This was not the first time the Dementors had lost control, nor the first time they had stretched out their claws toward innocent students.
During the temporary inspection on the train at the start of term, the Dementors had already failed to restrain their urges and harassed the students returning to school.
Today they barged into the stadium for no reason, throwing a party, disrupting the progress of the Quidditch match, and even injuring a student. No wonder Dumbledore had flown into a rage.
At the opening feast, Dumbledore had emphasized the danger of the Dementors. They could not distinguish between the fugitive they were supposed to hunt and innocent passersby. The Dementors simply radiated the deepest malice, greedily taking from everyone without restraint.
A prisoner had escaped from Azkaban, and the Dementors were stationed at Hogwarts—this was an order issued by the foolish Ministry of Magic, and it was not easy for Dumbledore to openly defy it.
In the end, it led to these two incidents of intrusion, producing a situation Dumbledore had never wanted to see.
The torrential rain kept pouring down, as if someone had torn open a hole in the sky and let the waters of the Milky Way cascade onto the earth.
Carrying his anger, Dumbledore left the school. Excessive rage harmed the liver and the left cheek; the headmaster was already over a hundred years old, and too much pent-up fire was hardly a good thing.
The road to Hogsmeade was terribly muddy. Eda followed behind Dumbledore, stepping deep and shallow with every stride.
Eda didn't even know what had happened. One second she had still been showering Dumbledore with rainbow praise in her heart, expressing her admiration; the next second the headmaster had hauled her out of the school to accompany him in going to pick trouble with the Ministry of Magic.
I mean, Headmaster, do you really think my scrawny little build is suitable for this?
Of course, Eda would never say such complaints out loud for Dumbledore to hear. She wasn't actually afraid of the Ministry; she just didn't quite understand why the headmaster had brought her along.
Was this to tell the Ministry that she, Eda Troublesome Twist, was Dumbledore's person through and through?
This treatment was practically catching up to Harry Potter's.
Grandmother, I've made it!
Eda's lively thoughts were, of course, unknown to Dumbledore. He had his own reasons for bringing her along—anyway, they were definitely not what Eda imagined.
Furious, Dumbledore strode ahead to lead the way, while the baffled Eda hurried along behind him in smaller steps. The two of them turned this way and that into a side lane of Hogsmeade Village and stopped in front of an unremarkable building.
The headmaster's anger had already maxed out. In a manner utterly unbefitting his status, he entered the building—by blasting the door open.
As the wooden door shattered into pieces, the cold wind and rain instantly poured into the building. Stirred by the sudden gust, the people inside began to curse loudly.
"Who the hell is it? Are you crazy?"
"Fuck!"
"Holy shit!"
Cursing was no longer enough to vent their fury. The people inside drew their wands one after another, ready to teach this ignorant thief who had broken in a lesson he would never forget.
But when Dumbledore walked into the room, they immediately put their wands away, the anger vanishing from their faces as if they hadn't been the ones shouting just moments ago.
"P-Professor, what brings you here?" a man stepped forward and said ingratiatingly. He looked to be around forty years old and wore a hairstyle common among British men.
Standing behind Dumbledore, Eda pulled back the hood covering her head and poked it forward, sizing up everything inside the room.
The furnishings were simple: five chairs, one table, and a fireplace that burned and gave off warmth. Above the flames hung a large copper kettle; the boiling water kept pushing the lid up again and again.
A deck of cards lay scattered on the table. Clearly, these people had just been playing cards.
There were five chairs, but only four people in the room. The man speaking with Dumbledore was the oldest; the remaining three looked to be only in their thirties.
As for how Eda could tell their ages—just look at the amount of hair on their heads and the wrinkles on their faces.
Dumbledore merely glanced at the man without saying a word. What Eda could observe, Dumbledore naturally saw as well, and the cards on the table were far too obvious.
Two of the men invited Dumbledore further inside and even offered him their chairs.
It was good to enjoy the shade under a big tree; although Eda was wearing school robes, she too was treated as an honored guest and given a chair.
However, neither Dumbledore nor Eda sat down. With a wave of her wand, Eda conjured two luxurious armchairs, and only then did she and the headmaster take their seats.
Seeing the two "uninvited guests" settle in, the men began bustling about, pouring tea and attending to various tasks. One of them even ran over to repair the wooden door.
When the planks returned to where they belonged, the temperature inside the room gradually began to rise.
"Professor, is there something you need?" the balding man from before asked again ingratiatingly. "Whatever instructions you have, we will certainly carry them out."
Dumbledore still ignored him and instead turned to Eda. "Why did the Ministry of Magic send Dementors to the vicinity of the school?"
"The Ministry's purpose is to capture the Azkaban escapee Sirius Black, Professor," Eda said, fully cooperating with her professor's performance instead of pretending not to notice.
Dumbledore nodded and continued, "Then why weren't Aurors sent instead?"
"They might be busy playing cards and have no time to deal with it," Eda replied, looking at the deck on the table. Several silver Sickles lay beside it.
The four men in the room flushed red. All four of them were Aurors, stationed in Hogsmeade to cooperate with the Dementors in capturing the fugitive Black.
Yet the four of them had neglected their duties, squatting here to play cards, and had been caught red-handed by the headmaster of Hogwarts.
In fact, more than just the few of them had been sent to Hogsmeade. It just so happened that today was their shift on duty. Although the main force in the hunt was the Dementors, the Aurors had responsibilities of their own.
Sweat began to bead on the balding man's forehead. Slacking off wasn't the problem—the problem was getting caught while slacking. He stammered, trying to explain. "Professor… well… Professor, we…"
Dumbledore waved a hand to stop him. "Mr. Walker, please put the cards away. They offend my eyes. Also, I want to see Cornelius Fudge."
"No problem!" Auror Walker said. "I'll go request the Minister at once."
Walker turned and left the house, heading out into the torrential rain. The remaining three men immediately packed away the cards and silver coins, each silently thanking Dumbledore for his mercy in letting them off the hook.
A few minutes later, Walker returned. To demonstrate how hard he had worked, the Auror had deliberately drenched himself like a soaked chicken. He said cautiously, "Professor, the Minister is in a meeting, but he said he will come as quickly as possible."
Dumbledore said nothing. Instead, he opened his palm toward Eda, his fingers wiggling slightly.
Eda felt helpless. She was being exploited by her own headmaster. She really wanted to say she hadn't brought any, but Dumbledore would definitely not believe her.
Pouting, Eda had no choice but to take a large bar of chocolate from her pocket, unwrap it, and stingily break off a small piece to place in Dumbledore's palm.
The headmaster didn't even raise his eyelids. He directly snatched the larger piece from Eda's hand. And to show his own generosity, Dumbledore broke off a bit and returned it to Eda.
Although the Aurors still didn't know why Dumbledore had stormed over in such a fury, nor why he wanted to meet the Minister here, the chocolate tug-of-war between this old man and this young girl left them completely dumbfounded.
That was Dumbledore!
If he wanted chocolate, Walker would gladly wrap up Honeydukes and present the whole shop to him.
Yet the girl in front of them behaved like a miser, breaking off a piece no bigger than a fingernail.
Good heavens!
Were students nowadays really this bad at using their brains?
If she didn't want it, she could donate it to someone who did!
Wait—golden hair, emerald-like eyes, a girl of fifteen or sixteen… FUCK! That's Esmeralda Twist Rosier!
Walker and the other three immediately realized Eda's identity.
Within Auror circles, Eda was fairly well known. The fact that Minerva McGonagall had once clashed with a group of Aurors for her sake was enough to prove how special she was.
No wonder Dumbledore had brought a student along. So that was it.
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