"Most of them?"
"Oh, yes, child. There were always some headmasters who were ignorant fools. They had no secrets."
The witch who said this wore a Baroque-style court gown and looked regal and elegant.
She cast a contemptuous, deliberate glance at one of the portraits.
Following her gaze, Hermione saw a portrait of a sinister-looking old man who appeared anxious and gloomy.
Hermione knew him. When she had accompanied Vaughn here, the old man had shouted Vaughn's name before being soundly beaten by another old wizard with a long white beard.
They called him Phineas Black.
The name was not unfamiliar to Hermione. A History of Magic she had read explicitly described him as "the most incompetent headmaster of modern times."
Of course, his other most famous achievement was "training" Albus Dumbledore during his tenure as headmaster!
In that regard, the only recent headmaster whose reputation could rival his was Armando Dippet, who had "trained" Voldemort during his own time as headmaster...
Lost in thought, Hermione waved to Vaughn and bid farewell to the reluctant portraits.
Seeing that the other portraits were all saying goodbye to the girl and no one was paying attention to him anymore, Phineas Black quietly slipped over to Vaughn.
"Hey, boy from the Weasley Family!"
Vaughn glanced at him and ignored him.
Phineas was furious. He was hardly a patient man, but now that he needed something from Vaughn, he could only force a smile. "Weasley, do you remember my proposal last time? It still stands... Oh—Dumbledore!"
Dumbledore walked over. "Phineas, why don't you try letting go?"
As he spoke, he removed Phineas Black's portrait from the wall.
Phineas hurriedly clung to the frame and pleaded, "Dumbledore, please, let me finish what I have to say, all right? I no longer hope that anyone can