"Willing to do anything?"
Dana looked at Snape, who had lost his former imposing aura, and slowly shook his head.
"I'm afraid, Professor Snape, there's nothing I need you to do for me."
Snape's eyes were red-rimmed, his emotions barely held in check.
"I have money! If it's not enough, I can brew potions day and night!"
"Severus," Dumbledore interrupted gently, unable to bear the scene any longer.
"Dana Emrys is actually Count Dark Dantes. He does not lack money."
Dumbledore understood very well that Dana revealing his strength at Hogwarts today meant he was no longer afraid of his true identity being exposed.
Snape froze for a moment, his mind needing time to process the shock of this revelation.
Then Dumbledore turned to Dana.
"Dana, do you intend to take revenge on everyone who replaced you and Gai back then?"
"Of course," Dana replied coldly, his gaze sharpening. "Especially Arya."
Dana's eyes shifted toward Dumbledore, filled with a quiet, dangerous hostility.
"The reason I haven't been able to find Arya for so long is because you've been tipping him off, haven't you?"
Dumbledore's eyes widened slightly.
"How did you know?"
Dana turned his gaze toward the window just as an owl flew past.
"You should know that Merlin could communicate with all living creatures. Unfortunately for you, I can do everything my ancestor could."
Dumbledore lowered his voice.
"So you will not let Arya go."
"Of course not."
"Then will you still stop Lord Voldemort?" Dumbledore asked.
"Lord Voldemort?" Dana scoffed. "Is a brainless terrorist really enough to make you, Dumbledore, so afraid? Do you truly believe your spies are indispensable in dealing with him?"
Dumbledore's expression hardened.
"Yes. We must know more of Lord Voldemort's secrets. He has gone very far on the path of exploring death, and we must defeat him once and for all. Otherwise, the consequences will be endless."
Dana stood, his patience clearly at an end.
"Foolish. A crude method of deceiving the Sea of Death, yet you describe it as having gone very far on the path of exploring death. I feel that continuing this conversation with you is a waste of my time.
"I will find Arya. You cannot stop me, Dumbledore. And if you are still thinking about warning him, then I don't mind taking necessary measures against you."
With a flick of his hand, Dana summoned the Spandim Gate again. The air twisted and folded as the portal appeared.
He turned to Snape.
"I've thought of what you can do for me. If you can guarantee that Arya won't receive any warning, then I might consider bringing Lily Potter back."
"How is that possible?" Snape cried, his voice cracking.
"How is it not possible?" Dana replied calmly, a faint smile touching his lips.
"The only ones who can contact Arya are you and Dumbledore. If you don't write to him yourself, all you need to do is keep an eye on Dumbledore. Of course, Dumbledore could arrange for the Order of the Phoenix or his friends to send letters, so let's make the condition stricter.
"If anyone notifies Arya, our agreement will immediately be terminated."
"You're asking for the impossible!" Snape said, desperate.
"That's your problem, not mine," Dana replied, turning toward the portal.
Just as he was about to step through, Dumbledore suddenly raised his old wand.
Countless golden ropes burst from the walls of the principal's office, like living chains of light. They wrapped around Dana's limbs in an instant, binding him tightly.
"Dana, I'm sorry," Dumbledore said, his voice heavy but resolute. "Lord Voldemort is the greatest disaster to the British wizarding world. I cannot allow you to sabotage our plan to eliminate him.
"I won't hurt you, child. As long as Lord Voldemort is eliminated, I will apologize to you. I can even atone with my life. But for now, I must make you endure some hardship."
Dumbledore's pupils suddenly contracted, and his mouth fell open in disbelief.
The golden ropes loosened.
Not only that, they seemed to come alive, trembling slightly, as if trying to curry favor with Dana.
"I can understand you, Dumbledore," Dana said, his voice empty of emotion.
"You've always believed you were the only one who could deal with Lord Voldemort. You're old, and you're afraid that one day you won't be his match. That fear drives you to drag him into hell before you die… or perhaps after you die.
"But in either case, you believe that without your planning, Lord Voldemort would be invincible. Am I wrong?"
Dana let out a soft, humorless laugh.
"But I must tell you, that kind of thinking is unbelievably arrogant.
"The real root of all of this lies within yourself.
"You don't know how to cultivate students."
He stepped closer, his aura pressing down on the room. Even Dumbledore unconsciously took a step back.
"Look at Snape. He is extraordinarily gifted, a genius beyond comparison. If he had received the education of a hundred years ago, do you truly think his achievements would be lower than yours?"
Dana's eyes bored into Dumbledore's.
"No. At least, I don't think he would be inferior to you.
"He was held back by you.
"And there are many more witches and wizards like him.
"That is why you are not fit to be a principal.
"Because of one Lord Voldemort, you began to control knowledge. Many forms of magic that were commonplace a hundred years ago, you threw into the Restricted Section. Some, you even locked away in the secret compartments of your own office.
"In the East, there is an idiom: 'Because of choking, one gives up eating.' That describes a fool like you perfectly.
"Today, most Hogwarts graduates can't even cast a complete Shield Charm. If the four founders were alive to see this, how heartbroken do you think they would be?"
With a casual wave of his hand, the golden ropes seemed to "nod," then slowly retreated back into the walls.
Dumbledore could not understand how his authority as principal, and his ability to mobilize Hogwarts' defensive magic, had been so easily countered.
He knew he was no longer Dana's match. That was why he had tried to use the castle itself to restrain him. As principal, he was fully aware of the immense power Hogwarts possessed.
What he did not understand was this:
Dana was the fifth founder.
He was the true master of Hogwarts.
Long ago, Dana had personally placed more than six grebbato magic crystals into the magical core of the castle itself. Even now, if Hogwarts were operating at full power, even he could not confront it head-on.
But there was one decisive problem.
Hogwarts would never fight against its true master.
What a joke.
"You are not fit to be a principal," Dana continued, his voice cold and final. "Nor are you fit to be a professor who teaches and guides students. Lord Voldemort's distorted worldview of worshiping power was planted by you.
"Therefore, Dana Emrys, as the fifth founder of Hogwarts, on behalf of Godric, Rowena, Salazar, and Helga, now exercises the authority of Hogwarts itself.
"I strip you of your position as Principal of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry."
As his words fell, Dumbledore felt it instantly.
The connection was severed.
His spiritual link to Hogwarts Castle vanished as if it had never existed.
He stared at Dana in disbelief, his lips parting only after several long seconds.
"You went back to the past," he said hoarsely.
In the Great Hall earlier, Dumbledore had been too stunned by Dana's ability to summon souls to notice the brief conversation between Dana and Helena. If he had understood those words, he never would have attacked so recklessly.
Dana nodded.
"That's right. I returned to the past. The magic circles and the entire magical core of Hogwarts Castle were completed by my own hands."
He stepped aside slightly and gestured toward the door.
"You are no longer the principal of Hogwarts. Please leave."
Dumbledore's expression darkened.
"Hogwarts cannot be without a principal. Besides me, no one can protect them."
Dana sneered.
"Still arrogant.
"With me here, Hogwarts is the safest place in the world. And besides, it's only the position of principal. There are plenty of people who can fill it."
His voice became calm and absolute.
"In the name of Dana Emrys, I appoint Minerva McGonagall as the new Principal of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry."
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