A Small Gathering of the Order of the Phoenix

Merkus's condition isn't too bad. It wasn't under the influence of the Imperius Curse for long, and with a few days of rest, it won't suffer any lasting effects.

This is good news, but it's also bad news.

The period of control was short, which essentially confirmed that the Death Eaters were hiding within the Ministry of Magic.

Merkus slowly awoke, Dumbledore explained the situation to him.

The authentic Mermish was indeed very pleasant to hear, and its English was also very fluent, which reminded Vincent of the doubtful look in Bagman's eyes before he left.

However, he then thought that since Dumbledore was acting alongside him, if there were any doubts, the first person he would turn to wouldn't be him, but rather that expert liar, Dumbledore.

Given Bagman's unreliable character, he should be fine after a few tries to fool him.

After understanding the general situation, Merkus approached Vincent and expressed his sincere gratitude, "Mr. Wayne, thank you for breaking the Imperius Curse and preventing an unnecessary conflict."

The unexpected friendship with the Merpeople will definitely be a great help in drawing the new map.

Back on shore,

The stands by the lake have all been dismantled, and the Ministry of Magic personnel have all left.

Dumbledore invited Vincent to the Headmaster's Office for tea in half an hour.

No matter how unwilling he was, he still had to go. It concerned the previous traitor within the Ministry of Magic, and he had no reason to refuse.

"Oh, right," Dumbledore called to Vincent, who was about to enter the castle, "Please take Miss Granger with you. She is one of the few people who know the truth, and she has the right to know all the facts."

Vincent looked on with suspicion. "Yes, Professor."

Even without Dumbledore's reminder, he hadn't intended to hide it from Hermione in the first place; this was just unnecessary.

"Um?"

Vincent suddenly turned around to look at Dumbledore behind him, and the slight upturn of Dumbledore's lips made him even more wary.

If I'm not mistaken, Old Man Deng is plotting against him again.

Half an hour later,

Vincent and Hermione went to the corridor on the Seventh Floor of the castle leading to the Headmaster's Office and found that the wall behind the gargoyle had been opened.

They hadn't gone in more than a few steps when the sight inside stunned them.

The small round table in the Headmaster's Office was moved to the side of the spiral staircase, and several people were sitting around it.

Sirius Black, Lupin, McGonagall, Moody, Snape, and even Tonks.

I thought it was just the two of them, but it turned out to be a small gathering of the Order of the Phoenix.

Vincent was about to run away with Hermione when he turned around and saw Dumbledore walking in with a smile.

"Professor, we are still students."

Dumbledore led the two to the round table. "I believe in your abilities."

Huh? So I've suddenly become a member of the Order of the Phoenix?

Unlike Vincent, who looked visibly annoyed, Hermione was extremely nervous.

This is the Order of the Phoenix, who once fought against the Death Eaters. Anyone else would probably be jumping for joy.

Nine people sat around the small round table. Apart from Snape, who had a malicious look in his eyes, everyone welcomed Vincent and Hermione's arrival.

"Enough with the small talk, let's begin." Dumbledore then recounted exactly what had happened at the bottom of the lake.

Even with prior warnings, everyone was still shocked by the fact that Death Eaters had infiltrated the Ministry of Magic.

Especially Moody, whose face was covered in hideous scars that looked like they were about to devour someone.

He had only been retired for less than two years when he was found to have an internal traitor, and even Death Eaters spy.

Vincent remained silent throughout until Dumbledore mentioned his guess.

"There aren't many clues. If the person who was replaced was the previous mole, we need to investigate why he deliberately damaged those alchemy equipment."

"Professor—" Vincent ignored Snape's sinister gaze, "So much time has passed, where should we even begin the investigation?"

Dumbledore. "Let's start with the overlooked anomalies."

Vincent nodded in sudden realization.

Arthur is also a member of the Order of the Phoenix and the head of the Misuse of Muggle Artefacts Office at the Ministry of Magic.

Although there were only two people in the entire office, he was still a leader, no matter how small his position was.

Moreover, he was very popular in the Ministry of Magic, and could even chat with Barty Crouch the Imperious for a while.

The mole wouldn't suddenly target Wayne Enterprises for no reason. Whether it's being paid to do something, being threatened, or simply thinking it's fun, there must be a reason.

By recalling Arthur's daily interactions with the higher-ups, we can more or less find some small details that were previously overlooked.

However, this approach will result in a particularly large workload, requiring at least half a year of memorization at the outset.

Hermione loosened her clenched hands and finally realized why she had been called over as well.

The Order of the Phoenix has always been an enigma in the Wizarding World; no one knows how many members they have, let alone their specific identities.

The only thing the wizards knew was that this organization dedicated to fighting Voldemort was founded by Dumbledore, and many of its members had heroically sacrificed themselves in the last Wizarding War.

After a secret reorganization more than a decade later, their numbers are certainly not large.

Finding the overlooked details in Arthur's memory is an extremely time-consuming and labor-intensive process, so naturally, the more people who help, the better.

Therefore, Vincent and Hermione, who know the whole truth, are definitely not going to escape.

But a new problem arose: where were they going to find so many Pensieve?

Such advanced alchemical tools are extremely rare, and none of the few existing Alchemy masters are confident that they can successfully create them.

The Black Family very wealthy, but the Pensieve has always been a rare find, with prices so high that even if you spend a lot of money to acquire it, how many can you actually buy?

Vincent had a strange, ominous feeling.

Sure enough, Dumbledore looked over.

Vincent continued to play dumb until everyone looked over, including Hermione sitting next to him.

Okay, so old Deng is no longer sneaking around doing dirty tricks, but is starting to openly scheme against him now, huh?

"Ahem—" He cleared his throat. "It seems like it's almost noon. Shall we go get something to eat first?"

As soon as he finished speaking, Dumbledore wave of his hand.

Vincent twitched the corner of his mouth.

If the soft approach doesn't work, then it seems we'll have to resort to the hard one next.

As he picked up his knife and fork and prepared to eat, Hermione gently placed her small hand on his leg.

The Mithril roses he gave her for Valentine's Day a while ago had a memory-replay function similar to the Pensieve.

If one can be successfully manufactured, then a second and a third can be manufactured.

Her amber eyes were full of pleading, which made Vincent's heart soften.

Ha—no wonder he specifically invited her; old bastard Deng is trying to breach the fortress from within.

Hermione is great in every way, except that she has too strong a sense of justice, which makes her prone to moral blackmail.

This is both her weakness and her strength.

The Gamp Wine was indeed still quite strong, and his multi-pronged approach had reached its pinnacle. Vincent had to admit defeat.

But he wasn't going to work for nothing. After skewering a piece of fried pork chop onto the empty plate in front of him with a fork, he looked at Dumbledore with a troubled expression.

"Professor, I can indeed make the Pensieve, but it is extremely difficult to make and requires a large amount of rare magical materials."