319 Office, leave, behind the stone door

319 Office, leave, behind the stone door

After leaving Mr. Newt's office, Meadows walked towards the Headmaster's office at Hogwarts.

"The password." The stone beast guarding the entrance asked.

"Crucible cake," Meadows said.

The stone beast suddenly came to life. It jumped aside, and the wall behind it cracked in half. Meadows walked onto the spiral staircase behind the wall, and the wall closed again with a roar behind her.

Meadows spun higher and higher, until at last she came to a gleaming oak door with a brass knocker in the shape of a griffon.

She stretched out her hand to knock on the wooden door.

However, the wooden door opened by itself first.

"Kingsley?" Meadows said the name of the figure who opened the door in surprise: "What are you doing here?"

She remembered that Kingsley was supposed to be patrolling Hogsmeade right now.

"Sorry, Dorcas." Kingsley said seriously: "This involves work matters, so please forgive me for not talking more."

Meadows stared at his back with dissatisfaction. The other person's rigid attitude reminded her of Moody, who was also an Auror - and Moody was even more difficult to deal with. He had always wanted to accept him as a disciple.

"What is he doing here?" Meadows asked as soon as he entered the office: "Kingsley has also joined the Order of the Phoenix? Is he an Auror from the Ministry of Magic or your Auror?"

Dumbledore was closing his eyes and rubbing the center of his brow. He looked a little tired.

"It's not important." He said slowly: "In this period, the most important thing is that we must unite as one. Only in this way can we deal with Voldemort's next move."

Dumbledore deftly avoided Meadows' question, and although it made Meadows even more dissatisfied, she said nothing more.

She has long been accustomed to Dumbledore's secretive way, and she also knows that Dumbledore will never place all his hopes on the same person, which also includes secrets - in fact, this is very necessary. , lest the entire Order of the Phoenix be wiped out by Voldemort because someone was caught.

"I came here for Antioch." Meadows told the reason for his coming, and let the little phoenix on his shoulder jump to the table.

"It never grows bigger and seems to have lost the ability to continue growing."

Meadows pursed her lips, and then she continued worriedly: "I'm worried... this may have something to do with the curse we have formed."

Dumbledore did not rush to a conclusion. He took out the Elder Wand and cast a few simple spells while constantly asking and observing the feelings of Meadows and Antioch.

Fox on the branch watched this scene silently, and it chirped from time to time, as if to relieve Antioch's inner uneasiness.

After a while, Dumbledore slowly put away his wand, looking even more tired.

"It's true..." he murmured softly.

Meadows was pouring tea, which halted her movements.

"Sure enough...what is it?" she asked.

Dumbledore shook his head slightly: "It's the same mistake. I made the same mistake again without regret."

Meadows couldn't understand what Dumbledore was talking about, nor did she understand what Antioch had to do with Dumbledore's mistakes.

But she thought of something inexplicably.

When he came to the principal's office again after the Chamber of Secrets incident, Dumbledore seemed to be interested in promoting his connection with Antioch - especially when it came to naming the Blue Phoenix. Dumbledore seemed to have been waiting for it for a long time. watching this scene.

(Chapter 293)

"You knew this a long time ago?" Meadows suddenly widened her blue eyes: "You already knew...that something would go wrong?"

"Have you known that something would happen to Antioch?"

Dumbledore looked up and stared at Meadows.

"I can't be sure," he said. "I can't be sure which of you the problem is going to be. I'm not omnipotent."

"But didn't you check it again?" Meadows frowned and asked: "On the night of the secret room incident, right here, Karan was also there at that time - didn't you find something? Didn't you predict it in advance? Have a problem with the curse?"

Dumbledore closed his eyes, a look of pain on his face.

"It's not just a matter of curses." He whispered, his tone inexplicably full of guilt: "I'm sorry, Dorcas. I should have stopped you in advance when you decided to go to Egypt, but I ended up committing the same crime again. mistake."

"Sorry, Dorcas..."

Tears flowed from the corners of Dumbledore's eyes, slowly dripping on his silver beard.

Meadows was completely stunned. She had never seen Dumbledore look so weak, full of feelings of weakness and vulnerability.

Although she still felt that Dumbledore's change was a bit sudden, Meadows' expression softened, and she suppressed all questions in her heart.

In any case, she always remembered who had dispelled all her impulses and uneasiness when she officially became a late bloomer.

It was Dean Sprout, and Dumbledore.

"Principal," she said, "I forgive you."

"No matter what happens, I will forgive you, Principal."

This seemed to give Dumbledore great relief, and Fawkes also flew down from the perch and gently rubbed his head against his palm.

Then, under Meadows's gaze, Dumbledore took out a thick book from the drawer and slowly turned to a blank page with a background picture.

"Are you there, my old friend?"

Meadows looked over curiously, and a figure gradually appeared from the corner of the page, and then it took him a long time to sit on the sofa chair on the page.

After seeing the other party's appearance clearly, Meadows was shocked and speechless. Although she had not collected all the chocolate frog pictures, she had already collected many pictures related to the other party.

The figure was slightly surprised when he saw Meadows, but before Dumbledore could explain, the figure seemed to understand something - they had had such an exchange more than once.

"It's still the same place, Albus." The figure said, "I didn't move."

Dumbledore nodded slightly, closed the book again, and took out a business card and handed it to Meadows, with a detailed address written on it.

But this address is in France.

"Your suspension has been cancelled." Dumbledore said, his mood had calmed down a lot: "Go to him, he may have a way to solve the Antioch problem."

Meadows was still staring at the card. Instead of feeling joy that the lockdown was lifted, she was filled with a sense of absurdity.

"Is that Nick Flamel?"

Finally, she couldn't help but ask: "The creator of the Philosopher's Stone?"

Dumbledore nodded slightly.

"Have a nice trip."

He finally smiled again.

But when Meadows finally left the principal's office, the smile on Dumbledore's face faded, and there was only worry in his eyes.

"Hmph." Phineas in the portrait suddenly mocked: "I have seen many popular principals, but this is the first time I have seen a crying principal."

"Shut up!" Delis Derwent yelled angrily: "Our duty is to help the principal, not like you who just go around making fun of others!"

Eupracia Moore helped to speak up: "That's right, Phineas. If you have this intention, why not take good care of your great-great-grandchildren, and don't let the Black family stop being pure forever."

The mentioned Sirius accurately touched Phineas' pain point. He snorted and continued: "At least my great-great-grandson doesn't have to be secretive and can go to Hogwarts openly. But if he doesn't listen to the advice, then She is somewhat similar to your sister."

Phineas said to Dumbledore: "She definitely didn't notify you in advance when she appeared in Hogsmeade this time, and she caused so much damage all at once. Fortunately, Kingsley trusts you, but you also How long can I continue to hide it?”

This time, no portrait could refute him, because this was also the inner worry of all portraits.

Delis Derwent stared at Dumbledore's trembling palms. She couldn't help but worry: "The pain has not been completely resolved? What kind of curse is this that even you can't resolve? This is already the third time. You should go to St. Mungo’s and see it.”

"This is not a curse." Dumbledore said softly: "It just needs to be endured for a while longer, probably before the end of this semester."

"After all, the price this time is not all on me."

He took out a bottle of whiskey from the liquor cabinet, poured a full glass, and then took a swig.

After that, his condition got slightly better.

"Ariana..."

He murmured softly, looking at Fox and looking at him.

"I'm not sure either." He said slowly.

"Not sure why she had to show up to save those children, not sure if she is still the complete Ariana..."

"I'm not sure if there will be a fourth time."

"After all, I've already made the same mistake."

"I'm not omnipotent."

=========

Before he left, Meadows told Karan the news that he was going to travel far away. This was to warn him that he would not be able to help him resolve the crisis in time this time, and asked him to be careful no matter what he did.

But Meadows didn't reveal much inside information. She didn't tell Callan that she was going to find Nick Flamel, and she didn't even mention the location in France - the creator of the Philosopher's Stone. In her opinion, this There must be a fatal attraction for Karan.

"Then who are you looking for to solve the problem in Antioch?" Karan asked unwillingly: "Is there a more powerful magizoologist than Mr. Newt? Or is there someone more powerful than Dumbledore? The existence of wizards?"

"It can't be related to alchemy, right?"

Karan's active thinking aroused Meadows' alertness, but he was still minding his own business and said: "Could it be because of the wind chime powder? This seems to be the only remaining reason that can cause Antioch's problems. ....."

"No more random thoughts." Meadows forcibly interrupted Karan's thinking: "And why do you care so much about Antioch? Are you attracted to it?"

Karan curled his lips and said: "I'm not interested in a phoenix that doesn't grow up. I'll be thankful if you don't try to interfere with my magic wand."

Meadows narrowed his eyes, and Karan immediately took two steps back cautiously. He was not sure what Meadows was going to do. He couldn't help but guess that Meadows was going to return to the Egyptian palace. Go inside the ancient tomb - if this is really the case, a powerful magic wand must be very important. After all, there are many dangers in the ancient tomb.

But after a moment of silence, Meadows did not mention the elder wand. She ruffled Callan's hair vigorously despite his avoidance.

"Don't cause Headmaster Dumbledore any trouble."

She ordered inexplicably, then walked away without looking back and disappeared at the end of the corridor.

Karan stared at the empty corridor with strange eyes.

"The power of love is really powerful." He sighed softly: "It can actually change a person so much."

But despite witnessing the miracle that happened to Meadows' character, the power of love is still not enough to change everyone.

In the Defense Against the Dark Arts class a few days later, Snape had a cold face - his resentment towards the werewolf Remus was also transferred to Professor Lill, which made him feel bad these past few days. face.

He still hadn't reconciled with Lily after all - as the weather gradually warmed up, the Quidditch teams of various colleges finally resumed training, and James often showed off his skills everywhere. Quidditch has always been his home court. People can stop him from showing off his power.

But this greatly angered Snape, making him upset at the sight of it, and also made him resent Remus even more, which made him unwilling to reconcile with Lily.

Callan didn't pay attention to Snape's inner twists and turns - for the students of Hogwarts, this class was extremely rare. Professor Lear actually brought Peeves into the class. As material for his explanation of the mischievous elves.

This is absolutely unimaginable. Callan knows that there is only one person who can subdue Peeves, and that is Principal Dumbledore. In addition, he can also add a ghost from Slytherin House-Bloody Barrow. .

He didn't expect Professor Lear to be able to make Peeves obedient. He was indeed a world-famous non-existentialist. Moreover, Karan remembered that Professor Lear's most famous research happened to be on Boggarts and Poltergeists. non-existence.

Professor Lear seemed to have anticipated the surprised reactions of the students. The only person who confused him was Snape, a cold-faced Slytherin student. However, he had heard a lot of rumors about traitors, so Snape must have The fact that the General Assembly has become like this should be closely related to the traitors.

This couldn't help but remind him of Remus' current situation. If the werewolf's identity was exposed, maybe Remus would become a traitor in Hogwarts.

Snape, who had a cold face, almost lost his expression. He noticed that Professor Lear's eyes became more friendly towards him, which made him feel gradually strange.

"Poltergeist."

The class began. Professor Lear gave Snape an encouraging smile at the end, then pointed at the reluctant Peeves in the air and explained: "This is also one of non-existences, symbolizing an indestructible mental chaos. .They sometimes appear in specific locations, usually where large numbers of teenagers live."

He then explained some of the characteristics of the prank elves: they can fly, and they like to cause havoc, make pranks, and make living people angry and embarrassed.Every time he said something, the students nodded in unison. There were very few of them who had not been pranked by Peeves.

"However," Professor Lear suddenly said: "Generally speaking, pranksters do not have a physical state, and Peeves is indeed a rare exception."

Under the command of Professor Lear, Peeves demonstrated his ability to switch between reality and reality, but this did not attract cheers from the students. They had long been accustomed to this. Peeves did not know how many times he suddenly did this. Disappeared inside the wall, leaving only the furious students standing there shouting.

But Professor Lear's next words immediately attracted their attention.

"I guess this may be related to Peeves existing for too long, which gives him the ability that it should not have - virtual reality conversion. And this is very similar to the Baigot I once talked about - Non-beings are not static, they also have the capacity to grow.”

The students didn't realize that Peeves was so powerful. They were all shocked by what Professor Lear said.

At this time, a student couldn't help raising his hand and asked: "Will Peeves continue to be powerful?"

Professor Lear nodded: "It's very possible, but I'm not sure when that will happen."

Peeves finally no longer had an impatient expression on his face, his eyes were full of desire, but the students all shuddered - they seemed to understand why Peeves was willing to cooperate with Professor Lear's course.

It turned out that they were right. Peeves was still pestering Professor Lear when get out of class was over, constantly talking about becoming stronger and playing bigger pranks.

"It's really wonderful!" Steve said, slamming the table hard: "This is the first time I have seen Peeves be obedient. It would be great if he was so obedient last time when I secretly went to the kitchen."

"The premise is that you can find a way to make it stronger." Gaspard said calmly. He stared in the direction of the classroom door: "Non-existence... This sounds much more interesting than studying werewolves. ”

"By the way, is it possible that the female ghost in the Forbidden Forest also grew up?"

In the process of communicating with Snape and Lily, Steve and Gasper knew early on who the murderer of the unicorn Larry was - a female ghost whose screams were not fatal.

"I think it's more like a weakening." Karan said: "It's not even as strong as Peeves and Bagater, two non-existences that have become stronger."

But the special Boggart who turned into Mr. Anthony is definitely not among them. It has grown to the point of terrifying strength, and the fear it can see through cannot even be stopped by those born with occluded brains.

Karan couldn't help but think of the stone door behind the third floor of the giant snake statue.

He had already guessed that there might be a kind of non-existence behind the door.

But if it can really continue to grow stronger, then to what extent will the non-existence inside grow...

Will one day break out of the door alone...