harry potter book of crimes

In the principal's office, nothing seems to have changed much.

The Sorting Hat is still placed on the shelf at the back, Phoenix Fox is dozing with his eyes squinted, and the silver flask on the long table next to the bookshelf is still beeping and smoking...

Only on the top of the wall behind the desk, among the rows of golden photo frames, was another picture.

Those are the portraits of the past principals of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Whenever a principal leaves office, there will be another portrait belonging to that principal on the wall.

At this moment, in the new photo frame that had just appeared, the old wizard with half-moon glasses on his nose was closing his eyes lightly, as if he was relaxing with his eyes closed.

But if you look at it for a long time, you will find that unlike other portraits that can come and go freely in the frame, the old wizard in this frame has never moved at all.

It was as if it was just a Muggle photo, not moving at all.

"Minerva, the minister will be here this afternoon, the schedule has been arranged..."

Suddenly, a person walked into one of the empty photo frames and said something.

"Thank you, Evra."

Professor McGonagall, who had been standing in front of his desk since just now, staring at the last portrait in trance, turned his attention to the person who spoke, and nodded slightly.

Just as she was looking at Dumbledore's portrait again, there was a knock on the door of the principal's office.

“Tuk tuk tuk”

"...Please come in." Mag turned around slowly and pointed at the door with her wand.

Before he finished speaking, the door quietly opened, and three professors, Flitwick, Snape, and Sprout, walked in one after another.

They are all deans of each house. After Dumbledore passed away and the position of principal was temporarily vacant, the deans of each house became the top decision-makers of Hogwarts.

Although Professor McGonagall was temporarily selected as the acting principal, she did not have absolute authority to deal with some major school affairs.

"They are all here," McGonagall nodded slightly. "The Minister of Magic will arrive in the afternoon, but before that, I think we should talk about... the future direction of Hogwarts."

"What do you say?" asked the little Flitwick in a shrill voice.

Professor McGonagall looked at the deans in front of her, went through what she was thinking about just now in her mind, and then continued to speak.

"First of all," she pursed her lips and said, "according to what Snape described, the cause of Dumbledore's death shouldn't be homicide - he 'fell' from the Astronomy Tower, right?

"

Just as he was talking, McGonagall glanced in Snape's direction, and Snape nodded expressionlessly.

"There are no signs of being invaded in the school. We searched together last night. There should be no problem with this." She said seriously, "At least, I don't think anyone can sneak into Hogwart without leaving a trace.

Hereby, kill Dumbledore silently."

Professor McGonagall's words were unanimously agreed by the other two deans.

"So, the actual cause of Dumbledore's death—"

"...It's suicide."

As the door to the principal's office was opened again, Maka quickly walked to the deans and clearly concluded the matter.

"McLean?" "Maka?"

When the four people in the principal's office looked at him, he nodded calmly, and then his eyes fell on Professor McGonagall.

"It's suicide," Maka repeated what she just said before continuing, "It's not convenient for me to state the specific situation. However, this matter can be regarded as being conveyed to me personally by Dumbledore..."

"This..." Professor McGonagall was stunned for a moment.

"But, what's the reason for him to do this?" Professor Flitwick said sharply, "Isn't this thing unreasonable at all?"

"Delaying time is probably one of the reasons," Maca shook her head and said, "Of course, for Professor Dumbledore, there are other more important reasons for him to do this."

Judging from what Dumbledore said to him, there may be bigger changes next.

Although Dumbledore was "selfish" as he said, when he chose to continue on the path of magic, he was obviously still working hard for the future of this world.

Therefore, he even hesitated to commit suicide to abandon his body and go to the edge of death.

"In short," Maka said, "something worse will definitely happen next. Whether it is Hogwarts or other places, we must pay close attention and take precautions."

"Maka, is this what Albus told you?" Professor Sprout asked.

"Absolutely!" Maka spread her hands and said helplessly, "Professor Dumbledore never likes to speak too clearly, and you all know this..."

"Then...what should the students do next? Do you have any suggestions?"

Maka could tell that after Dumbledore's death, Professor McGonagall's usual courage and decisiveness had shrunk significantly.

Maybe she is confused too!

After all, Dumbledore has been making various decisions behind the scenes of Hogwarts alone until now. When looking at the current situation and development of the entire school, the scope of his vision will change greatly depending on his position.

Although Dumbledore did intend to train Professor McGonagall, in these most critical years, there were too many major facts that Dumbledore had to deal with on his own.

Although Professor McGonagall has the ability to be the head of a school, taking over Hogwarts in this stressful period is a very fatal test for everyone.

In addition, Dumbledore's death also dealt a heavy blow to her, and her temporary weakness was understandable.

"Professor McGonagall, don't worry..." Maka looked at her calmly and said, "Just do what you want, we will all support you - Hogwarts was not run by someone from the beginning.

A place where one can stand alone."

To be honest, Mag had actually planned to suspend the school temporarily. The reason why she had such an idea was entirely because of the pressure that was about to come like a landslide and tsunami.

As soon as the news of Dumbledore's death came out, the parents of the students would inevitably be shaken by the authority of Hogwarts.

In the minds of many parents, Dumbledore's existence is one of the important reasons why they choose to enroll their children in Hogwarts.

However, when Voldemort attacked one after another, Dumbledore died inexplicably?

The public opinion of the magical society, the Ministry of Magic's intervention and investigation, the uneasiness of the students... all of these will cause the school to enter a period of turmoil.

Whether to reunite people's hearts or fall apart is a major question that will soon be faced.

Choosing to temporarily suspend classes for rectification when there is no clue, with the safety of students as the first priority, will undoubtedly be the most reassuring measure for parents.

But……

"The curriculum arrangement for each grade remains unchanged, with priority given to completing the teaching objectives for students." Professor McGonagall nodded towards Maka, and then said with a serious face, "Under the above premise, the security arrangements throughout the school will be strengthened.

At the same time, the most detailed investigation and filing will be conducted on all persons entering and exiting the school."

"I agree." "Agree."

Both Flitwick and Sprout immediately responded to Professor McGonagall's decision, Snape also nodded, and Maka naturally had no objection.

The measures Professor McGonagall decided were very clear - first, let the little wizards continue to attend classes as normal, and then strengthen the school's security, but only investigate and record the people entering and leaving the school.

This is obviously a series of response arrangements that are loose on the outside and tight on the inside.

Maka understood that Professor McGonagall had understood Dumbledore's intentions and wanted to use this to confuse the outside world.

"But..." After Professor Flitwick agreed, he frowned slightly and said sharply, "How should the board of directors explain it? The sudden death of the current headmaster needs to be done according to the rules... The board of directors should not let this happen.

Was it handled so hastily?"

"Yes! And the Ministry of Magic, in the afternoon..." Professor Sprout also hesitated.

"Of course we have to 'follow the rules'," Professor McGonagall was no longer confused at this time. She said decisively, "Not only do we have to follow the rules, but we also have to hold Dumbledore's funeral in public!"

"This is indeed a good idea," Maka agreed, then continued, "But before that, there is one more thing that needs to be discussed..."

"What's the matter?" McGarry asked with some confusion.

"Professors, who of you is familiar with Gellert Greenwald? I need to focus on understanding this Dumbledore's... um... should be regarded as a 'former best friend'?"

Maka's words made the other four people in the principal's office feel their hearts skip a beat.

"Are you talking about...Sibyl's prophecy?" Flitwick said seriously.

"To be honest, I have never seen such a clear prophecy," Maka said with a frown, "If the prophecy comes true, then Grindelwald will definitely be one of the enemies we have to face next.

"

"As for Grindelwald, maybe it would be more appropriate to let Old Binns talk about it..." Professor McGonagall thought for a moment, "Although when it comes to Grindelwald, everyone will definitely think of Dumbledore and his

That duel; but where he is most dangerous is in his control of the overall situation."

"Minerva is right," Flitwick said, doubtfully, "But... is Grindelwald... really still alive?"

"...Who knows? Probably..." Maka shook her head.

At the time, Greenwald was vigorously expanding his terrorist activities, but they did not extend to the British magical world. Therefore, not many people here knew the specific situation at that time.

A long time has passed now. Although his name is still in various historical materials, how many people are left who really know him?

Is Garrett Greenwald still alive?

Here, only Maka still vaguely remembers that the first-generation Dark Lord is indeed still alive.