Bab 622: Chapter 622: The Concession Will Only Allow Voldemort to Progress (Edited)
Tom and Hermione quickly rushed to the door of Dumbledore's office, and the gargoyle guarding the entrance let them pass without asking for a password.
Tom ascended the spiral staircase three steps at a time and entered Dumbledore's office.
As soon as he opened the door, Tom spoke loudly, "Professor Dumbledore, we can't afford to yield any further! Yielding will only allow Voldemort to advance further. We must take the initiative and attack!"
Tom had thought of many arguments before entering. He was determined to persuade Dumbledore to call upon the members of the Order of the Phoenix and attack Voldemort's Death Eaters. However, upon seeing Dumbledore, all his prepared reasons got stuck in his throat.
Dumbledore looked particularly exhausted today, his sapphire-blue eyes were filled with fatigue. Tom realized that this elderly man was already 112 years old.
When people spoke of Dumbledore, they usually bestowed countless honorary titles upon him, but rarely associated him with old age. He had always displayed a vigorous and vital appearance, so it was the first time Tom had seen him showing signs of weariness.
It was understandable, as in recent days Dumbledore had been on guard at Azkaban alongside Tom, and then he had engaged in a great battle with Voldemort. After getting little rest at Hogwarts, he received a secret letter informing him that Voldemort was planning to attack Azkaban. Without wasting any time, Dumbledore rushed back to the prison. Although he didn't encounter Voldemort this time, he did come across a group of Ministry of Magic officials nearly frightened to death. After reassuring the officials, Tom sought him out...
This intense labor during this time had been a bit excessive for Dumbledore. For a person of his age, merely moving around was already a miracle, let alone facing such intense activity.
Upon seeing Tom, Dumbledore rubbed his forehead, forced a smile, and suggested that Tom and Hermione sit down after their exhausting journey.
"If only I had the inexhaustible energy that you young people possess," Dumbledore said to Tom with a bitter laugh. "I tire easily after running to a few places. Youth is wonderful, isn't it?"
"If you wanted to, you could become young again by taking the Philosopher's Stone," Tom said with absolute sincerity.
Dumbledore had a good relationship with Nicolas Flamel, so obtaining the Philosopher's Stone wouldn't be difficult for him. If he took it, he could regain his youth.
In that case, Voldemort would have to face Dumbledore in his prime. Voldemort would be at a disadvantage, and Tom could simply relax and unwind.
Faced with Tom's proposal, Dumbledore simply smiled and didn't respond. He changed the subject naturally.
"Tom, did you rush here because you saw the newspaper headline tonight?" Dumbledore seemed somewhat disappointed. "I'm not sure if making the escape from Azkaban public was a good idea, but I'm certain it has ruined the children's Christmas."
Of course! With such an incident, hardly anyone would have the energy to focus on Christmas.
"Professor, does the Ministry of Magic still refuse to admit that Voldemort has returned?" Tom had a bad feeling seeing Dumbledore's fatigued appearance.
Upon hearing Tom's question, Dumbledore's face turned grim. He shook his head and told him that Minister Bones considered it too early to make it public and was opposed to informing the public about Voldemort's return.
"So, she admits it was Voldemort's doing, right?" Tom detected a change in the Ministry of Magic's attitude; they were no longer asking for proof.
Before, the Ministry of Magic's attitude had been:
[Dumbledore: Voldemort is up to things, we need to be prepared.
Ministry of Magic: There's no evidence that the mysterious individual is involved.]
Now their attitude had subtly changed:
There had been a subtle shift in their attitude.
[Dumbledore: Voldemort!
Ministry of Magic: Don't shout so loudly, you'll scare everyone!]
This change was a good thing.
The fall of Azkaban had taken the high-ranking officials of the Ministry of Magic by surprise, making them realize they needed to strengthen their cooperation with Dumbledore, and suddenly, their stance became more flexible.
It was sad to see how Dumbledore, the most powerful wizard in the wizarding world, was treated like a divine figure by this group of people, only turning to him when they had problems.
As she listened to Tom and Dumbledore repeatedly uttering "Voldemort," Hermione felt her skin crawl. Although she grew up in the Muggle world, the influence of her classmates regarding Voldemort's name had affected her, and it also inspired fear in her.
At that moment, she was extremely nervous, with sweaty palms.
"Yodel, what do you think?" Dumbledore decided to hear what Tom thought, even though he already had a fairly clear idea of his thoughts.
"Professor, first, answer me a question: how did you hear about the news?" Tom asked. The truth was, as the owner of Azkaban and the king of the Dementors, he had learned about the prison assault through newspapers.
Usually, he used to mock the UK's foreign ministers who learned about drastic political changes in the country through television news. But now, when he looked at himself, he realized that at a critical moment, he was just like them. He could only say that he had fully assimilated into the UK.
"The Malfoy family's house-elf appeared in Hogwarts' kitchen. The school's house-elf delivered Lucius's note," Dumbledore explained what had happened a few hours earlier.
It turned out that Lucius had intentionally left an opening when instructing Dobby, not specifying which kitchen to fetch the snacks from. So, thanks to the suggestion, Dobby went straight to Hogwarts' kitchen and conveyed important information.
"I see, so the headquarters of the Death Eaters is at Malfoy Manor, right?"
Through Dobby's confession, it was easy to conclude that Voldemort and his followers were hiding in Malfoy Manor.
Tom looked at Dumbledore seriously and expressed his opinion, "I suggest you immediately gather the members of the Order of the Phoenix and go directly to Malfoy Manor to confront the Death Eaters in a life-or-death battle."
Tom explained hastily, "Although the number of Death Eaters is large, many of them are recently escaped fugitives from Azkaban and are extremely weakened, unable to form a combat force. On the contrary, the Death Eaters have to split up some people to take care of them. Now is when they are most vulnerable; if we don't go on the offensive now, it will be too late when they recover."
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