Archaeologists at Hogwarts

Chapter 223 Take Action

In the wilderness outside Hogwarts Castle, where the Magic Car was parked before, it is still there.

Toby jumped off Buckbeak, walked into the car, grabbed the button, and adjusted the radio's bands back and forth.

After trying for half an hour, Toby finally gave up on contacting Sirius Black, who got no response at all.

"Could he be dead?"

Toby fiddled with the storage board unconsciously, making a clicking sound.

"But if Black is dead, the case will be easier to solve. Pettigrew has committed a greater crime, and there is no need to defend the fact that Black escaped from prison. It just clears my suspicion."

"Then let Black die. If Regulus can jump out and explain, it would be better, and we can follow the clues and catch him too - that's the decision!"

The corner of Toby's mouth curled up. He walked out of the car and patted the roof of the car twice. Then he walked back to Buckbeak with satisfaction, touched his head and said, "Let's go. Wait in a few days."

Those annoying dementors will probably leave. I hope I can drive them all away this time. You don’t like them, right?”

Buckbeak trembled. He felt that the wizard in front of him was no friendlier than the dementors. They looked almost the same.

Toby rushed back to Hogwarts excitedly. As soon as he returned, he went straight to the principal's office, opened the oak door with a bang, and shouted loudly before the figure appeared: "Principal, good news, Black is dead.

It's dead! Even the corpse is hot! I just ran into it as soon as I went out, what a coincidence! Principal? Principal?"

Dumbledore sat behind his desk, his eyes unexplainable.

Toby ignored the pointing gestures of the portraits and saw a freshly opened letter on the table.

"Whose letter is that?" he asked.

Dumbledore sighed, and finally said, "It's an urgent letter from Fudge just now. He doesn't want me to make a big deal out of it, and he only wants to communicate in private."

"A big fuss? What else is there to cause trouble? Can Grindelwald's escape be concealed?"

"Exactly." Dumbledore said: "And it's not just about Grindelwald, Fudge is even more unwilling to admit that Azkaban's defense has more problems after Sirius escapes from prison, which is very harmful to his status.

Unfavorable - especially the Dementors, who completely rejected my suggestion of withdrawing the Dementors, and even wanted to intensify the supervision of Hogwarts."

"This idiot." Toby mocked: "Didn't you tell him that Black was wronged? Then who should he be guarding against? Is it Grindelwald? Or -"

Dumbledore looked at Toby meaningfully: "You are right, Fudge is wary of me. He is very dissatisfied with my trespassing into Azkaban and thinks that my behavior has threatened the safety of the magical world.

.Those dementors are just a warning. Unless I promise never to mention this matter again, he will not let it go, and even vaguely revealed the idea of ​​arresting me."

Toby's eyes widened in surprise: "Did Fudge really say that in the letter? That's Grindelwald. Isn't it better for you to take action than for the Aurors? They will only increase casualties."

"In fact -" Dumbledore emphasized: "Fudge had some doubts about Grindelwald's escape. He sent someone to the Ministry of Magic in Austria overnight to inform the Director of the Auror Office Rufus Skrein of the news.

Jay also personally went to Nurmengard, where Grindelwald lived well. He flatly denied his experience of escaping from prison, but he did say that I had been to Nurmengard and planned to "communicate" with him in advance.

.”

"Where's the blood pact?" Toby asked in surprise: "The second blood pact you established with Grindelwald, the blood bottle that restricted Grindelwald from being released from prison, wasn't it broken?"

"No one knows about this." Dumbledore shook his head and said, "We didn't announce the news with much fanfare. Almost no one knew about the existence of the blood alliance."

Toby was stunned when he heard this: "So, under Grindelwald's calculations, those people want to pretend that nothing happened? Did Grindelwald even think of this in advance?"

"Yes." Dumbledore nodded and said, "They are planning to pretend that nothing will happen."

This is really a difficult question to answer. How could it be that Grindelwald did not contact anyone after escaping from prison? No one expected that he actually returned to Nurmengard after doing nothing.

It may be inaccurate to say that nothing was done, but those things were too inconspicuous - Dumbledore was trapped in Azkaban for a month, but Grindelwald's disguised Dumbledore stayed in school again

Okay. Then Grindelwald was indifferent to Toby's move to dissolve the school board and establish the Dark Devil Foundation, and finally left Toby a gift.

Well, a skeleton gift.

But even this skeleton cannot be used as evidence of Grindelwald's escape unless it is demonstrated in front of those people.

The key is that just becoming a human is not enough. Nurmengard has many powerful protective magics. Who knows how Grindelwald managed to switch their positions without anyone noticing.

Only Grindelwald himself knows this.

At this time, Dumbledore suddenly asked: "The corpse you are talking about, are you planning to use one of the three skeletons to make Sirius's corpse?"

"That's what I really think." Toby said calmly: "Otherwise, what else can they be used for? That's probably all they can do. I've collected them for so many years and I haven't gained anything. Of course, I've got the new one.

I have to keep it for further research to see what the difference is, so I can only use the other two to disguise myself as Black - Speaking of which, there are still some problems to be solved. We don't have Black's blood, which is part of the ritual. I don't know about the hair.

no."

He didn't notice Dumbledore's slightly shining eyes, and continued to say with a headache: "But I found that this scam is really impeccable. Even I have never met Grindelwald with my own eyes. If I hadn't met Regulus,

In addition, knowing that you are not the kind of person to make such a joke, maybe even I will side with them. Then your life will be difficult, principal, I am not boasting, but ancient magic still has some power.

"

Toby saw Dumbledore smile and thought that he underestimated the role of ancient magic, so he fanned the flames and said: "Don't look down on ancient magic, let alone me. Besides me, the next principal will have

Who is qualified? Dean McGonagall? I don’t want to wait that long.”

"You are indeed amazing, Toby." Dumbledore said gently: "Then let's do it."

"What?" Toby was stunned.

"First try to find Sirius's hair." Dumbledore smiled and said: "I guess you might gain something at No. 12 Grimmauld Place. Try looking for it in Sirius's former bedroom. What are you waiting for?

It's time to disguise his body so we can go to the Ministry of Magic and talk to Fudge in person."

Toby stared at Dumbledore with a strange look on his face: "Have you planned it for a long time? Just waiting for me to take the initiative to speak? If I guessed correctly, you are wary of the influence of the three skeletons on me.

?But it’s not the one left by Grindelwald, just put any one away.”

"That's right." Dumbledore said softly: "Grindelwald is a greater threat than we imagined. I have seen it myself, so I took many risks and rushed to Azkaban.

It's the same now. I know very well that just questioning the man in New Mengadri will not lead to any results. He must have planned everything long ago and will not reveal any flaws."

"Then the rest is very simple. Find a way to take apart these three skeletons. No matter which one they are, they can't be allowed to stay together. After all, there are only a total of skeletons that can transform into wizards.

Only with these three things, all possible risks must be addressed.”

"What about Blake?" Toby asked curiously: "You really don't care about him?"

"I will take care of this properly," Dumbledore said.

Looking at the extremely calm principal in front of him, Toby suddenly thought of something to say, and subconsciously said it out: "Everything you do is for a greater benefit?"

This is Gellert Grindelwald's iconic declaration.

Dumbledore's current behavior is to sacrifice Black's nominal existence so that he can focus all his energy on dealing with the threat posed by Grindelwald.

Dumbledore looked up at Toby. The wrinkles on his face seemed to be a little deeper, but his tone was more determined than ever.

"Sometimes, I can't help but think that maybe I have always been like this."

Dumbledore's words gave Toby a powerful shock.

He had no doubt that there must be more unknown connections between the two people, and the archaeological personality hidden in his body was ready to move.

However, before that, he still had more things to deal with.

Unexpectedly, Toby didn't have to spend much time looking for Sirius's hair. He didn't even have to go to 12 Grimmauld Place, because Sirius lost it in the blue magic car.

Falling hair.

He stayed in this car long enough. First, he took the unconscious Toby, who had just left Azkaban, back to No. 12 Grimmauld Place, and then walked with Regulus.

These hairs were carefully collected by Toby, and there might be Regulus's hair in them.

The next thing to experiment with is to disguise the corpse.

Sure enough, it was difficult for hair alone to replace the role of blood drops. After trying countless times, Toby finally succeeded by using some knowledge in the magic circle and combining it with ritual magic.

He guessed that this special magic circle was used by wizards in Loch Ness city to identify themselves, and it was used for the same purpose as bone age algae.

This is a bit strange.

Toby noticed very early on that magic circles and ritual magic were two completely different types of magic. Ritual magic gradually evolved into the magic spells used today, which is simple and easy to understand, while magic circles disappeared.

But these two types of magic are inextricably linked. It is really difficult to understand what those ancient wizards thought.

This is the history of the fractured world of magic.

The earliest written records can only be traced back to the ancient Greek period, and even further back can only be discovered by archaeologists like Toby. Due to the small number of wizards, he is the only wizard who really pays attention to archaeology. Others

I don't have much interest in history.

All for the great ideal.

Many times, Toby could only repeat this sentence over and over again, silently persevering in various difficulties and dangers.

There are other things to keep busy with.

The goblin owner of the Egyptian bar, Wych, finally arrived in England.

In the small office in Diagon Alley, Wych glanced at the slightly shabby decorations with disgust over and over again, and finally cast his eyes on Lucius, who was sitting coldly aside.

"Are you the subordinate Toby sent to me?"

Wych ignored Lucius's angry gaze. His voice was not loud, and he was relatively calm among the goblins: "Tell me, how many people do you know in the UK, and how did Toby threaten you?"

Lucius narrowed his eyes: "Hammer told you?"

"No, I guessed it." Weiqi said slowly: "It's not difficult to guess. Every time he goes to a country, he will repeat this process. Sometimes the method is very elegant, but more often it is too rough.

It’s full of blood and violence – but it always works.”

He finally said lightly, and at the same time he began to look at Lucius with the same look as he was looking at the goods, which made people feel very uncomfortable.

"But this time it's different."

As if he was giving a kind reminder or trying to win over people's hearts, Wych continued: "Toby has never been like this before, bringing his old people to a new country. I knew he would grow up sooner or later.

Now, the opportunity has finally come, so I will come here without hesitation, and you should also seize this opportunity."

Lucius sneered, his expression showing disdain.

But only he himself knew that the Book of the Black Devil was hidden in his arms, and he never dared to let it get too far away from him, especially on the day when Widge arrived.

"What about you?" Lucius mocked, adding in an emphatic tone: "You seem to trust Haimer more than I do. Will a goblin be willing to be a wizard's lackey?"

Wych stared at him, his eyes brimming with anger, but his tone was calm and frightening: "Not all goblins have the opportunity to work in Gringotts. It's time to change."

The atmosphere suddenly became silent, and no one took the initiative to speak again.

It didn't take long for Toby to arrive. He was carrying a suitcase that was bulging with stuff.

"Long time no see." He shook hands with Weiqi and said angrily: "Time is pressing, so I'll keep the story short."

With a shrewd look in Wych's eyes, Lucius straightened his back with a cold face, and looked at Toby's hand - he opened the suitcase, and the space inside was larger than expected, obviously.

Used the Traceless Stretching Charm.

The key is that the contents of the box are all brand new copies of "The Quibbler" in rows and rows. I don't know how many copies are stuffed inside.

On the other side of the box is a wish box full of wishes.

Weiqi looked around at the two piles of things, and finally stared at the silverware sandwiched in the middle with bright eyes. It was beautifully shaped and piled full of things.

He picked up a plate at random and observed it repeatedly with fascination: "A handicraft specially made by goblins in the fifteenth century. Only truly noble families have the opportunity to obtain it. Its valuation is at least -"

"No matter how much it is, it has nothing to do with you." Toby took the plate away unceremoniously and put it back. He directly ordered: "I need you to carry this suitcase around, just use my name - Toby.

Highmore's name carries a lot of weight in Gringotts in various countries. The silverware is used to bribe the goblin supervisors. You know how to do this better than me, and your identity is more suitable."

Weiqi silently evaluated the value of these silverware in his heart, and his eyes flashed: "It seems that your plan is also very important."

"Absolutely more than you think." Toby said sinisterly: "The first is "The Quibbler". It's time to officially launch the market. In my expectation, this may be blocked by the Ministry of Magic of various countries, so we must

It is sold locally by various branches of Gringotts. The reason to convince them is the threat of Grindelwald. Wizard supremacy is not a suitable slogan for the goblins."

"Then there is the wish box. Each country has its own normal magic street and black market. The magic street is managed by Gringotts, and the reward is these silverwares. As for the black market. The Black Devil Foundation, as long as this name is mentioned, there will be many people

The person who is willing to help you may not be a human being. But remember to be careful, I have many enemies, don’t get killed."

"I understand." Weiqi asked with a smirk, "But what about the price? How do you know that there will be wizards who like this magazine?"

"Free." Toby said: "It's all distributed for free, using a subscription payment mechanism. There are also various activities, such as the Golden Galleons Award and the like. I will cooperate with you when the time comes. As for whether you like to believe me,

Even if Harry Potter is not well-known enough, they will definitely like the story of Grindelwald, especially in Europe - Grindelwald has a huge market in Europe."

At this time, Lucius, who had always been silent, suddenly interrupted: "Grindelwald, I have heard some rumors recently. Are you planning to completely break up with the Ministry of Magic? And those silverwares, if I am not mistaken.

, they should come from the Black family."

"Not now." Toby didn't have such a good look towards Lucius. He said coldly: "I am willing to clear Black's grievances. This is enough to pay. To make his death meaningful, this is the price."

It's a smart thing to do, and I mean that in every sense of the word."

"As for the living people -" Toby's tone gradually became dangerous: "How can you ask me to break up with the Ministry of Magic? It's not you who was eyeing "The Quibbler" in the first place, Lucius. You're the one

You are the editor-in-chief of "The Quibbler," and now you finally get your wish."

Lucius's face suddenly turned pale, and he twisted his face and said: "No one will believe it, no one will believe that I will be willing to stand with Dumbledore!"

"Excuses are always easy to find." Toby didn't know when a locket appeared in his hand, and he fiddled with his fingers carelessly: "I can think of one for you. For example, you choose to compromise for the time being, and choose to be more positive.

Integrate into the power center of Hogwarts with a local attitude, and wait for the opportunity. Perhaps one day in the future, until a suitable principal appears, he will change the enrollment direction of the entire school and drive all Mudbloods out of the school."

Under Toby's gaze, Lucius slowly lowered his head.

This idea sounds like it is true, but Lucius understands that Toby's move is completely threatening him, and worse is waiting to happen later.

"What you have to do is much simpler - keep an eye on the next moves of the Ministry of Magic, and be sure to get a defense lawyer seat for the case in the near future - you can be regarded as my exclusive lawyer."

"Your lawyer?" Lucius frowned, wondering why Toby was doing this.

"Yes." Toby looked at the sky outside the window and said in a dazed tone: "Some things cannot be hidden. You can guess what Fudge will think. His mind is too simple."

"Resume can also be said to be evidence of incrimination. I hope Fudge has prepared a long enough parchment in advance and not to be frightened by those things. Otherwise, we will most likely have to change a minister."

——

Happy New Year and thank you all for your support! Thank you very much!