Hogwarts: From Luna's House to Godhood Through Intense Competition

Let Draco approach Vizette and offer his goodwill in an attempt to beg for the Dark Lord's forgiveness.

……

Of course, Snape could understand some of Lucius's ideas, but some of Lucius's actions were truly baffling to Snape.

What Snape found most incomprehensible was that Lucius dared to confront Dumbledore directly;

He even dared to use his position as a school board member to secretly resort to underhanded tactics, attempting to remove Dumbledore from his position as headmaster.

For example, there's a story in a fairy tale book, I think it's called something like "The Fountain of Good Luck";

According to Lucius, "Good Luck Fountain" distorts the relationship between wizards and Muggles, which will have a negative impact on the magical world and taint the purity of pure-bloods.

He was terrified of Voldemort, but not of "the only person Voldemort feared," and even dared to confront "the only person Voldemort feared"...

Considering all of the above, Snape can only conclude that linking Vizet to Voldemort was something Lucius was capable of doing.

Besides Lucius, Snape also found some of Dumbledore's actions difficult to understand.

A man hailed as "the greatest wizard of our time" and the one who ended the Wizarding World War was actually willing to write a letter to Lucius explaining his intentions in the name of a fairy tale.

In Snape's view, there were too many ways to solve this kind of problem, but Dumbledore chose the most laborious and least intimidating one.

It was as if Dumbledore was bound by some kind of magical contract, forcing him to do this.

But what kind of magical contract could possess such a powerful binding force? Snape simply couldn't imagine.

……

“The Dark Mark is more effective than any unsubstantiated rumors…” Dumbledore smiled. “Besides, there are indeed rumors that Voldemort is roaming the Black Forest of Albania.”

"Voldemort's influence still exists, otherwise wizards wouldn't continue using the pseudonym. I think... Mr. Malfoy has always been very afraid..."

"They might even be so afraid they can't sleep at night... especially this time, with even the Dark Mark appearing... that fear from Voldemort must have reached its peak."

Seeing Dumbledore's expression, Snape frowned. "What do you intend to do to Lucius?"

Dumbledore stroked his beard. "Perhaps... we can... bring Mr. Malfoy to our side?"

Snape raised an eyebrow. "Through Vizet?"

"Going with the flow through Vizet..." Dumbledore nodded slightly. "Isn't this a bright path for Mr. Malfoy? Everything is as he wishes..."

"Ultimately, in the eyes of a sufficiently flexible pure-blood wizarding family, profit is the fundamental thing they pursue. As for those liquids hidden beneath the skin... they are nothing but slogans."

“Yes…flexible enough.” Snape agreed with Dumbledore’s words.

As soon as news of Voldemort's downfall began to spread, Lucius proactively approached the Ministry of Magic, claiming that he was under the control of the Imperius Curse, which can indeed be described as quite agile.

“Voldemort will definitely return… that’s a certainty now,” Dumbledore said. “And imagine what Lucius will face when he rejoins the Death Eaters.”

"While other pure-blood wizarding families were recuperating, the Malfoy family's wealth was expanding..."

"Instead of letting this wealth become Voldemort's asset, we could have chosen someone else..."

“Severus, you actually know very well what kind of person Voldemort really is…”

"Our Mr. Draco Malfoy, perhaps when Voldemort returns, will suffer some undeserved misfortune because of what his father did..."

Chapter 190 For the Children Who Have Gone Astray

Snape pursed his lips, offering no rebuttal.

In fact, Dumbledore was not wrong; when Voldemort returns, he may indeed do such a thing.

Besides Snape's friendship with Lucius and the respect shown by Draco, the fact that he could weaken Voldemort's advantage upon his return was also a reason why Snape did not object.

Seeing the thoughtful look in Snape's eyes, Dumbledore continued leisurely, "Severus, you don't really need to say anything..."

"Just bring Dobby back to the manor, and I think Mr. Malfoy... will consider it carefully and make the right choice, won't he?"

Snape stared at Dobby, who was still moving, without saying a word.

Dumbledore paced back and forth in his study. "In fact... he's already made his choice, otherwise he wouldn't have instructed Mr. Draco Malfoy to take the initiative, would he?"

"As for me, I'll just play the role of a senile old man... and let our dear Vizette the Dark Lord... take advantage of my misfortune while I'm in the dark at Hogwarts."

Dumbledore's smile widened. "I'm suddenly a little scared... Our Dark Lord Vizzett might ask me out alone someday, and then there'll be a flash of green light..."

"Want to die?" Snape raised an eyebrow. "Only after Voldemort is defeated! Even if I have to soak you in potions, I'll keep you alive!"

Dumbledore chimed in, "I hope it can be made a little sweeter... It would be terrible to soak it in a potion that's too spicy and bitter!"

"Heh!" Snape responded to Dumbledore with two cold laughs.

……

The memory changed again, and this time Dobby appeared in Lucius's bedroom.

Dobby didn't dare linger there. He simply took the robe Lucius had worn during the day and hurriedly left the bedroom.

He turned his robe inside out, meticulously searching every pocket, his expression growing increasingly anxious as he muttered, "It's gone! It's gone!"

"The owner must have sent it away... It's going back to Hogwarts! Harry Potter is in danger! I have to do something! I have to do something!"

Dumbledore looked at Dobby, who was like a cat on a hot tin roof, and said, "He's looking for something, and maybe it's the magical item that can summon the basilisk."

"If it can be easily put in a pocket and transferred to someone else... then this magical item should be a small object..."

“A notebook?” Snape said, frowning.

"Oh? You've met him before?" Dumbledore asked, somewhat surprised.

"I don't know the specific purpose, it was just a casual handover..." Snape frowned as he recalled, "It seems to be a meeting about Harold Mintham..."

“Harold Mintham?” Dumbledore recalled something. “Could it be that retaliatory attack that caused Harold Mintham’s prestige to plummet, leading to his resignation as Minister for Magic?”

“It must have been that time.” Snape nodded. “After the meeting, the Dark Lord said that after Harold Mintham was dealt with, the next step was Hogwarts.”

Dumbledore pressed further, "How did Voldemort react to the notebook matter? Was he taking it seriously... or rather casually?"

Snape pondered for a moment, trying to make the details in his memory clearer. "It was pretty casual. He just said not to lose it, because it could endanger the safety of Hogwarts and damage your prestige."

"Is that so?" Dumbledore nodded slightly, then turned his attention back to Dobby.

Dobby put the robe back in the bedroom, then went to the fireplace, picked up the fire tongs, and began to beat himself to punish himself for offending his master…

……

After another dizzying spin, Dumbledore and Snape left Dobby's memory, their consciousness returning to the headmaster's office.

Dumbledore stared blankly at the phoenix Fawkes, who looked even older and seemed poised for rebirth.

After a moment, he slowly said, "Severus, what happens to Lucius is none of my concern. But for children who can still see the error of their ways..."

Snape narrowed his eyes and rudely interrupted Dumbledore, "Are you atoning for your past?"

"Perhaps? I will still make some progress..." Dumbledore sighed softly, "Once Voldemort returns, we may fall into a familiar period of chaos."

“There will always be some Slytherins… who will inevitably fall into contradictions… Severus, you should know who I’m talking about…”

Snape's face darkened. "Now you think you were wrong?"

Dumbledore remained noncommittal, reaching into his pocket and pulling out two lemon olives. "You can go back and think about it. As I said... all you need to do is bring Dobby back to the manor."

When offered the lemon Olaf, Snape didn't take it. He merely glanced at Dobby in the corner and left the headmaster's office without hesitation.

Watching Snape's departing figure, Dumbledore stroked his beard and carefully unwrapped the Lemon Olaf candy.

He popped the lemon sorbet into his mouth, raised his wand and pointed it at the Pensieve, picking up the memory thread from Dobby.

“Using emotions as a 'fulcrum'... to leverage memories.” He murmured softly, “What a brilliant idea…”

“Vizet, you haven’t disappointed me. I really can learn some very interesting magical techniques from Lockhart.”

"Since emotions can serve as a 'fulcrum,' can memory itself also serve as a fulcrum to modify memories?"

“Perhaps it’s worth a try…” He gently shook the silver memory thread, focusing his attention on the corner.

……

As a corridor that everyone had to pass through, the changes in the handwriting quickly caught the students' attention.

Ravenclaws primarily comment on the text content, and some even transcribe sentences and try to compare them with previous text based on memory to see what changes were made.

Hufflepuff and Gryffindor were just there for the spectacle, and also wanted to find out who had altered the handwriting.

The atmosphere in Slytherin was subtle. Many Slytherins were also watching the show with a sense of anticipation, but they were more eager than the Gryffindors.

The Slytherins awaited the appearance of a true "successor" to prove that the "Chamber of Secrets" also existed.

Pansy gripped the quill tightly, her mind still filled with the altered handwriting.

She wrote in her diary, pressing harder than usual, leaving extremely messy handwriting: "Riddle, I feel Slytherin has been insulted, and we have been looked down upon!"

Pansy, we should hurry up... and finish making that notebook... so we can humiliate them properly, right?

“Yes! I’ll do it as soon as possible!” Pansy continued writing in her diary. “The house-elves will be bringing the materials soon, just you wait!”

Chapter 191 Off-field Assistance

Hogwarts Castle is located in the Scottish Highlands, and the weather here is getting colder as the Christmas holidays approach.

Vizet adjusted the recipe for Krug, adding a touch of ginger root, cinnamon, and salamander blood while maintaining the same flavor, making it perfect for warming the body in winter.