From Azkaban to Hogwarts.

???

Are the Death Eaters causing havoc at the Ministry of Magic, or are they Umbridge's henchmen?

They made a scene and got away scot-free? They gave those incompetent people at the Ministry of Magic a resounding slap in the face?

This…this…

Tom's eyes were full of doubt—Bellalucius was the most capable and favored one!

How come these Death Eaters are so outstanding?

He had no doubt that they were Death Eaters; otherwise, they couldn't have done something so insane. He also had no doubt that they were elite—what else could someone be but an elite, capable of accomplishing such a feat under the noses of the Aurors?

Are these Umbridge's men? What are they looking for at the Ministry of Magic? How do we contact them? How do we use them?

Damn it, what did I forget?

Chapters 567 Dumbledore and the Philosopher's Stone

"Wizard over there, you there. Yes, you. I think your name is William?"

As William and his friends were preparing to leave the Hog's Head and return to school, a tall, thin old man stopped them. He had a large tuft of long gray hair and a beard, and looked somewhat like Dumbledore.

“It’s me, it’s William.”

William paused for a moment, then stood in front of Lupin. He was a little confused; why was this guy here?

Can we talk in private?

His words sounded like a suggestion, but his tone left no room for refusal.

If it were any other wizard, William would have already drawn his wand, but he decided to give this one some face.

"Sure, Professor Lupin, could you please go to a bar for a drink to pass the time?"

As he looked at Lu Ping, he secretly wrote a sentence in the air using his body as cover: "Be careful, this man is not someone to be trifled with."

Lupin nodded imperceptibly, while William cautiously followed Aberforth to a relatively secluded corner.

Aberforth stopped first. William surveyed the surroundings, identified a secluded corner where he could take action, and before the other could speak, he drew his wand to clear the area to prevent any unintentional leaks of important information.

Watching him examine the items, Aberforth paused for a moment before shaking his head. "I understand now why he chose you."

"Who?"

"Who else could it be but my brother, Albus?"

William's eyes widened. Shouldn't this be kept secret? You play two kings right off the bat in a game of Dou Dizhu?

But when the bomb came down, he could only cry out that he couldn't afford it anymore. Yet, he still had to be as shocked as if he had just heard the news: "Albus? You're the principal? Your brother?"

“Of course, my brother, Albus.”

Aberforth seemed unwilling to continue arguing with William about this topic. "You're the professor of self-defense, the one in charge of defense in the castle?"

First of all, I am a professor, and my main task is to teach students. Although I am also responsible for the safety of the castle, it is not that much. Secondly, Professor Moody is more professional. However, William only thought about it for a moment and did not intend to explain to Aberforth.

Anyway, it seemed like the other party was sticking with him, and he was determined that even if it wasn't the headmaster's brother, or even if the headmaster suddenly had an illegitimate child, he would still make sure Hogsmeade was completely safe over the weekend.

"Yes, I'm in charge of some of it."

"very good."

Aberforth nodded, and just when William thought he was about to find an excuse to break the weekend ban, the man, who seemed to have a bad temper, suddenly said something that frightened William.

“So,” Aberforth looked at William, his eyes remarkably like Dumbledore’s, “I must tell you now that my brother, Albus, has gone mad.”

He had imagined William throwing a tantrum with his eyes wide open, and he had even considered the possibility of him abusing his power. He had even prepared for the possibility of William taking action, but he never expected to hear such a sentence!

So surprised was William that he didn't even know how to respond to Aberforth's statement for a moment.

If it were anyone else, William would try to talk to them for a bit to see if they had drunk the wrong potion or were deliberately provoking him before taking action. But this person's magic deserves William's greater patience.

"I don't quite understand..."

William responded tentatively, looking into those eyes that resembled Dumbledore's, "Could you repeat that again?"

“I, my brother, Albus, he’s gone mad.”

“Sir, this kind of joke is not appropriate,” William shook his head decisively. This guy could make the headmaster choke when he cursed Dumbledore’s whole family as idiots during his self-destruction, so this kind of talk is not considered too offensive. “You need to have evidence for your words.”

“Of course there is. You're the professor of self-defense at Hogwarts, you should know better than me how much Albus has neglected his duties lately…”

"... "

William realized for the first time how inadequate he was in terms of language. "Sir Aberforth, do you have some misunderstanding about Dumbledore's main profession?"

Since William took up his post at the university, Dumbledore has rarely appeared on campus; Professor McGonagall has been in charge of all funding approvals and course arrangements…

But how could he explain that? And the principal's brother? Oh, don't worry, ever since my first day at work, our principal has been slacking off?

Seeing that William wasn't nervous, Aberforth got angry. He wasn't very satisfied with Dumbledore, and naturally didn't have a good impression of the Hogwarts professors either. The fact that he could remain calm was already an extraordinary performance.

"He's started messing around with all that weird stuff again! And he's acting all mysterious and eccentric!"

...

When has it not been like this? Besides, Dumbledore has been busy with Horcrux-related issues lately.

William became increasingly less nervous. If this was Aberforth's reason, then it was just a joke that couldn't be told.

"He's researching that! And he's trying to use the power of the Philosopher's Stone!"

Seeing the obvious disbelief on William's face, Aberforth threw out his trump card.

"Philosopher's Stone?"

He looked at the Philosopher's Stone with surprise. He knew about it; Hagrid had mentioned it when he first entered the world, but he later learned that the magical stone had been destroyed.

"Yes, the Philosopher's Stone."

Seeing that his words had finally caught William's attention, Aberforth finally smiled a little.

'How could it be the Philosopher's Stone? That thing is destroyed. Did Aberforth not know? Or…'

Several guesses flashed through William's mind. He couldn't reveal the information about the destruction of the Philosopher's Stone for the time being, because although the person in front of him was the headmaster's brother, he might not know the relevant information.

"I bet you're thinking that the Philosopher's Stone has been destroyed, and this crazy guy probably doesn't know that yet..."

Aberforth looked at William, his eyes increasingly resembling those of Dumbledore.

"Is that so..."

William nodded. He wasn't going to reveal any more; he'd just have to see how much this guy was prepared.

"It really was destroyed, but Albus intends to rebuild it." ? ? ?

William's eyes widened. Remake one? Then why destroy the original and make a new one?

“I know what you’re thinking. I can tell you that Professor William… in fact, that Philosopher’s Stone stayed with me for quite some time until it became useless to me, and then it was locked in Gringotts’ vault.”

"You're very smart, but have you ever thought about why, even though Nicolas Flamel is French and lives in France, the Philosopher's Stone he created is kept in England? And even sent to Hogwarts for safekeeping?"

...

William's eyes widened. Yes, he had never considered this question!

Ever since he learned that the Philosopher's Stone had been destroyed, he hadn't really investigated the matter, but now Aberforth had told him about it…

"You mean, the Philosopher's Stone was given to you to use before?"

“No…” Aberforth paused for a moment, “It was my son, Aurelius Dumbledore… I went to Albus to plead for him; he was a friend of Nicolas Flamel, and he borrowed the Philosopher's Stone for me, creating enough of the Elixir of Immortality to sustain his life…”

...

So, that's why the Philosopher's Stone is kept in Gringotts? Because Dumbledore asked his friends for help, so the Philosopher's Stone is simultaneously sustaining the lives of many people?

William didn't press the matter. He didn't want to know whether a sufficient quantity of the elixir of immortality had been prepared in advance to save Aurelius's life, or whether the medicine made from the Philosopher's Stone had become ineffective.

“But things have changed now,” Aberforth looked up from his reverie at William. “The Albus who destroyed the Philosopher’s Stone is gone. He’s now researching the elixir of immortality. He’s chasing the power of the Philosopher’s Stone. He’s gone mad.”

...

To be honest, Dumbledore's sudden fear of death and his attempts to find ways to escape it made William feel that his character had collapsed, but he wasn't too surprised. So what if he really created an elixir of immortality?

There are many ways to maintain youth in dark magic, but the Philosopher's Stone is the most upright and honorable one. Even if you openly proclaim it in the magical world, it would be a remarkable achievement, and no one would care.

Nicolas Lemma even got involved with Chocolate Frog because of Philosopher's Stone, but that's nothing.

Seeing William's expression change from tense to nonchalant, Aberforth practically pointed his finger at William and shouted, "You don't understand! You don't understand Albus at all!"

“My brother wanted a lot of things, but you all think he was born radiant from every pore! We grew up together, I know him better than anyone! He learned to keep secrets on my mother’s lap. Secrets and lies, that’s how we grew up, and Albus… he was born that way.”

Aberforth's hysterical outburst surprised William. He recognized Aberforth as a bigwig in the smuggling world, known for his excellent memory. He never expected him to lose his composure like this.

Especially since it didn't make sense that according to his own laws, Dumbledore borrowed the Philosopher's Stone for him to prolong his son's life, but in the end he hated Dumbledore.

Perhaps feeling that his revelations weren't harsh enough, Aberforth gritted his teeth and dropped his real trump card.

"You might not think much of his research on the Philosopher's Stone. Dumbledore's desire for immortality is somewhat surprising, but it doesn't seem like such a big deal. But what if I told you that he picked up Grindelwald's things?"

"Grindelwald?"

The name gave William a headache; it was no pushover.

He taught self-defense techniques, so he was well aware of the significance of this person who had left his mark on the entire history of black magic.

Before Voldemort rose to power in Britain, Grindelwald's name was truly associated with the Dark Lord. Even Dumbledore himself was only hailed as the First White Wizard after defeating Grindelwald.

"Yes, Grindelwald's dangerous stuff is what he's looking for. I know he thinks he's being discreet, but I can't know everything about the grey market in the UK. But keeping an eye on more than 60% of it isn't a big problem."

He drew his wand and drew a green symbol. "See that? The symbol of the saints. My brother, Albus, is studying this now. He's even studying some of the things Grindelwald left behind."

"this…"

William was at a loss for words to explain, but he guessed that Dumbledore was probably looking for Grindelwald's research on Horcruxes. After all, Dumbledore was the former Dark Lord, so he might have some special knowledge about Horcruxes.

"It seems you still don't quite believe he's insane..."

Aberforth laughed. He thought this astute self-defense professor would be different from others, but unfortunately, he was just as fooled by Albus.

“So,” Aberforth looked at William, preparing to drop the most important bombshell on top of all the intelligence, “if I told you that he and Grindelwald were best friends, and that they even co-created the idea of ​​the saints, what do you think would be the reason for that?”

"You're kidding..."

William shook his head repeatedly; he didn't believe the information at all.