"Tom, regarding what just happened, don't you have anything you want to explain to me?"
Dumbledore, holding the elder wand, looked coldly at Tom. His remaining rationality made him decide to try diplomacy before resorting to force.
"Just now? Ah, you mean Umbridge. Don't you like her? I saved a person's life."
Dumbledore didn't speak, just stared intently at Tom, wanting to see how he would act next.
"Don't you know? A few days ago, Umbridge accidentally offended Professor Grindelwald, and Professor Grindelwald specifically requested that she disappear from this world completely."
"And then?"
"Then, when I heard about it, I felt that wasn't right. After all, it's a human life, and Umbridge still has room for redemption. So I used the greatest magic in the world—'Love'—to enlighten her, to make her turn from her misguided path and return to the right one."
"Love?"
"Of course, this comes from your tireless teachings, Professor Dumbledore. After all, you said that 'Love' can encompass everything and save everything. Didn't you feel Umbridge's 'Love' for you just now, Professor? It was so rich, so passionate, it almost brought tears of emotion to my eyes."
Grindelwald watched from the side, dumbfounded, as Tom spoke nonsense with a straight face. How did this kid manage to blather to such an extent? He almost had seven-tenths of his own glib tongue's skill.
"Heh heh, so, your so-called 'Love' from Umbridge is directed at me, the 'new Dark Lord of the Death Eaters'?"
Dumbledore was so angered by Tom's words that he laughed instead. Although he had always advocated the theory of 'Love,' was this how it was meant to be used?
But Tom seemed oblivious to the atmosphere, continuing his output.
"Professor, you just admitted to being the new master of the Death Eaters."
Did I admit that? Can't you understand human speech? The tip of Dumbledore's elder wand immediately glowed, but Tom's next sentence interrupted the spellcasting.
"However, Professor, I need to correct you on one point. You are now not only the new master of the Death Eaters, but also the master of the Order of the Phoenix and the Saints. If you need me to, I can reveal the evidence to the world."
"Ah?"
Dumbledore's spell-casting hand stiffened instantly, and his voice trembled unnaturally: "What evidence?"
Tom handed a roll of parchment to Grindelwald, who was watching the show.
Grindelwald took the parchment from Tom and examined it carefully, becoming more and more amazed as he read.
"Why does Albus, as the person in charge, not have any shares?"
After finishing reading and handing it to Dumbledore, Grindelwald asked the question on his mind.
"That's because Professor Dumbledore's shares were all given to you. After all, Professor Dumbledore tends to go bad when he has money, so it's more reassuring to let you, his lover, hold them on his behalf. If Professor Dumbledore needs anything, he can just ask you for pocket money."
Hearing Tom's answer, Grindelwald couldn't help but give Tom a thumbs up. Sensible, truly too sensible.
Dumbledore had finished reading the parchment in his hand and heard the conversation between Tom and Grindelwald, and he felt completely unwell.
When was this thing made again?
Look at the long list of names, which one wasn't a familiar face?
Every single Death Eater who escaped judgment had their name on it.
Besides the Death Eaters, there were also many old acquaintances from the Saints. Grindelwald was actually messing around with Tom too. Did he have any self-awareness as a Dark Lord of his generation?
What surprised Dumbledore even more was that many members of the first Order of the Phoenix and their descendants were involved.
Potter, Longbottom, Black, Prewett, Bones… which one wasn't a surname he was familiar with? Did these people even know they were mixed up with Death Eaters and Saints? This must have been obtained through trickery and deception, right?
He even saw Lupin, Weasley… What was this? Did they have money to invest? In order to recruit people, someone truly had no bottom line.
But the most outrageous part was that he was the person in charge, yet his shares were 0. This was clearly meant for him to take the blame, while the little scoundrel in front of him held the most shares.
"Professor, it has already been filed with the Ministry of Magic. Everything is reasonable and compliant. You can rest assured."
Rest assured my ass! But why did that sound so familiar, just like…
"Could the 'Ariana Dumbledore Charitable Foundation' also be…?"
"Of course, Professor. But now the die is cast, there's no room for regret~"
Facing Tom's expression, Dumbledore finally couldn't hold back this time.
"Tom Riddle!!!"
That night, the brilliance of magic once again bloomed over Hogwarts.
The huge commotion attracted the collective teachers and students of Hogwarts to watch.
With snacks, soda, and small stools, the students watched the fireworks released by the two fighting in the Forbidden Forest from afar through the windows, applauding and cheering while discussing heatedly.
"One of the combatants should be Principal Dumbledore, right? Who is the other one?"
"Who knows? But fighting to this extent, the other party must have a deep emotional or financial entanglement with Principal Dumbledore."
"No, no, I think they must be executing a Death Eater traitor. This is exactly the scene in books when the boss hunts down his subordinate."
"Death Eater?"
"You forgot, isn't the new Dark Lord of the Death Eaters Professor Dumbledore? The Daily Prophet even reported it."
"Do you think it's possible that You-Know-Who has returned, preparing to reclaim the position of Death Eater leader from Principal Dumbledore?"
"How could that be? Your imagination is too rich."
As for curfew, violating school rules, and losing points, what were those things? The little animals were experiencing selective amnesia.
Meanwhile, the Professors saw more.
Dumbledore's strength was very strong, extremely strong, they all knew that.
But now, the person fighting Dumbledore could actually match him, which made people ponder, after all, there were only a handful of people in the magic world with such strength.
The magical mastery displayed by the two of them was truly astonishing. The level of Dark Arts displayed by the person fighting Dumbledore was even more breathtaking. The faint green light that appeared and disappeared indicated his proficiency in the Killing Curse.
All of this made people involuntarily think of that person, and combining it with recent rumors, could it really be that You-Know-Who had returned, just to reclaim the position of Death Eater leader?
Adhering to the principle of not causing trouble for Dumbledore, or perhaps based on the deepest desire to watch them fight among themselves, the Professors chose to wait and see.
Only, for some reason, Professor McGonagall always had an urge, an urge to shout "Piertotum Locomotor".
Just when all the teachers and students of Hogwarts thought this great battle would continue, the Forbidden Forest suddenly fell silent.
What had happened? Or had a winner been decided? For a moment, everyone was a little confused.