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

He looked at the house-elf beside him and said, "Bring me some dust."

The house-elf was quick; in no time, he returned to Lucius, carrying a handful of blackened ashes. "Master, please..."

Lucius held the cap of the potion bottle and slowly brought it close to the ashes. Before the ashes could even touch the bottle, they flew up as if repelled by some force.

Examining the potion bottle in his hand, he muttered to himself, "It possesses the characteristics of a fairy artifact... but why does it look like..."

He seemed to have thought of something and ordered his house-elf, "Bring me my most precious piece of silver!"

As the house-elves disappeared and reappeared, a transparent glass box appeared before Lucius.

He removed the silverware from the bottle and compared it to the potion bottle.

"The patterns are equally exquisite... but the bottle bestowed by the Dark Lord seems more pleasing to the eye..."

"The material... this is silver, while what the Black King bestowed... seems to be only iron, but it's exquisitely crafted..."

"Dust removal function..." Lucius grabbed a handful of furnace ash and sprinkled it directly above the silverware. The silverware instantly swirled away the dust, with an effect even more noticeable than that of a potion bottle.

"So that's how it is! Is this why the Dark Lord returned to school?" He took a deep breath. "Possessing artifacts similar to fairy craftsmanship... this is what's meant to replace the fairies!"

"No wonder the former goblin had a grudge against Godric Gryffindor. It turns out he used the forging of the Gryffindor sword to study and steal the goblin's craftsmanship!"

"What a pity! Those Gryffindors don't like to go into the library, so this secret wasn't discovered by Dumbledore, but by the Dark Lord!"

“Lucius?” Narcissa’s voice rang out. “Why are you covered in furnace ash? Clean it up right now!”

"Yes!" the house-elf immediately responded, cleaned the entire living room, and then disappeared from their sight.

"I just found a nice item," Lucius said with a smile, "so I decided to give it a try..."

Narcissa glanced at the fairy silverware beside her. "Are these also made by fairies?"

“I’m still working on it.” Lucius hugged Narcissa. “I’m fine now, don’t worry.”

Narcissa nodded. "The Parkinson family sent a letter; it seems they want to invite you over to discuss some things."

“The Parkinson family?” Lucius murmured. “I remember Draco saying that Pansy seemed to have made some mistake… Could it be that they were discussing those things?”

“Perhaps?” Narcissa responded, patting Lucius on the shoulder. “Lunch is ready, hurry up and come to the dining room! Set a good example for Draco!”

“Of course, I’ll put them away and then I’ll go!” Lucius nodded and put the fairy silverware back in the glass case.

"Soul Soothing Potion?" He unscrewed the potion bottle, his eyes gleaming as he looked at the liquid inside.

"Is this meant to put my mind at ease? Don't rush things... after all, this technology hasn't been fully understood yet..."

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Dobby integrated quickly, not only taking care of Vizette and the others' daily lives, but also learning to care for various magical plants with Luna's help.

After placing the ham, fried eggs, and toast on the table, Dobby turned slightly to the side and asked softly, "Mr. Lovegood, does the black tea suit your taste?"

"I'll have a sip!" Xenophilius put down his pen and paper, picked up his black tea, took a sip, and couldn't help but exclaim, "Ah! Is this what life is like for a pure-blood family? The taste is just right!"

Dobby cheerfully replied, "Okay! Then I'll add sugar to this sweetness level next time."

Luna called out, "Dobby, come and eat too!"

A few days ago, Dobby would probably have sobbed for a while and choked out a bunch of things.

Now he has finally adapted somewhat and is able to sit on the stool naturally and eat with everyone.

A knocking sound came from outside the window. Vizette looked in the direction of the sound, flicked her fingers, and used magic to open the window, allowing the owl to fly in smoothly.

Even though he saw Vizette doing this every day, Xenophius's brow twitched, as if he wanted to say something but hesitated.

This is the owl that delivers the Daily Prophet. Vizette unfolded the newspaper, and upon seeing the headline, her brow immediately furrowed.

The cover features a close-up of the towers of Hogwarts Castle, with Dumbledore in the Headmaster's office faintly visible through one of the windows.

However, Dumbledore's sharp back in the photo, accompanied by the flickering lamplight, gives off a hunched and evil vibe.

The cover title is also full of malice: [Dumbledore's Unsuppressed Nature Revealed: His Forbidden Magic Experiments at Hogwarts (1)!]

[Reported by Rita Skeeter, Special Correspondent for The Daily Prophet]

As is widely known, Albus Dumbledore, widely regarded as the greatest wizard of his time, has lived a secluded life and rarely appeared in public since defeating the dark wizard Gellert Grindelwald in 1945.

……

What's even more perplexing is that he repeatedly refused the position of Minister of Magic, yet clashed with the Board of Governors, rejecting many valuable suggestions that would benefit Hogwarts.

……

This strange behavior inevitably raised doubts among the crowd: was Albus Dumbledore, with his numerous accolades, truly brilliant, and was he merely providing talent to the wizarding world without any personal motives?

……

[His repeated clashes with the Board of Governors raise the question of whether he intends to control the Board and turn it into Albus Dumbledore's personal fiefdom. What exactly is he hiding within Hogwarts Castle?]

……

Recently, I received several anonymous letters from students' parents, revealing a series of horrifying events that have occurred within Hogwarts, all pointing the finger at Albus Dumbledore!

……

[Despite the long and joyful Christmas holidays, Hogwarts has been plagued by numerous unexpected events. This castle, which should have been a place of learning and nurturing, may have become a prison—a prison specifically built for the study of dark magic!]

……

Starting tomorrow, I will be tracking down those anonymous letters, exposing the deepest evil hidden within Hogwarts, from the outside in. Stay tuned!

“That’s Rita Skeeter’s style!” Xenophilius exclaimed abruptly. “I knew it! The Ministry of Magic was going to target Headmaster Dumbledore!”

"This must be the work of that old grudge! He'd love for Headmaster Dumbledore to be reduced to this state, belittled to nothing, so it won't affect his position as Minister of Magic!"

Chapter 29 Outrageous Follow-up Reports

After seeing the report, Wizette dug out her notebook and took out a bookmark.

This is a bookmark that Dumbledore gave me before. As long as you leave a message on it, Dumbledore will be able to sense it.

When the bookmark was first used, it was still within the Hogwarts area, so Wizette wasn't sure if the bookmark would still be valid after Hogwarts.

Nevertheless, he decided to give it a try and left a message on it.

[Merry Christmas, Headmaster Dumbledore! Has anything unexpected happened at Hogwarts lately?]

If Dumbledore cannot sense it, he will write another letter to Dumbledore to try to inquire about the current situation.

As the above content disappeared, Vizette still had one thing she was unsure about.

He wasn't sure if Dumbledore would tell him the details; perhaps what was happening now was all within Dumbledore's expectations.

Therefore, Dumbledore would likely be the Riddler, offering a nonchalant reply: "Don't worry, have a good Christmas holiday!"

As he expected, two lines of writing soon appeared on the bookmark.

Merry Christmas! I really love the wool socks you sent; they're so warm.

It wasn't entirely unexpected, and it even saved me a lot of effort, so you don't need to worry. Just let the Daily Prophet fly by for a while!

At least from between the lines, Wizette sensed that everything happening at Hogwarts was within Dumbledore's expectations.

Nevertheless, he continued to leave comments on the bookmarks, sharing some of his speculations.

[Did some of the anonymous letters mentioned by Principal Dumbledore and Rita Skeeter originate from the Parkinson's family? Does this mean the Parkinson's family was involved in subsequent reports?]

Dumbledore responded quickly, though his reply was somewhat vague.

[Given the tradition of the Daily Prophet, publishing an article like this clearly requires some deliberation. Don't worry about it, I have some things to take care of, so let's leave it at that for now!]

……

As expected, the Daily Prophet published a follow-up report on Rita Skeeter the following day.

[The Beginning of Evil: A Horrifying Halloween Night, an Innocent Doorkeeper, and the Gradually Unveiling of Hogwarts' Secret Crisis!]

This is a report about Mrs. Lorris, in which Rita Skeeter claims to have received anonymous tips;

According to the whistleblower, on Halloween Eve, Dumbledore tortured a mixed-breed cat-like creature, subjecting it to cruel dark magic experiments, ultimately petrifying it.

At the end of the report, Rita Skeeter once again left the words "Stay tuned," clearly indicating that there would be follow-up reports.

The day after this report was published, The Daily Prophet published a statement claiming that the Ministry of Magic had sent Aurors to Hogwarts to investigate.

After reading the statement, Wizette felt increasingly uneasy; it was definitely not as simple as a conspiracy theory.

Diagon Alley has all sorts of potion ingredients, and these ingredients come from all sorts of magical creatures. If it's just because a half-breed cat was being tortured, there's no need for the Ministry of Magic to investigate.

This indicates that the Ministry of Magic would only intervene if some kind of accident actually occurred at Hogwarts during the Christmas holidays.

Furthermore, considering Dumbledore's final message, "I have some things to attend to," these matters should be related to the Ministry of Magic's investigation.

……

Vizet left another message for Dumbledore, but received no reply for a long time.

After some thought, he sent a letter to Hogwarts, a letter addressed to Penelope Crivart.

The reason for sending the letter to Penelope is that she is a Ravenclaw prefect and should know more than the average student.

The morning after the letter was sent, Saul appeared at his bedroom window as the sun rose, bringing Penelope's reply.

"You've worked hard!" Vizet stretched out his palm, the phoenix mark on his hand glowing slightly. He stroked Thor's feathers, smoothing out the messy feathers.