Newland naturally couldn't see the lonely look on Sigefin's face.
At this moment, he had already stepped out of another fireplace hundreds of miles away.
He smiled as he patted the dust off his body and slowly turned to look around.
Where he was now was actually an apartment that wasn't very large.
Compared to the Ministry of Magic, the decoration here was simple yet fresh, filled with an artistic atmosphere and quite modern.
The only thing that was a bit regrettable was that the furniture in the living room looked somewhat worn.
No, "worn" wasn't even the right word for it.
It looked more like it had been dragged out of a garbage heap, completely out of place with everything else in the apartment.
But Newland didn't feel uncomfortable at all.
Because all of this furniture had been moved over from the old house.
Only these old pieces could give his mother, who had lost her sight, a sense of familiarity here.
Newland stepped onto the soft carpet and walked to the window, pulling the curtains open.
As the curtains slowly parted, rows of towering buildings and traffic flowing like a tide came into view.
This made Newland take a deep breath in satisfaction.
This was the inner district of New York, the most prosperous part of the entire city, the financial center of all of England, and also his home.
Ever since the Gringotts heist, Newland had used his share of the profits to directly buy this apartment.
In the eyes of many wizards and truly wealthy Muggles, this wasn't a very good choice.
After all, because of the Statute of Secrecy, a wizard living in a bustling downtown area was almost the same as being forbidden from using magic.
For a wizard, that was an unbearable kind of torment.
And the overly noisy and crowded environment here wasn't something real Muggle tycoons would consider ideal for living either.
But to Newland, none of that was a problem.
As a member of the Auror Office and a direct subordinate of Link, the restrictions of the Statute of Secrecy barely applied to him at all.
As for the surroundings of steel and concrete, like a cage made of cement, he actually enjoyed it immensely.
Most importantly, his mother liked it too.
"Newland, is that you back already?"
Just as he was thinking that, an elderly woman's voice suddenly came from behind.
Newland smiled and turned around. When he saw the apron tied around the old woman's waist, he hurried forward to support her and said with a frown, "Mom, what are you doing again? I've told you, just leave these chores to me. You can't see, what if you get hurt?"
Faced with Newland's concern, the old woman showed no smile and said coldly, "Today is Thursday. Why are you back so early?"
As Newland untied the apron from her, he said, "Work's over, so I came home."
"Lies!"
Though she had already lost her sight, the old woman still accurately grabbed Newland's ear.
"You clearly slacked off and ran back early! I'm warning you, Newland, your boss treats you really well! If you forget his kindness, don't work properly, or do anything to betray him, then the consequences…"
She didn't continue, but slightly increased the force in her hand.
To be honest, this level of force was nothing to thick-skinned Newland.
But he still bent down cooperatively and cried out, "I was wrong, I was wrong, Mom, I know I was wrong!"
"As long as you know!"
The old woman let go, then tenderly rubbed his ear and continued nagging.
Meanwhile, Newland wore a silly grin on his face.
Ding-dong!
A gentle doorbell suddenly rang.
Both the old woman, who had been nagging, and Newland froze for a moment.
They weren't exactly popular in this apartment. Normally, neighbors wouldn't come visiting at all.
With a suspicious look, Newland released the old woman's hand and slowly walked to the door.
Through the peephole, he could clearly see a lightly dressed office lady standing outside.
She seemed to notice that someone had come to the door and was watching her.
So she smiled slightly, adjusted her glasses, and said, "Mr. Newland, I have quite a big business deal I'd like to discuss with you."
"Get lost, I'm not buying anything!"
Newland cursed, "Damn it, when I bought this apartment, that agent said the management and security here were top-notch. And this is the result? They're even letting salespeople up here now. What trash! I'm filing a complaint later!"
"Newland! No swearing! As for the young lady outside, let her come in and talk first. Staying here alone all the time is quite boring."
The old woman spoke loudly. Hearing that, Newland, who had just been full of anger, awkwardly scratched his head.
"Alright, Mom, I was wrong."
As he spoke, he opened the door, which he had previously sealed with a spell.
As the door opened, the blonde office lady outside smiled awkwardly and said, "Actually, I'm really not a salesperson."
Newland said with a mocking smile, "Then what are you..."
His voice suddenly stopped, because the blonde office lady had already lifted the hem of her clothing.
Of course, not by much, just enough to reveal the bulging wand holster hidden at her waist.
A wand meant she was a wizard.
"Sir, I truly have a big deal I want to discuss with you. So, do you think…"
As she spoke, the blonde office lady glanced at the old woman.
Her meaning was obvious.
The smile on Newland's face instantly disappeared. He calmly closed the door and said, "That's my mother. I don't hide anything from her. If you have something to say, just say it."
"If that's the case, then alright."
The blonde office lady thought for a moment and said, "Mr. Newland, we are well aware of your position in the British Ministry of Magic, as well as your relationship with Link Flamel."
"So, we need you to do a few things for us. Of course, these tasks won't be dangerous, and they'll all be small matters within your ability."
"And in return, we'll offer you something you won't be able to refuse. For example, one hundred thousand Galleons."
Before she had even finished speaking, the old woman, who had been listening from the side, had already turned and walked back into the kitchen.
This action made the blonde office lady quite satisfied.
After finishing her words, she even stepped forward and lightly licked Newland's earlobe, saying seductively, "Even I can count as an extra bonus."
Newland's face flushed slightly.
His throat moved as he said, a little breathless, "Who are you people?"
"That's something we can't tell you," the blonde office lady said with a smile. "But I think you already have a rough idea, don't you?"
Newland nodded and asked, "Yeah, I can roughly guess who you are. But the question is, why choose me? And with such… methods?"
"So direct?"
The blonde office lady continued, "That's simple. Because you and Link Flamel aren't really on the same side, are you? We've studied you thoroughly."
"At most, your relationship is just mutual exploitation. And since Link Flamel can afford to pay you, we can naturally offer you more. You have no reason to refuse us. So there's no need for those so-called tests."
After saying that, she raised her head proudly.
She looked as if victory was already in her grasp.
But honestly, that wasn't her fault.
Because at this moment, Newland already looked so excited he could barely control himself.
It was as if he had been completely tempted by beauty and money.
And this matched perfectly with the investigation the blonde office lady had done on him.
Newland was, through and through, a machine driven by benifit.
His difficult past had long since stripped the concept of loyalty from his mind.
A person like that was born to be a traitor.
Just as the blonde office lady was thinking this, the old woman came out of the kitchen again.
But unlike before, she now held a sushi knife in her hand.
The setting sun outside shone on the blade, reflecting a dazzling light.
That glint made the blonde office lady instinctively squint, and a bad feeling rose in her heart.
A gust of wind suddenly rushed toward her.
The blonde office lady instinctively turned her head, only to see a flash of light before her. Then her whole body felt like it had been struck by a moving train as she was violently thrown away.
Bang!
She slammed hard onto the ground. The impact numbed her entire body, and her consciousness fell into brief confusion.
In the final moment before losing consciousness, she saw Newland, holding a wand, suddenly grab the old woman and shout excitedly, "Mom! I caught a spy! This time I'm definitely getting promoted again!"
The sight almost made the blonde office lady cough up blood.
She forced herself not to pass out, stretched out her hand with difficulty, and murmured, "Why… why?"
"You still dare ask me why?", Newland replied in surprise, then looked around and let out a mocking laugh.
Everything around them was already the answer.
This large apartment, his current job, his mother's healthy condition…
All of it came from Link Flamel.
Just like his mother had said earlier, Lord Link Flamel's kindness toward him couldn't be described with words at all!
Faced with such a boss, betrayal simply didn't exist.
While Newland was still smiling, the old woman once again precisely grabbed his ear.
"That commotion just now was huge. Didn't you hit too hard?" she said. "Hurry up and send her to your boss. What if she dies!"
"Oh! Got it, Mom!"
As he spoke, Newland hurriedly began tying up the office lady, who had already lost the ability to move. At the same time, he even tidied up the furniture that had been smashed by her impact.
Listening to the sounds in the apartment, the old woman showed a relieved smile.
Although Newland always said he was doing business with his boss,
and never told her anything more specific, she actually knew in her heart that what her son did was probably not anything proper.
And that boss he met at school probably wasn't a good person either.
After all, how could doing honest work earn this much money?
But that didn't matter.
Anyone who could raise a child safely in a place like Spinner's End wouldn't be some kind, gentle person anyway.
The old woman didn't care whether Newland's work was legitimate.
If her son became a thief, then she would just be the mother of a thief.
To her, that was completely normal.
The only thing she cared about was whether her son was safe.
———
[Inside the Headmaster's Office at Hogwarts]
After several days, Link finally met Dumbledore again.
Compared to a few days ago, Dumbledore now looked as if he had just recovered from a serious illness.
He looked extremely worn out, with heavy dark circles under his eyes.
"Professor Dumbledore, you should really get some rest," Link said as he stroked Akam's head. "Don't end up dying from exhaustion before your enemies can kill you."
Hearing this, Dumbledore's brows twitched, and he stared at Link with resentment in his eyes.
This made Link feel a bit awkward.
After all, Dumbledore looked like this mostly because of the pile of documents Professor McGonagall had handed him.
Making sarcastic remarks at a time like this really wasn't appropriate.
"Ahem!"
He coughed twice and said, "Let's talk business. Professor Dumbledore, why did you call me here this time?"
Just as Dumbledore was about to speak, Link continued, "I'm guessing it's not about work, right? You should be able to handle those things easily on your own. There's no need for me to get involved."
"Unfortunately, you guessed wrong."
Dumbledore said coldly, "I called you here precisely because there's some work that requires both of us."
Hearing this, Link sighed.
He knew that since Dumbledore had said that, there was no room to refuse.
It seemed his laid-back days were coming to an end.
Adjusting his posture, Link said helplessly, "What exactly is the work?"
"The new term is about to begin. You don't need to worry about tedious matters like enrollment. We have more experience in that area and handle it better. But there is one task that I can't complete alone."
Dumbledore said calmly, "Since midway through last term, the Defense Against the Dark Arts class has been temporarily taught by Severus."
"This arrangement worked for a while, but now that a new term is starting, we need to find a new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor."
As he finished speaking, a faint smile of schadenfreude appeared on Dumbledore's face.
The position of Defense Against the Dark Arts professor could be said to be almost cursed.
Almost no one could hold that position for a full year.
And nearly everyone who had taken the role had met with misfortune.
Because of this, some people even said it was cursed by Voldemort.
Such rumors were absurd to the point of being unreasonable.
But the long list of unfortunate former professors made it hard for others not to believe it.
At the same time, this situation made choosing a Defense Against the Dark Arts professor a major problem every year.
In the past, Dumbledore had spent a lot of effort on this.
And now, it was Link's turn to worry about it.
Just imagining Link looking troubled was enough to make Dumbledore want to laugh.
However, Link simply said calmly, "Isn't that simple? People outside may not want the job, but someone in our school does."
"Professor Snape, hasn't he been teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts quite happily? He's probably willing to continue. Why not just make him the official professor?"
"That way, we only need to find a new Potions professor."
"And compared to Defense Against the Dark Arts, a Potions professor should be much easier to find."
At this point, Link paused, looked at Dumbledore's slightly darkened face, and smiled.
"You must have already planned all this, right?"
Dumbledore was taking deep breaths.
Having his plan completely exposed didn't feel good.
After a while, he said with a grim expression, "How did you know?"
Link didn't answer, just shook his head.
Of course, he couldn't say that this was how it happened in the original story.
But in Dumbledore's eyes, that gesture only looked smug.
Dumbledore rubbed his hands and suppressed his frustration.
"Just as you said, I plan to let Severus take the position of Defense Against the Dark Arts professor for the new term. He has already agreed. As for the new Potions professor, I've chosen Horace Slughorn."
Perhaps thinking that someone as young as Link might not know Horace Slughorn, Dumbledore added, "Like Severus, he is the vice president of the British Potions Association."
"He has also served as a Potions professor at Hogwarts and as Head of Slytherin House. So you can fully trust his teaching ability."
So this was basically rehiring a retired teacher.
Link complained inwardly, but outwardly just nodded lightly.
"Then let's go with him. Professor Dumbledore, go ahead and handle it. I trust you completely."
Hearing this, Dumbledore's expression eased.
He slowly stood up and said, "In that case, let's set off."
"Set off?" Link looked confused. "Set off where?"
"To find Horace Slughorn. You didn't think I brought him back to Hogwarts before getting your approval, did you?"
"No, of course not. I just think you can handle this on your own."
"But you are also a member of the Hogwarts board, aren't you? You should at least participate in this kind of work. And you really should meet Horace Slughorn."
"He's a very special person. I'm not even sure whether bringing him back to Hogwarts is the right decision. In any case, you'll understand once you meet him."
Dumbledore spoke with unusual seriousness.
This left Link with no room to refuse.
He let out a long sigh and finally stood up.
This made a smile appear on Dumbledore's face.
He smiled faintly, and rising phoenix flames once again enveloped both of them.