Small Negligence Eventually Becomes a Fatal Weakness

McGonagall found Vincent supervising James doing push-ups.

What's coming will eventually come.

He just wondered why it came so quickly.

"Alfred, supervise him well for me."

"You can count on me."

As soon as he left, James immediately winked at Alfred.

"Old James, I don't want to suffer with you."

"Ruthless!"

"Don't be like that, take a look at your own little belly first."

"Would a book be enough?"

"Those are contraband!"

"Shhh—" James whispered mysteriously in his ear.

"Okay, but you must not be discovered."

"Don't worry, no one will know."

Headmaster's Office.

When Vincent arrived, the headmasters had started pretending to be asleep again.

When he sat down, he noticed that magic had been cast all around.

The last time he encountered this situation was when they were discussing Grindelwald.

"Good evening." Dumbledore pushed the plate of transparent little candies across the table. "Would you like some?"

Vincent shook his head. "Professor, did you call me here because there's something important?"

"You overlooked someone today."

He frowned, picked up a candy, and stuffed it into his mouth.

He was already cold inside, and now he was about to freeze into an ice cube.

Malfoy, Parkinson, and Flint should be fine; Byron and the others are just from ordinary wizarding families.

Zabini?

"Professor, does Mrs. Zabini have a significant background?"

Dumbledore smiled without saying a word, which was tantamount to acknowledging the answer to the question.

To raise a son like Blaise, who could be described as a spendthrift, first of all, it showed the extent of Mrs. Zabini's doting.

Although she was nicknamed "Black Widow," it was highly likely that it was just sour grapes from other witches.

Regardless of whether the rumors were true or not, it wouldn't be surprising for a mother to do something irrational when she sees her son being wronged.

"Professor, is it the Greengrass Family?"

"You certainly didn't disappoint me." Dumbledore's gaze drifted out the window.

"If you want them to completely lean towards you, you need to consider not only what's happening now but also what might happen in the future."

Vincent thought of Viktor.

The reason he was so devoted to Grindelwald, apart from his personal charisma, was also because of a promise about the future.

Vampires have always been unwelcome among wizards, even in the more open-minded Americas.

If the Greengrass Family leaned towards a Muggle-born, they would definitely be regarded as "traitors" by some people, receiving the same treatment as the Weasley family.

"I understand, Professor."

Dumbledore withdrew his gaze from the window and picked up a candy to put in his mouth.

"Gilderoy's hearing is on Saturday, and the Ministry of Magic will invite many powerful people to attend."

This was a good opportunity.

But Mrs. Zabini wouldn't come out in the open; she would definitely do something behind the scenes.

Vincent shuddered and pushed the entire plate of candy back. "She won't succeed."

"It seems I guessed right."

"Professor, please keep it a secret."

Dumbledore nodded and waved for the house-elves to bring two cups of hot tea.

"There's another matter."

He explained the bait plan without reservation.

Vincent was initially a little displeased, but he understood that this was the quickest way to identify all the Horcruxes.

After warming himself with a sip of tea, he tilted his head to look at the former headmasters, who opened their eyes and quickly closed them again.

"Professor, surely we don't need to keep secrets from them now, do we?"

"Mrs. Zabini is very charming; I imagine few wizards could refuse her."

He didn't know if the former headmasters could refuse, but he knew Dumbledore certainly could.

"Professor, aren't your thoughts a bit too dark?"

"It's always best to prepare for the worst; you should understand that well by now."

"Indeed," he said, taking a sip of tea rather awkwardly.

"Don't be blinded by the illusion before you." Dumbledore picked up the Elder Wand and dispelled the magic surrounding them.

"I'm glad you've recognized your mistake in advance; it makes me more confident in my work as headmaster."

Vincent pouted at him. "Professor, I promise there won't be a next time."

"I believe you."

Based on what he heard, he guessed that the headmasters hadn't heard nothing at all, but had been misled by the magical illusion into thinking it was about what happened in the Black Swan common room today.

If anything truly unexpected happened, Mrs. Zabini wouldn't contact a certain well-known journalist.

Two in the morning.

Rita was at home, rushing to meet her deadline.

Having accepted their Gold Galleons, she could always whitewash it later.

She put down her pen with satisfaction, flashing what she thought was a charming smile.

The spread introducing the Death Eaters hadn't been taken down; it had even earned her a lot of positive publicity.

In the entire British Isles, whoever dared to do this was a hero of the wizarding world.

If she could keep this up, earning an Order of Merlin wasn't impossible.

"Coo-coo—" Rita paused, slightly startled.

Surely no little bird would be delivering messages to her in the middle of the night.

And the sound of this owl...

"Merlin's beard!"

It was here, the plump thing was here, carrying a letter in its beak.

The signature was in Magical Runes that she would never forget in her life, and the content ruined all her efforts for the night.

There would definitely be benefits, but only after the hearing on Saturday.

"Greengrass and Granger..."

She chewed on her fake diamond-encrusted nail, debating how much to embellish the new article.

She couldn't just smear them relentlessly; she had to slip in some of her own agenda.

Having accepted Mrs. Zabini's Gold Galleons, Blaise Zabini, as a related party, had to be downplayed.

But the Malfoy trio weren't easy to provoke, and the Greengrass Family had to be given special "attention."

The story of three little girls and four little boys?

No way, she'd be reduced to ashes.

The war between Hogwarts' two major clubs?

Still no, it wouldn't have much of an audience.

According to some inside sources?

She'd please neither side and offend both.

"Hmm—the flawless Mr. Wayne seems to have quite a few rumors too."

She pulled a large stack of envelopes from her drawer.

There were all sorts of versions: being envied, love turning to hate, dominating Hogwarts, and so on.

Eh?

Nemesis of the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor?

If she remembered correctly, the substitute was a special advisor from the Ministry of Magic's Department of Law and the Wizengamot.

With such a big name, the title alone could ignite the entire wizarding world.

Too bad she couldn't write about it; she still wanted to make a living in the British Isles.

"Sigh—"

Gaining fame far beyond that of ordinary wizards apparently requires paying a price far beyond imagination.

Difficult? Then don't do it!

At worst, I'll just return the Gold Galleons I received, and then, like before, exaggerate the facts and be a qualified and competent clickbaiter.