Hogwarts' Golden Glory

The two wands twirled nimbly between his slender fingers.

And Igor, leaning against him, suddenly flapped his wings.

Accompanied by a red light, Fox flapped its wings.

I wanted to squeeze next to Igor.

He knew that what was meant to happen would eventually come.

"What brings the principal to my dorm?"

Kane casually snapped his fingers, and the crystal glass on the table floated up automatically, pouring amber-colored butterbeer into it in a swirling motion.

"Looks like Fox is getting old and got lost again?"

The tone of the sentence was light and cheerful, with a hint of teasing.

Fox let out a disgruntled cry.

It flew to Dumbledore's side, its tail feathers brushing against the back of his hand like flames.

It sounded like an angry outburst: "You were the one who asked me to bring you here, and now you're saying I'm old!"

Dumbledore's gaze behind his crescent-shaped spectacles was like that of a sharp hawk, gleaming with an all-seeing light in the candlelight.

His long, slender fingers tapped lightly on the table, the rhythm like some ancient code.

"Kane," the old headmaster's voice was deep and calm, yet it seemed to freeze the air in the room.

"Regarding that attack, have you made any...unusual discoveries?"

Kane leaned lazily against the window, his gray-blue eyes slightly narrowed, a faint smile playing on his lips.

"I am truly flattered by the principal's kind words."

"Don't you know there's a monster in the Forbidden Forest? So the attacker is obvious."

Dumbledore nodded, then looked at the buttons on Kane's clothes.

"The protection Severus gave you, I suppose, was something he told you about."

Kane did not refute, but walked over to Dumbledore and said with a smile.

"But more than those pointless attacks, I'm curious about..."

"Where has our History of Magic Professor, Mr. Olde, gone?"

The candlelight in the room suddenly began to flicker violently.

A barely perceptible flicker of emotion crossed Dumbledore's azure eyes, but he quickly regained his composure.

"I thought he left you a letter. Professor Old needs... to rest."

The old headmaster answered gently, his fingers lightly stroking Fox's feathers, "The long hours of work have exhausted him."

Kane suddenly laughed, a laugh like the sound of ice shattering: "Tired? Gellert Grindelwald can get tired?"

The air seemed to freeze for a moment.

Fox let out a sharp cry, and its golden tail feathers burst open.

Several silver-blue sparks flew from the tip of Dumbledore's wand.

"Interesting." After a long silence, Dumbledore said softly, his gaze behind his half-moon spectacles becoming unfathomable. "When did you find out?"

Kane elegantly crossed his legs, his silver-blue wand twirling at his fingertips: "Last Christmas, when those 'guests' in silver-grey robes visited Malfoy Manor..."

His voice carried a hint of mockery, “The saint’s badges pinned to their chests were really too conspicuous—especially when they respectfully presented Ig to me.”

Dumbledore sighed softly and took a box of Lemon Olaf from the drawer: "Would you like one? They can help with thinking."

"No need," Kane declined, but his eyes were fixed on the old headmaster's every subtle expression. "I'm more interested in why the most dangerous dark wizard in Europe suddenly left Hogwarts? And left you again?"

Dumbledore put a candy in his mouth and chewed it slowly: "Gellert has discovered a... peculiar place."

He carefully considered his words, "a place that could greatly enhance his power."

Kane's pupils contracted slightly: "Nurmungard?"

After all, Gellert built the fort there because of its special nature.

"No." Dumbledore shook his head, his long, silvery hair shimmering in the candlelight. "A more ancient, more dangerous place. Deep in the forests of Albania."

Kane's fingers suddenly tightened, and the runes on his silver-blue wand flashed with a dangerous light: "What's there?"

"Legend has it that Salazar Slytherin once discovered a magical ancient site there!"

Dumbledore's voice became ethereal, "Gellert believes that some kind of... ancient magic that can enhance power is hidden there."

Kane jumped to his feet, the chair scraping loudly against the floor. "That dangerous! You're just going to let him go like that?"

Unbeknownst to him, Professor Olde had already taken a very important place in Kane's heart.

"The truth is always being sought," Dumbledore replied calmly, his blue eyes fixed on Kane. "And sometimes, the most tempting gifts are obtained only through the most dangerous traps, Kane. That's why I didn't let Gellert tell you where he went."

The air between the two seemed to solidify into a tangible substance.

"Are you warning me, Headmaster?" Kane's voice was as cold as polar ice.

Dumbledore rose to his feet, his robes flowing like mercury. "I am merely stating a fact. Power always comes at a price, especially... the power of darkness."

Kane suddenly laughed, a laugh that seemed to lower the room's temperature even further: "Speaking of the power of darkness..."

He slowly pulled a worn-out diary from his inner pocket.

The Slytherin serpent emblem on the cover gleamed eerily in the candlelight. "Are you interested in this?"

Dumbledore's gaze sharpened the moment it met the diary: "That is—"

"Tom Riddle's Diary." Kane deftly turned the title page, revealing the yellowed pages inside.

"My father gave it to me."

The tip of the old headmaster's wand flashed with a dazzling silver light: "That thing is dangerous, Kane. Much more dangerous than you think."

Kane nodded, a cautious glint in his grey-blue eyes: "A Horcrux. But rest assured, Headmaster."

He displayed the diary by opening it completely, revealing blank pages. "This 'Slytherin heir' is more... cautious than we thought."

Dumbledore raised an eyebrow slightly. "He should respond to you, shouldn't he?"

"Oh, he responded." Kane's fingertips lightly traced the pages.

"But I'm only cautious when I'm alone."

He smiled helplessly. "I asked him something last time, and he hasn't said a word since."

The old headmaster's gaze deepened: "That speaks volumes. Tom has always been... adept at assessing situations. But your actions are so blatant..."

Kane took his wand from his sleeve and tapped it.

As the wand fell, a pale blue halo appeared around the diary: "I've taken precautions. Now the diary can't hear our conversation, nor can it sense its surroundings."

He paused for a moment, "And since I obtained it, I have strictly controlled the supply of life energy. Without enough energy, he has difficulty even maintaining basic consciousness."

Dumbledore stroked his silver beard thoughtfully. "So you've been...restricting him?"