Disclaimer: I don't own anything. This is not meant to infringe upon copyrights.
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After the Halloween dinner, the well-fed little wizards went back to the dormitory together.
After the students left, the professors also left one after another.
In the principal's office, Dumbledore looked at Snape with a gloomy face and asked, "Severus, what do you want to talk to me about?"
"It's still two weeks ago, Dumbledore." Snape slapped a gold-edged map on the table in the principal's office and said expressionlessly,
"The matter of Kyle Chopper selling maps at school... should have come to a conclusion now."
"So it's this matter." Dumbledore calmly took a sip of black tea and said, "Can I hear your thoughts?"
"People who ignore school rules like this must be expelled!" Snape blurted out.
"That's not a very good joke, Severus."
Dumbledore shook his head and said, "You should know that there is no rule in Hogwarts' school rules that prohibits students from selling items on campus."
"And as far as I know, this kind of map was sold to Slytherin by Miss Prince..."
"That's instigation!" Snape interrupted Dumbledore with a roar, "I've inquired, all the maps were given to her by Kyle!"
The voice was so loud that even the portraits around who were pretending to be asleep couldn't bear it anymore.
A big-nosed wizard said angrily, "Boy, watch your attitude. This is the headmaster's office."
Snape ignored him and continued, "I really should have insisted on letting Kanna transfer to Slytherin instead of listening to you and letting her stay in Hufflepuff."
"I think this is a good thing." Dumbledore smiled and said, "Don't you think Kanna's personality was a little too introverted before? As the only descendant of the Prince family in the British wizarding world, this is not a good thing.
And you can't protect her all the time."
Snape was silent for a moment, and said impatiently, "We are talking about Kyle Chopper's affairs. He dared to sell a map for five Galleons today, and he would dare to rob Gringotts tomorrow. So, even if he is not expelled, we can't just let it go. He must be punished."
"Well, you make sense. Five Galleons is indeed a bit expensive for freshmen."
Dumbledore pondered, "How about this, I will ask the students in person. If they all feel that they have been cheated, then I will naturally deal with it."
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Snape fell silent again.
In fact, he had already asked about this when he confiscated the map. That's what Rowle had said then...
"Cheated? Professor, you're kidding! It's only five Galleons, no big deal."
Even if Dumbledore had asked, the result would probably have been the same.
While Snape could easily have changed the Slytherin students' minds and condemned Kyle, such an act was too despicable. He was merely biased, not completely shameless.
Furthermore, such a thing was difficult to conceal; once exposed, it would have been a tangle of trouble.
"Kyle's character is also problematic." Snape suddenly said, "I've observed that he's very talented, but his performance in class is very average. He's so hypocritical at such a young age, aren't you afraid that he'll become the next Dark Lord?"
"I prefer to call this behavior modesty, Severus," Dumbledore said calmly, "It's not easy for a person to shine, but it's even harder to hold it back. This is a very rare quality."
"So..." Snape looked at Dumbledore coldly and said, "You're not going to punish him?"
"He hasn't made any mistakes."
"Very well!"
Snape's face grew even gloomier, and he waved his robes, turned, and left the headmaster's office.
It was unknown whether it was intentional, but when Snape turned around, the hem of his robes hit the portrait of the big-nosed wizard.
The other party was furious and shouted angrily at Snape's back: "Come back and apologize, you rude Slytherin boy!"
Snape still ignored him, but Phineas Black next to him couldn't help it. He rushed over and grabbed his collar and said, "What did you say about Slytherin just now!"
"Why, do you want to fight?"
The big-nosed wizard who was angry said nothing and punched Phineas in the face.
How could the "great" Headmaster Black swallow this insult? A fight soon broke out between the two.
Seeing this, the other portraits gathered around, carrying candy, sunflower seeds, and butterbeer. They formed a circle and tried to dissuade them:
"Stop it! Stop it!"
"You're all grown-ups, can't you be more careful?... Why were you hitting his legs? You were grabbing his hair! Can't you see it's so long?"
"That knight watching over there, put your sword away! They can't see!"
"Oh no! Felix's gone to get that sword."
"Someone call the hunter in the corridor! I remember he had an axe."
Their noises quickly attracted more portraits, filling every frame. The Headmaster's office had never been busier.
Dumbledore sat behind his desk, cheerfully adding sugar to his tea.
Portrait fights were nothing uncommon, and besides eavesdropping on gossip, it was their only entertainment.
Dumbledore didn't bother to care; as long as the frames and canvases were safe, he was happy.
But just then, Professor McGonagall's voice suddenly rang from outside.
"Minister, are you here to see Albus so late?"
The portraits twitched their ears, not caring to watch the excitement anymore, and quickly left the headmaster's office.
Before leaving, the Fat Lady of Gryffindor and two knights had forcibly taken the bruised and battered Big Nosed Wizard and Felix away.
They couldn't be seen in their current state by the Minister of Magic, or Hogwarts would be disgraced.
"It was a sudden incident, Minerva, there's nothing I can do,"
A deep voice said, and the door to the headmaster's office was pushed open again from the outside.
"Albus, long time no see. How are you?"
Cornelius Fudge opened his arms and approached Dumbledore eagerly.
"Long time no see, Cornelius." Dumbledore hugged him and smiled. "Would you like a cup of black tea? Or pumpkin juice?"
"Black tea would be fine."
Dumbledore snapped his fingers, and a steaming cup of black tea immediately appeared on the table next to him.
"Do you need sugar?"
Fudge shook his head. He looked a little nervous, his hands constantly stroking his bowler hat, and from time to time he would glance at Professor McGonagall next to him.
"Albus, I'll go back first."
Professor McGonagall instantly understood what Fudge meant and turned to leave the headmaster's office.
"Albus, we can't hide it anymore. Those smuggled magical creatures..."
As the Griffin slowly closed the door, Fudge's voice disappeared completely.
Although only half of the sentence was heard, Professor McGonagall could probably guess why Fudge came so late.
The newly appointed Minister of Magic always likes to conceal news that is not good for him. When he can't cover it up anymore, he comes to Dumbledore for advice.
I think this time is the same.
Professor McGonagall pursed her lips. Cornelius Fudge's irresponsible look is far worse than Millicent Bagnold.
[End of the chapter]