Inside the office.

Professor McGonagall sat behind the table, with a sneer on his lips, looking at Dumbledore standing in front of him.

"Sorry, Albus, I haven't seen you for so long. I almost didn't recognize you."

Dumbledore smiled, but felt bitter in his heart.

After all these years, Minerva is still as good at sarcasm as ever.

The two of them were now like the dean scolding the students.

Dumbledore lowered his head instinctively, and said in a flattering tone:

"Minerva, I have already gone to the Ministry of Magic to find Fudge. They will send a team of Aurors to manage the dementors. This will never happen again."

"Isn't this what you should do?" Professor McGonagall's expression remained unchanged: "You have to take action after something happens. You still want me to praise you?"

"Of course not." Dumbledore said quickly: "I just want to say that luckily there was no problem this time, thanks to you and Wayne.

"If you are at school, you can also solve it easily."

Professor McGonagall said categorically, expressing both his trust in Dumbledore and his disappointment in him.

"Albus, what on earth are you doing? Why have you left school since the beginning of term!!" Professor McGonagall looked at Dumbledore with "an angry look."

"Minerva..."

Dumbledore still hasn't told the story about the Horcrux and Tom. This secret is too crucial.

The more people who know, the greater the risk of leaking the information.

Now he doesn't even know how many Horcruxes Voldemort has. If more people know about it, it will reach Voldemort's ears and other Horcruxes will be transferred.

It will become more difficult to find.

Even... Voldemort might make more Horcruxes, which would be a nightmare.

So until now, only Wayne, Grindelwald, and Nicolas Flamel are the insiders.

The consequence of choosing to conceal it was to be scolded by Professor McGonagall for half an hour.

By the end Dumbledore felt like he was losing his mind.

Fortunately, Professor McGonagall finally remembered that he was just the vice-principal and let him go.

But she also made Dumbledore promise not to disappear for no reason this semester.

Walking out of the office, Dumbledore sighed.

Finally passed this level.

Fox flew out to play as soon as he came back, so he could only walk back to the office by himself, preparing to rest for a while before letting Wayne come over to discuss Crouch and the Holy Grail.

The little wizards he met along the way greeted him in surprise, which also put a smile on Dumbledore's face.

Arriving on the eighth floor, the gargoyle stone beast suddenly came to life.

"Oh my god, Dumbledore, you're back?"

"I almost forgot that you are the owner of this place."

The gargoyle's expression was so vivid that it made Dumbledore's eyelids twitch.

Did McGonagall teach it this?

"I have no plans to leave my job recently." Dumbledore forced a smile: "No need to make such a fuss, right?"

"Well, it really hasn't been that long, but when you suddenly appeared, I wasn't used to it."

The gargoyle twisted around and asked, "So, what's the password?"

Thinking that the gargoyle was joking with him, Dumbledore also laughed: "Colorful Sundae, my memory is not that bad.

"No." The gargoyle shook his head, showing no intention of opening the door.

Dumbledore:"???"

"Stop making trouble. I'm very tired now. I only changed this password after school started. How could I remember it wrong?"

The gargoyle still refused to let go: "This is the previous password, not the current one. If you don't answer it correctly, you can't go in~"

"I didn't remember to change my password." Dumbledore has begun to doubt his life. Is his memory really that bad?

"You didn't change it, Laurenzi did it." The gargoyle said matter-of-factly.

Dumbledore's breath was stagnant, and he didn't come back to his senses for a long time.

What Lucius Malfoy said yesterday suddenly came to his mind.

"Do you think this is your principal's office and you can enter if you want?"

Dumbledore really wanted to drag Lucius Malfoy here and show him. Entering Fudge's office was indeed much easier than returning to his own office.

At this moment, the gargoyle stone beast let out a light sigh, suddenly jumped away, and made way for the passage behind it.

"Lawrence is letting you in. Remember to recite the password next time, Dumbledore."

Dumbledore: "…………"

Dumbledore walked into the passage with dark eyes. Even with his quality of hundreds of years, he felt the urge to curse at this moment.

Despite all the precautions, I still couldn't stop this kid.

He can even change the password in the principal's office. If a while passes, will he become the former principal?

A somewhat angry Lao Deng opened the bronze door knocker and walked quickly into the office.

"You're back. Sit down quickly. Please wait a moment."

Wayne was sitting at his desk, writing furiously, as if he was writing a letter to someone.

Seeing the serious look on the young man's face, Dumbledore almost blurted out "Principal Lawrence".

I'm really dizzy.

Five minutes later, Wayne put away the quill and parchment and smiled at Lao Deng.

"Principal, you are finally back."

Dumbledore said with a smile: "If I don't come back, I'm afraid I won't be able to enter this office at all.

"What is this nonsense."

Wayne made way for Lao Deng to sit back on his throne, while he came to the opposite side.

The young man said sincerely: "Your office is large and quiet. I've only used it a few times. I shouldn't be angry, right?"

"How many times is how many times?"

"Well...come every day."

OK OK.

Dumbledore laughed out loud.

You might as well just sleep here, the bedroom is upstairs.

But if he really wanted to get angry at the boy in front of him, Dumbledore found that he couldn't do it.

Wayne completed the task assigned to him extremely well, almost to perfection.

He diverted the conflict between Dean Thomas and others' attempts to commit suicide, and in the end, the big issue was reduced to a small matter, and it became an internal solution within the school.

Sirius Black sneaked into the castle and it was he who kept the dementors at bay.

The most important thing is that if Wayne hadn't taken action yesterday, Harry's injuries would have been minor and it would have been possible for him to be reduced to a pulp.

Thinking of this, most of Dumbledore's depression dissipated.

It's normal for a kid to be a little lively, and Wayne didn't do anything bad.

It just made him, the principal, almost unable to return home.

It's good to be like this now. It saves you having to ask someone to come specifically to find him.

"Mr. Laurence, I have already met Barty." Dumbledore took out the Holy Grail that Crouch had given him.

"Let's not discuss the Holy Grail issue for now. I heard him say that you want to support his candidacy for Minister of Magic?"

"That's right." Wayne replied simply: "I think Crouch is more suitable for the position of minister than Fudge, at least to me.

"Headmaster, you won't start to be hostile to me because of this thing, just like you are against Voldemort."

A lie must be covered up with more lies.

The more lies there are, the easier it is to be exposed.

As long as you tell the truth, you will have no weaknesses, and you won't have to carefully consider every word for flaws and inconsistencies.

The whole person will be very relaxed, without any psychological burden.

Wayne can't always mean everything he says, but whenever he can avoid lying, he will choose to tell the truth.

Just like now, Wayne has never thought of hiding his relationship with Crouch, otherwise he would not be allowed to give the Holy Grail to Dumbledore.

Even Dumbledore was taken aback by his directness. He didn't expect Wayne to be so candid.

After a brief period of astonishment, there was a deep sense of relief.

He likes this type of communication.

Dumbledore said warmly: "Of course not, I remember saying many times that the only thing you and Tom have in common is that you both have outstanding talents.

"Other than that, I can't think of anything that connects you."

"I am not opposed to your yearning for power, and I will not stop you."

Many people have a misunderstanding about Lao Deng, that is, he is a very controlling person.

Wizards in the magical world are all his pawns. After Harry enrolls in school, every move he makes is carefully planned by him. As long as an ambitious wizard appears, he will either become his enemy or become a pawn in his plan. One ring.

But in reality, if Dumbledore was really that powerful, he would not have tricked Voldemort into the Resurrection Stone and then died after holding on for a year.

The reason why Dumbledore has so many calculations is not because there is no one in the wizarding world who can carry the banner.

After his death, no one could stop Voldemort, and with the influence of the prophecy, he chose to let Harry die first.

What Dumbledore opposed was always Voldemort, a Dark Lord like Grindelwald who would endanger the overall security of the wizarding world and the Muggle world, not a normal careerist.

Wayne made such a choice precisely because he understood Lao Deng's character.

"It's not that I yearn for power, I just need an environment where I won't be disturbed by power." Wayne looked at Dumbledore and shook his head: "I'm a rather delicate person. I can't be like you and still not be angry when being restricted and harassed by the Ministry of Magic all day long. "I

"So, if I choose someone who gets along well with me to come on stage, everyone will save a lot of trouble.

"What a free and easy idea." Dumbledore sighed, feeling a little envious.

I envy Wayne for his clear goals and his ability to put them into practice.

Even though he knew this was the easiest way for him, he didn't allow himself to do it because it was too willful.

"Then how did you convince Barty?" Dumbledore asked curiously.

"Ever since he failed to run for minister last time, all Barty's ambitions have disappeared. When I met him this time, I seemed to see the tough director of the Department of Legal Enforcement more than ten years ago."

……Please give me flowers………………

"I know something about Mr. Crouch's past." Wayne tapped the handle with his fingers.

"He had a son who was imprisoned in Azkaban by his own hands. After in-depth investigation, I found..."

"It seems that the Crouch family is extinct?"

Dumbledore's expression immediately turned strange.

Wayne continued: "Mr. Crouch is unable to do what he wants now, but with the help of King Feng, the glory of the Crouch family should be able to continue."

This is not a lie to Lao Deng. Apart from concealing the existence of Barty Jr., everything Wayne said is true.

After practicing the tuba, Crouch had to consider the continuation of his family. After learning about the magical ability of King Feng, Crouch was moved.

Dumbledore nodded understandingly, this was indeed a temptation that could not be refused.

After the first question was answered, he looked at the Holy Grail on the table.

"Can you tell me about this cup?"

"I also got it by accident." Wayne picked up the Holy Grail and played with it: "You should

I can also see that there is a powerful seal on it. I can't tell what wonderful changes will happen after it is unlocked.

"Indeed, even after studying it all night, I still can't shake the huge magic power above."

"So you agreed?" Wayne asked curiously.

"Still thinking about it." Dumbledore looked at the Holy Grail.

If it weren't for the fact that he couldn't detect any aura of black magic from the Holy Grail, he wouldn't even consider it and would directly reject Crouch.

But in the magical world, the unknown represents danger, and he is still hesitant.

"Let's try it." Wayne encouraged: "I'll let King Feng know the truth, and I can save you even if you don't die."

Dumbledore's face darkened.

What is this word?

The reason why the Triwizard Tournament was suspended that year was because it was too dangerous and some students died during the competition.

After the efforts of so many people, if there is a problem in the first session, there will be no possibility of restarting it in the future.

"I'll study it some more." Dumbledore decided to check the Holy Grail in detail again and make sure there were no problems before he agreed.

"Then please give me an answer as soon as possible." Wayne stood up and said, "I'll leave if there's nothing else to do. Hermione is still waiting for me to have lunch.'

"Wait." Dumbledore looked at the boy helplessly.

"Did you forget something?"

"No." Wayne scratched his head in confusion.

"Password!" Dumbledore's beard grew.

"Oh yes, the password is spicy hotpot." Wayne smiled sheepishly.

After he set this password, he never used it himself.

The other professors knew that Dumbledore was not at school and would not come to the Headmaster's office.

So... the first person to be stopped was Dumbledore himself?

"This is a good dish. If you are interested, you can try it. Kelen makes it very delicious.

After saying that, Wayne ran away.

He was afraid that Lao Deng would become angry and want to PK him in the imperial city.

17

"This kid..."

The only thing Dumbledore felt now was that he was tired.

Taking over his office, changing his password, and using his elf!

The only person who can empathize with him the most now is probably Snape. Only the two of them have experienced the helplessness of being angry and unable to do anything to each other.

After being sulky for a while, Dumbledore finally calmed down.

Start thinking about what Wayne just said.

It has nothing to do with the Holy Grail. This can be done later. He has plenty of time to study it.

It's about Crouch.

Wayne's words just woke him up.

The Crouch family...is extinct.

So what about the Dumbledore family?

Originally, there was a single seedling of their generation, but it died as early as the 1940s.

There had been no Phoenix King before, and Dumbledore had never thought about this.

Now I have some thoughts.

He is dying, and this will be the case for the rest of his life, but he still has a younger brother who has proven his ability.

Being able to give birth to a wizard as talented as Gredens proves that Aberforth is very good at giving birth to children.

How about asking Wayne to help Aberforth regain his youth and continue the Dumbledore family's bloodline?

The more he thought about it, the more excited Dumbledore became.

But for a moment, he didn't know what price he should pay to invite Feng Wang.

Crouch gave his loyalty, what could he offer?

Gugu~

There was a sudden strange growl in his stomach, and Dumbledore realized that he had not eaten for a day.

Thinking of the spicy hot pot that Wayne just mentioned, he tapped his fingers and was ready to try it.

the other side.

Wayne finished his meal and returned to the common room with the letter he had just written from the principal's office. .