Hogwarts quickly sprang into action.
The teachers awakened by the Dark Mark immediately gathered all the students in the Great Hall. Then Voldemort projected his voice across the distance, demanding that they hand over Harry Potter in exchange for Hogwarts' safety—naturally, Dumbledore refused.
"I'm still here, Tom. This school does not belong to you. It never will."
"Ah, Dumbledore..."
Voldemort's snake-like hiss echoed through the Great Hall, making quite a few students tremble.
"I can sense the weakness in your words. I had originally planned to come after killing you, but thinking about it now, perhaps I should let you witness all of this firsthand. Watch how your school is destroyed. Perhaps... it will make you feel at least a little regret."
"I have never regretted anything."
Sitting in his chair, Dumbledore could not hide his exhaustion. In truth, although Snape had given him some potions, the damage Dumbledore had sustained while destroying the Horcruxes was difficult to recover from. Even simply sitting here now was already taking everything he had.
"I believe that not letting you become the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher was the wisest decision of my life..."
"...Very well. I hope you'll still say that when you watch your beloved students being killed and your school being destroyed."
As Voldemort's furious voice faded, the Great Hall fell into dead silence once more. Airi raised an eyebrow and looked at Dumbledore.
"You did that on purpose, didn't you?"
"Hehehe. I'll leave the rest to you, Miss Airi."
Faced with Airi's question, Dumbledore merely smiled without answering.
"So the saying about old people who refuse to die being thieves really does make sense."
Airi shook her head. She knew perfectly well that Dumbledore had clearly set her up again. The government behind Airi wanted to infiltrate and