Dumbledore's Loss of Composure

Bang, bang—

The headmaster's office door was suddenly knocked.

"Enter!"

Under the gaze of five professors, eight prefects from the four houses filed in. (Note: The deputy headmaster is also the head of Ravenclaw.)

"Report, Headmaster, Michael Smith, a seventh-year student from Slytherin, went out to Hogsmeade and hasn't returned..."

Abraxas Malfoy, the Slytherin prefect, was the first to report after the eight students bowed to the professors present.

"Yes, yes, I approved his leave."

The walrus-like professor dabbed at his nervous sweat with a golden handkerchief.

"All Hufflepuffs are in the dormitories..."

Juliana Raphael, the Hufflepuff female prefect, said softly.

Bernice Leslie, the head of Hufflepuff, breathed a sigh of relief, but her expression became tense again when she thought about the students still in Hogsmeade.

"Gryffindor... Gryffindor has six young wizards who haven't returned... but only three are registered to go to Hogsmeade..."

Annie Angeline, the Gryffindor female prefect, glanced at Charles Weasley, whose face was as red as his hair under Dumbledore's gaze, and said in a fierce tone.

Where's your usual eloquence? Now I, a girl, have to report?

Unsurprisingly, Malfoy offered a well-timed whistle.

Which made the strong Annie Angeline blush with anger.

"Slytherin, fifty points deducted! For not uniting classmates and provoking friendship between houses."

Deputy Headmaster Brandt said expressionlessly, Malfoy was stunned, and his face also turned red.

The walrus professor wanted to plead for mercy, but he opened his mouth, and under the deputy headmaster's oppressive gaze, gave up the struggle.

"Except for Cypher Corvin and Luna Freya Hill, who are missing from the first years, and Iris Fergus... there are no other missing people."

Everyone looked down, trying to see who was speaking.

It was Filius Flitwick, the short, part-Goblin Ravenclaw prefect.

When he mentioned Iris, he turned his gaze to his own head of house, he knew that Iris had gone home, but hadn't returned... Fortunately, the head of house nodded, indicating that there was no need to say more, implying that Iris was still at home.

After listening to everyone's reports, Dumbledore understood.

That meant four young wizards were definitely in Hogsmeade.

The rest were probably wandering outside the castle at night, or hiding in secret passages and hadn't received the assembly message.

Cypher and Luna were most likely in the Room of Requirement.

He gently stroked the top of Fawkes the phoenix's head, who pecked Dumbledore's fingertip and then disappeared from the headmaster's office in a flash of golden-red flames.

"Alright, prefects! Please return to your respective houses and guard the entrances to the common rooms. If the situation becomes urgent, I will notify you to lead all the students to the Great Hall!"

The deputy headmaster issued the order, and the headmaster nodded slightly in agreement.

The eight prefects nodded repeatedly to show they understood. They didn't even bow goodbye, but hurried out of the headmaster's office.

After all, the atmosphere in the headmaster's office was too oppressive.

This time, the silence didn't last long.

A clear phoenix cry broke the silence, and Fawkes the phoenix appeared on Dumbledore's shoulder in a flash of fire.

The phoenix chirped softly, and Dumbledore received Fawkes's message.

After listening, he breathed a sigh of relief.

"The three Gryffindor students are in a secret passage in the castle. Fawkes has already taken them back to the common room."

Hearing this, both the walrus-like professor and the gentle professor visibly breathed a sigh of relief.

"Cypher and Luna don't need to worry either..."

Just as Dumbledore was about to say that the two of them were studying in his office.

The flames in the fireplace suddenly flared up.

Several men and women in black Wizard Robes emerged.

The leader was Hector Fawley, the Minister of Magic whose term was coming to an end and who had taken a laissez-faire approach to Grindelwald.

This flamboyant man walked to the center of the office with what he thought was a dashing gait, his various silver ornaments jingling and clanging, truly a man with his own walking background music. (Star-Lord?!)

It must be said that although the minister's behavior was uncomfortable, at least he successfully diverted the headmaster's attention, although his face was still ugly, but it was definitely not only because the lives of four students were unknown.

Bernice Leslie, the head of Hufflepuff, also had a very interesting expression.

The deputy headmaster and Dumbledore seemed used to it, their expressions were very calm.

But Horace Slughorn was attracted by this gorgeous scene, he stared at Hector Fawley in the center of the room, and his face showed an envious expression.

"Gentlemen! We! Oh! And dear Ms. Leslie!"

Hector Fawley raised his eyebrows with an exaggerated expression, opened his mouth to prepare his speech, looked around for a week, and suddenly realized that the head of Hufflepuff was also present, and he almost bit his tongue when he suddenly changed his words.

"How punctual we are, the Sunday dinner rush has the same efficiency as usual. Without further ado, what exactly happened at Hogwarts that warranted an emergency support signal to the Ministry of Magic's Auror Office?"

"Hector, I hope you can still laugh after hearing what I'm about to say. Four Hogwarts students are trapped in Hogsmeade, which is suspected to be under attack and besieged by a Dark Wizard. Do you know what that means?"

Having said that, he ignored the stunned Hector Fawley standing in the center.

Headmaster Armando Dippet rubbed his stiff face, offering a dignified smile as a greeting to the Aurors who arrived intermittently.

Most of the Aurors present were his former students; the rest, he no longer taught, having become Headmaster.

Faced with their former Headmaster's greeting and scrutiny, the Aurors bowed respectfully to him.

"Four students? Who are they?"

Once the Aurors had straightened up and Hector Fawley had regained his senses, he hurriedly asked.

"Three from Gryffindor, one from Slytherin."

Deputy Headmaster Brandt Fergus didn't reveal the specific names, but the Houses already spoke volumes.

"Hiss—"

Hector Fawley took a deep breath. He could afford not to care about Gryffindor, but Slytherin...

Even if it was a declining noble family, if he didn't handle this matter properly, his resume would be tarnished with an indelible stain.

"Is there any intel? If not, let's depart now!"

"None. You need to proceed with caution, using Spells to probe carefully. There's a powerful barrier outside; contact with it will cause injury."

Headmaster Armando said, pausing for a moment. "I expect you to return with all the students, none missing!"

"Yes!"

The Aurors' spirits lifted, and they shouted in unison, their morale instantly soaring.

Only then did the Minister of Magic have a chance to intervene, beckoning everyone to follow him.

Apparating wasn't possible within Hogwarts; they needed to run out of Hogwarts.

Even with a flying broom, you couldn't exactly borrow the Headmaster's office window, could you?

Just as Hector Fawley twisted the handle to open the door, a fiery red light flashed behind him as he stepped out.

Everyone turned back to see Dumbledore standing there in shock.

It had assumed Cypher and Luna would be in the Room of Requirement.

But now Fawkes had disappeared without even a moment to inform it.

Cypher and Luna needed Fawkes's help, right when Hogsmeade was suspected to be under attack by a Dark Wizard!