Chapter 298 Bad News
After pondering for a long while, Aisen still couldn't figure out what was going on.
"This is simply terrible!"
"Yeah, I wonder if my family's vault has been stolen from—"
"I estimate I won't have much pocket money this year!"
"Isn't Gringotts very safe? Why would something like this happen?"
"Do you think it's possible that the Goblins at Gringottsstaged this whole thing themselves?"
At the dining table, the students were chattering excitedly, each wearing a disgruntled expression, completely lacking the joy they had at the Christmas Ball yesterday.
"Professor Aisen, what do you think?" Ron left Fred's side and came to sit next to Aisen, pointing at the unfolded newspaper.
"You can't really tell anything from the newspaper. But, I do think the security issue at Gringotts is worth discussing." Aisen closed the newspaper and shrugged.
"Professor, do you think what Creevey said is true?" Hermione, as if she had discovered the truth, leaned closer to Aisen and whispered, "The Goblins at Gringottsstaged all of this themselves!"
"Why would you think that?" Aisen's mouth twitched.
It was like bank employees in the Muggle Worldembezzling funds, pocketing customers' savings privately, and then framing robbers.
Uh—although it felt like a movie plot, the possibility of it happening didn't seem non-existent!
But the Wizarding World didn't seem to be like that. Because Gringotts, run by Goblins, had another source of income: hiring curse-breakers to roam around the world, digging up gold and other valuable items from ancient tombs and ruins.
Looking at it this way, they really had no reason to do something like embezzlement.
"Goblin rebellion, Professor!" Hermione leaned her body towards Aisen. "Historically, the Goblins have already launched three rebellions, and although they've all been resolved, perhaps they're still secretly plotting their next move. They definitely need a lot of money!"
Hearing Hermione's explanation, Aisen's eyes narrowed slightly. Hmm—is there another Goblin rebellion? It didn't seem to be mentioned in the original work.
"But, the Goblins at Gringotts are forbidden from using wands. In that case, how would they have the ability to start a rebellion?" As his thoughts turned, Aisen still answered casually.
"Then it must have been done by other Dark Wizards." Ron on the side immediately put on a confident expression.
Other Dark Wizards, while this was certainly possible, Aisen still felt the possibility was low.
The reason, of course, had a great deal to do with Gringotts.
You know, Gringotts is known as the safest place in the Wizarding World. Well, perhaps it might even be a bit safer than Hogwarts.
Aisen certainly knew what kind of people some Dark Wizards were, like notorious criminals in the Muggle World. But the problem was, would those criminals, when they ran out of money, directly break into the bank headquarters vault to steal money? Obviously not!
Therefore, he absolutely did not believe that some Dark Wizards could brazenly do such a foolish thing.
However, just as he had previously speculated, unless there were some treasures hidden in the vaults of some pure-blood families at Gringotts, treasures that even Voldemort had to risk acting for. Otherwise, Aisen really didn't know who would do such a thing.
"Ron's very likely right!" Aisen replied casually, then as if he thought of something, his gaze fell upon Ron.
"Is something wrong, Professor Aisen!" Seeing ProfessorAisen staring at him, Ron looked down and around, not finding anything wrong with his clothing. He had long since changed out of the aubergine robe he wore at the ball yesterday.
"Weasley's Wizard Wheezes has made a lot of money in the past two years, right!" Aisen's face showed a strange expression. "Are all your family's Galleons stored at Gringotts?"
"Oh my! This is truly bad news!" Ron immediately looked panicked. "Professor, I need to tell Fred and them."
Indeed, for all the families whose vaults were stolen from, this was unequivocally bad news.
As if he had thought of that terrible outcome, Ron didn't care about anything else, stood up hastily, and dashed towards Fred's side.
"Fred, George, about that Gringotts theft—" Ron's panicked voice reached Aisen's ears.
"Yes, we already know, we've read the newspaper, haven't we?"
"I mean, our family's vault—"
After Ron's voice fell, there was a moment of silence.
"Oh my, please no!"
"Go, go, quickly write home and ask!"
Then, Fred and George's somewhat panicked voices also rang out.
After a clatter of dishes, the Weasley Twins and Ron ran together towards the Owlery in the West Tower.
"Was their family's vault also stolen from?" Looking at Ron's panicked expression, Hermione's face also showed a little worry.
"Hmm—it's hard to say!" Aisen shook his head. "It depends on whether those thieves were after money! By the way, Hermione, do you have money stored at Gringotts?"
"No, I needed to buy some things, and I exchanged them directly from pounds at the start of the school year." Hermione shook her little head.
"Okay!" Aisen nodded, then looked around, only then discovering something strange. "Where's Harry? I haven't seen him come down, is he still sleeping?"
"He's not sleeping, he got up and went home already!" Hermione pursed her lips.
"Back to his aunt's house?" Aisen showed a thoughtful expression.
"That's right, this morning Sirius also went to the Gryffindor Common Room, and he left with Harry." Hermione said, glancing at Aisen.
"Aren't you going home for a visit?" Seeing Hermione's look, Aisen smiled.
"Oh, I have some things to do so I won't be going back!" Hermione's pretty face flushed.
...
After eating, Hermione went to the Library, while Aisenturned and walked through the Entrance Hall to the grounds outside.
The grounds were still covered in thick snow, with only a few shallow footprints left behind, stretching all the way to the Beauxbatons carriage and the Durmstrang ship.
Clearly, in such weather, especially after the lively atmosphere of the Christmas Ball, the students who stayed at school had no interest in going out to play.
Creak—
Aisen noticed that the door to Hagrid's hut was opened.
A tall figure staggered out, walking towards the temporary stable set up near the Beauxbatons. He was carrying two buckets of pure malt whisky in his hands.
A scent of alcohol drifted towards Aisen with the gentle breeze, giving a feeling of being slightly tipsy.
A few minutes later, Hagrid swayed back to his hut. From his expression, he didn't seem very happy. Thinking about Hagrid's conversation with Madam Maxime yesterday, Aisen felt he understood something.
Perhaps for Hagrid, meeting another Witch with Giantblood was something to be happy about. However, in the Wizarding World, things related to Giants are always shunned.
Whether Giants are inherently brutal or bloodthirsty, it's best not to publicize inheriting such blood. Therefore, Aisen could basically predict that Madam Maxime would definitely not discuss those things with Hagrid.
"Aisen, interested in taking a walk with this old fellow?" A voice rang out at this moment.
Aisen turned his head and saw Dumbledore descending the steps outside the Entrance Hall, slowly walking towards him. It was clear that Dumbledore was frowning, seemingly deep in thought.
"Of course, no problem!" Aisen's mouth curved slightly, and he walked alongside Dumbledore on the grounds.
The snow crunched under their feet.
After circling to the edge of the Black Lake and walking almost a full circuit, Dumbledore still hadn't spoken. This made Aisen very curious, feeling like Dumbledore was hesitating about something.
Could it be—
Dumbledore's vault at Gringotts was robbed? This thought suddenly popped into Aisen's mind. But in an instant, he dismissed it.
If he remembered correctly, Dumbledore's vault was likely the same Vault 713 where the Philosopher's Stonewas stored back then. Uh, if the Philosopher's Stonehadn't been stolen, then Dumbledore definitely wouldn't have this expression.
Even if all his gold Galleons were stolen, he probably wouldn't care.
So, why was Dumbledore so hesitant and conflicted?
Chapter 299: Dumbledore, I Can't Believe It Was You!
A cold wind blew, causing Dumbledore's beard, which drooped down to his chest, to flutter.
"Aisen, you already know what happened last night?" As if he had figured something out, Dumbledore suddenly spoke.
"What happened last night?" Aisen glanced at Dumbledore, then reacted, "You mean the Gringottsbreak-in—I only saw the news in the paper this morning!"
"That's right, people are all paying attention to this matter," Dumbledore said, a strange look flashing across his face before disappearing, "So, what do you think?"
"That has nothing to do with me!" Aisen waved his hand, looking completely unconcerned. Then, as if he thought of something, a flash of inspiration struck him, and he blurted out, "Could it really have been Voldemort?"
"Voldemort?" Dumbledore was stunned for a moment, then shook his head, "No, he didn't do this."
This—so sure?
Hearing Dumbledore's words, Aisen couldn't help but be stunned. For a moment, he didn't understand why he could say so confidently that Voldemort didn't do it.
"Are you sure Voldemort didn't do it?" Aisen said casually, "I mean, maybe some pure-blood families' vaults contain treasures like the Philosopher's Stone. In that case, it would be natural for Voldemort to break into Gringotts to regain his strength."
After his words fell, Dumbledore paused in his steps, stopped, and looked deeply at Aisen, a look of surprise on his face.
"Is there a problem?" Aisen shrugged, "If I were Voldemort, I would definitely do that!"
"I have to say, you have a very accurate grasp of Tom's thoughts, and that indeed makes sense," Dumbledorestarted walking again, "However, the person who broke into Gringotts last night was me!"
"Oh—what?" Aisen was nodding, but suddenly froze, as if he had heard something incredible. He looked at Dumbledore with a shocked expression.
Good heavens, Aisen exclaimed good heavens!
Looking at Dumbledore in front of him, with his kind and benevolent appearance, Aisen couldn't help but roll his eyes.
I really misjudged you, Dumbledore. I never expected you to be this kind of person. Even more unexpectedly, this matter was actually done by you!
What? This matter has nothing to do with Aisen? Oh, in that case, it's fine!
"You didn't mishear!" A trace of a mischievous smile appeared on Dumbledore's face, and he even winked at Aisen as he spoke, "The Gringotts matter last night was done by me."
"Why? Are you short of money?" A strange look appeared on Aisen's face, "That shouldn't be possible, right? Or—wait, hufflepuff's golden cup! Was that your target?"
Seeing Dumbledore's smiling look, and thinking of this possibility, Aisen suddenly didn't know what to say.
"It has been destroyed by me!" Dumbledore said lightly, without refuting Aisen's words.
Clearly, the person who broke into Gringotts on Christmas night was Dumbledore himself. As for what abilities Dumbledore used to break into Gringotts, Aisenhad no doubts about it.
After all, the most powerful Witch acknowledged in the entire Wizarding World breaking into Gringotts is nothing. Even if he treated Gringotts as his own backyard and entered freely, Aisen didn't think he couldn't do it.
However, in this case, those pure-blood family Witches are probably going to breathe a sigh of relief. Uh, Fredand Ron will also have had a false alarm.
This is truly as the Goblins said, the underground vault was not broken into.
"I remember you were also at the Christmas ball yesterday, and you even danced with Professor Sprout, right?" Aisen asked lightly after recovering.
"I went after the Christmas ball ended!" Dumbledore said with a smile.
"But, you used this method—" Aisen said, spreading his hands, "I mean, it's a little inappropriate, isn't it?"
"Yes, you are right!" Dumbledore nodded deeply, "However, I couldn't wait any longer to slowly investigate the whereabouts of the hufflepuff's golden cup. You know, I can basically confirm that Voldemort has returned!"
"That's true!" Aisen frowned slightly, then relaxed, "So, all of Voldemort's Horcruxes have been destroyed?"
"If he hasn't made new Horcruxes after being resurrected!" Dumbledore's expression became serious.
"That means we can't just keep waiting. If Voldemort regains his strength and then makes new Horcruxes and hides them, it will be very troublesome," Aisen nodded, continuing Dumbledore's line of thought.
"You are right, so I need you to do something," Dumbledore looked at Aisen, a look of appreciation in his eyes.
Seeing Dumbledore's demeanor, Aisen almost couldn't help but roll his eyes. Well done, so this is where you were waiting for me!
"What is it?" With a slight sigh, Aisen asked nonchalantly.
"I need to ask you to leak some information about the Gringotts break-in!" Dumbledore said sternly, his expression serious.
"Are you sure?" Aisen looked at the other party with surprise.
Everyone learned about the Gringotts break-in from the newspapers. Even Aisen only learned from Dumbledorethat he himself did it. If the truth of the matter were revealed, wouldn't Dumbledore be asking for trouble?
"Yes, we can take this opportunity to force Voldemort out!" Dumbledore said.
"But this will probably have a very serious impact on you!" Aisen couldn't help but shake his head and sigh.
"The information revealed, of course, needs to be modified," Dumbledore said, hesitating for a moment, but then as if he had made up his mind, "What do you think of the news that a friend of Dumbledore learned one of Dumbledore's secrets, then betrayed him and robbed Gringotts?"
"Uh, that news is indeed explosive!" Aisen stared at him dumbfounded, "But, would your friend be willing to bear such infamy to cooperate with you? Don't tell me your friend is me!"
"Of course not you!" Dumbledore glanced at Aisen, "You already know that friend of mine. I told you last time that he was killed by Voldemort during a solo mission to capture Lockhart."
"Since he is already dead, and was killed by Voldemort, wouldn't it be completely unreasonable to blame it on him?" Aisen felt a little confused.
"Doing this is to make Voldemort suspicious," A trace of a smile appeared at the corner of Dumbledore's mouth, "To make him suspect that someone else impersonated my friend to rob Gringotts, with the goal of tarnishing my image, making me stand against everyone, and isolating me from the Ministry of Magic."
"But what good would that do?" Aisen rubbed his chin with his hand, "I mean, even if this news is leaked, and everyone knows that your friend betrayed you for a secret and then robbed Gringotts.
And even if Voldemort knows that someone impersonated your friend to rob Gringotts, what then? Voldemort certainly won't actively come out to talk to you, right!"
"What if the Philosopher's Stone was involved in the Gringotts break-in?" Dumbledore took something out of his pocket, a mysterious smile on his face.
"Philosopher's Stone?" Aisen looked at the object in Dumbledore's hand, frowning in thought, "Does no one know it has been destroyed?"
"Yes, besides us, no one would think that the Philosopher's Stone has turned into Philosopher's Stonefragments!" Dumbledore handed the Philosopher's Stonefragments in his hand to Aisen.
"You want to use it to make Voldemort appear?" Aisensaid slowly, seeming to understand Dumbledore's meaning.
"What do you think?" Dumbledore nodded.
"But, how exactly do we do it?" Aisen returned the Philosopher's Stone fragments to Dumbledore, "It's not easy to fool Voldemort!"
"A few weeks ago, I took in a House-elf named Shanshan. She used to be Barty Crouch's servant," Dumbledoremused, "If we give her the Philosopher's Stone fragments and then leak the news—"
"Barty Crouch was formerly a Death Eater, Voldemort must have an impression of his House-elf Shanshan, so—" Aisen thought along Dumbledore's line of reasoning, suddenly feeling that this plan seemed indeed feasible.
Chapter 300: Dumbledore's Plan
However, was Dumbledore's decision to take in the House-elf something he had planned long ago?
"There's a question!" Aisen looked up at Dumbledore. After Dumbledore gestured for Aisen to continue, Aisenposed a crucial question, "How would Voldemort believe that a House-elf could get the Philosopher's Stone?"
"Of course, we can't let anyone know this thing is the Philosopher's Stone. We just need to put it together with some treasures from the Crouch family, and that will be fine. Just have her return it to the Crouch family along with the others!" Dumbledore said slowly.
"You mean, mix the Philosopher's Stone fragments with the treasures belonging to the Crouch family, and then give them to Shanshan to return to the Crouch family—wait, you didn't just take hufflepuff's golden cup from Gringotts, you also took treasures from many other families?" Aisen looked at Dumbledore with a strange expression.
Earlier, he had thought that the Gringotts Goblins might be right, that nothing had been stolen, but now it seemed Dumbledore had directly proven him wrong.
Dumbledore smiled and nodded, without refuting. Seeing his attitude, Aisen was somewhat speechless. He could only say that Dumbledore's heart was too cunning.
"Then, there's another question. Since the friend who betrayed you has already robbed Gringotts, how could the treasures belonging to the Crouch family be given to Shanshan? The culprit must have hidden them long ago. This is clearly unreasonable!" Aisen continued to ponder.
"Hmm, you're right!" Dumbledore's eyes sparkled with wisdom. "How about this? Dumbledore entrusts Professor Aisen to investigate this matter, and ProfessorAisen finds the whereabouts of the friend who betrayed me. Then, after a confrontation, Professor Aisen recovers the stolen treasures from Gringotts from him."
"Then, after we discuss it, we naturally plan to return the recovered treasures to their rightful owners?" Aisenpicked up the conversation and continued, almost rolling his eyes.
However, with Dumbledore saying it like that, the plan did seem feasible.
"But what reason would Dumbledore have to send Eisen Turner, the Astronomy Professor?" Aisen spoke again after a moment of silence. "I mean, everyone knows I'm an Astronomy Professor who just joined Hogwarts not long ago, and I'm only in my twenties. How could such a person be entrusted with such an important task by Dumbledore?"
"You mean—" Dumbledore's brows furrowed.
"Isn't it obvious?" Aisen spread his hands. "Whether it's Severus or Hagrid, they both seem more suitable!"
"Hmm, you're right!" Dumbledore hesitated slightly, then surveyed Aisen from head to toe, and a faint smile appeared on his face. "But don't forget, besides being the Astronomy Professor, you have another identity!"
"I have another identity?" Question marks popped up in Aisen's mind.
Could Dumbledore have discovered that I'm actually a powerful being residing in the world? Or did he make some other discovery?
"That's right, besides being the Astronomy Professor at Hogwarts, you are also a champion in the Triwizard Tournament!" Dumbledore said lightly, a hint of deeper meaning flashing in his eyes as he looked at Aisen.
"What does that have to do with anything?" Aisen's expression froze, and he waved his hand, unsure what to say.
"You are the most special champion in the Triwizard Tournament because you participated as a safety officer," Dumbledore turned his head, his tone flat. "If I recall correctly, The Daily Prophet once reported on this, questioning your ability to serve as a safety officer in your capacity as an Astronomy Professor, didn't it?"
"So—" Aisen's expression immediately became changeable.
"Therefore, Dumbledore sending the Astronomy Professor to investigate the Gringotts theft is to prove to people that although Eisen Turner is an Astronomy Professor, his own strength is sufficient to serve as a safety officer. And Eisen Turner, in order to clear up the misunderstandings about himself in the newspaper, gladly accepted Dumbledore's commission. What do you think?"
Holy crap, is that how it is? After hearing Dumbledore's plan, some exclamations suddenly appeared in Aisen's mind.
Regarding this, he had to admit that Dumbledore was truly amazing, casually planning everything out. Moreover, if the plan was actually carried out as he described, there would indeed be no problems.
"I understand what you mean." After the surprise on his face subsided, Aisen slowly nodded. "Next, what I need to do is mix the Philosopher's Stone fragments with the treasures of the Crouch family, and in front of—well, Rita Skeeter, hand them to Shanshan and have her return them to the Crouch family."
"That's right. Besides that, you also need to hand some treasures to Dobby and Kreacher, to be returned to the Malfoy family and the Black family respectively," Dumbledore said lightly.
"Okay, I understand." Aisen looked at Dumbledore, noticing he had no other expression. "However, if we are returning the stolen treasures, there's a problem that can't be avoided—we definitely can't be sure which items to give to Shanshan and which to Dobby. Because House-elves couldn't possibly know what treasures their masters hid in the vault!"
"No, this is a very simple matter." Dumbledore looked at Aisen with a surprised expression, then pointed to his head. "We just need to concentrate and cast a spell, that's enough."
Hearing Dumbledore's explanation, Aisen showed an expression of sudden realization.
This was actually a blind spot in Aisen's thinking.
Because he had lived in the Muggle World for most of his life previously, Aisen's way of thinking was somewhat different on the path of exploring magic.
Aisen believed his way of thinking was more suitable for further exploring the path of magic. But conversely, when dealing with interconnected and logical plans, he would always subconsciously overlook the illogical power of magic.
For example, Aisen thought that the treasures stolen from Gringotts would be packed together and carried by the "true culprit."
So, after he recovered the treasures from the "true culprit" who robbed Gringotts according to the plan, there would be no way for him to pick out the treasures belonging to the Crouch family and the Malfoy family from a pile of treasures.
This way, a loophole appeared in the entire plan.
But actually, as long as Aisen had the will to distinguish the treasures of each family and then concentrated to mobilize his magic, the power of magic would automatically accomplish all of this.
Just like the principle of the Scarpin Revealing Charm, with the help of magic, as long as Aisen had the will, the matter could actually be perfectly resolved.
In other words, if the plan was executed as Dumbledoredescribed, even if Voldemort found out the details after the matter was revealed, he would only find it reasonable, not full of loopholes.
"There's one last question!" Looking at the footprints he had made walking around in the snow, Aisen stopped at the steps outside the entrance hall. "Others don't know about the Philosopher's Stone, but you definitely do. It's impossible for you not to discover the Philosopher's Stone among those treasures after you know I've recovered them!"
"You're right," Dumbledore also stopped. "I commissioned you to investigate the Gringotts theft, and then you recovered the stolen Gringotts treasures. I have no reason not to recognize the Philosopher's Stone when you return the treasures. So, next, I will leave the school for a period of time, and that should solve the problem."
"Leave the school for a period of time?" Aisen's face showed a look of realization.
"That's right. After I commission you to investigate the truth of the Gringotts theft, I just need to leave Hogwartsand communicate with you through letters afterwards. What do you think?" Dumbledore turned his head to look at Aisen.
"Then, after you learn through letters that I have recovered those treasures, you can use letters to directly instruct me to return the treasures through Shanshan and Dobby—"
This way, you won't need to know if there is a Philosopher's Stone among the recovered treasures.
Besides that, after you leave Hogwarts, you can also secretly observe where in the Wizarding World there are traces of Voldemort's activities! Right?" Aisen took over Dumbledore's words and continued.
"What do you think of my plan?" A hint of amusement flashed in Dumbledore's eyes.
"Okay, I agree to your plan!" Aisen thought for a while, then nodded in agreement.
Chapter 301: Before the Plan Commences
Agreeing to Dumbledore's plan meant that Aisen had to act according to the previously agreed-upon strategy.
He had thought it would take some time to implement this plan, but unexpectedly, Dumbledore didn't want to waste a single moment.
Thus, after they had settled everything, Aisen followed Dumbledore into the Castle and came to his office.
"Alright, these are some treasures from the Crouch familyvault at Gringotts, this one is from the Malfoy family, and well—this one is from the Black family," Dumbledore took out three bags, placed them on the desk, and introduced them to Aisen one by one.
After Aisen nodded in understanding, he took out a piece of the Philosopher's Stone and put it into the bag containing the Crouch family treasures.
"So, you've already cast a spell to separate the treasures that the 'robber' put together?" Aisen teased, picking up the three bags and weighing them in his hands.
"No, you cast the spell to separate them!" Dumbledoregave Aisen a deep look.
"So, when will you be leaving Hogwarts?" Aisen put the bags away.
"I'll leave in a bit!" Dumbledore said.
"Then, when will I catch the fellow who robbed Gringotts?" Aisen tapped on the desk. "It's impossible to say I just received your commission and immediately completed the task, right? I don't think that's appropriate!"
"Hmm—how about after one day?" Dumbledorepondered for a moment. "After I leave the school, you'll start 'acting', and then within just one day, you'll catch the culprit red-handed and recover the stolen treasures. If it takes any longer, those treasures might be sold off and impossible to recover!"
"So, you mean I should go out with Dobby and Shanshan tomorrow and reveal the matter?" Aisen withdrew his finger.
Subsequently, after another brief discussion about the details of the plan, Aisen left Dumbledore's office.
...
In Little Whinging, on Privet Drive, a figure was slowly moving towards this street.
The houses and lawns on both sides of the street were covered by thick snow, with only narrow paths cleared in front of the houses for access. But on the streets this season, hardly any people could be seen.
After passing through an old playground covered in heavy snow, the figure arrived in front of a house.
"Is this Number Four, Privet Drive, Harry Potter's aunt's house?" Aisen's mouth curved slightly upward.
With a thought, God's Perspective opened, bringing the entire house into his mind, and Harry, who was quietly sitting in his second-floor room, was instantly seen clearly by Aisen.
He was flipping through a photo album, each page showing moments of his parents. Seeing this scene, Aisencouldn't help but sigh; truly, for Harry, setting aside his identity as the Savior, he was just an orphan who had lost his parents from a young age.
Perhaps what he most wished for was to live with his family.
However, thankfully, he could live with Sirius in the future, which was quite good.
With a thought, Aisen directly apparated into Harry's room.
"Harry!"
Thud—
Seemingly startled, the photo album in Harry's hand slipped and landed on the table with a clear sound.
"Professor Aisen! How did you get here?" Harry showed a face full of pleasant surprise when he saw Aisen. After speaking, Harry stuffed the photo album into his bag and pulled a chair over for Aisen.
"I came to talk to you about something," Aisen said with a smile, sitting down.
"What is it?" Harry looked at Aisen with curiosity.
"Do you remember the Philosopher's Stone you got in your first year, before Professor Quirrell?" Aisen said calmly.
"Of course I remember. Thanks to you blocking him, Professor Aisen. Is there a problem?" Harry said, a look of wistfulness on his face.
"The Philosopher's Stone was destroyed by Dumbledoreand Nicolas Flamel together, wasn't it?" Aisen said unhurriedly.
"Yes, Professor Dumbledore said they destroyed the Philosopher's Stone directly to prevent Voldemort from regaining his strength after resurrection," Harry nodded heavily.
"Just don't be surprised when you see a photo of the Philosopher's Stone fragment in the newspaper in a couple of days!" Aisen's mouth curved slightly upward.
"What?" This unclear statement made Harry feel particularly strange.
"Don't overthink it, that's Dumbledore's plan, you'll understand what I mean then," Aisen reached out and patted Harry's shoulder.
"Oh, I see, Professor!" Although puzzled, Harry still nodded in agreement.
"By the way, aren't you going back to school?" Aisenstood up and looked out the window. "I mean, are you planning to stay here for the whole holiday?"
"No, I'm going to Sirius's place," Harry said, his face showing excitement. "He promised me he'd come pick me up first thing tomorrow morning."
"Alright, have a pleasant holiday. I have to go now!" Aisensmiled and said goodbye to Harry.
After leaving Harry's room, Aisen returned directly to Hogwarts.
After finding Hermione and Ron in the Library and the Gryffindor Common Room respectively, Aisen told them what he had just told Harry.
Clearly, Aisen's purpose was to prepare them for the upcoming plan.
Because besides Aisen and Dumbledore, the Trio also knew that the Philosopher's Stone had been destroyed.
At that time, Dumbledore had personally told Harryabout it, and then Harry had revealed it to Hermione and Ron. Therefore, even if the Philosopher's Stone became a Philosopher's Stone fragment, if Harry saw it in the newspaper, he would likely tell Hermione and Ron.
Thus, to prevent them from making a fuss and revealing the matter, Aisen told them in advance that it was Dumbledore's plan. This way, there would basically be no problem.
In the office, Aisen sat behind the desk, deep in thought.
After a moment, Aisen collected his thoughts, took out the Philosopher's Stone fragment from a bag, and rubbed it, feeling it.
He could feel a powerful magic contained within. But upon closer inspection, he would find that this powerful magic was merely a superficial appearance, utterly empty inside, as if only a shell remained.
Clearly, although the Philosopher's Stone had been destroyed into fragments, Dumbledore had still given it a disguise.
Putting the Philosopher's Stone fragment back into the bag, Aisen's eyes moved, as if he remembered something, and a piece of paper appeared out of thin air in his hand, with an address written on it.
This was an address that Rita Skeeter had given him when she interviewed him before Christmas. She had also said that if he had exclusive news, he could find her there.
Aisen had almost burned this note at the time, but a flash of inspiration made him keep it. But he hadn't expected that he would actually need it this time.
So, should I go find her now? No, no, no! I should first go after the robber who plundered Gringotts. Only after I recover the treasures can I go find Rita to break the news.
Hmm—so, I'll have to go find her tomorrow!
...
Time flew by, and early the next morning, Aisen left Hogwarts Castle directly and arrived in front of a detached house outside the suburbs of London.
He looked at the house number, confirmed it matched the address on the note, then stepped onto the steps through the snow, came to the front door, and tapped it with his wand.
Subsequently, a ripple spread out, extending into the house.
Moments later, an elegant woman opened the door and peered out, examining the outside. When she saw that it was Aisen, a smile immediately appeared on her face.
"Hogwarts' Astronomy Professor?" Rita Skeeter's eyes lit up, and in the blink of an eye, she reached out her fingers, painted with bright red nail polish, grabbed Aisen's arm, and dragged him into the house. "I bet you have some exclusive news to reveal, don't you? Please come in quickly!"
Upon entering the room, Aisen noticed that the entire living room was very tastefully arranged. The tables and chairs were neatly displayed in the center, and on the table was a spherical magical device, from which shimmering light points drifted out, emitting the scent of incense.
On the walls on either side, one side had a large floor-to-ceiling wine cabinet, and the other side had a huge painting hanging directly, depicting scenes, mostly of Ritainterviewing at various occasions.
Chapter 302: Rita, I Have News!
Looking around, just from the decor here, it was clear that Rita Skeeter must be a woman who liked to drink. Hmm—she should also be a narcissistic woman.
"Rita, I have some exclusive news to reveal, and I believe you'll definitely be interested!" Without any attempts to probe or delay, Aisen stated his purpose very directly and simply.
"Wow—" Rita Skeeter sat opposite Aisen.
Upon hearing Aisen's words, she revealed a surprised smile, then smoothed the elaborate and stiff curls on her head with her fingers, before pushing up the jewel-encrusted glasses perched on her nose.
"So, what exclusive news do you have?" Her tone seemed to quicken. "Believe me, as long as the news has a certain value, you will receive a satisfactory reward!"
Without waiting for Aisen to say anything, Rita waved her wand directly. On a shelf in front of a painting, a roll of parchment and a quill flew out of a crocodile-skin handbag.
Then, the parchment automatically unrolled in front of Rita, and the flying Quick-Quotes Quill landed vertically on it, trembling slightly, as if ready to start at any moment.
Watching the woman's skilled movements, Aisen's mouth twitched.
"So, where shall we begin?" Rita's eyebrows lifted. "Is it because the last interview made you realize that your abilities are insufficient to handle the job of Triwizard Tournament security officer?"
This visitor at dawn, when questioned by the writer, showed extreme signs of internal struggle. Clearly, he was not stumped by the writer's question, but was considering whether to reveal the mastermind behind the whole affair...
Under Aisen's astonished gaze, that long green Quick-Quotes Quill, as Rita's words fell, directly spilled a line of text onto the parchment.
This made Aisen wonder if, should he not speak a word from beginning to end, Rita Skeeter would be capable of fabricating an "interview conversation" out of thin air?
For some inexplicable reason, Aisen's mind wandered at this moment. He wondered if finding Rita Skeeter, this woman, to reveal the news was a mistake.
Tsk tsk—but if the news could appear in The Daily Prophet, it would indeed spread at the fastest speed. Well, that is to say, Dumbledore's plan must be pushed forward this way.
"Do you have concerns, Mr. Turner? It's alright, our readers empathize very easily with people of rebellious character, and that old lunatic Dumbledore definitely won't fire you because of this!"
"Alright, alright! What I have to say isn't like that!" Aisencleared the 雜念 from his mind and quickly raised his hands to stop the other party from continuing.
"It's alright, don't worry, if you were threatened—" Ritacontinued speaking, the Quick-Quotes Quill still fabricating nonsense, but Aisen was no longer interested in joking around.
"No, the exclusive news I want to reveal isn't this, but the truth about the Gringotts theft!" Aisen interrupted her directly.
"We will give you justice—what?" Rita was still speaking emphatically, but it was as if she had heard something explosive, and she directly exclaimed.
"Yes, you heard right, I'm going to talk about some truth regarding the Gringotts theft!" Aisen stood up and tapped the table with his finger. "But, I have a condition!"
"Oh, okay, okay, no problem, a reward, right? You'll definitely be satisfied!" Rita moved her fingers, her face flushed with excitement as she spoke.
That Quick-Quotes Quill quickly scribbled, crossing out all the content it had fabricated earlier.
"The condition I'm talking about isn't any reward," Aisensaid seriously. "I want you to go to the Astronomy Towerat Hogwarts at eight o'clock in the evening. I will tell you everything I know there."
"Here—" Rita's face stiffened, she glanced at the living room environment, then smiled again. "Alright, alright, then it's settled, I will be there on time tonight."
After letting out a long sigh, Aisen nodded towards her and left.
Before leaving, Aisen saw in that painting scenes of Ritainterviewing in various settings. For a moment, Aisen only felt irony and absurdity.
After returning to Hogwarts, Aisen did not stop his actions. Because next, he needed to consider how to get a few House-elves to appear.
There were now two choices before Aisen. One was to directly summon Dobby, Shanshan, and Kreacher from the Black family, explain the "truth" of the matter to them, and then at eight o'clock in the evening, put on a play together in front of Rita Skeeter.
The other choice was that Aisen did not plan to tell the House-elves the "truth". At that time, he would just return the treasures directly to their respective families through their hands in front of Rita Skeeter.
After thinking for a while, Aisen finally decided to proceed with his plan according to the second option.
Because this way, the House-elves only needed to act as "tools" once. They only needed to know that Aisen had recovered their masters' treasures and needed them to return the treasures.
What? Dobby and Shanshan are no longer the elves of the Malfoy family and the Crouch family? That's true, but they definitely wouldn't refuse to help with such a small favor.
After lunch, Aisen specifically went to the kitchen and found Dobby.
Uh, speaking of which, he was still the honorary president of the Society for the Promotion of Elfish Welfare? He wondered if wearing the S.P.E.W badge on his chest would increase their favorability? Never mind, stop thinking nonsense!
"Dobby!" Aisen smiled and greeted him directly!
"It's Professor Aisen! Does Professor Aisen need something from Dobby?" Dobby's eyes widened, and he spoke in a trembling voice.
"Yes, Dumbledore said that he wants you and Shanshan to come find me at the Astronomy Tower at eight o'clock tonight," Aisen smiled and nodded.
In order to get Dobby and Shanshan to go on time, Aisenhad to mention Dumbledore. Since Dobby and Shanshan had been taken in by Dumbledore, they should not object to Dumbledore's instructions, right?
"Did Dumbledore ask Dobby and Shanshan to go?" Hearing Aisen's words, Dobby's face broke into a bright smile. "Dobby and Shanshan will definitely go on time for what the great Dumbledore has commanded, ProfessorAisen!"
After a simple exchange, Aisen knew that things were indeed as he had expected. Not only had Dumbledoretaken in Dobby, but he had also given him a salary of one Galleon a week and a benefit of one day off a month.
Uh, from Dobby's perspective, Aisen felt that Hermione's goal of establishing the Society for the Promotion of Elfish Welfare might not be achieved. Because the conditions Dumbledore initially offered were to give Dobby a week off and a salary of ten Galleons a week.
But what did Dobby say? He said he liked freedom, but not too much freedom. From this, it could be seen that as an anomaly among House-elves, Dobby also resisted the various rights Hermione spoke of.
After leaving the kitchen, Aisen went straight to Sirius Black's office.
"Is there something?" After inviting Aisen in, Black asked with a smile.
"There's something I need to talk about!" Looking at Black's appearance at this time, Aisen couldn't help but feel emotional.
Or rather, after living at Hogwarts for a while, he already had the demeanor of a Professor. Compared to when he first escaped Azkaban, it was truly a world of difference.
He didn't say anything, just smiled and invited Aisen to sit down, signaling him to continue.
"Didn't Dumbledore tell you?" Aisen revealed a hint of confusion after sitting down.
"He just said there was something he needed me to cooperate with you on, but he didn't say what it was," a glimmer of light flashed in Black's eyes.
"Oh, it's nothing big," Aisen's eyes sharpened. "You need to have Kreacher come here at eight o'clock tonight, well, have him go to the Astronomy Tower."
"That's it?" Black looked at Aisen in surprise.
"That's right, that's it!" Aisen raised his eyebrows slightly.
Since Dumbledore hadn't told him too much, Aisendecided to proceed with his plan at his own pace.
"Kreacher, you say?" Black nodded as he spoke. "No problem, I'll go back and inform him to come over tonight. Is that all, or is there anything else?"
Shaking his head, Aisen indicated that besides this matter, there was indeed nothing else.
Chapter 303: Advancement
After discussing the main topic, Aisen and the other person talked about some teaching-related content.
Of course, their discussion was not about Astronomy but about things that needed to be applied in dueling classes.
Because the content of dueling classes actually has some overlap with the content of the Conquering Dark Magiccourse. Therefore, in some recent dueling classes, Blacksuggested that students could focus their energy on the Shield Charm.
After all, this Charm is not only a defensive Charm but can also reflect curses to a certain extent.
For this, Black even told Aisen that they should jointly suggest to Dumbledore to make this Charm a compulsory item for the O.W.L.s and N.E.W.Ts.
Only when this Charm is passed will students be allowed to obtain the corresponding certificate.
To be honest, from Aisen's perspective, such a suggestion is very reasonable.
Because if Hogwarts really implemented such a rule, then regardless of other aspects of Hogwarts graduates, everyone being able to cast the Shield Charm would be enough.
At the very least, the Shield Charm is a Charm that protects a Witch from harm, and it is worth anyone learning and mastering it.
It was an hour later when he left Black's office.
After eating in the Great Hall in the afternoon, when Aisen was preparing to return to his office, he saw Hermione approaching him with hurried steps.
"Professor Aisen!" Seeing Aisen's figure, Hermione's eyes lit up, and she quickly came to Aisen's side, pulling his arm and dragging him into an empty classroom.
"Is something wrong?" Looking at Hermione's actions in surprise, Aisen couldn't help but ask.
With God's Perspective open, the entire Castle was instantly reflected in his mind, and Aisen did not find any abnormal situation there. This made him feel even more strange.
Uh—, she's not going to ask for his advice on the development plan for S.P.E.W, is she?
"Professor, the clue to that golden egg—" After letting go of Aisen's arm, Hermione looked around, and after confirming there was no one, she leaned close to Aisenand whispered, "I already know!"
"How did you know?" Aisen raised an eyebrow, his gaze sweeping over Hermione, and a strange expression appeared on his face.
"This—" Hermione's face turned red, seemingly a little embarrassed, "Cedric told me. He told me to tell the Professor that taking the golden egg for a bath would make it clear. I guess, opening the golden egg in water will reveal the clue!"
Aisen's mouth twitched, and for a moment, he didn't know what to say.
Should he thank Hermione for finding out such information for him?
In fact, not to mention that Aisen already knew what the clue to the golden egg was, even if he didn't know, Hermione telling him was redundant. Because this second project was also not included in the scoring for him.
"Alright, I understand!" With this thought in his mind, Aisen still smiled and nodded, "Oh, by the way, is there anything you don't understand about Alchemy recently?"
"Oh, yes, Professor Aisen—" Hermione, with a happy look on her face, seemed to remember something, took out a book, flipped through a few pages, and leaned close to Aisen, "You annotated here that the magical effect can be broken down using Ancient Runes. Does this mean I need to understand the meaning of Ancient Runes more deeply?"
"Exactly, you are very smart!" Aisen sat down and beckoned to Hermione, "Ancient Runes communicate the power of magic. In many cases, the magical effects displayed by various spells can actually be presented in a runic way through Ancient Runes or through combinations of Runes."
"This is a bit different from the Alchemy described in the book!" Hermione sat beside Aisen, thought for a while, and then said, swaying her body.
"There is a slight difference, but if you understand Ancient Runes deeply and can break down magical effects, it will be very efficient in the application of Alchemy!" Aisen said with a smile.
"Because of the way Ancient Runes are combined?" Hermione showed a look of sudden realization.
"Exactly. You can combine other Runes freely through Ancient Runes," Aisen said unhurriedly. "If your skill level is high enough, you can even create new Runes yourself—"
"Create new Runes yourself?" Hermione pursed her red lips, and a look of disbelief flashed in her eyes.
"magic is that amazing, isn't it?" Aisen shrugged.
Hermione stared blankly at Aisen, a hint of fascination in her eyes.
"Is there anything else?" Aisen smiled, tapping the table casually as he spoke.
A faint silver light emanated from his fingertips, spreading out in ripples that brushed past Hermione's body. Then, a faint silver glow emerged from the bracelet on Hermione's wrist and then converged into Hermione's body.
Hermione seemed to have just woken up from a dream, a clear light in her eyes. When she saw Aisen's half-smiling expression, her face turned red again.
"Professor, I want to dance again!"
"Then, as you wish!" Looking at Hermione's shy appearance, Aisen smiled, and with a thought. The Dream God Spell was already cast silently.
Hermione was still sitting beside Aisen, and their movements had not changed at all. But the colors of the entire classroom had already changed.
The tables, chairs, portraits on the walls, the red ribbons hanging from the ceiling, etc., all the colors instantly faded. Aisen deliberately played a trick of "Heaven and Earth Losing Color," and the two were instantly pulled into the Dream World.
Scene switch—
When Hermione's vision returned to light, she found herself and Professor Aisen sitting under a quiet starry sky.
"Come!" Aisen stood up and extended his hand to Hermione with a smile.
In the Dream World, the scene changes according to Aisen's will.
A glimmer of starlight flickered, dancing across the sky like a meteor. A faint breeze appeared out of thin air, swirling around Aisen and Hermione's bodies.
In an instant, dots of silver light appeared out of thin air, transforming into roses that surrounded the two of them.
Just like on the day of the Christmas Ball, the two held hands and danced gracefully in the quiet night sky. At this moment, the two seemed like forest elves, releasing a gentle brilliance in the desolate cosmic forest.
...
In the empty classroom, Aisen and Hermione opened their eyes at the same time.
"Professor Aisen, I'm going to eat, goodbye!" Without waiting for Aisen to say anything, Hermione waved her hand with a smile and hurriedly left. However, from her expression, it was clear that her experience in the Dream World had made her very satisfied.
Seeing Hermione's actions, Aisen smiled and said nothing, quietly thinking about his next plan.
A moment later, Aisen's brows suddenly furrowed.
Because he suddenly thought of something, something about the woman Rita Skeeter.
The plans Dumbledore told him seemed flawless on the surface. As long as the newspapers could report the cause and effect, perhaps things would develop as Dumbledore expected.
The problem is, how can he ensure that Rita won't cause trouble during this process? If she just adds fuel to the fire, that's fine, but if she fabricates things, the effect of the revelation might go wrong.
However, Dumbledore's goal is to lure Voldemort out through the Philosopher's Stone fragments. So, does it mean that as long as the Philosopher's Stone fragments are reported among a pile of treasures?
No, no, no, this is still not safe enough. He cannot let Voldemort see too obvious loopholes.
Since that's the case, then perhaps he will have to reveal the news that she is an illegal Animagus to threaten her. This way, he won't be afraid of her fabricating things.
As his thoughts turned, Aisen's brows relaxed, and a smile spread across his face.
For the rest of the time, Aisen did not go anywhere else but went directly to the Astronomy Tower, quietly waiting for the appointed time to arrive.
Time passed little by little. After sunset, night quickly enveloped Hogwarts Castle, and dots of light shone from the windows of various rooms, as if igniting the vitality dormant in the winter days, making the Castle much livelier.
Bang—
As it approached eight o'clock in the evening, several short figures flashed out of thin air and appeared in the Astronomy Tower room.
Undoubtedly, these three figures were the House-elves Dobby, Shanshan, and Kreacher.
"Professor Aisen—" The three figures trembled, and finally, Dobby mustered up the courage to greet him.
"Relax a little, Dobby, Shanshan, and Kreacher!" Aisenwaved his hand to motion.
Chapter 304: Exclusive News
Thump, thump, thump--
Two sets of footsteps sounded outside, so clear to Aisen's enhanced hearing.
As soon as God's Perspective opened, it swept over the figures ascending the stairs. Clearly, Rita Skeeter hadn't just arrived on time herself, but had also brought her photographer.
"Eisen Turner, I'm early enough, right?" Rita said after seeing Aisen. "Let's start quickly. The exclusive news you mentioned last time, the truth about the Gringotts theft?"
In the night, candlelight was lit in the Astronomy Towerroom, adding some brightness to the space.
With a quick glance, Aisen noticed that the hurried Rita Skeeter had already put on heavy makeup. Is she this serious? Or is she always like this?
"Don't rush, sit down!" Aisen said with a smile, sitting down. Then he pulled out his wand and waved it, causing two chairs to appear beside her and the photographer.
"So--" After sitting down, Rita took out parchment and a quill from her crocodile skin handbag. Just as she was about to say something, her gaze fell upon the House-elfbeside her. Immediately, her brow couldn't help but furrow.
"Listen, what I'm about to say involves them!" Aisen said unhurriedly upon seeing this. "However, I can have them go to the other side first, so they don't affect our conversation."
After speaking, Aisen took Dobby and the others to a small alcove on the other side, instructing them to wait for a while.
"What you were about to say was that they were the ones who committed the Gringotts theft?" After Aisenreturned, Rita's eyes lit up, and her quill began to write furiously.
"If you don't want to listen, then I don't think we need to waste time here!" Aisen's gaze swept over the parchment in her hand, and his expression immediately turned stern.
"Alright, alright! Let's begin!" Rita's eyes darted around. Suppressing her displeasure, she crossed out the lines she had just written.
"The Gringotts theft was committed by a friend of Dumbledore's--" Aisen organized his thoughts and spoke slowly.
"Was it ordered by Dumbledore?" Rita looked at Aisenwith a shocked expression, directly interrupting him.
"No--, Dumbledore certainly wouldn't do that. He told me that a friend of his discovered his secret and then betrayed him," Aisen said expressionlessly.
"Dumbledore's secret?" Rita seemed to think of something, and she grinned, revealing three gold teeth. "What kind of secret is it? Is it convenient to reveal?"
"Of course, he wouldn't tell me his secret." A strange glint flashed in Aisen's eyes. "I suspect the person who betrayed Dumbledore broke into Gringotts precisely to frame Dumbledore."
"How do you know about this?" Rita's thick eyebrows rose. After speaking, she looked at Aisen with a smug expression, seemingly trying to stump him with this question.
"Because after Dumbledore told me about this, he entrusted me to track down the whereabouts of that traitor. After I caught up to the person last night, I had a confrontation and recovered the treasures stolen from Gringotts." Aisen calmly took out three bags and placed them on the table beside him.
"Wait--" A look of surprise appeared on Rita's face. "You said Dumbledore entrusted you to investigate the Gringotts theft?"
"That's right, because in your last report about me, you said that as an Astronomy Professor, I didn't have the ability to be a security officer, so he entrusted me with this mission to prove my strength!" Aisen said, nodding continuously in secret.
Good, just like this, cooperate with me in revealing some things.
"I wasn't questioning your strength. I just said you were much younger than the other Professors and lacked experience, didn't I?" Rita waved her hand, not showing the slightest bit of embarrassment.
Clearly, her thick-skinned skill had reached a certain level. At the very least, among the people Aisen knew, only Lockhart could compare to her.
"Yes, you're right, my experience is indeed a bit lacking!" Aisen said, feeling quite speechless. "But I believe that after this incident, I will make progress."
"Is this the exclusive news you mentioned?" Rita said, her eyes darting around, seemingly thinking about how to add something to it.
"As I just said, I've already fought with the thief, and I recovered some treasures from him." Aisen pointed to the three bags on the table. "These treasures belong to the Malfoy family, the Crouch family, and the Black family, respectively."
"Oh, you plan to deal with them?" Rita immediately became interested.
"Look, they used to be the House-elves of these three families. Dumbledore thinks they should return the treasures to their former masters." Aisen pointed to the alcove on the other side, giving her a meaningful look.
"That old lunatic Dumbledore would be so generous?" Rita muttered to the side, an expression of disbelief on her face.
"That thief betrayed Dumbledore and also intended to frame him, so after recovering these treasures, Dumbledore believes he cannot keep them for himself and must return them to the rightful owners," Aisen said with a righteous expression.
Rita pushed her gem-encrusted glasses with a finger painted with red nail polish. After hearing Aisen's words, she stood up and walked straight to the table, emptying the contents of the three bags onto it.
Clatter--
The three piles of treasures formed a small mountain, filled with various gems, silverware, and antiques. It was clear that these three piles of treasures were definitely of considerable value.
His eyes narrowed slightly. Aisen noticed that as Ritalooked at the treasures, her breathing became rapid.
"Dumbledore truly is an old lunatic!" Her thick fingers clenched tightly, her nails seemingly about to pierce her skin. As she spoke, she turned to look at Aisen, seemingly having thought of a good idea. By the time she reached Aisen's side, she was beaming.
"If you ask me, Dumbledore isn't here anyway, how about we--" Rita ran her red tongue over her lips, seemingly hinting at something.
"You want--" Aisen's eyes narrowed, and he glanced at the treasures on the table.
"That's right, I will report the truth of the matter accurately!" Rita deliberately emphasized the word 'truth'. "As long as this--"
Her eyes gleamed. She reached into the pile of treasures and, coincidentally, picked up a fragment of the Philosopher's Stone and clenched it in her hand.
This probably won't do, right? If I let her take the Philosopher's Stone fragment, wouldn't that disrupt Dumbledore's plan?
Because there will be photos taken next, the Philosopher's Stone must be in the picture to possibly lure out Voldemort. If Rita intercepts the Philosopher's Stone fragment, wouldn't the whole plan fall apart?
Aisen's eyes closed slightly, making him look like he was thinking. But in reality, his Dream God Spell had been silently cast, and his consciousness entered the Dream World.
The moment he entered the Dream World, the flow of time was quickly adjusted, giving Aisen ample time to think of a countermeasure.
"I'm truly impressed, this woman really knows how to pick things!" In the Dream World, Aisen couldn't help but sigh. "Should I directly use Obliviate to modify her memory?"
This indeed seemed to solve the problem he was facing. Moreover, with his current mastery of Obliviate, he could absolutely guarantee that no one would be able to see any traces.
If necessary, he could even cast the Dream God Spell to pull the other party into the Dream World. This way, controlling and modifying memories would be more convenient and leave no discernible flaws.
After thinking for a long time, Aisen couldn't help but become agitated.
Because if he were to proceed according to the plan Dumbledore and he had agreed upon, then he absolutely could not let this woman, Rita Skeeter, take the Philosopher's Stone fragment.
Forget it, why think so much? Just modify her memory.
With a slight shift in thought, Aisen opened his eyes and then smiled at Rita Skeeter.
"I don't think this is a big problem." Coming to Rita's side, Aisen took the Philosopher's Stone fragment from her hand. "But there must be a suitable reason."
"A suitable reason?" Rita's body trembled slightly, and her breathing quickened a bit more.
"For example, I was entrusted by Dumbledore to investigate the truth of the Gringotts theft, and I obtained very important clues from you, which allowed me to recover these treasures." Aisen turned to look at Rita.
"Exactly, that's it!" Rita's eyes began to shine.
It's at this moment--
The Dream God Spell was cast directly. Rita and the photographer were instantly pulled into the Dream World. Under Aisen's deliberate control, the Dream World scene remained the same as the Astronomy Towerroom setup, so Rita and the photographer had no idea they had fallen under Aisen's control.
Chapter 305: Casting the Bait
After pulling Rita and her photographer into the Dream World, Aisen quickly adjusted the flow of time, separating himself from them.
This was a new attempt; simply put, it involved creating two different time flow speeds. For Aisen himself, the time flow was normal, but for Rita and the photographer, the time flow was extremely slow.
The effect was that Aisen moved normally within the Dream World, while the consciousness of Rita and the photographer seemed to be frozen.
Does that sound familiar? That's right, Aisen directly froze time in the Dream World. Everything except himself was still.
After a smile, Aisen directly used his god-like ability to manipulate the memories of Rita and the photographer.
In fact, there was no need to fabricate many false memories. He just needed to delete the memory of Ritadiscovering the Philosopher's Stone fragment and implant some suggestions that she was eager to expose the information he revealed.
This way, the other party wouldn't pay too much attention to those treasures. Similarly, the same applied to the photographer next to her; a slight modification of memory was enough.
In the real world.
"How about it? Are we taking pictures now?" Aisensmiled at Rita, subtly mixing the Philosopher's Stonefragment among a pile of treasures in the middle, while also glancing at the photographer beside her.
For Rita, all the operations were completed silently; she couldn't sense the slightest change. Hearing Aisen's words, she immediately showed a look of realization.
"That's right, such a big event should indeed be photographed!" Rita pushed up her glasses and beckoned to the photographer next to her.
Aisen smiled and nodded, summoning Dobby, Shanshan, and Kreacher from the small compartment on the other side.
There were three piles of treasures on the table. Dobby, Shanshan, and Kreacher were arranged directly behind the three piles of treasures. Aisen and Rita stood on either side of the table.
Aisen noticed that the Philosopher's Stone fragment, mixed in with the pile of treasures, was still quite noticeable. Good, this is fine!
Wait—
Maybe I can do this!
As if suddenly thinking of something, the smile on Aisen's face spread.
With a thought, he directly pulled everyone present into the Dream World.
Subsequently, while keeping everyone's consciousness almost stagnant, Aisen used the Philosopher's Stonefragment as a carrier and directly split off a memory body to reside on it.
This way, if the Philosopher's Stone fragment was obtained by Voldemort, Aisen could still give him a surprise!
Click—
After the shutter sound, a group photo was taken. No one noticed that Aisen had secretly hidden a memory body on the Philosopher's Stone fragment right under everyone's noses.
"All right, Dobby, Shanshan, and Kreacher!" Aisenstepped forward and waved his wand, and the three piles of treasures were put into bags. "Dumbledore needs you to return these treasures to your former masters."
"Former masters?" Dobby took a bag from Aisen's hand, and his large brown eyes showed worry. "The Malfoy family?"
"Dumbledore's task, please!" Aisen smiled and nodded.
"Eisen Turner, no, sir! If you have any more exclusive news in the future, feel free to find me!" Rita looked at Aisenwith a smile on her face, as if she was looking at some treasure, then waved and left with the photographer.
Bang bang bang—
Dobby, Shanshan, and Kreacher, each holding a bag, Disappeared directly from the Astronomy Tower.
"How boring!" After the entire room emptied, the expression on Aisen's face quickly disappeared. "Well, whatever, it didn't take much effort anyway."
Turning his gaze, Aisen looked out the window and saw dots of light emerging from various parts of the Castle, penetrating into the darkness without causing a ripple.
Amidst the sparkling stars, the night grew deeper.
In this complete silence, Aisen felt a rare sense of emptiness.
Dumbledore's bait has been cast, but I don't know if Voldemort will take it. Hmm, he should. After all, Voldemort doesn't have many people he can use now.
To regain powerful strength, the Philosopher's Stone is absolutely not to be missed.
After a while, Aisen smiled and shook his head, flashing back to his office.
...
After Christmas passed, Aisen found that the students who stayed at the school seemed to have calmed down.
But it's understandable, because everyone had a great time due to the Christmas ball earlier. That was an exceptionally wonderful time, with no need to consider anything else.
But as soon as Christmas was over, what lay before everyone was the heavy holiday homework. As a result, they had to calm down their excited moods.
Moreover, Seven Grade students had to prepare for their O.W.Ls and N.E.W.Ts.
Of course, none of this was a problem for the champions. Because they still had to prepare for the second task on February 24th.
The entire Christmas holiday passed in the blink of an eye.
After the Little Wizards from the lower grades arrived at Hogwarts, the entire Castle suddenly became much livelier.
Although the grounds outside the Castle were still covered with a thick layer of snow, the atmosphere of the entire Hogwarts no longer had the sense of loneliness of winter.
Because Aisen had given the Trio a boost before, at the end of the holiday, they had to follow Aisen's instructions and enter the Dream World to do their holiday homework again.
"Professor Aisen, is what's written in the newspaper true?" The night before the start of the new term, Ron, who had just finished his homework in the Dream World, couldn't wait to ask.
During this time, The Daily Prophet reported extensively on the truth about the Gringotts break-in. Most of the content came from Aisen's words that night.
Therefore, basically everyone in the Wizarding Worldknew the truth about the Gringotts break-in—the "truth" planned by Dumbledore.
"Dumbledore's friend betrayed him and broke into Gringotts?" Harry seemed interested and immediately followed up with a question.
"That's right, everything the newspaper says is true!" Aisen answered very affirmatively, then glanced at Ron, "Your family vault wasn't broken into, was it?"
"No, Fred and I wrote to Mum and Dad and asked, luckily nothing happened!" As he spoke, Ron seemed to think of something and patted his chest with lingering fear.
"Professor, you said during the holiday that there would be a photo of the Philosopher's Stone fragment in the newspaper, but no one knows about it?" Hermione keenly noticed something, glanced at Harry and Ron, and said quietly.
"This is Dumbledore's plan, just pretend you don't recognize it, understood?" Aisen immediately instructed solemnly.
Seeing Aisen's serious expression, the three nodded hastily.
The next day, the new term officially began, and the Triostarted their usual classes. As for Aisen, he returned to his unhurried pace of life.
That evening, during a dueling class, a scene that gave Aisen a headache occurred. The reason was that some Little Wizards had returned to their previous level when casting the Shield Charm or the Disarming Charm.
Uh, how should I put it, it felt to Aisen like beginners who had just learned these two Charms but didn't practice diligently, and their level regressed after a period of neglect.
Terrible! You are the worst batch of students I have ever taught!
Aisen wanted to say this to those Little Wizards, but then decided against it. After all, he was just an Astronomy Professor, there was no need to be so meddlesome, right!
This situation should be left for Professor Flitwick and Professor McGonagall to worry about. Anyway, the students who had truly mastered these two Charms hadn't regressed.
For a period after the start of the term, Aisen temporarily suspended some of his previous research. Because of the upcoming second task, he thought of a problem concerning himself.
All along, Aisen had overlooked some changes in himself.
For example, the daily increase in Magic had continuously strengthened his overall physical quality. Another example was how he had previously inscribed some Charms onto his body through runes.
In addition, there was the fusion of some extraordinary characteristics, and so on.
These various changes had subtly made Aisen "non-human". To put it simply, he had long become an extraordinary life form, and would become even more extraordinary in the future.