Chapter 96: The Visitor List and Albania
Chapter 96: The Visitor List and Albania
On the eighth floor, in the Headmaster's office, Dumbledore sat leisurely, sipping his tea with three sugars and observing with interest as Professors Snape and McGonagall engaged in a heated debate.
It was quite a coincidence.
Professor McGonagall had originally come to see Dumbledore about a matter, but as she entered, she overheard Snape demanding the expulsion of a particular student.
"It's that Kyle Joba again. He's swindled at least five hundred galleons from other students in the past few days."
"I said it before; he's a bad influence on his peers, bold and reckless, with no respect for school rules. He should be expelled."
...
Professor McGonagall listened for a while, piecing together the situation. She furrowed her brow and said, "Severus, we don't expel students for something as minor as selling a few items."
"Minor?" Snape raised an eyebrow, shifting his gaze from Dumbledore to Professor McGonagall.
"If I may be blunt, Minerva, he is now attempting to organize cheating during exams."
"Cheating? Are you jesting?"
Professor McGonagall spoke in disbelief. "I've seen those items, and they barely qualify as magical artifacts. They're mere trinkets."
"Then, by Mr. Joba's logic, he's selling counterfeit goods?" Snape drawled. "After all, ordinary trinkets shouldn't cost ten galleons. Selling fakes and deceiving young witches and wizards within Hogwarts is another valid reason for expulsion!"
"Calm yourself, Severus," Dumbledore interjected, having finished his tea. He placed a large piece of parchment on the table. "This is their promotional flyer, which I assume you haven't seen." He pointed to the enlarged and bolded text at the bottom and said, "They've made it quite clear, so it can't be considered deception."
Snape glanced at the parchment, his eyes landing on the bolded text that seemed to glare back at him.
[This product is symbolic... Purchase at your discretion]
"Additionally..." Dumbledore hesitated before continuing, "...from what I understand, most of the trinkets sold were for five sickles. Only a small portion—well, the more aesthetically pleasing ones—fetched a price of ten galleons."
As Dumbledore spoke, Snape's expression turned sour, as if he had just consumed a plate of unwashed intestines.
So it was only the Slytherins who bought the ten-galleon trinkets.
"What about this sentence, then?" Snape asked, his face darkening as he glared at the flyer. "They've mentioned you as well. Isn't that also deceptive?"
"In fact... they are telling the truth," Dumbledore admitted, his aged face reddening slightly. "I did wear something similar during my graduation exam, but it was later confiscated by Professor Macabande."
"Merlin's beard, I thought no one else remembered that incident," Snape muttered, his face as dark as the bottom of a cauldron. He snatched the flyer and stormed out of the Headmaster's office.
"Bang!"
The loud slam of the door startled Fawkes, who had been dozing, and the phoenix flew to Dumbledore's shoulder, pecking angrily at his beard.
"My apologies, Fawkes. Severus didn't mean it," Dumbledore soothed.
Fawkes paid no heed and continued tugging at his beard.
Dumbledore had no choice but to take out some leaves of Mandrake from his drawer to calm his beloved phoenix.
The headmaster then looked up at Professor McGonagall, who wore an incredulous expression, and said, "No need to be so astonished, Minerva. I was only seventeen at the time, and it's not unusual for youths to do things that are hard to fathom."
"Well..." Dumbledore changed the subject, "What brings you here?"
When it came to serious matters, Professor McGonagall's expression turned solemn.
"Ahem, here is the entry list for last year from June to August that you requested." She placed a small stack of parchment on the table and said, "The owl from the Ministry couldn't find you yesterday, so they sent it to me."
"Thank you, Minerva, I need it now."
Dumbledore took the list and looked through it for a while. He then took another stack of similar parchments from the bookshelf behind him.
Professor McGonagall glanced at them curiously, but due to her line of sight, she could only make out the first few words,
"Albania outbound..."
As Dumbledore began to carefully compare the two lists, Professor McGonagall quietly left the room.
With the door closed once again, the Headmaster's office returned to its peaceful state.
On the walls, the portraits that had been pretending to sleep opened their eyes, gathering together with keen interest to discuss the previous topic.
"It's that young wizard, Kyle, again." A witch said, "How many times has this name come up in the Headmaster's office?"
"At least three times." A thin old man said, "That Potions Professor has been coming here recently because of him. He's another troublesome student."
"I don't think so." The witch who had spoken before shook her head, "I've seen that child in the corridors. He's smart, humble, and polite. He even greets the portraits."
"Maybe that's just an act." A sharp and sarcastic voice said, "Just like that student back then... hypocritical."
"Shut up, Phineas!" A wizard with a large beard said angrily, "That's not the same. He's a Hufflepuff!"
"That's true." Phineas Black picked his nose, "He's from that idiot house, so he probably doesn't have that kind of cunning..."
"How dare you..."
The bearded wizard stormed into Phineas' portrait, grabbing him by the collar, "Say that again! What's wrong with Hufflepuff?!"
Under the wizard's portrait was a clear indication that he had graduated from Hufflepuff.
"Y-you want to do something...?" Phineas struggled, his collar in the wizard's grip, "Let go of me! Do you want to hit me again?"
"I've been wanting to for a long time!"
The bearded wizard punched him, knocking him to the ground, and then proceeded to stomp on his face.
"Idiot house? Ha! I'll show you the might of Hufflepuff today!"
The other portraits rushed over, skillfully taking out snacks, drinks, and small stools, forming a front-row audience to enjoy the show.
Watching Phineas get beaten up was their favorite form of entertainment.
Just like how the lake creatures couldn't do without their brooms, the Headmaster's office couldn't do without Phineas.
At this moment, Dumbledore, who had been looking through the parchments, lifted his head.
He pushed up his glasses and ignored the portraits. Instead, he walked to the window, staring out into the distance in a daze.
...
(End of Chapter)
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