Hogwarts: Oh no, I've become Voldemort!

"And actually, I didn't leave; I was following Tonks the whole time. I just hid myself, otherwise how could I have saved her?"

"You're following behind me?" Tonks asked, looking surprised.

“But I heard from the bartender at Pighead Bar that you didn’t get back to the bar until evening?” Moody’s scrutinizing gaze was like a laser beam.

At this point, Fudge added fuel to the fire: "It was the bartender at the Hog's Head who notified the Ministry of Magic. He said that an Auror had gone missing, and another Auror who was with her had not yet arrived."

Dumbledore also became interested, looking at Cyrus with a half-smile, as if waiting for an explanation.

Cyrus wasn't worried at all.

"That's the problem. I didn't go anywhere that afternoon; I stayed hidden the whole time. You can verify this with any of the shopkeepers in Hogsmeade."

Cyrus did not go to any stores that afternoon, but instead went to the Screaming Shed, which served as his alibi.

"Later I discovered that Tonks had followed the dark wizard alone, so I secretly followed him as well. As for the 'me' in the evening—I think that explains why Tom Riddle appeared on the Scottish coast."

"You mean, the 'you' who appeared at the Hog's Head in the evening was actually Tom Riddle in disguise?" Dumbledore asked softly, confirming.

"I'm afraid so."

We were supposed to work late into the night on the weekend, but the company forced us to have a team-building activity. How awful!

Chapter 125 Lily Potter Was a Mutant

"Now things seem clear."

Dumbledore emphasized the word "seems," but Fudge's expression wasn't so pleasant.

“Wait, wait!” he said urgently to Cyrus, his fat face jiggling. “So, according to you, Tom Riddle has been in Hogsmeade all along?”

"I'm afraid so."

Cyrus nodded calmly, but this ignited Fudge's fury, or rather, he screamed as if triggered by a sudden reaction:

"That's impossible! The Dementors patrol Hogsmeade twice a day! Twice! Understand? Whether it's Sirius Black or Tom Riddle, if they show up at Hogsmeade, they'll be caught immediately!"

“Cornelly, it turns out the Dementors probably can’t find those two,” Dumbledore said again. “Sirius Black and Tom Riddle were able to escape from Azkaban, so they obviously have a way of evading the Dementors’ pursuit. Now we should get those guys out of Hogwarts.”

“But…but…Albus, if that’s the case, who will be able to catch those two vicious fugitives?” Fudge’s voice weakened, but he still did not back down.

Dumbledore consistently emphasized that the guards of Azkaban were not trustworthy.

But for Fudge, such an ordinary person, whom even the Minister of Magic seemed to have picked up off the street, he didn't want any changes to happen, and even less did he want to see the bad consequences that might follow.

They didn't delve further into the issue, but instead let Tonks continue.

"Later, they knocked me unconscious, and when I woke up again, the dark wizards and goblins planned to use me as a sacrifice. That's when Tom Riddle appeared. He subdued the dark wizards without casting a spell and made me pass out without using a wand. However, it's certain that the goblins wanted the wand, the dark wizards wanted ancient magic, and Tom Riddle was also interested in ancient magic."

Dumbledore nodded, his beautiful blue eyes turning to Cyrus with a meaningful look: "It seems his magical power has increased since last time."

"I never imagined that a place like that would hold the secrets of ancient magic. But is ancient magic really that powerful?" Moody asked.

Dumbledore pondered for a moment: "It's hard to say, but there are indeed many ancient spells that possess great destructive power."

Magic is different from technology. Technology is always becoming more advanced and constantly developing. Moreover, many weapons of mass destruction can be stored away even if they are not used after they are invented.

However, spells disappear with the death of the wizard, and even if they are recorded, many powerful spells are lost due to the limitations of the wizard's magic power and the lack of suitable successors.

Furthermore, with the reduction of large-scale wars in the magical world, more powerful spells have gradually fallen out of use, and most wizarding societies' spells are more geared towards everyday life. Perhaps many years from now, dark spells like Fiendfyre and the Killing Curse will become what are known as "ancient magic."

It's not surprising that Tom Riddle would pursue ancient magic, as Dumbledore had already lost to an ancient magic called "love" more than a decade ago.

“Ancient magic is indeed very powerful. You know, there’s a special room in the Department of Mysteries that’s sealed away an ancient spell,” Fudge said. “I remember Harry Potter’s mother, Lily Potter, was a Silence for a while, wasn’t she?”

Was Harry Potter's mother a mute?

A look of surprise flashed across Cyrus's eyes.

“That’s true,” Dumbledore nodded. “At that time, she wasn’t married to James yet and was doing research at the Department of Mysteries. Later, because Voldemort and the Death Eaters became increasingly rampant, she joined the Aurors and fought against the Death Eaters with the Order of the Phoenix.”

"You mean that locked room filled with 'love'?" Cyrus couldn't help but ask. Last time he went to the Department of Mysteries, he entered several rooms, but he didn't risk forcing open some of the locked ones.

After all, a lockdown obviously means danger.

“Yes,” Dumbledore stared straight at him, “and it is clear that her research seems to have yielded some results.”

Fudge immediately became excited and quickly asked, "Did she leave anything behind—"

"Cough cough—" Scrimgeour suddenly coughed a few times, interrupting Fudge. His face was expressionless, looking like a rough, uneven blue stone slab.

"I don't think we should be discussing the work of the Bureau of Mysteries in a place like this, do we?"

"Oh, yes, yes." Fudge realized his slip of the tongue and awkwardly wiped the sweat from his brow with a handkerchief.

The topic ended, but it took root and sprouted in Cyrus's heart like a seed.

Lily Potter studied the ancient magic of the Department of Mysteries and used it to defeat Voldemort!

Just as Fudge wanted to ask, Cyrus also wondered if Lily Potter had left any manuscripts, perhaps she had recorded her research on magic?

As Cyrus pondered, he glanced discreetly at Dumbledore, only to find the old man smiling at him. His heart skipped a beat; he suspected it was a trap.

The other party has thrown out the bait of "ancient magic," just waiting for me to take the bait!

However, this means that Dumbledore already knows he is not "Dalius".

Or is it just a guess?

He instinctively gripped his wand, but then, remembering he was in a hospital, he breathed a sigh of relief. Dumbledore couldn't possibly duel him here.

"Delix, what are you standing there for?" Fudge frowned in annoyance when he saw Cyrus remain silent for a long time. "We're all waiting for you!"

Cyrus then realized that Dumbledore wasn't looking at him because he saw through his disguise, but because he was waiting for Cyrus to recount what had happened next. He felt a strange sense of relief wash over him.

"Then they started fighting. The fairy summoned a Norwegian Spinosaurus with a silver whistle; it was probably secretly kept in captivity—"

“Those bastards!” Moody cursed.

"Then Tom Riddle fought the dragon, and the wizards and fairies joined in. I rescued Tonks in the chaos and didn't dare stay long. When I returned, the battle was over. Tom Riddle, the dragon, the dark wizard, and the fairies were all gone. Only a devastated coastline remained."

Moody nodded: "A small amount of dragon's blood was indeed found in the sea."

"Do you guys think Tom Riddle died from the mouth of a fire dragon?" Fudge asked expectantly.

He hoped that the escaped convict Tom Riddle would surrender soon, even if it meant death, which he felt was better than him being on the run.

But not only Dumbledore, but even Cyrus shook his head when he heard it.

“I’m afraid I’ll have to disappoint you, Cornelius.” Dumbledore stood up, seemingly intending to leave. After saying goodbye to Tonks, he walked over to Cyrus and stopped.

He turned his head, his intelligent eyes meeting Cyrus's, and slowly spoke:

“Mr. Delix, may I step aside? I have some other concerns that I would like to discuss with you privately.”

Thank you kopcn and Captain Zhao for the 100-point donation. Thank you both!

Chapter 126 The Fairy's Memory

Cyrus followed Dumbledore out of the ward and stood in the hospital corridor.

The place was bustling with people, pharmacists and nurses in white cloaks hurrying about, and the groans of cursed patients filled the air—it certainly wasn't a good place for conversation. But Dumbledore simply waved his wand, and the noise vanished.

Cyrus felt that he and Dumbledore were like two mismatched souls, adrift from the world.

"Mr. Dumbledore..."

“Mr. Dumbledore, about Tom Riddle… let’s just call him Cyrus. You know, during the trial, it was like that was all he ever said. I think we can respect his opinion.” Dumbledore winked mischievously at Cyrus.

Cyrus had no idea what the old man was up to, but he was on pins and needles.

"You just said that you immediately followed Miss Tonks when she was tracking the fairy and the dark wizard, right?"

"Yes, sir."

Dumbledore nodded: "So, you spent the entire afternoon secretly observing their actions?"

“Yes, sir. Those dark wizards and fairies have captured Tonks, but they haven’t taken any action yet. They’re waiting for nightfall, as the sacrificial ritual seems to require the magic of moonlight to be completed,” Cyrus said.

Dumbledore nodded: "Seeing traces of ancient magic is not so easy; it requires exceptional talent." He didn't dwell on it further, but instead changed the subject and asked a pointed question.

"Delix, you witnessed Cyrus's appearance and battle. What kind of person do you think he is?"

"I?"

Cyrus tensed up almost immediately.

"I don't know, sir. I only saw him appear from afar and witnessed his great strength."

Dumbledore nodded, then asked, "So, Drax, how about you? Are you alright? Are you unharmed?"

"No, sir."

Dumbledore said nothing more. The pitiful, agonizing cries returned to their ears, and they were instantly brought back to reality, thus ending their anticlimactic conversation.

Even after Dumbledore's figure disappeared around the corner of the stairs in the corridor, Cyrus still couldn't figure out what answer Dumbledore had gotten from him.

He walked silently back to Tonks's room, his reason telling him that his current identity was probably not so safe. But Cyrus thought again that even with a different identity, he might not be able to hide it from Dumbledore's discerning eye.

He believed the old man was testing him; the last question was less about caring for him and more about questioning whether he had endangered John Dexter's safety.

He knew, but he didn't call him out on it.

Cyrus immediately realized this, which actually reassured him.