The Headmaster's Office was as warm as always, the various silver instruments emitting fine and marvelous sounds, and the portraits of past headmasters snored evenly within their respective frames.
Dumbledore's poppet pets had increased to a dozen, and he had opened up a large space behind the curtain for them, looking almost like a miniature village.
Upon hearing the door open, Phineas Black—Sirius' arrogant ancestor—suddenly woke from his fake sleep.
"Ah... look who's here, our champion returning from that rough colony?"
Phineas dragged out his words, speaking in a sarcastic tone:
"I heard you caused quite the trouble on your way back. Perhaps Ministry officials are already on their way?"
—This was one of the aftermaths of Vid's participation in the championship and winning the title.
The two people in school who cared most about Slytherin's honor, Phineas Black and Severus Snape, would occasionally trigger their "sarcasm mode" upon seeing him.
As for Harry... Harry had always seen Slytherin as his enemy, so he didn't really sense any obvious difference.
Vid lightly glanced at Phineas Black and said, "If you were expecting to see me in a disgraceful plight about to be imprisoned, then you might be disappointed. The Ministry officials are likely better at discerning right from wrong than you."
Phineas was choked by Vid's retort, his eyes rolling around, just about to say something when he heard Dumbledore speak:
"Phineas, if the Ministry indeed wants to pursue anything regarding the hijacking incident, I think the first person they should look to is me."
Dumbledore placed the Pensieve, which he had taken from the cabinet, on the table and said, "Let's focus our efforts on matters of more value, shall we?"
Phineas shut his mouth sulkily, muttering discontentedly within the frame. Some portraits discreetly opened their eyes, glanced at everyone's faces, and continued their fake sleep.
"Let's see what news Ms. Picquery had you bring back, Vid," Dumbledore said.
Vid nodded, drew out his magic wand, and lightly touched it to his temple.
When he removed the wand, a thread of silvery spider-silk-like memory, shimmering with pearl luster, was gently extracted, the filament fell into the Pensieve, weaving and gathering to finally form a swirling, moving silver mist.
Dumbledore first entered this silver memory, followed by Vid.
...
"Quicker, Jensen! Don't stop, keep moving!"
The soldier's face, mixed with sweat and dust, yelled hoarsely, the muzzle of his gun still trailing wisps of smoke.
On the street, ravaged by artillery fire, burnt vehicle wreckages stood like twisted metal tombstones, distant gunfire mingled with faint cries, and many buildings were engulfed in blazing flames.
This sudden war scene instantly transported Dumbledore back several decades, his pupils contracted sharply, his breath tightened, some of the deepest memories buried in his heart seemed to be surging forth.
This was Vid's second entry into this memory.
Unlike the shock of initial contact, this time, he could block out the battlefield clamor and brutality, turning instead to remarkably calm attention, recording everything within sight:
The street layout, characteristics of buildings, pedestrians' panicked shouts, and those smoke-stained slogans and shop signs on the walls.
Though no clear address info was visible within sight, solely by these clues, he would surely be able to locate this place in the real world!
As the scenes within the memory world shifted and the timeline jumped forward, in a pitch-black surrounding, Jensen's memory was drawn out by Stella, crying.
At this moment, Vid's heart jumped sharply, an indescribable tension surged from his heart, he unconsciously moved half a step closer towards Dumbledore.
The Headmaster astutely turned his head slightly, glancing at Vid.
The memory abruptly ended at this point, the surrounding scene quickly scattered like receding tides, Vid felt himself being lifted upwards by an invisible force!
The next second, he found himself standing in front of the Pensieve, beside him was Dumbledore leaning on the table sitting down, his usual gentle demeanor replaced by deep fatigue and solemnity.
The elder removed his glasses, slowly wiped them, and remained silent for a long time without speaking.
Vid himself pulled over an empty chair to sit down, his hands and feet still somewhat cold.
Jensen's soul, this time did not appear…
Is it because he had gone to the Netherworld?
Or because the Pensieve used this time was different?
But this indeed proved that what he saw last time wasn't any memory fragment.
After a long while, Dumbledore put on his glasses, slowly spoke: "So, these are pieces of the truth… much darker than we expected…"
His gaze seemed to fall upon an invisible point in the void, Vid for a moment couldn't fathom what Dumbledore thought.
He merely leaned forward slightly, earnestly said:
"Professor, I want to go to the United States again."
Dumbledore's brow twitched slightly, hadn't yet responded when Vid continued to speak:
"The Scourers this time gave me a… No, counting the attack outside the hotel, it should be two gifts, I have to properly 'return the favor.'"
"Moreover, where are those guys who took action against Jensen conducting their experiments? What will they use the Time Particles for? What secrets are hidden behind these conspiracies? We must find out."
Dumbledore did not immediately agree; he looked at Vid, slowly shook his head:
"Vid, do you know just how dangerous your plans are? I can understand your anger at being attacked by the Scourers, but the follow-up investigation for this matter should be handled by someone more professional, Kingsley is also contacting the American Magic Congress."
"Professor Dumbledore!"
Vid interrupted him, saying: "Do you really think, those people in the Magic Congress can deliver effective retaliation against the Scourers? Can they thoroughly investigate that group's secrets?"
"Or…"
His voice was slightly low, with a hint of a sarcastic smile at the corner of his lips:
"The people in the Magic Congress, can they be cleaner, more efficient than the Ministry of Magic managed by Fudge?"
"The Scourers have developed for so many years, possibly they've already infiltrated the Magic Congress internally! I didn't leak my return time or flight to anyone beforehand, yet the Scourers were able to timely plant assassins, proving that official forces are backing them!"
"Besides, that force wielding Time Particles… they've even participated in wars between nations, surely colluding with the muggle government of the United States! And the wizards collaborating with them may very well come from the Magic Congress!"