The commotion Garfield caused outside Hogwarts naturally drew the attention of the school's staff.
Dumbledore, Dippet, McGonagall, and the others rushed out of the castle to see what was happening.
They found only Little Voldemort standing blankly by the lake, his trousers faintly smelling of urine.
"Mr. Riddle, what happened? Are you hurt?"
Tom Riddle did not speak.
He just stood there in a daze.
Dumbledore and Dippet exchanged a glance.
Dumbledore said, "Headmaster, let's take him back. I just saw Garfield bring Mr. Riddle out here. It must be our King demonstrating some kind of magic."
Armando Dippet looked at the empty lake and knew the news would spread easily.
He nodded, waved his hand, and drew Tom Riddle into his arms, leading him back to the headmaster's office at Hogwarts.
On the way, Dippet kindly used a cleaning spell to remove the grime from Tom's hands and clothes.
In the headmaster's office, the warmth of the blankets quickly brought Tom Riddle's body temperature back to normal.
As feeling returned to his limbs, it took him a long time to recover from his shock.
After inspecting the scene by the lake, Dumbledore instructed his colleagues not to share the information to avoid unnecessary trouble.
He then quickly returned to the tower to find Garfield and ask about the situation.
He also needed to report to Armando Dippet.
Beside the statue at the tower entrance, Dumbledore gave Garfield the changed password.
The statue, which answered to "Dried Fish," slowly opened to reveal a doorway, and Dumbledore entered.
Seeing the empty lounge, Dumbledore, who knew cats' habits well, went to the bedroom.
Inside, Garfield and the dragon figurine were each enjoying their own cozy spots.
When Dumbledore arrived, Garfield merely looked up to greet him.
"Old Bee, you came pretty quickly."
Dumbledore sat down in a chair. "Garfield, was that your magic at the lake? And is our Tom Riddle up to something?"
After hearing Dumbledore's question, Garfield calmly told him the truth. "Our little Tom has developed a dark side. I took him to the lake to demonstrate my power and, incidentally, to warn him against going down the wrong path. But his destiny ultimately leads him into darkness to accomplish a dark career."
In the wizarding world, wizards with prophetic powers constantly foretold the future.
From the moment of birth, the major events and direction of every newborn wizard's destiny were already known.
These prophecies were preserved by the Ministry of Magic in prophecy spheres and sealed forever, not to be accessed without special procedures.
Dumbledore knew Garfield's abilities were extraordinary, so it was normal for him to foresee parts of the future.
However, he felt that things were not as Garfield described.
There must be something he did not know.
Could it be that Garfield was deliberately scaring him?
After all, cats always liked to do something when they were bored.
Even with boundless magical power, some habits could not be changed.
Dumbledore's love for sweets, for example, was ingrained in his soul.
"Garfield, is that really true?"
"Of course, Old Bee. I have no reason to lie to you. In the future, our little Tom Riddle will achieve great things, though he will not be as successful as your old friend Grindelwald."
Mentioning Grindelwald made Dumbledore feel a surge of anger.
While the recent counterattack had yielded some results, his plan should have produced even greater gains.
However, Grindelwald's power in Europe far exceeded his expectations.
Fortunately, Dumbledore had established several strongholds while things were looking good and would continue infiltration and counterattacks.
Speaking of Grindelwald, Dumbledore touched his chest, where the pendant made from the blood oath he and Grindelwald had sworn hung beneath his robes.
If he could erase the entire oath, then he could truly and openly settle things with Grindelwald.
"Garfield, could you teach me that trick you demonstrated today? Or is there a similar, even more powerful spell?"
Why was Old Bee asking him this?
Garfield looked up at the chest Dumbledore was touching and sensed something inside.
It was a magical item imbued with rules.
Logically, and according to the plot, it should be the pendant from his blood oath with Grindelwald.
Destroying it with divine power was not out of the question, but the future was uncertain.
Grindelwald's current forces were several times stronger than Dumbledore's.
If Dumbledore launched a desperate decapitation strike against Grindelwald, he might very well be killed.
Who knew what the wizarding world would become then?
Garfield might even need to use the Time Stone.
The two worlds were indeed intertwined, but how effective the Time Stone would be was questionable.
After some thought, Garfield decided to let Dumbledore handle the blood oath himself.
As for spells, he could provide support with two powerful single target spells, or perhaps give him a powerful amulet or bracer.
Without further delay, Garfield pulled out a pile of metal and magical materials from his pocket.
Looking at Dumbledore's size, he decided to make him a ring.
Not a marriage token, but an ornament.
Two cat paws flicked out a magic circle.
Various materials entered the circle in sequence and mixed according to Garfield's plan to form a silver white ring.
Garfield inscribed runes and formations onto the ring.
After the ring was completed, Garfield infused it with some lightning power.
Lightning shot from Garfield's paws and surged into the silver white ring, creating clusters of blue arcs on its surface.
As the lightning power flowed in, small, pale blue patterns appeared on the silver white ring.
When Garfield finished infusing the ring, it hovered in mid air, with occasional flashes of blue energy within the pale blue patterns.
The power of lightning was unmistakable.
Even an ordinary person could tell from the ring's dazzling appearance that it was no ordinary object.
Garfield thought for a moment, then waved his hand and added small formations to conceal its true nature.
After finishing, Garfield first tested the ring in his hand.
A bolt of lightning erupted from the ring and turned a bench in the room to dust.
Garfield then used his magic to restore it to its original state.
Seeing that the ring was lacking something, Garfield engraved the words "One Ring" on it, followed by a cat's paw print.
He handed it to Dumbledore and reminded him, "Old Bee, this might be very useful in your fateful battle with Grindelwald. To prevent theft, drip a drop of your blood on it. After that, it will only recognize you."
"Thank you, my friend."
Dumbledore looked down at the ring Garfield had given him.
He thanked Garfield and, following his instructions, put the ring on his hand.
After carefully examining it to make sure it was not too conspicuous, he tested its power on a small teacup.