The Phoenix Falls from Grace

Hogwarts Castle, Seventh Floor, Headmaster's Office.

Dumbledore sat quietly in his seat, his hands clasped under his chin, his eyes behind his half-moon spectacles flickering, clearly lost in thought.

The Headmaster's Office was quiet, and standing in front of him was Professor McGonagall, the vice-headmaster of Hogwarts.

Just last night, he had already assigned all the main tasks of the Order of the Phoenix, leaving only McGonagall by his side. McGonagall was here because just last night, she formally pledged her allegiance to Dumbledore and chose to join the Order of the Order of the Phoenix.

During the First Wizarding War, Professor McGonagall chose the Ministry of Ministry of Magic instead of joining the Order of the Phoenix for personal reasons. She originally intended to do the same this time, but Fudge's performance last night utterly disappointed her.

While Fudge's points weren't entirely without merit, the fact that Bertha Jorkins had been missing for so long, and Barty Crouch's disappearance was even more convoluted and bizarre, yet the Ministry of Magic hadn't taken any meaningful steps to uncover the truth, instead shifting the blame to a recent graduate, suggests that the Ministry of Magic had become bureaucratic, even corrupt, since Fudge took over.

While there's no direct evidence, aside from Harry's testimony, to prove Voldemort's resurrection, Grindelwald's escape is an undeniable fact! How can the Ministry of Magic just stand there pretending nothing happened and covering it up?

It was the Ministry of Magic's inaction and corrupt system that made McGonagall make the painful decision to join the Order of the Phoenix.

In that sense, Fudge did do a good thing by adding McGonagall, a formidable ally, to the Order of the Phoenix.

Among the Hogwarts, apart from Dumbledore himself, the four Headmasters possessed the most powerful magic, even surpassing Scrimgeour in terms of sheer magical power.

Of course, Skylar has proven with countless examples in the past that magic does not equate to combat power—compared to the Auror capture dark wizards and undertake dangerous missions every day, McGonagall and Sprout's combat experience is clearly inferior to that of the former.

Snape and Flitwick were exceptions; one was a former Death Eaters, skilled in Dark Arts, and the other a dueling champion, proficient in various dueling techniques.

At this moment, McGonagall spoke up, "Albus, now that it's just the two of us here, can you tell me what the plan is?"

McGonagall and Dumbledore's relationship has long transcended a simple teacher-student relationship. When McGonagall lost her husband and family, it was Dumbledore who gave her support and guidance in life. McGonagall was also one of the first people to know about Dumbledore's family and emotional problems.

Although Dumbledore enjoys playing the Riddler, he still reveals many of his secrets to McGonagall.

Dumbledore hesitated for a long time before speaking cautiously, "Minerva, you know me. Everything I've done is to maintain the stability of the wizarding world... What happened back then... made it clear to me that I'm not suited to be involved in the circles of power..."

McGonagall pursed her lips. She didn't know what the point was of Dumbledore saying these irrelevant things, but she chose to continue listening.

"Undeniably... because of my inaction... many things remain unchanged... no different from 10 years ago, no, even 20 or 30 years ago..." Dumbledore sighed wearily, saying, "In fact, you and I both know that many of the Wizarding World's concepts, rules, and practices are outdated... even rotten..."

"What the Wizarding World needs..." Dumbledore closed his eyes, seemingly too ashamed to face what he was about to say, "Is a reform..."

McGonagall vaguely grasped a key point, yet still couldn't quite decipher Dumbledore's true meaning. She slowly crafted her words, saying, "You mean... Grindelwald, or the Mysterious Man, this impending dark moment for the Wizarding World is a crisis, but also... an opportunity for change?"

Dumbledore opened his eyes. Instead of answering McGonagall's question, he posed another, staring intently into McGonagall eyes. "What do you think of your student Skylar Malfoy?"

"Shai- Skylar?" McGonagall paused, clearly not expecting Dumbledore to ask this question. "He's an exceptionally bright child—academically gifted, well-mannered, polite, helpful to classmates, and possesses leadership qualities..."

"Although he comes from the House of Malfoy, he doesn't exhibit a trace of the arrogance and domineering nature often associated with Pure-blood families..." McGonagall paused, intending to stop there, but couldn't help adding, "To be honest, his Transfiguration have long surpassed mine. I think his talent is in no way inferior to yours, Albus..."

Dumbledore; one could say he was not at all surprised by McGonagall's answer.

Skylar's outward behavior was exactly as McGonagall had described—a model student who excelled academically and was polite to others.

Dumbledore had always been very confident in his intelligence and judgment, but even so, he still had a vague feeling that he had made a mistake in the past three years and had underestimated Skylar.

Until last night, Skylar's words to Fudge definitively refuted Fudge's absurd speculation—the meticulous Scrimgeour directly acknowledged it, and even McGonagall and Flitwick, who had known him for many years, were shaken by his words.

At that moment, he finally understood the meaning behind it.

Skylar and himself were never on the same path.

During the years he was stationed at Hogwarts, Wizengamot, and the International Confederation of Wizards, although he intentionally stayed away from the center of power, his reputation was undeniable, and neither Fudge nor anyone else could ignore his presence.

By clearly standing on the side of ordinary people, the masses, and the disadvantaged groups, he indirectly shook the power, interests, and status of the Pure-blood families.

He knew perfectly well that the Britain Wizarding World was already corrupt—discrimination based on bloodline, brain drain, rigid class structures, abuse of power... and countless other minor problems... A thorough reform was inevitable, but he was deeply reluctant to become the leader. He was terrified that if he gained power, he might repeat the mistakes of his youth...

Even so, as the only headmaster of the Hogwarts School of Wizarding World in Britain, his ideals constantly influenced the young wizards graduating from Hogwarts. He was certain that one day, a promising and respected young wizard would raise his voice and lead this reform...

And after this reform... it's hard to say what kind of impact this will have on Pure-blood families...

Following this line of reasoning, it seems that all the unresolved questions I've encountered over the years can be explained...

If anyone wants to stop the decline of Pure-blood families, then they will be an obstacle they cannot avoid.

He still remembered the incident of Hagrid's Hippogriff attacking Blaise Zabini. The intensity of the public outcry was beyond his expectations. The final result was that the Board of Governors he had firmly held in his hands, was forcibly torn open, followed by the establishment of the Faculty Hiring Committee, which successfully hampered his power as principal to hire teachers.

After that, many inexplicable coincidences occurred...

For example, inexplicably, Kingsley, whom he valued highly, died in a Werewolf hunt. How could an elite Auror be killed while hunting a lone Werewolf? This incident bothered Dumbledore. No matter how he thought about it, he felt that there were too many illogical points and doubts everywhere.

Kingsley's death was a major blow to both the Order of the Phoenix and Dumbledore.

For the Order of the Order of the Phoenix, Kingsley's death deprived them of an Auror Order of the Phoenix, and also left them without a pair of eyes within the Auror Order of the Phoenix. For Dumbledore himself, before Harry, Ron, and Hermione were groomed, Kingsley was Dumbledore's most favored candidate for the next Minister for Magic.

This isn't Dumbledore being arrogant. Although he doesn't directly participate in the Ministry of Magic's operations, his popularity alone allows him to subtly influence the election of the Minister for Magic. For example, Fudge's victory in the fierce election was inseparable from his supportive attitude.

Following Kingsley's death in the line of duty came the disappearance of four students. The four Pure-blood families who lost their children jointly came to his aid. Although they ultimately couldn't do anything to him, it did affect his prestige to some extent—students disappeared within the school grounds, under his supervision, and as the principal in charge, he was certainly in the wrong.

That wasn't the end of it. Following the four students, Barty Crouch, a high-ranking official in the Ministry of Magic, disappeared right under his nose.

Dumbledore didn't say it, but he felt wronged.

Under his decades-long control, Hogwarts' defenses had become impenetrable—not only were there numerous protective spells cast by him within the Hogwarts Castle, but there were also countless portraits, Ghost, armor, and statues serving as eyes and ears. Even so, disappearances still occurred one after another, and each time they were completely concealed, leaving him with no way to investigate. He truly didn't know what to say.

This is no coincidence!

The series of negative news undoubtedly began to damage Dumbledore's image of wisdom and resourcefulness. People began to question whether Dumbledore was getting old and was no longer the wise man who would never make a mistake or slip up.

This was confirmed at last night's awards ceremony.

He, Albus Dumbledore, once hailed as the greatest wizard of the last century and the greatest headmaster in Hogwarts' history, was rejected by the young wizards when he decided to award the championship to Harry Potter!

The boos from Slytherin were somewhat understandable, given Skylar's established reputation—but the silent Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw, equally unwilling to cheer for Harry, spoke volumes about their attitude.

His prestige among the young wizards had actually declined to this extent, and he had been completely unaware of it until last night!

The rapid growth of Skylar's popularity stands in stark contrast to his own waning influence.

Although Skylar never behaved in a way that bullied or discriminated against Muggle-born wizard in public like his father and brothers, this still cannot deny the fact that he was a Pure-blood wizard.

If Skylar truly wanted to prevent the decline of the Pure-blood families and avoid the changes he anticipated, then this series of actions that damaged his reputation would perfectly explain his motives.

Moreover—he has the ability!

In the eyes of others, they usually only see Skylar's amazing talent, including McGonagall's – only she herself could see the terrifying intellect, strategy, cunning and... ambition deep in Skylar's eyes.

Given his intelligence and strategic thinking, coupled with the powerful resources provided by the House of Malfoy, it was not impossible for Skylar to accomplish the aforementioned feats.

Skylar's words to Fudge last night have already made his stance clear.

Dumbledore absolutely refused to believe that Skylar could not see that Harry was telling the whole truth; Dumbledore also refused to believe that Skylar could not see that the one who had been resurrected was Voldemort; Dumbledore certainly refused to believe that Skylar had really fought so hard to barely escape with his life, just as he had described.

His choice to help Fudge cover up Voldemort's return, instead of revealing the truth, can only mean one thing—

He has his own plans!

Thinking of this, a shadow fell over Dumbledore's heart.

In his view, Skylar was far more troublesome than Voldemort or Grindelwald!