During dinner, Hermione leaned over and quietly asked Harry and the others if they'd found any leads yet—she meant, of course, any clues about Nicolas Flamel.
Harry looked sheepish as he shook his head. That left Hermione a little disappointed, but there was nothing for it; they'd just have to keep digging.
Then Harry turned to Qin Yu, mentioning that he'd come across a notebook with "qin" written on it—surely, it had to belong to him.
"Was it a Defense Against the Dark Arts notebook?" Qin Yu asked after a moment's thought.
"Yeah, that's right! Defense Against the Dark Arts!" Harry nodded enthusiastically, then added, "Most of what's in there, I haven't even learned yet."
"Then it's definitely mine. I haven't looked at that notebook in ages—I thought I'd left it in Professor Swinton's office." Qin Yu smiled, thanking Harry.
"No worries. I'm happy to help. I'll fetch it from my dorm after dinner and bring it to you," Harry replied with a grin.
"Alright, let's meet in the common room. I might be a bit late, so wait for me if you don't see me right away." As Qin Yu spoke, his gaze drifted toward the professors' table.
He'd decided: after dinner, he'd go straight to Professor Dumbledore to ask about Swinton. The sooner he got answers, the sooner he could put his mind at ease—though, knowing Dumbledore, he doubted he'd get much out of him.
These thoughts left Qin Yu feeling a little down.
Sitting close, Hermione noticed immediately. Especially after Harry mentioned the notebook—a Defense Against the Dark Arts one, no less—and Qin Yu brought up Professor Swinton. Combined with what they'd found in Diagon Alley, Hermione could easily guess the reason for his gloomy mood.
So she quietly reached over, slipping her hand into his, offering warmth and reassurance.
"Don't worry, Qin. Just do your best with what you can do—isn't that what you always say?" Hermione reminded him softly.
Feeling her concern, Qin Yu let out a long breath and managed a small smile. "Thanks, Hermione. Guess I let my nerves get the better of me."
Everyone knows the right words, everyone can say them—but it's so much harder when you're the one in the thick of it.
With Hermione's gentle nudge, Qin Yu quickly pulled himself together.
All he could do was his best. The rest, he'd leave to fate.
…
After dinner, Qin Yu parted ways with Hermione and the others, hurrying off to catch Dumbledore before he left.
"Professor! Professor Dumbledore! I have something I'd like to ask you!" Qin Yu called out.
Hearing his name, Dumbledore paused his unhurried walk.
He turned, and when he saw it was Qin Yu, he didn't look the least bit surprised. Instead, he smiled kindly. "Ah, Qin. You're here to ask about Professor Swinton, aren't you?"
"Huh? How did you know?!" Qin Yu nearly took a step back, eyes wide with astonishment.
"Why, marvelous magic, of course!" Dumbledore said with a mysterious twinkle, drawing a lazy circle in the air with his hand.
"…," Qin Yu was speechless.
If you hadn't said that, I might've actually believed it was magic.
But now that you're making a show of it, you're just covering your tracks! So it definitely wasn't magic!
If not magic, then what? Did he have someone tailing me? Did someone see everything I did with Hermione? Wait, I didn't do anything! Why am I feeling guilty?
I, Qin, have lived my life with restraint and discipline, always cautious, always treading on thin ice…
Just saying—if I confessed to a few minor thoughts and actions right now, would that count as turning myself in?
Dumbledore watched the play of emotions on Qin Yu's face with clear amusement, then nodded. "Your mind is certainly more lively than before. While I'm not an expert in these matters, I'd say you're just fine."
Qin Yu could only twitch the corner of his mouth.
So this is a stress test, is it?
Well, this old mage can handle it! No confessions from me!
"Don't overthink it," Dumbledore said gently, though his tone was serious. "It's just a coincidence that I knew you wanted to ask about Swinton. What sort of coincidence, I can't say—not yet. Just as I wouldn't share your secrets with others, either."
Qin Yu caught on immediately—this was the work of someone on the hidden side of things.
Of course, just because Dumbledore wouldn't say didn't mean Qin Yu couldn't guess.
Back in Diagon Alley, he'd interacted with plenty of people: the two women at the bookstore, a handful of curious wizards, and the ice cream shop clerk who'd sold him the newspaper.
All of them knew he was searching for a particular paper. If he had to pick a suspect… his gut said one of the shop assistants, but logic pointed to the ice cream clerk. Or maybe it was just some random wizard passing by.
Forget it. This isn't a spy novel. Why waste the brainpower?
"Come along. I have something to show you—something related to Professor Swinton." Dumbledore's words snapped Qin Yu out of his thoughts.
With that, the old headmaster had already started down the corridor toward his office.
"Yes, Professor!"
Qin Yu hurried after him.
…
Hogwarts Headmaster's Office.
Dumbledore pulled a file from the shelf behind his desk, extracted several pages, and handed them to Qin Yu.
"Take a seat and read at your own pace. We're waiting for another guest anyway."
"Thank you, Professor!"
Qin Yu took the pages, eyes glued to the text. Without looking where he was going, he found his way to a chair beside the coffee table, flipping through the papers as he sat.
As for Dumbledore's "other guest," he didn't give it a second thought.
The pages detailed the movements of someone known only as S in North America.
From S's first contact with the G.A., to becoming a target of their scrutiny, then being sent alone to consolidate the wizards of Salem—using every hard-nosed tactic in the book. After pulling it off with flying colors, S was accepted into the G.A., quickly rose through the ranks, and now headed a loose-knit group of his own. He'd even earned the nickname "Ruthless Stanley," a name spoken in the same breath as the G.A.'s infamous "Hellfire Little John."
Line after line, the information read like a full-blown intelligence dossier—far more detailed than the brief mentions in the newspapers.
As Qin Yu read the description, he felt as though he were watching the rise of a legendary gangster hero in some secret society epic.
"This…"
For a moment, he was genuinely at a loss for words.
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