Struggling to survive at Hogwarts

Chapter 223 The Elusive Dumbledore

Although Thea managed to evade Draco's questioning, she couldn't escape Dumbledore's invitation.

Seeing the old man in the gray robe suddenly appear from around a corner, Thea felt a chill run down her spine, a feeling she hadn't experienced in a long time.

"Professor, have you been very busy these days?" After her initial surprise, Thea tried to suppress her nervousness and began to try to get closer to him.

Recalling her "treasonous" declaration, Thea grew increasingly wary. Dumbledore... he probably wouldn't just kill me outright, would he...?

“Not very busy,” Dumbledore said, looking down at the seemingly harmless Thea, his tone still gentle, “which is why I had the privilege of listening to a thoroughly enjoyable…lecture tonight.”

Thea: "…………"

"That's quite a coincidence..." Thea said, forcing herself to agree.

“It is indeed a coincidence,” Dumbledore smiled slightly, a smile that immediately triggered all the alarm bells in Thea’s mind.

"By the way, while I was watching your speech on stage, I suddenly remembered someone from the past..."

Thea's heart skipped a beat.

Dumbledore, an old friend, giving a speech.

These three words are fine on their own, but when you put them together, the combined effect is explosive…

Thea was about to continue listening when Dumbledore suddenly changed the subject.

"Although I may have said this many times, I still want to repeat it again now—"

"Thea, you are the most talented and kind-hearted little wizard I have ever met."

Dumbledore spoke earnestly, his admiration undisguised.

"I don't want you to waste this talent..."

"I would rather you embark on a path full of darkness and thorns."

Thea lowered her head, her expression unreadable, but a vague sense of familiarity ran through her. She remembered that Voldemort had also earnestly advised her to learn...dark magic.

“I know, Professor.”

Thea knew the path she had chosen, and she also knew that the methods she used were hardly honorable.

But does it matter?

She is a Slytherin, and the idea that she will stop at nothing to achieve victory is not a derogatory term here.

Looking at Thea's expression, Dumbledore slowly exhaled a breath of stale air. The most difficult people to deal with in the world are geniuses, because they have already established their standards for viewing things in their minds.

Trying to change their standards is harder than climbing to heaven.

“Let’s go,” Dumbledore said immediately. “I think we need a cup of hot cocoa.”

They need to have a serious talk.

Thea knew she couldn't escape, so she had no choice but to obediently follow behind Dumbledore.

"call out!"

With a wave of his wand, Dumbledore conjured two steaming cups of hot cocoa in front of the two.

"You can try it; it's not very sweet."

Upon hearing Dumbledore's last few words, Thea immediately felt relieved; she couldn't stand Dumbledore's tastes.

Seeing Thea's instant relief, Dumbledore found it amusing and immediately picked up his cup and took a sip. The tension between the two gradually eased.

"Thea, can you answer a few questions for me?" Dumbledore broke the silence first and started the conversation.

Upon hearing this request, Thea's eyes flickered, but she agreed without much hesitation.

"Please ask," Thea said calmly.

"You revealed to those children that you are a descendant of Slytherin?"

"Yes."

The portrait on the wall, which had been pretending to be dead, suddenly came to life, but before they could say anything, Dumbledore glared at them and silenced them.

"You want to build them into a team? A team that belongs only to you?"

“That’s right,” Thea said bluntly. “They will be my assistants from now on, because I can’t do everything by myself.”

The headmasters on the wall were practically ready to unleash a torrent of curses; even Voldemort hadn't been this arrogant back then!

At least other people know to use some methods to hide it, but you, you just dropped a bombshell right from the start.

Dumbledore remained composed, but his eyelids twitched a few times.

"What do you intend for them to do?" Dumbledore asked again.

Unlike her previous rapid-fire Q&A sessions, Thea was noticeably slower this time.

She said carefully, "In the short term, it will naturally be used to deal with Umbridge, and incidentally to find some of the unstable elements at Hogwarts..."

"What about in the long term?"

“Long-term…” Thea spoke even slower, “That naturally depends on their wishes… If they are willing to follow me, I certainly won’t kick them out…”

As Thea recounted her story, the atmosphere in the office gradually became tense.

"...I just heard you say you wanted to lead them to create a new world?"

As soon as Dumbledore finished speaking, even the portrait on the wall dared not utter a sound.

Thea was being stared at by Dumbledore, but when she heard the question, she suddenly felt a sense of relief.

She chuckled lightly, her tone relaxed, "It's just a slogan, Professor, aren't you being too sensitive...?"

Thea's words came to an abrupt end.

Because she saw an angry Dumbledore.

This was an entirely new and groundbreaking event, and Thea was thankful that she could still be in the mood to joke around.

“Buzzing…”

Something seemed to be trembling.

As Dumbledore's outburst began, the silverware in the office started to tremble slowly, emitting a tinkling sound.

Perhaps it was an instinctive reaction, but Thea instinctively tightened her grip on her wand.

The stagnant atmosphere transformed in that instant into an imminent eruption of an active volcano.

Fortunately, the commotion quickly subsided.

"You seem to know a lot..."

Dumbledore's tone was low and dangerous, like that of a lion about to erupt in fury.

"It's just a little bit of curiosity..."

Thea spoke in a relaxed tone, as if she were chatting casually.

Dumbledore remained silent, but Thea guessed he was probably suppressing the urge to unleash the Killing Curse.

In the silence, Thea slowly spoke, "Professor, why are you angry?"

"Didn't you make me the class leader so that I could openly recruit people?"

"Ministry of Magic, Death Eaters, Hogwarts..."

"What a magnificent scene of a three-way balance of power, with each side keeping the other in check!"