Hogwarts in the shadows

"Snape, how is the matter of Hepheth going?" Dumbledore asked pretending to be ignorant.

Snape told Dumbledore the whole story in a calm tone.

"It turns out there's something wrong with the inheritance of the family tree!"

"Yes... yes." Although Dumbledore's tone was calm, Travers felt under great pressure.

"The Department of Mysteries is under repair, right?"

"Yes...yes." Sweat began to seep out of Travers' temples.

"I'm a pretty good alchemist. I wonder if I can be of help to them."

"Dumbledore, you are too modest. They have been repairing it for several days, but we don't know whether it has been repaired yet. Why don't you rest here for a while and I will go and take a look."

"Well, as I get older, I feel tired after just a little movement." Dumbledore sighed softly.

After hearing this, Travers felt a chill down his spine and walked away with his head down.

Only when he was far away from the room did he begin to breathe heavily.

A piece of paper appeared in his hand. He wrote a few lines on it, and the paper automatically turned into a plane and flew towards the elevator.

He walked towards a small house on the corner.

The inherited family tree is certainly not in the Department of Mysteries, and that group of people is not something they can command.

It's just that he hid them in advance. Originally, he was confident that he could stop both McGonagall and Snape.

After all, the person standing behind him is a pure-blood, but Dumbledore is another matter.

Dumbledore waved his wand, conjuring up three soft sofas, and motioned for Snape and Hephes to sit down together.

Snape and Dumbledore began talking.

Hephis felt as if a spell of blinding and deafening had been cast around him, and he could hear nothing at all.

But Dumbledore was so domineering just now!

Especially the last sentence, which is a naked threat.

Translation: Although he is old and doesn't want to move, he can still move.

Not long after, Travers walked in holding a pure black box and a middle-aged man who was fatter than him.

This middle-aged man was none other than the Minister of Magic, Fudge.

Seeing someone coming in, Hephis and the other two also stood up.

Fudge greeted Dumbledore with a big smile on his face.

Then there was some boring but informative greetings.

Fudge said that after he learned about this, he came here in person immediately, hoping to do his part.

He explained that although the Department of Mysteries had been repaired, it was not reported in time, and he could not control those people.

He deliberately emphasized the word "that gang of people".

It can be seen that Fudge is a pure politician and speaks very smoothly.

Selling favors, building relationships, and shirking responsibilities.

It even hinted that he did not have the final say in the Ministry of Magic, which was why such things happened.

Things went pretty smoothly after that.

Travers took out the inherited family tree from the box and found the location of the Blaine family.

Hephis took out his wand and lightly scratched his fingertips, and a drop of blood fell on the position of the Brian family emblem.

The inherited genealogy flickered slightly, and then returned to calm. Above Hephis's head, the emblem of the Brian family appeared.

But it disappeared very quickly, but everyone present saw it clearly.

Travers then took out an unknown instrument and placed all the magic contracts that Hephis had brought into it.

The instrument made a rumbling sound, as if it was about to fall apart.

After a while, it "spit out" a new stack of contracts, and the name on them had changed to Hephes Dam.

Fudge wrote a certificate in his own handwriting, not only stamped with the official seal of the Ministry of Magic, but also signed his name Cornelius Fudge as a witness.

Dumbledore also picked up the quill and signed his full name: Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore.

Everyone else looked at Dumbledore in surprise, except Hephis who didn't understand.

As a witness, you don't need to sign your full name, just like Fudge.

It would be completely different if the full name was signed. If there was any problem with the certificate, even if Dumbledore died, his family would be held accountable.

Fudge then invited Dumbledore to sit in his office.

Dumbledore readily agreed. After all, this was the reason he had been looking for. He had to go for a walk anyway.

Snape took Hepheus back to Gringotts.

The goblin from Gringotts kept the certificate, and Hephis signed a new letter of authorization.

From then on, all investment dividends of the Brian family would be deposited into Vault No. 619.

The trip was successfully completed.

"Professor Snape, can I trouble you with one more thing?" Hephis asked tentatively.

"explain."

"Professor, I want to go to the old house of the Brian family. I wonder if you can take me there?"

"address."

"Number 7 Godric's Hollow," Hephis answered quickly. This was what he had just seen on the deed.

When Snape heard the address, his heart skipped a beat.

He stretched out his left arm somewhat stiffly.

Hephis hugged him as usual.

In a blink of an eye, they were standing in front of a three-story black stone brick villa.

The villa looked a little eerie in the afterglow of the setting sun.

The surrounding area was overgrown with weeds, and vines and dead branches entangled the entire estate.

The large iron gate outside the yard was half open, one side was damaged and was barely supported by a chain.

Hephis walked forward slowly, clearing a path with the cutting spell.

He gently grasped the door handle, but suddenly let go. It seemed like there was an electric current on the door and he was shocked.

The door opened automatically, and dust flew up, choking Hephes and making him cough repeatedly.

Professor Snape stood behind him, brows furrowed.

Hephis cast several whirlwind spells in succession, gathering the dust into a mud ball and throwing it out the door.

He slowly walked into the dim house.

He cast an illumination spell and was able to see clearly what was inside.

The house looked like it had been robbed. There was no furniture and the dust was very thick.

This doesn't look like a house that has been uninhabited for just a few years. It looks like an old house that has been abandoned for decades.

Although Hefeth's mother had been dead for 11 years, his uncle had only been missing for two years.

How come in just two years the house has become so dirty?

"Hephis, are you going back to school with me or spending Christmas here?" Snape seemed to be in a bad mood and had a gloomy face.

Hephis hesitated, remembering Theodore's words.

They needed a place to imprison the Dark wizards.

Although the plan is not to be implemented now, he also needs to clean up the house in advance so that it can be used as their place to stay in the future.

"Professor, I want to stay here for a while. I plan to rest here tonight." Hephis decided.

"I'll go out and check the house." Snape didn't object.

Hephaestus began to cleanse the house with whirlwinds and springs of water.

More than half an hour later, he returned and the house's defense spells were still working.

He also added many spells so that he could sense it immediately if someone touched him.

Snape threw a mirror from his pouch to Hephaestus.

"If you need anything, you can use this mirror to contact me, but don't bother me when you have nothing to do."

"Thank you, Professor."

"If you want to go back to Hogwarts, just pull out your wand and say Knight Bus in your mind. It will go to the train station or Hogsmeade."

"Understood, Professor."

Professor Snape hesitated, then added, "You can also use a two-way mirror to call me."

After saying that, he turned and left.

"Thank you, Professor Snape." Hephis shouted, looking at Snape's back.