The Silent Witch of Hogwarts

Chapter 545 Inviting the Enemy into the Trap

"Dumbledore? (Headmaster Dumbledore?)"

Loila and Umbridge almost simultaneously uttered Dumbledore's name, and it was clear that both of them were quite shocked.

Loila paused for a moment after hearing Umbridge's voice, then looked at the Deputy Minister of Magic.

No—even you are surprised?

Even the Ministry of Magic, which came looking for trouble, found it very strange. Dumbledore, don't you think there's a problem yet?

"Do you think this is acceptable, Ms. Umbridge?" Dumbledore seemed oblivious to their surprised expressions, sitting quietly in his chair and shrugging indifferently.

"Ah—I—of course!" Umbridge, after a brief moment of surprise, immediately showed a delighted expression. She said, as if trying to suppress a laugh, "That's wonderful, Headmaster Dumbledore."

"You're throwing yourself into this mess—ah, that's showing you understand the bigger picture."

Did you just say something amazing?

Royla looked at Dumbledore, hoping that he was just joking. Whether Umbridge entered Hogwarts as a professor or Mr. Lupin left, it was not a bad thing for Royla. It was two bad things happening at the same time!

Unfortunately, Dumbledore wasn't joking. He nodded slightly and said, "So, it's settled then?"

"Hmm—it's a deal, Headmaster Dumbledore." Umbridge nodded in satisfaction.

"I hope Cornelius will realize through this that I have no conflict of interest with the Ministry of Magic," Dumbledore said slowly. "We should be partners."

Dumbledore, are you out of your mind? This is—this is practically selling out the school for personal gain!

Loila looked at Dumbledore, unsure of what to say, but—looking at his indifferent expression, Loila suddenly sensed something was amiss.

That old guy is very cunning—he wouldn't just betray Hogwarts' interests to the Ministry of Magic like that—could he be plotting something?

Hmm—it's not so much a conspiracy as a plan—

Could Dumbledore have some kind of plan?

Umbridge paused for a few seconds after hearing Dumbledore's words, then gave a forced laugh: "I will pass it on to Minister Fudge."

"Of course, it would be even better if Headmaster Dumbledore could catch Sirius."

"I'll give it a try," Dumbledore said with a slight smile, as if he were good friends with Umbridge.

"Then I'll take my leave, Headmaster Dumbledore. Good luck."

"Good luck to you too, Deputy Minister Umbridge." Dumbledore blinked, then watched her leave the Headmaster's office with the Aurors.

"Clatter".

"Dumbledore, you—you're insane!" Royla blurted out almost as soon as the door closed. "Why—"

"This isn't some kind of plan of yours, is it?" Loila asked in a low voice.

"Miss Hamilton," Dumbledore said casually, not answering Loira's question, "what do you think of this matter?"

"I—" Loila pursed her lips, trying her best to hold back the words she wanted to say about Dumbledore being a school thief. Instead, after thinking for a few seconds, she said, "Something terrible will definitely happen at Hogwarts."

Loila already knew what kind of person this Ms. Umbridge was; she was definitely not someone to be trifled with—Loila couldn't even imagine what she would do at Hogwarts.

"Yes, many extraordinary things happen at Hogwarts." Dumbledore nodded knowingly, agreeing with Royla's idea: "The Ministry of Magic really wants to take Hogwarts away from me, after all, they believe I murdered those students."

Yes, that's absolutely right. Those students should be dealt with by our UMNO party.

However, Loila wasn't foolish enough to say that aloud. She simply pursed her lips and said, "So, are you going to let them succeed?"

"They will not succeed." Dumbledore smiled lightly, his expression calm. "Miss Hamilton, you underestimate the students of Hogwarts."

"That's giving the Ministry of Magic far too much credit." Dumbledore's words made Loira pause for a few seconds. She pondered for a moment before slowly saying, "Then—what about the students?"

"They—they might get hurt—and it might interfere with their studies—"

"Aren't you being a bit too disregardful of the students?" — Roy didn't finish her sentence, but she realized that her words seemed to have a slightly accusatory tone.

Okay, I just feel like criticizing Dumbledore a bit.

"Miss Hamilton," Dumbledore said calmly, looking at Loila without getting angry, "I'm glad you care about the students."

"But sometimes—for a greater purpose, some sacrifices are necessary." Dumbledore paused, then continued, "Fudge may be power-hungry, but he's not a fool."

"He wouldn't have done these things before," he said, lowering his voice. "So, since he did it this way..."

"This means there are other forces behind him."

"Voldemort?" Royla asked quickly.

"That's right, it's Voldemort." Dumbledore nodded approvingly. "It's precisely because Voldemort's shadow is behind him that we need to lure him out in this way."

"And so they were allowed to enter Hogwarts—" Dumbledore said, then simply nodded and said no more.

So Dumbledore did do this on purpose—his aim was to lure the enemy into a trap, right?

After all, Hogwarts is Dumbledore's headquarters.

But why did he suddenly explain all this to me?

Loira sensed something was amiss. She pursed her lips and looked at Dumbledore, saying, "I—I'll pretend I don't know anything about these things."

"That won't do, Miss Hamilton." Dumbledore blinked. "Only you and I know about this in the entire Hogwarts."

"Minerva wouldn't know."

"The reason is simple," Dumbledore said, pausing for a moment, "if something unexpected happens."

"You will be the interim headmaster of Hogwarts."

"ah?!"

Upon hearing this, Loila was so shocked that she almost fell off her chair. She had to quickly grab the table to avoid falling.

Am I to be the temporary principal?

Isn't this kind of thing too much—I don't understand any of this at all!

No, that won't work! Absolutely not!

My previous thoughts were just a joke. If I were really made the principal, I would turn Principal Blake into the second worst principal ever!

Looking at Loyla's pale face, Dumbledore leaned back in his chair and said, "Don't worry about Miss Hamilton."

"You might have the opportunity to become a full-fledged principal someday."

I'm not worried about the word "temporary"!

Loila wanted to say something more, but Dumbledore simply closed his eyes and slowly said, "Of course, that's not necessarily true."

"Maybe—I might even be a little reluctant to continue being the principal?"