Dumbledore's Anomaly

"The Basilisk is no longer here."

Li Wei stood up and began to assess the situation.

Soon, he found the target—a cat was hanging from a torch sconce, its body stiff as a board, eyes wide open and staring blankly.

"It's Mrs. Norris!"

Harry's voice rang out, and everyone's face turned grim.

Just as Li Wei was about to do something, a low rumble suddenly sounded, like distant thunder.

He frowned slightly, stepped past two assistants, and walked to the very front with Harry and the others.

Soon, the sound of hundreds of feet climbing the stairs echoed from both ends of the corridor.

First came the professors at the front, followed by a gaggle of unruly troublemakers.

When the people at the front saw the cat hanging upside down, the lively, chattering noise suddenly ceased. The students fell silent and crowded forward to see the gruesome sight.

Li Wei stood alone in the middle of the corridor, facing the professors and students, blocking out the cold that seemed to drain all the heat from his body.

"Professor Li Wei." Deputy Headmistress Professor McGonagall walked to the front of everyone. "Can you explain to me what happened here?"

Her expression was tense, and her tone carried a hint of displeasure—no one could harm her students under her watch.

Harry and the others looked at Professor McGonagall's stern, intimidating expression and swallowed nervously, secretly grateful that Li Wei had stepped forward at this moment.

Just as one crisis was averted, another arose.

Before Li Wei could speak, Filch's voice rang out again, likely drawn by the students' earlier commotion.

"What's going on here? What's happened?"

He pushed through the crowd with his shoulder, then saw Mrs. Norris. He stumbled back a few steps, clutching his face in terror.

But standing before him was Li Wei, and even though he was furious, Filch, who needed a favor, still didn't dare to harbor even a shred of resentment towards Li Wei.

"Calm down, Filch. She's not dead, just petrified. I promise she'll be back to normal, alright?"

"You say she's not dead—but she's already like this—what can be done to save her?"

Filch appeared extremely panicked.

"A potion made from Mandrake root will do. So calm down. We still need to find the culprit, don't we?"

Li Wei patted Filch's shoulder to comfort him.

During this time, the surrounding students continued to whisper amongst themselves, while Professor McGonagall and the other professors watched him with uncertain eyes.

Li Wei frowned slightly, deciding to take charge of the situation—he disliked the chaotic scene and would not allow it to escalate further.

"Prefects, please take your house students back to your dormitories. Fulfill your responsibilities, immediately!"

"Yes, Professor!"

Led by Percy, the prefects gradually regained their senses and, under Li Wei's command, urged the students to leave.

"Those who oppose the heir, beware! You're next! Mudblo-"

Draco Malfoy, hidden in the crowd, shouted the slogan. His face was filled with pride and smugness, as if he was proud to know some untold past events.

Because the professors were present, he didn't finish the word, but Professor McGonagall's expression turned even uglier.

The students left amidst the clamor, and at this moment, Dumbledore arrived late, finally reaching the scene.

He stood between Li Wei and the professors, waved his wand, and gently lowered Mrs. Norris from the torch sconce.

Li Wei watched his actions indifferently, saying nothing.

"Professor—"

Hermione and the other two peeked out from behind Li Wei, looking at him anxiously.

They didn't understand why this had happened—what meaning it held.

"You three should go back too. Take another route."

Li Wei instructed them to leave, his gaze still fixed on Dumbledore.

He couldn't quite figure out what the old man was thinking.

"Dumbledore—you're here—these naughty students, they actually—"

Filch had calmed down, but after Dumbledore appeared, he couldn't help but start complaining again.

"Students couldn't have done this," Dumbledore firmly denied his guess. "This requires the highest level of Dark Arts—"

His gaze shifted to Li Wei, deliberately ignoring Harry and the others leaving behind him.

His eyes seemed very calm, and the gaze projected did not carry any emotion, but anyone who saw his eyes understood.

[Cooperate with me for now. I will definitely give you an explanation later.]

Li Wei read the meaning in Dumbledore's eyes but didn't understand what he intended to do.

"Please allow me to say something, Headmaster."

Snape suddenly emerged from the shadows.

"This matter clearly has other complications; we need to judge it carefully."

"I'm glad you can be so understanding, Severus."

Dumbledore gave Snape a strange look—he had thought the other man would seize the opportunity to attack Li Wei.

"Everyone, I will thoroughly investigate what has happened here. Please return to your posts for now."

Dumbledore dismissed the professors.

Professor McGonagall left with a frown, clearly extremely displeased that Hogwarts' safety had been threatened.

However, because she trusted Dumbledore, she eventually left.

For a moment, only Li Wei and Dumbledore remained in the dim corridor.

"I thought you would have handled this matter, Headmaster."

Li Wei looked at Dumbledore and made the first move.

Just by observing the reactions of Professor McGonagall and Snape, he knew they had clearly misunderstood something.

This also fit his suspicions, as he was originally brought in as a professor to research Dark Arts.

Continuing this research at the school, accidentally causing a magical accident, or cruelly experimenting on a pet cat, everything seemed plausible.

But that didn't mean Li Wei liked being framed for something he didn't do.

"I apologize, Li Wei. I bear the undeniable main responsibility for how this situation has unfolded."

Dumbledore's attitude was very sincere from the start.

"I hope you can give this old man some time so I can slowly explain the whole matter clearly."

He extended his hand, signaling for Li Wei to move to another location to talk.

"Of course, you also need to help me explain to Professor McGonagall. I don't want her to have any misunderstandings about me."

"I promise you, I certainly will."

The two walked to the gargoyle statue by the spiral staircase.

"Lemon Drops."

Dumbledore spoke the password and led Li Wei upwards.

"This is the recent password. I probably won't change it for a long time. If there's anything urgent, you can come directly to my office next time."

He was likely hinting at Li Wei's previous letter sent via owl.

However, Li Wei was no longer in the mood to care about such things at this moment.