Hogwarts Raven's Claw

Chapter 324 Dumbledore's Considerations
"Harry, thank you very much for coming here with your injuries to listen to the nagging of an old man like me." Dumbledore said with a smile in the headmaster's office, "You can go back now. I hope you can have a good sleep."

Harry, who was sitting opposite Dumbledore, breathed a sigh of relief. Just as he was about to say goodbye to Dumbledore, Sirius suddenly pulled him out the door.

But when they were about to reach the door, Dumbledore spoke again.

"Oh, by the way! Harry, the wand that Michael crushed at the last moment was indeed Krum's."

Harry's eyes widened instantly when he heard that.

He once struggled with whether to tell Dumbledore about this matter, but after thinking for a long time, he decided to keep this secret in his heart forever, because once he told it, no matter whether it was related to Mike or not, it would inevitably get Mike into trouble.

But he never expected that Dumbledore could read his mind and spoke out his thoughts at once.

"You are a child who values ​​friendship very much, which is commendable. I am proud of you. But in order to avoid any misunderstandings in your friendship, I decided to make this matter clear." Dumbledore said, "Although the wand was indeed Krum's, the situation was exactly the opposite of what you guessed. Krum was controlled by Barty Jr. with the Imperius Curse and attacked Mike. After subduing him, Mike took his wand and launched a distress firework, so Krum's death was completely an accident. This is what Mike told me in person, and I chose to believe him."

Harry at the door heaved a sigh of relief. He patted his chest and said with a smile on his face:

"I see, Headmaster Dumbledore, thank you very much for telling me this."

"Haha, okay, go and get some rest, it's getting late."

"Okay, good night."

……

Watching Harry, Sirius and others leave the office, the smile on Dumbledore's face quickly disappeared, replaced by an extremely serious look.

He returned to the eagle-foot table and continued to tap the table with the knuckles of his index finger, making a crisp tapping sound.

Apparently, this was his habitual action when he was lost in thought.

The sound seemed to disturb the sleeping portraits on the wall of the principal's office. A yellow-faced wizard with short black bangs on the wall and an old witch with long silver curly hair in the frame next to them frowned and opened their eyes.

"He's started again. What an annoying successor." The yellow-faced wizard frowned and said, "Dalis, please, stop him! I'll consider it as a favor to you!"

After saying that, the yellow-faced wizard suddenly disappeared from the frame, leaving only the silver-haired witch Delis looking at Dumbledore with an unhappy face.

"I really can't stand you, Dumbledore. You've been acting strangely lately. This is the second time today that you've made that annoying noise," said Delis. "If you plan to continue like this, I think I'll have to consider moving to Armando!"

"I'm so sorry, Ms. De Winter."

"Well, tell me, Dumbledore, what is it that is troubling you so much? Who knows, we useless old fellows may be able to give you some surprises."

Dumbledore, who was sitting at the Eagle-leg table, did not respond to the words, but only glanced at the empty wall next to him in a very covert manner.

However, this scene was discovered very sharply by the silver-haired witch Delis.

"Are you worried about Mike?"

Delis's tone sounded as if she was very familiar with Mike. Now it was Dumbledore's turn to be surprised. He looked at the portrait above the office with a look of astonishment.

"Don't be too surprised, Dumbledore. Michael and I met as early as when we were in Armando, and we even chatted for a while." Delis laughed, "He is really an outstanding child. Ravenclaw hasn't had such an outstanding student for a long time. I have a feeling that he will lead Ravenclaw to glory again. So, tell me, why does such an outstanding child make you frown?"

"He is indeed an outstanding child, but he has too many secrets." Dumbledore frowned and said, "How should I put it? He doesn't behave like a child at all. I can't see through him at all."

"Did you use Legilimency? Even then you still couldn't see through him?"

"Yes. It is clear that Michael has a very advanced attainment in brain occupation." Dumbledore said, "Especially after what happened in the maze tonight, I always feel that he is hiding something very important from me."

"So? What are you going to do?"

Dumbledore was silent, and the office fell into an eerie silence. The other portraits on the wall that were originally sleeping also opened their eyes at this moment, and it was obvious that they were also very interested in this topic.

I don't know how much time passed before Dumbledore finally spoke.

"Perhaps, I should let Mike stay away from the center of the storm, Hogwarts, for a while and go to a safer place to study."

Dumbledore's voice was a little bitter. This option was the best solution he could think of after thinking hard for a long time.

On the one hand, his plan against Voldemort has reached the most critical moment, and he will not allow any accidents to occur at this time.

On the other hand, Mike can be said to have offended Voldemort badly tonight.

It is conceivable that Voldemort will take revenge on Mike at all costs. In this case, even Dumbledore cannot guarantee Mike's safety in Hogwarts.

This is not because Dumbledore is not strong enough, but because his attention is now focused on Harry.

In this case, letting Harry transfer to another school is a very good choice.

For example, the Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in Coal Country is very good. Not only is it far away from the center of the storm in Ying Country, but the power of the Ministry of Magic in Coal Country is no less than that in Ying Country. What's more, the wizarding world in Coal Country is far more united than that in Ying Country!
Thinking of this, Dumbledore nodded silently.

But suddenly, an extremely sharp roar came from above his head.

"You want to fire him!? Merlin's beard! Am I hallucinating? You said you want to fire him?" Delis roared, "You make me sick, Dumbledore! Just because he practiced Occlumency and you can't satisfy your disgusting voyeuristic desires on him, you want to fire him?"

All the portraits around looked at Delis in surprise. It was the first time in hundreds of years that they saw Delis so angry.

"Cough cough!"

A coughing sound was heard, and everyone looked over to see the portrait of Phineas Black combing his remaining hair.

"Although I also want to kick that boy of impure blood out of Hogwarts, I have to say that the boy named Mike is a very outstanding little wizard. If you really kick him out of Hogwarts, although I will be very happy, it will undoubtedly make Hogwarts lose a genius." Phineas said, "At the same time, I agree with Delis. You are such a disgusting old man, Dumbledore, you are even more disgusting than me. Maybe I should give you the title of the most unpopular headmaster."

Phineas' tone was extremely affected. Under normal circumstances, the portraits around him would have cursed him in unison.

But this time his speech was unexpectedly approved by all the portraits. Everyone praised Phineas, which made him very proud.

There were not many opportunities to show off like this. Just as he was about to say something more to win more praise, Dumbledore's slightly low voice rang out.

"That's enough. I think I can handle this myself."

Dumbledore's voice was not loud, but the anger contained in it made all the portraits shut up.

Phineas stared blankly at his companions who were all pretending to sleep, and immediately gave up the idea of ​​continuing to talk, and closed his eyes. The office suddenly became quiet, and Dumbledore looked at the empty wall with complicated eyes, constantly weighing the matter about Mike in his mind.

The words of the portraits of past principals made him feel shaken, and he was reconsidering how to deal with Mike.

To be fair, outstanding students like Mike are extremely rare, and he really doesn't want to give up his place to other schools.

Needless to say, the fact that he mastered Occlumency and silent spells in the fourth grade alone shows that Mike is a magical genius that is rare in a thousand years!

If it were another time, Dumbledore would definitely train this child wholeheartedly. You know, only such a good seedling is qualified to reach the level of legendary wizard.

The number of legendary wizards is the key for wizards and Muggles to maintain the current false peace!

But, Mike happened to sell out at this time!

Should we keep Mike and increase our training for him, or let him move away from the center of the storm and transfer to another school?

The sound of knuckles tapping on the desk rang out again in the office; it was obvious that Dumbledore was lost in thought again.

I don’t know how long it had been, but the moon outside the window had risen to the center of the sky, and the crisp sound in the office finally stopped.

Dumbledore let out a breath and decided to have a good talk with Mike before considering this matter again.

"Come out, Mike."

As Dumbledore finished his words, a round archway suddenly appeared on the empty wall, and a blond boy carrying a huge bird on his shoulder walked out urgently.

"I'm sorry to have kept you waiting, Mike."

"It's alright, Headmaster Dumbledore."

As Mike said this, he sat down opposite Dumbledore, while the Phoenix Fawkes still stayed on his shoulder and refused to leave.

Mike and Dumbledore sat face to face, neither of them spoke, and the atmosphere became a little awkward.

After a long time, Dumbledore finally spoke.

"Mike, you seem to have known about Voldemort and Little Barty for a long time."

"In fact, I had a bad feeling since the beginning of the school year, which is why I asked people to investigate Moody. At first, I thought this uneasiness came from this eccentric professor of Dark Arts." Mike's expression was natural, but his eyes were still empty. "But then Mr. Bagman's strange behavior made me pay attention to him. After some investigation, I found that this person was very suspicious. He seemed to care too much about Harry's ranking. So I became alert, and what happened tonight just proved that my guess was correct. As for Voldemort's resurrection, I admit that I did not expect it. If I knew it in advance, I would definitely not touch the trophy. Of course, I would not let Harry touch it either."

Mike's words brought a smile to Dumbledore's face. He smiled and said:
"You should have chosen the Divination class. If I'm not mistaken, you should have a very good talent in this area."

Mike didn't say anything, just smiled.

The office fell into silence again, which made the portraits on the wall who were eavesdropping very anxious. They all grimaced and made faces, reminding Dumbledore not to miss this genius.

But Dumbledore completely ignored them, and his expression gradually became serious.

"Mike."

Hearing Dumbledore's call, Mike nodded to indicate that he was listening.

"Can I trust you?"

Dumbledore said this with an unusually serious expression on his face.

"I love it here. Ravenclaw is my home. And Professor Flitwick is like my father. He makes me feel the warmth of family love."

Mike's answer seemed irrelevant, but it made Dumbledore smile again.

"Haha, I'm glad you think so, Mike. Well, it's getting late, you should go back and have a good sleep." Dumbledore smiled and stood up, "Oh! By the way! Do you want to have some supper before going to bed? I have another batch of candies here, you can take some back."

As he spoke, Dumbledore took out a bunch of bottles and jars from the drawer, all of which were filled with candies of various colors.

Mike did not refuse Dumbledore's kindness. He picked out some candies from the pile and then said goodbye to Dumbledore.

It was only then that Fox, who was dozing on Mike's shoulder, woke up.

It flew to Dumbledore's shoulder somewhat reluctantly, and waved its wings towards Mike, as if saying goodbye, or as if asking him to come again next time.

"You seem to like him very much. Did you have a good time with him just now?"

Only after watching Mike's back disappear through the door did Dumbledore touch Fawkes' head and say with a smile.

Hearing this, Fox's little eyes suddenly opened wide, and he chirped as if he was singing, while flapping his wings constantly, looking very excited.

Dumbledore seemed to understand what Fawkes said. His eyes flashed with surprise as he said:

"Oh? You think so highly of him? This is really rare!"

No one in the world knows the Phoenix better than Dumbledore.

In Dumbledore's opinion, this creature can be described as perfect. In addition to its powerful apparition ability and immortality, the Phoenix's tears have almost abnormal healing and detoxification abilities, and its tail feathers are the core material for making powerful wands.

A powerful creature like the Phoenix would naturally not choose its master casually.

A wizard who can make a creature like the Phoenix submit must be extremely powerful and talented. In addition, they must also possess many rare qualities such as extraordinary courage, a kind and pure heart, etc.

Just like unicorns instinctively hate men, if you do not possess the above qualities, the phoenix will definitely not look at you well.

Such stringent conditions for master recognition make the phoenix the most difficult supernatural creature to subdue, and also make the very few wizards who become the master of the phoenix revered by everyone.

And now, Phoenix Fox actually showed a surprising fondness for Mike.

This shocked Dumbledore deeply.

Thinking back to the answer Mike had given him before, the smile on Dumbledore's face became even brighter under the moonlight.

(End of this chapter)