already disappeared should not continue to exist.

So Dumbledore came to France, hoping to find the Blood Pact.

A friend? A friend who disappeared for a long time and then reappeared?

Witt felt that Dumbledore's words were vague and incomprehensible, but that didn't matter. What mattered was when he could go back.

"Professor, I..."

Before Witt could finish speaking, he heard Dumbledore's gentle voice: "It's a rare opportunity, you can take your time to explore the Ministry of Magic. I'll have the staff from the French Ministry of Magic take you back later."

Seeing Dumbledore deep in thought, seemingly not wanting to be disturbed, Witt politely withdrew.

But after leaving the reception room, Witt felt increasingly uneasy.

In the original story, at this point in time, Dumbledore should be at Hogwarts, using the Mirror of Erised to teach Harry to recognize the boundary between reality and illusion; it's impossible for him to suddenly appear in France.

Unless there's anything more important than teaching Harry.

The only people more important than Harry, besides Voldemort, are...

Witt cautiously touched the Blood Oath on his chest, a bad feeling creeping into his mind: could the magic this thing borrowed have come from Dumbledore?

Judging from Dumbledore's expression, Witt was at least 80% certain that he was after the Blood Alliance.

Thankfully, the Blood Alliance doesn't have a location tracking function, otherwise he would be finished.

That makes sense, though. If the Blood Alliance really had a location tracking function, Grindelwald wouldn't have let the Niffler steal the Blood Alliance back then, much less simply set a fire and left after his speech.

That would be more interesting if we chased Newt to the ends of the earth.

After careful consideration, Witt realized that the Blood Oath should normally be undetectable, but when launching an attack using magic, the opponent could sense its approximate location.

That's why Dumbledore didn't even have time to think about Harry and rushed to Paris, France.

No wonder it's a purple item; not only is the cooldown extremely long, but it's also risky to use. Witt made up his mind that the Blood Alliance would never use it unless absolutely necessary.

Witt also offered a prayer, hoping that Mr. Rozier's hiding place was well concealed and that Dumbledore wouldn't find him.

Otherwise, that would be much more exciting than being hunted down by Moody.

I wonder if he can withstand it.

Witt was both gloating and somewhat worried.

I don't know whether to cry or laugh.

After some hesitation, Witt decided to proceed. He would deal with whatever came his way, and even if Dumbledore wanted to investigate, he couldn't stop him.

Since things have come to this, let's eat first.

After a busy day and night, having only drunk some water, Victor's stomach was growling with hunger. Where was the French Ministry of Magic's dining hall? Today was the perfect opportunity to try some exotic food.

Chapter 53 Going Home

London, England.

Victor dismounted from the carriage, gently stroked the Thestrals, and took a handful of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans from his pocket to reward them.

For some reason, the British and French Ministries of Magic were slow to connect to the Floo Network, and had no choice but to use this rather primitive method to send him back.

Thestrals are the hardest-working animals in the magical world.

Because of its inherent invisibility, it serves as the power source for various carriages in the magical world and is one of the main means of transportation for wizards.

Thestrals have exceptionally strong flying abilities, enough to traverse oceans.

When Europe extradited Grindelwald from the United States, they used Thestrals to pull his chariot.

Shortly after Witte landed, a man in his fifties with gray hair, wearing a suit and tie, and with a serious and earnest expression walked over.

Barty Crouch the Elder, Director of the Department of International Magical Exchange and Cooperation.

Witt never expected that a simple extradition would prompt the Director of the International Department of Magical Exchange and Cooperation to personally come and pick him up.

That must be a huge amount of dough.

Witt believed he didn't have that kind of face, and that the other party must have other motives.

Sure enough, after a few words, Barty Crouch steered the conversation toward Rozier.

"Did that dark wizard tell you where he was going, like a certain place or a hidden stronghold?"

Barty Crouch had a well-thought-out plan: Rozier was a transnational criminal, which was somewhat related to his International Magical Exchange and Cooperation Division.

If we can bring him to justice, it will be a great achievement.

He might be able to use this achievement to be transferred back to the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, at which point he would have a chance to compete for the position of Minister of Magic again.

Fudge was a lucky winner who took advantage of others' misfortunes, and Barty Crouch was not convinced by him at all, always thinking about taking the position of Minister of Magic from him.

Unfortunately, the International Magical Exchange and Cooperation Division was just a peripheral department, and there were really no opportunities to make a name for oneself.

Even so, during his tenure, Barty Crouch Sr. actively contacted the Ministries of Magic in various countries, hoping to revive the Triwizard Tournament, which had not been held for centuries, in order to gain merit and advance to the position of Minister of Magic.

Putting aside personal ethics, Barty Crouch's personal abilities are indeed undeniable, far surpassing Fudge's.

Unfortunately, Witt did not help him achieve his goal.

“Sir,” Witt replied timidly, “I don’t know. Mr. Rozier… that dark wizard didn’t tell me where he was going.”

"I really don't know, sir. When can I go home?"

Upon hearing Witt's words, Barty Crouch couldn't help but show a disappointed expression. His kind smile turned cold, and he said businesslike, "We'll have to wait a while. Fudge is reviewing the details of this case."

Details about the ghost.

Witt finally experienced firsthand the Ministry of Magic's slow processing speed. For such a small matter, he had been flying in the sky for a whole day and the Ministry of Magic still hadn't finished.

"Will they have to question him again later?" Witt thought worriedly.

Half a day later, Witte's worries did not come true. Fudge in 1991 was still relatively humble, unlike a few years later when he was blinded by power and could not distinguish between kings and queens.

Fudge readily approved of anything that Dumbledore had spoken to, fully trusting Dumbledore's judgment.

Ministry of Magic.

Victor had absolutely no good feelings about this godforsaken place after leaving.

He waited for ages, but not a single person came to take him home.

As for the Knight Buses, they don't travel on Muggle streets; they only go to places where wizards gather, such as Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade.

Helpless, Victor had no choice but to return to the Ministry of Magic, where he secretly borrowed a coin from a passerby using magic and contacted Grandpa York through a public phone booth.

Because Witt used the magic near the Ministry of Magic, the Observer couldn't determine who used it and successfully evaded the Ministry's surveillance system.

Several hours later, when it was completely dark, Witt finally got home.

Safe.

Witt lay in bed, reflecting on the past few days, and a wave of exhaustion washed over him as he drifted off to sleep.

Meanwhile, with the help of the French Ministry of Magic, Dumbledore also located the location where the Blood Pact could unleash their magic.

The massive magical fluctuations destroyed all traces, even the footprints Victor left in the snow were carefully cleaned up by Rozier, who used magic to erase all traces.

As a dark wizard wanted by more than a dozen countries, Rozier has managed to live to this age thanks to his meticulous and cautious nature.

No matter how thoroughly Dumbledore examined the information, he couldn't find a single piece of valuable information.

The most conspicuous things on the scene were the traces left by the two enormous demonic flames.

One is his, and the other is Grindelwald's.

This at most means that the new blood pact can utilize the power of both of them simultaneously, something Dumbledore had already anticipated.

This discovery is essentially meaningless.

After several fruitless inquiries, Dumbledore returned empty-handed and could only ask the French Ministry of Magic for help in investigating what had happened before leaving.

Any information is acceptable.

*

King's Cross Station, Platform 9¾, on the Hogwarts Express.

Witt sat in the carriage, looking at the witch opposite him with a sense of helplessness.

"Miss Granger, is there anything I can help you with?"

“I want to ask you something about Nicolas Flamel,” Hermione said softly. “And I want to apologize for what happened before.”

"Although you lied to me, everything that happened afterward was George and Fred's fault. I was just too angry at the time, which is why I said those things."

For Hermione, who had just enrolled, the school rules were her life—no, the school rules were more important than her life.

As a result, she risked her life to break school rules and go out at night, only to be met with a lie.

Hermione couldn't accept it at all, which is why she was so angry.

After thinking it over carefully, Hermione realized that Witt was only responsible for about 10% of the whole thing. Of the remaining 90%, 30% was due to her own fault, and the remaining 60% was entirely the responsibility of the Weasley twins.

She shouldn't have gotten angry at Witt over this.

So Hermione's main purpose in coming here was to apologize. As for the question about Nicolas Flamel, that was just a prelude to ease the awkwardness.

“Alright, Miss Granger, I accept your apology.”

Witt nodded solemnly and said very politely, "It concerns the question of Nicolas Flamel."

Witt handed over the card that came with the chocolate frog he had just bought.

"Perhaps you can find the answer in it."

"Dumbledore?" Hermione looked at Dumbledore on the card, her eyes filled with doubt.