The Old Man Who Planted Trees

"Ha~ Blackie guessed right," Grindelwald said. "Albus, look at this Ministry of Magic. They're a bunch of incompetent good-for-nothings. Why don't we join forces and rebuild a new order?"

Oren asked doubtfully, "Principal, you released him so he could try again?"

Dumbledore: "I actually sent him to plant trees."

Grindelwald immediately reverted to his harmless, old-fashioned demeanor. "Yes, yes, back in the day I was quite the expert at planting trees."

Oren...

"We should write an anonymous article saying that... the You-Know-Who has returned. The Daily Prophet probably won't work, so we can try a small tabloid."

"Anyway, the You-Know-Who will be back sooner or later. Let's just consider it a heads-up for the Wizarding World. I wonder if the circulation of the tabloids will be enough."

"We'd better get some Galleon as a subsidy."

"Ha, very meticulous," Grindelwald laughed. "Albus, you've taught a good student; he's no worse than we were in our youth."

Oren...

Dumbledore's face visibly darkened by one shade.

Grindelwald, "This can be done by that dark wizard; it'll save him the trouble of spending his days in the forest."

Oren: "By the way, I need a lot of Acromantula souls. Do you know where I can find a huge number of Acromantula?"

Grindelwald: "Leave it to me. I've gathered my old followers who are willing to follow me. I'll have them infiltrate... ah, I mean plant trees, plant trees like crazy."

Under Dumbledore hostile gaze, Grindelwald, knowing he was in the wrong, opened a portal and went to the small world to blow up a sandstorm.

Dumbledore winked at Oren. "We had different ideas about the future of the wizarding world before, but now that we have that little world, none of that matters anymore."

Oren shrugged, as long as he wasn't the one planting the trees.

"Principal, when will we develop the antidote for the Werewolf?"

"It's already under investigation. Your act of throwing silver ingots into Potions has given Nicolas Flamel some inspiration."

"He's really something," Oren, starting to rummage through drawers and cabinets, pulling out several bags of candy.

"Ahem, child, you should go back to the Gryffindor Tower."

Oren tossed the Sorting Hat aside with a look of disdain, muttering to himself, "That old hat hid the sword pretty well, huh?"

Back in the dorm.

Harry asked, "Oren, what have you been doing?"

Ron: "I guess he went to see the old bat."

"Snape ran away as soon as he saw me, but guess what I found?"

"What?"

Headmaster Dumbledore hired an old man as his secretary.

"Tch~" 2

Harry: "I thought it was about the Triwizard Tournament."

Oren closed his eyes, intending to fast-forward to tomorrow, but the sound of Harry and Ron talking kept him awake.

After the two people silently Stupefy, the whole world became quiet.

Before dawn, Oren was woken up by an owl stepping on him.

"Unless it's something important, I'll turn you into a roasted Scotland chicken."

The owl's round face was full of disdain. After reading the letter, Oren prepared to head to his destination.

Upon entering the Headmaster's Office and opening the portal, the wind and snow blowing out from behind the door immediately gave the serene Dumbledore a refreshing and invigorating experience.

Oren opened the door three times before finding the right place. I must say, it was quite thrilling to breathe fresh air on the mountaintop so early in the morning.

"You've come," Grindelwald said listlessly, leaning against the tree.

Will and the other dark wizard were trembling uncontrollably, as if they were on vibrate mode.

Oren: "You're going to scare them to death! I don't have any adult diapers for them."

Grindelwald shrugged and said, "The Acromantula clan you're looking for is right here. There's an underground ruin; figure out how to get down yourself." With that, he opened a portal and left.

Will breathed a sigh of relief and said, "This is Tarton, my old partner."

Oren waved his hand. "Enough nonsense, hurry up and dig a tunnel into that ruin. If you make me miss breakfast, you two can be buried here."

Oren: Morning grumpiness ↑

"Don't worry, young master, digging tunnels is one of our specialties," Will said with a fawning smile, though his missing front tooth made the smile look somewhat comical.

"How come you're missing a front tooth?"

Will: "It's alright, young master, it's just that the jerky is a bit tough..."

"Alright, don't complain to me. We hired the Acromantula this time just to use their venom to pay our salaries."

"I'm not Voldemort, that loser who makes people bring their own food."

Upon hearing Voldemort's name, both dark wizards turned a shade paler.

These two guys, true to their reputation as petty thieves, were incredibly skilled at digging tunnels; they dug into the ruins in just five minutes.

If twins were doing this job, they'd still be battling with the bottom layer of soil.

Will, "This should be the underground part of some kind of ruin."

Tarton: "Could there be some treasure here?"

"Treasure?" Oren pointed to the stone wall above, where sunlight was faintly filtering through, and said, "This place has been riddled with holes by tomb raiders. Stop talking nonsense and hurry up and find the Acromantula."

Tarton: "Um... young master, we don't need to look anymore, they're here."

Will, "Don't worry, young master, we'll finish them as quickly as possible and make sure it doesn't delay your breakfast."

Oren pushed the two aside, and a silent Avada Lightning Chain extinguished the flames of death for all beings except the three of them.

Will kicked the dead rat that had fallen at his feet. Although he didn't know what kind of spell it was, he recognized the unsettling green light.

Having obtained the soul, Oren had no desire to remain underground any longer.

"That venom will be your pay."

The two dark wizards stared intently at Oren's retreating figure, their eyes filled with fear no less than when they saw Grindelwald.

After opening the portal back to the Headmaster's Office, I grabbed the candy from Dumbledore's hand and headed to the Great Hall.

At the Gryffindor table, Hermione was struggling to eat her bread.

"Hey Hermione, isn't this piece of bread a bit hard to criticize?"

Hermione humphed.

"This pie full of fish heads, is it the famous Stargazy Pie?" Oren asked curiously.

Ron nodded and said, "Oren, you should try it. It's very delicious; it retains the original flavor of the fish."

Oren looked at the pie suspiciously; a small piece was missing. If it were delicious, Harry and Ron, those two gluttons, would have finished it long ago.

"Ptooey, ptooey, ptooey!" Oren scoffed. "It really tastes like fish—both fishy and salty."

Harry and Ron exchanged smug smiles.

Oren glared at the two of them and said, "No waste! You'd better finish this even if you're crying!"

The two men began to praise each other's faces.

Harry: "Oren, what did you order?"

"Delicious!" Oren hummed. "Eating pickled vegetables and tofu rolls~ Even the old headmaster can't compare to me~"

The three little ones...

Hermione: "Oren, you can't take Divination anymore, right? Want to join me in Arithmancy?"

"This year I've chosen Arithmancy; I'm just sleeping in a different place."

Hermione...