It Had to Be Dumbledore! Quirrell, Go Get Your Brain Checked

Minister of Magic's office.

Fudge and his aides had gathered together, every face grave.

Spread across the table were reports from various newspapers on the Gringotts theft.

One aide spoke with a heavy expression.

"This Gringotts theft has had a major impact on us."

"Although it is Gringotts's problem, Gringotts is still part of the Wizarding World."

"Gringotts, which has always claimed to be impregnable, had dozens of Goblins killed. Someone broke into the underground vaults and completely emptied one vault—and it was Hogwarts Headmaster Dumbledore's vault."

"This has already left most witches and wizards in the Wizarding World deeply unsettled. Some have even speculated that this is the year Harry Potter enters school, and perhaps the mysterious person has returned at this time..."

"They say robbing Dumbledore's vault was the mysterious person's provocation against the Wizarding World and Dumbledore!"

Another aide picked up the thread.

"Some members of the public scoff at the idea of the mysterious person's return, but they have been reminded of that vicious Dark wizard, Darke Sede."

"To be honest, this is extremely unfavorable for us."

"The Minister and the rest of us have only just taken office, yet first there was that utterly deranged Dark wizard, and now the Gringotts theft. The Wizarding World is in a panic, and many people have begun to question whether this Ministry of Magic has lost control over the Wizarding World."

"Those Dark wizards no longer fear the Ministry of Magic Aurors. The authority of the Ministry's laws is gradually crumbling, and our approval ratings are crumbling along with it..."

He considered his words before cautiously adding,

"If our approval ratings keep falling at this rate, we may soon be forced out of office early."

The heavy subject made everyone present feel as though a boulder was pressing on their hearts.

Everyone began talking over one another, debating what exactly was going on.

"To show that we are capable of punishing crime, we need to catch whoever broke into Gringotts as soon as possible."

"What about the Aurors? Do they have any leads?"

"The sooner we catch that thief, the sooner we can win back public support..."

But Fudge looked at them as though they were idiots.

Finally unable to bear it any longer, he shouted,

"Are your brains stuffed full of Galleons and Little Witches?"

"Culprit? Thief? What culprit, what thief? Can't you see it yet?!"

The aides froze, looking at Fudge without understanding what he meant.

Fudge sneered, a knowing look in his eyes.

"Breaking into Gringotts, killing dozens of Goblins while under siege from Goblins and fire dragons, and seriously injuring a fire dragon—do you bloody think an ordinary wizard could do that?"

"And then, after going through all that trouble to get in, they ignored the vaults of those great aristocratic families, piled high with gold, and went straight for Dumbledore's underground vault, leaving not even a hair behind."

"Don't you find that completely unreasonable?"

"Who doesn't know Dumbledore's name? How much nerve would a thief need to rob Dumbledore's vault? If it were you, would you dare rob it even if the vault door stood wide open?"

Everyone present was startled, astonishment appearing in their eyes as they looked at Fudge.

"That does seem to be the case."

"What thief would be tired of living enough to rob Dumbledore's vault?"

"Even Dak, that vicious Dark wizard from before who went around looking for intelligent people, never dared set his sights on Dumbledore."

One aide's face filled with terror.

"Minister, could it really be the Black Magic Lord..."

Before he could finish, Fudge had reached the limit of his tolerance for stupidity. He grabbed a cup and hurled it toward the office door.

"Black Magic Lord my ass!"

"I've spelled it out this clearly, and you still don't understand?"

"There was never any thief! The one who broke into Gringotts and robbed Dumbledore's vault was Dumbledore himself!"

The words struck like thunder, and everyone sucked in a sharp breath.

Powerful enough to fear neither Dumbledore's investigation nor his retaliation...

Dumbledore himself fit those conditions better than anyone!

No way?

"Then... then what was his motive?"

"Why would Dumbledore do something like this?"

One aide still found it hard to believe.

Fudge answered with another sneer.

"Do you even need to ask?"

"I think Dumbledore still hasn't given up on the position of Minister of Magic."

"The crisis caused by that Dark wizard Dak was resolved through my genius handling, and we even won widespread praise throughout the Wizarding World. Dumbledore had no choice but to back down."

"And Hogwarts will be starting soon, which means it will be time for the Board of Governors to audit the accounts."

"That sinister old bee Dumbledore pulled this stunt to balance his books and create another wave of panic."

"Hmph. He may fool everyone else, but he will never fool me, Fudge!"

The aides looked at one another, and their expressions toward Fudge changed once more.

No way...

Had Fudge been taking some kind of brain-boosting potion lately?

Had he actually become a genius?!

"B-but Minister, how do we prove it?"

"We can't accuse Dumbledore without evidence."

One aide said,

"How about sending Aurors to question Dumbledore and inspect his office? Maybe they can find some clue?"

Before he could finish, the Aurors present had already gone red in the face and cursed,

"Why the hell don't you go?!"

Inspect Dumbledore to see whether he had staged all this?

If they found nothing, Dumbledore would bear a grudge against them, and they might mysteriously drop dead one day.

If they found something, it would be even worse. They would probably drop dead on the spot.

Whoever wanted that job could have it!

Just as they were about to start a full-blown argument, Fudge looked as though he hated iron for not becoming steel.

"You people... sigh. Stupid, truly stupid."

"Why did I hire you as my aides?"

"Isn't this simple?"

Fudge revealed his plan.

"The things in Dumbledore's vault should have tracking spells on them, shouldn't they?"

"And even if they do not, with Dumbledore's magical attainments, he should be able to easily trace them."

"We will ask Dumbledore to cooperate with the Ministry of Magic Aurors' investigation and cast a locating spell on the items he lost."

"If Dumbledore refuses to cooperate, or claims that the tracking spells have failed and that he cannot find any leads, then everything will be obvious."

Everyone present could not help clapping in admiration.

"Brilliant, truly brilliant!"

"We'll go invite Dumbledore at once and have him cast the spell on the spot to locate the missing items!"

Meanwhile, in a room at the Leaky Cauldron, Charle, who had already ordered fire dragon ingredients from the Romanian Dragon Reserve, let out a sigh of relief.

Once the fire dragon ingredients arrived, he would have another major source of Deduction Points.

Together with the various treasures looted from Dumbledore's vault, his Deduction Points would become plentiful once more.

As for whether to deduce Dragon Language Magic - Roar of Power or other magical knowledge, he had not made up his mind yet.

"Forget it. Time to eat..."

"Only eighty thousand Deduction Points left, not even a hundred thousand. That really doesn't feel secure."

"And the things I took from Dumbledore's vault might have tracking spells on them, or Dumbledore might have some way of tracing them here. Better dispose of them."

"Perfect. Magical Animagus has another use for me..."

A strange light appeared in Charle's eyes as he activated Magical Animagus in the room.

In an instant, a fire dragon nearly five meters long filled the entire room.

Charle had not transformed into this shape for battle, but for eating.

His human form was simply too inefficient at eating. Even if an Assembly Line kept pouring food into his mouth, he could only eat a few bites at a time.

But transforming into a fire dragon was different. In this form, Charle could open his mouth wide enough to swallow a small lamb in one bite! If it had been the Dragon Heart he had obtained earlier, he would not even have needed to cut it apart with the Laser Spell—one bite would have done it!

The same went for the spoils from Dumbledore's vault.

Things that would take half a day to eat in human form only required a single bite in Charle's fire dragon form.

The next moment, his claws hooked up the bundle containing the contents of Dumbledore's vault.

To be safe and ensure that every trace was erased, Charle swallowed the bundle whole.

Once the bundle entered his stomach, Deep Blue's mechanical notification sounds began flooding his vision like an explosion.

Charle's total Deduction Points began skyrocketing from eighty thousand, the numbers blurring into a haze.

When the digits finally became clear again, his total Deduction Points had stopped at a single number.

"Six hundred and seventy thousand?!"

Even Charle could not help crying out.

Nearly six hundred thousand Deduction Points in one go?

And that was without the Philosopher's Stone!

If the Philosopher's Stone had been in the vault, there would probably have been at least another zero after that six hundred thousand!

At that point, would Charle still have to worry about not having enough Deduction Points?

Charle's eyes practically turned green.

"The Philosopher's Stone... I really want to take a bite and see what it tastes like."

He was already planning how to get the Philosopher's Stone during his first year.

"Besides the Philosopher's Stone, Hogwarts has quite a few good things."

"The Mirror of Erised... if I smashed it and ate it, it should be like shaved ice, crunchy and icy."

"And the Three-Headed Dog. That thing is formidable too. Even Quirrell, possessed by Voldemort, could do nothing against it and had to get Hagrid to reveal the Three-Headed Dog's weakness."

"If I took one bite out of the Three-Headed Dog every day, it should last me a long time."

"And Devil's Snare... damn, if I found a place to cultivate it on a large scale, wouldn't that be amazing?"

"Of course, there's also the diadem in the Room of Requirement. Eating that might not be any worse than eating the Philosopher's Stone."

Thinking of all this, Charle became filled with anticipation for life at Hogwarts and could not help letting out a snicker.

At that moment, in a room on the first floor of the Leaky Cauldron, various Confundus Charms and defensive spells shrouded the space, so powerful that even Old Tom, the owner of the Leaky Cauldron, had forgotten that he had such a room.

Quirrell wore a suspicious expression, feeling as though some noise was coming from upstairs.

It sounded like low, rumbling Dragon Roars.

"Master, did you hear something?"

"Don't you think whoever lives above us might not be human?"

The next moment, Voldemort snapped angrily.

"You fool, you woke me up just to tell some horror story? Do you think you're funny?"

"Not human? Then what lives upstairs?"

Quirrell let out a scream.

"A fire dragon! I think there's a fire dragon living upstairs!"

"Master, I'm telling the truth!"

A moment later, the pain in Quirrell's body receded like a tide.

He could hardly believe it. Why had Voldemort's punishment been so short this time?

Then he heard Voldemort's voice, unusually gentler than before.

"Quirrell..."

"Go to St. Mungo's Hospital and buy some Potion. Get your brain checked and get some proper sleep."

"After all, I, Voldemort, am not some demon. If your brain breaks, where am I supposed to live?"

Quirrell froze.

"My brain is going to break?"

"If Master says so, it must be true. No wonder I suddenly thought there was a fire dragon upstairs. So my brain is about to break!"

"No, I need to hurry to St. Mungo's Hospital and buy some Potion..."

"Sigh, if only Hogwarts had started already. Then I could ask Professor Snape to prescribe something for my brain."

At the same time, in the Hogwarts Headmaster's office, several Ministry of Magic Aurors were politely asking Dumbledore to locate the missing items so they could investigate.

Dumbledore readily agreed.

But after he waved the Elder Wand, his expression changed subtly.

Because according to his senses, his tracking spells seemed to be gone?

The magical traces of those items had all vanished from the world as well?

How was that possible? He had personally placed the tracking spells on those items.

As long as they still existed in this world, he could locate them even if they had been placed in a trunk with an Undetectable Extension Charm cast on it.

How could they be gone now?

Dumbledore refused to believe it and hurriedly waved his Wand again.

But this attempt at casting the spell still vanished without a trace, just like the last one.

Noticing Dumbledore's expression and movements, the faces of the Aurors changed as well. They exchanged knowing looks.

In their hearts, they were filled with immense admiration for Fudge.

Who would have thought that Minister Fudge, who usually seemed so incapable, was actually wise enough to hide his brilliance?

He really was a genius?!

At that moment, Dumbledore looked embarrassed.

"To be honest, I don't know what happened either. The tracking spell seems to have failed."

The Aurors smiled as well.

"It's fine, no problem. We'll use other methods to search for him."

As they left, one Auror could not help turning back to give Dumbledore a long, deep look.

"Headmaster, I think today is the day I truly came to know you."

"Thank you for teaching me such a valuable lesson."

Dumbledore looked at the departing Aurors, utterly bewildered.

"???"

"No, what did I do?"

After returning to the Minister of Magic's office, the Aurors eagerly reported the matter to Fudge.

For a moment, everyone in the office looked at Fudge with utter reverence.

"Minister!"

"Brilliant, truly brilliant!"

"Dumbledore's acting was exposed by the Minister long ago."

"Heh, the tracking spell failed? Even the mysterious person would not find it so easy to make Dumbledore's tracking spell fail, would he?"

"What, was he eaten by some monster and directly digested until not even scraps remained? Who was he trying to fool?!"

The advisers looked at Fudge with several traces of fervor in their eyes.

"Then, Minister, what should we do next?"

After pondering for a moment, Fudge recalled Charle's situation. His eyes flashed, and he revealed an expression of complete confidence.

"Since we already know that Dumbledore is targeting us, and we also know that this old bumblebee may look kind and benevolent but is actually capable of robbing vaults to balance accounts and line his own pockets, then this will be easy."

"If he were a saint, there would be nothing we could do. But since he has selfish desires and material wants, we might as well use those desires to dig a pit for him."

"Everyone knows about that child Charle Evans. The amount he claimed for reimbursement was far too strange. I had been wondering how he found a loophole in the Magical Agreement, but now I suddenly understand..."

"Dumbledore—it must have been him again! With him making a move, wouldn't cracking the Ministry of Magic's Magical Agreement be effortless?"

"Charle is just a child. How much food could he possibly eat? How could he claim that much money? That greedy old bumblebee Dumbledore must be meddling behind the scenes!"

Just then, an owl flew in through the window, bringing a bill from Romania.

The outrageous amount on the bill made the adviser who received it gasp in disbelief.

"Fuck!"

"Ten dragons?"

"Every month?!"

"Dumbledore has gone insane!"

"Minister, we absolutely cannot permit such blatant robbery!"

But Fudge burst into laughter, his face full of disdain.

"No, we must permit it."

"Those whom heaven wishes to destroy, it first drives mad."

"Dumbledore already dares to use the Magical Agreement to claim reimbursement for ten dragons every month. What will he do in the future?"

"Charle has not even entered Hogwarts yet, and Dumbledore already dares to do this. Once Charle enters Hogwarts and reaches Dumbledore's territory, Dumbledore will certainly become even more unhinged."

"By then, it will be time for us to expose Dumbledore's true face."

"As for now... isn't it only ten dragons?"

"As long as we can eliminate Dumbledore's threat in one stroke, the price is worth it!"

"From now on, approve every reimbursement claim and permit submitted by Charle Evans!"