Dumbledore looked at Carl with some difficulty, "Well—let me think—"
He just wanted to fake a few accidents, set some bait, do some fishing, and scare the little Wizards. He didn't need a big villain to appear.
And even if there had to be one, why not choose Grindelwald? He's a professional!
As for Carl…
Dumbledore looked at him, his eyes shining, incredibly excited, and felt a little flustered.
If this mischievous Kitten went crazy, would he flip the entire Hogwarts Castle over?
No, no! Absolutely not!
But refusing him directly like this wasn't good either; he didn't want Kitten paw prints all over his office.
So, he could only…
Dumbledore showed a kind smile, "I'm sorry, Carl, Gellert has already agreed with me. This task belongs to him."
Grindelwald: (-)
Huh? Me? When was that?
Although he was confused, seeing Dumbledore's pleading eyes, he immediately nodded.
"Yes! That's right! It's me!"
Who else but me for this task? Isn't it just playing the villain? I was not born a good person!
Carl: (—_—)
"Albus, are you trying to fool me like a first-year or second-year little Wizard? I'm a third-year now! Don't even think about tricking me!"
Grindelwald: …
That's truly very mature!
"You just came up with the idea, how could it have been agreed upon long ago?"
Dumbledore looked up at the ceiling, not making eye contact with Carl at all, "Hmm—just before you came, we happened to be talking about the Duelling Club, and we both thought the children didn't have a sense of danger, so, hey? Where are you going?"
"I'm sad, I want to go for a walk."
Carl, who had stopped, stood with his back to Dumbledore and Grindelwald, his tone full of sadness and disappointment.
'I never thought that the Principal I respected most would use such a clumsy lie to reject his sincere student!'
'Sigh! My heart was open to the moon, but it's a stormy, cloudy day!'
'Alas! Let it be! Anyway, my heart is already shattered into pieces! It can't come back!'
Dumbledore: …
The way he said those lines, the way he recited them, it almost made me feel guilty.
Grindelwald: …
Don't look at me! That little rascal is using this trick, I can't help you anymore!
Dumbledore smiled wryly and shook his head, "How about this, Carl, as long as you can complete two things, I will agree to your request."
Carl: (—_—)
Aha! Why didn't you say so earlier? You just had to make me put on a performance!
"What two things? Tell me!"
"Find Lord Voldemort's Horcrux and destroy it, and also find the Chamber of Secrets."
In Dumbledore's mind, the first task was not a problem for Carl, as the Horcrux was on Ginny Weasley.
But the second task was quite difficult; after all, for a thousand years, the school had never found the Chamber of Secrets.
Just let this Kitten run wild in the Castle, and don't harm other little Wizards.
Carl stared at Dumbledore with wide eyes, "Are you sure? No going back on your word!"
"Of course!"
"Great! It's a deal!"
Dumbledore had a bad premonition. Why did this boy look so confident?
Could it be—no way?
Grindelwald looked at the beaming Carl and couldn't help but say sarcastically, "Didn't your heart just shatter into pieces, kid?"
"Don't you know the Mending Charm?"
October arrived, and the weather turned cold.
Many little Wizards in the school, and even Professors, fell ill and had to take the Invigoration Draught made by Madam Pomfrey, the school nurse.
This potion was very effective, but its drawback was that for several hours after taking it, smoke would continuously come out of both ears.
When a little Wizard first started smoking, those who saw it would tease him.
But later, as more and more people fell ill, smoking even became a trend.
Please! Smoking from your ears for a few hours, doesn't that look super cool?
If Fred and George hadn't been pressured by Oliver Wood into Quidditch training, they probably would have tried to get sick long ago.
However, even though the twins couldn't smoke, their sister could.
Ginny Weasley had been sick recently, so Percy Weasley forced her to drink some Invigoration Draught.
As a result, her red hair combined with plumes of white smoke made it look as if her head was on fire.
Feeling somewhat embarrassed, Ginny was very unhappy and walked alone down the empty corridor.
She reached into her backpack, wanting to take out her pen and diary to confide in her portable friend.
"Strange, where did these chicken feathers come from?"
Ginny frowned, plucking off the chicken feather stuck to her cuff, her expression very confused.
These past few days, she often found chicken feathers on herself, but she didn't remember going anywhere with chickens.
"Could it be a prank by Fred and George? They must be trying to make fun of me again. I'll write to Mum another day!"
Just then, a strange song suddenly came from deep within the corridor.
"Ding-dong~ I'm waiting for you here~ Are you waiting for me~ What makes you afraid~"
"Ding-dong~ Where will you hide~ Don't try to escape~ It's too late to escape my grasp~"
The eerie voice echoed continuously in the dim corridor, sometimes near, sometimes far, as if it was coming from a distant place, and sometimes like a whisper right next to her ear, carrying a chilling tone.
Ginny suddenly stopped, her heart pounding violently like a drum.
It felt as if icy cold spread from her back throughout her entire body, and she began to tremble all over.
Engulfed in fear, Ginny felt it difficult to breathe, as if an invisible pair of hands was clutching her throat. She wanted to reach for her wand, but found her trembling hands unable to do so.
"…—forgotten memories~ secrets you've hidden~ don't breathe loudly~ you've exposed yourself!"
The moment the singing abruptly stopped, Ginny's breathing hitched.
She froze in place, not daring to look back, because—that terrifying thing was right behind her.
"Oh~ so it's a cute lost lamb~ How delightful I find this~"
Cold sweat ran down her forehead into her eyes, but Ginny endured the stinging and didn't blink.
In the glass of the corridor window, she had already seen the terrifying monster behind her.
"Don't be afraid, little one, because your soul is not my prey."
A dreadful large hand glowing with an eerie green light reached into Ginny's backpack and quickly pulled out a worn diary.
In Ginny's desperate inner scream, she saw a twisted, terrifying evil smile appear on the monster's skull face, which burned with ghostly green flames.
"Ah~ poor wandering soul~"
"You are mine!"
-------------------------
If you enjoy this story, you can read 70+ advanced chapters on Patreon!
Webnovel will keep getting 1 new chapter every day but Patreon readers can stay far ahead.
Maybe it's not a big deal now… maybe it will be later.
[email protected]/Greyhounds
"And If you're enjoying it, drop a Power Stone for me!"