After inviting Karl to sit down, Dumbledore began to discuss serious matters with him.
"Gellert and I plan to head to Tara Hill in Ireland after Hogwarts lets out, hoping to find something there."
"Huh? Are you finally making a move?"
Karl looked at Dumbledore with eager eyes. "Take me with you, Albus! It'll be boring with just the two of you! I can liven things up!"
"Heh!"
Grindelwald chuckled, glancing at him sideways: This little brat is just bored! Are you going to set fires to liven things up? With me here, do we even need you?
Karl: (—_—)
What do you mean, old man? I'm protecting my Principal, what does that have to do with you? An outsider acting all high and mighty!
Dumbledore waved his hand with a smile. "While I'd like to take you, Minerva probably wouldn't agree. But if you can convince her, then there's no problem."
"Listen… that's a bit difficult!"
"Let me think about how to spin a lie. As long as I can deceive Minerva first, getting beaten up can be dealt with later!"
As the saying goes, trust your future self's wisdom—it has nothing to do with your present self anyway.
Grindelwald rolled his eyes. "Do you even need to make something up, you little brat? Shouldn't lies just roll off your tongue?"
Karl glared at the old man. "Albus! He's slandering me! Ruining my reputation!"
Don't you know what an honest and reliable young man is? Spreading rumors is shameful!
Dumbledore quickly lowered his head and drank his tea, pretending to be deaf and blind.
Although he wanted to support Karl, Gellert was, unfortunately, not wrong.
"Albus, say something!"
"Ah? Oh! I think you can take your time thinking. No need to rush, because there's plenty of time."
Dumbledore decisively changed the subject. "I still have to deal with matters between the school and the Ministry of Magic. I probably won't arrive at Tara Hill until early August. We can meet there."
This way, Karl could leave on his own, and he could also avoid Minerva.
Phew! A perfect decision! This is the wisdom that comes from life experience!
"What kind of matters take over a month to handle? Is the Ministry of Magic that inefficient?"
"Hmm…" Dumbledore spread his hands. "Although Wizarding society and Muggle society are separate, in some ways, they are exactly alike."
Having watched the show "Yes, Minister," Karl immediately understood. If that was the case, then everything made sense.
"The Ministry of Magic is a bunch of worms! How can they secure a better future for the Wizarding community when they're with these guys?"
Karl slammed his hand on the table, then turned to look at Grindelwald.
"Old man, why don't we fight the Ministry of Magic? We'll storm into Cornelius Fudge's office and seize his position!"
"Then Albus can be the Minister, you can be the Deputy Minister, and I'll be the hype man waving the flag from behind. We'll eat big steaks and drink big bowls of red wine. Wouldn't that be wonderful?"
Grindelwald slapped his thigh upon hearing this. "Though you often talk nonsense, this idea of yours is quite good!"
"Of course! Who doesn't have their moments of being a human? Just like you occasionally speak like one!"
"The feeling's mutual!"
"Hehehe!" × 2
Dumbledore: (—_—")
Looking at the animated Karl and the gleeful Gellert, he suddenly felt so weary. He hoped he wouldn't wake up one day to find himself clad in black robes, did he?
Although he knew they were joking, the problem was—these two could actually do it!
"Cough! Stop it!"
Dumbledore tapped the table with his finger. "Karl, did you come here for something?"
Karl then remembered his purpose, so he, having just sat down, slammed his hand on the table again.
"Albus! I need to impress upon you the gravity of this situation!"
"Ah?"
Dumbledore began to reflect on when he had provoked the mischievous child.
"Lockhart, of all people, is teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts Class. Can he teach it? No, he can't! He doesn't have the ability, you know?"
"And this guy is even taking the opportunity to sell books! He really has no shame!"
"A whole seven or eight books! This is putting a burden on the students! Hogwarts is my territory—ah, no! It's my home, so I absolutely cannot tolerate such things happening!"
Dumbledore, Grindelwald: ·—·
Did you just blurt out what you were really thinking, young man? We're not so old that we can't hear!
"Don't worry, Karl. I extorted—cough!—requested a sum of money from the Ministry of Magic and the school board as a subsidy for the students' book purchases, so it won't burden them. The matter I mentioned earlier that needed to be dealt with was precisely this."
"As for Lockhart—he does have some issues. I think it's a good opportunity to teach all young Wizards a lesson."
"And Gellert is here too, so it won't affect everyone's Defense Against the Dark Arts Class progress."
After Dumbledore finished explaining, he noticed Karl was still a bit indignant, so he decisively added another sentence.
"I'm also preparing to add a batch of extracurricular books to the school library, including your works."
Karl: (—_—)
"Hehe! Then it's fine! I actually don't care about the books or anything. My main concern was our Defense Against the Dark Arts Class, but since the old man is stepping in, I can rest assured!"
Grindelwald looked at Karl with disdain. "Bah! Look at you! You're such a small-minded brat!"
Oh, really? Am I?
Karl's mouth twisted into a smirk, and he raised his voice, reciting in a theatrical tone to needle him.
"Albus, I'm going to visit Newt's home this summer, so I wanted to ask you what kind of gift I should prepare? After all, he's your most favored student!"
Grindelwald: (Stomping his foot)
This little brat really needs a good beating!
It seems I need to build a good relationship with Ms. McGonagall in the future, otherwise, I really can't deal with him!
"Hmm—anything is fine, really. Newt is quite introverted, so remember to be a bit more restrained when you interact with him, as not everyone is Gellert."
Dumbledore was a little worried. Would Newt's family move out overnight after Karl's visit? He hoped Nina could keep him in check!
"When are you going?"
"What's wrong? Is there something else?"
"After the holidays, Nicolas Flamel will be moving to Hogsmeade Village, and since I'll be at the Ministry of Magic, I hope you and Minerva can welcome him for me. He's very eager to meet you."
"No problem! I'm also very curious about this legendary alchemist! But Karl looked at Grindelwald with a strange smile, "What about this old man? Will it be a bit awkward when they meet?"
"What are you laughing at, you idiot!"
Grindelwald got up and left. "Nicolas Flamel isn't coming to the school anyway! Do you think I'm as idle as you, looking for trouble?"
"Hey? Old man, don't leave! Tell me how you were caught back then?"
Watching Karl chase Grindelwald away, Dumbledore rubbed his forehead helplessly.
The mischievous child is too noisy!
That evening, Karl wrote down his battle plan for the holiday on paper.
One, welcome Nicolas Flamel and see if I can get some magic alchemy equipment.
Two, visit Newt's family and see if I can get some magic spatial equipment.
Three, explore Tara Hill in Ireland with Albus and Gellert and see if I can get some magic weapons and equipment.
Karl: (—_—)
Hmm—it seems a bit too revealing of my personality!
Burn it, burn it!
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