Hogwarts Emerald

In the principal's office, the silverware was smoking lightly, and the rising smoke made it difficult to see Dumbledore's expression. He sat on the chair behind his desk, picking through the candies with his long fingers, but never chose any dessert.

Dumbledore is still unable to determine the specific time when the attack occurred. Although he is the principal of this magic school and has privileges on the campus, he cannot know every move of everyone in the school.

Even the four giants who founded this school may not be able to do this.

Professor Sprout had just left here, and she told Dumbledore everything she learned about Daniel. After Dumbledore left the underground classroom, he immediately went to inquire about the ghost wandering in the school.

The Hufflepuff ghost, the Fat Friar, told Dumbledore that he had seen Daniel after lunch. A confused Daniel had returned to the common room, but the fat monk had not noticed when Daniel left.

After that, the ghosts never saw him again.

The words of the student and the ghost were corroborated, confirming that Daniel Bell had disappeared in the afternoon. From the moment he "disappeared" until he was discovered by Filch, he could be attacked at any point during this period.

That remote underground classroom was rarely passed by. Daniel might even have been lying there from the moment he "disappeared." If Filch hadn't accidentally discovered him, I'm afraid he would have been lying there for a while longer.

Boom! Boom! Boom! There was a knock on the door, and when the door opened, Snape walked in.

"How is it, Severus?" Dumbledore asked.

Snape shook his head and said, "Foley looks normal. All of Foley's behavior is consistent with his status as a professor."

"If anything can be seen directly, it only means that Foley is far from as smart as he seems." Dumbledore said, "What did he say?"

"Of course he denied it, who would admit such a thing." Snape replied, "Welfare said he had no need to do such a thing, he just came here to find something."

"After knowing this, I have been observing him." Snape said, and then thought about the scene again and continued, "His behavior is a little too normal, and what is normal is a little abnormal."

"It seems that our Professor Welfare has a strong acting talent and his desire to perform is also very strong."

"Indeed, he behaved like an alchemy product that was prepared in advance, as if everything was within his expectations, which made people even more suspicious of him," Snape said.

"If you didn't pay special attention to him, his performance would be perfectly fine and you wouldn't be able to find any faults." Dumbledore analyzed, "But we had been observing him long in advance. At this time, his behavior fell into In our eyes, it seems a little lame.”

Snape also agreed that when you pay special attention to a person, everything he does will be given new meaning. Snape continued: "After leaving the underground classroom, he went directly back to the office and never left until just now."

"There has been an attack at the school. I will definitely pay more attention to the situation in the school. The professors will also step up patrols. He will not get any good opportunities at this time. He needs to wait for a better time."

"Maybe it's fishing in troubled waters. He muddies the water first and diverts your attention, which will make it easier for him to do things." Snape expressed his opinion.

"What you said also makes sense." Dumbledore agreed with Snape's statement and continued, "This way he can follow the professor's team and search the castle openly. But in this case, the efficiency will also be reduced. "

"Indeed, he will be designated to be responsible for a certain area to patrol, and he cannot move around as he wants. He can go wherever he wants." Snape said after thinking.

"However, everything now is just our speculation. There is no directional evidence to prove that this matter is indeed related to Benedick Foley." Dumbledore finally chose the candy, "We can't just do it because of suspicion. Just send him to Azkaban."

"If he really wanted to fish in troubled waters, then he succeeded." Snape said, "There is really nothing we can do against him now."

It would be fun to go up and give Welfare a [Avada bites a big melon], but Dumbledore's nose was still "alive", so he couldn't do such a thing.

The two were silent for a while, each thinking about different things in their hearts.

"Oh, by the way, do you understand what he is looking for?" Dumbledore asked.

"Not yet. Although he is asking me for help, he has not told me the whole truth." Snape said, "He has hidden a lot of things."

"He can't trust you?" Dumbledore asked. He was very aware of Snape's abilities, so he was a little confused.

Snape glanced at Dumbledore, with some dissatisfaction in his eyes. He said: "It's not about trust or distrust. I feel that he is afraid that I will snatch this thing. So, on the one hand, he wants He received my help, but on the other hand he was on guard against me.”

"Some contradictory people!" Dumbledore sighed.

"I think there's something wrong with his mind," Snape said.

"Oh?" Dumbledore asked, curious as to why Snape said that. "How?"

"It's not that there's really something wrong with his mind, but it's just that his enthusiasm for finding this object is not normal."

Snape thought about it for a moment before continuing, trying his best to express it objectively. He said: "In his mouth, this thing is enough to change the world, but he actually doesn't know what it is. He is just sure It must be stored somewhere in Hogwarts."

In fact, Dumbledore has been suspicious of this "thing" for so many days. Since this was the case, he couldn't let the pure-blooded welfare find it.

"Nothing can change the world. It is always people who change the world." Dumbledore said thoughtfully.

"No one can change the world." Snape said, "Oh, except for people like you, you just change the world selfishly according to your ideas."

Snape's eyes became hollow, as if he was remembering something he didn't want to remember.

"A 'thing' can make a good wizard so obsessed. I really want to see it." Ignoring Snape's words, Dumbledore continued.

"Welfare himself looks like a headless fly, just bumping around. Your idea of ​​broadening your horizons is probably going to be in vain."

"Severus, when people live in this world, they should always keep some hope and vision." Dumbledore said seriously.

"These words are just stupid words uttered by shrewd liars when they play tricks on fools." Snape looked disdainfully and stared at Dumbledore sharply.

"Hope is one of the best gifts in this world. Even in the darkness, you will be illuminated by hope, making people full of yearning for light." Dumbledore said with a smile, "It is precisely because of Only with love and hope can mankind move forward. Isn't it, Severus?"

Snape turned his head disdainfully, not looking at Dumbledore who was talking about love and hope. He was tired of hearing this kind of talk.

"Have you found the child who overheard your conversation that day?" Seeing that Snape did not want to continue the topic, Dumbledore decided to change the direction.

"A first-year brat, a self-righteous and annoying brat." Snape's face didn't look good, but he still answered Dumbledore's question.

"Ah, let me guess, this 'self-righteous' and 'annoying' brat is not Miss Esmeralda Twister, right?" Dumbledore asked with a smile, he could all relate to her. Nep's expression when facing Ada.

After school started, Dumbledore was also paying attention to Ada. Apart from some "exquisite naughtiness", he is quite satisfied with Ada, and is even considering whether to include Ada in his plan.

Snape didn't show any surprise when he heard Ada's name. He would have been surprised if Dumbledore didn't know.

When facing Dumbledore, many people have the illusion that they already know Dumbledore well enough, but what people see is often just the tip of the iceberg. What you see is always what Dumbledore wants. For you to see.

I'm afraid no one in this world can see through Dumbledore's thoughts. There may have been such a person...

"Do me a favor, Severus, look after that child for me."

"She is from Gryffindor House..." Snape was interrupted before he finished speaking.

"I also asked Professor McGonagall," Dumbledore continued.

Snape looked at Dumbledore expressionlessly, and what he conveyed to Dumbledore was very clear: You have already found Professor McGonagall, so why are you looking for me? Not to mention an annoying little Gryffindor.

"It's not the same thing. If Miss Drizzt accidentally gets involved in Benedick Foley's matter, she will leave it to you." Dumbledore explained.