A few hours later, Link, Harry, and the remaining members of the D.A. Army gathered in the Room of Requirement.
Today was also a day for a D.A. meeting.
However, because the news of Dumbledore's return earlier was simply too explosive, it was clear that no one really had their mind on spell practice.
Even though Hermione, acting as the assistant instructor, kept trying to steer everyone's emotions back toward studying, no one paid her any attention at all.
Almost everyone gathered in small groups of two or three, talking about Umbridge's earlier humiliation and Dumbledore's return.
During this time, Ron went back to his old job of telling stories.
With great animation, he described the scene to students who hadn't been there to witness it themselves.
Because the overall story had been "enhanced" and trimmed by him, it became even more exciting and captivating.
So much so that even some people who had actually been present at the scene listened with great interest.
It was worth mentioning that while listening to the story, people would occasionally sneak a glance at Link.
After all, in Ron's version of the story, Dumbledore and the others had their presence greatly downplayed.
Only Link was the absolute protagonist.
Harry, on the other hand, was being forced to continue practicing Occlumency.
Link and Hermione even thoughtfully set up a soundproofing charm for him, so he could train in a quiet environment.
Unfortunately, although Harry had his eyes tightly shut and looked like he was seriously meditating, the rapid rise and fall of his chest still betrayed how excited he was inside.
Looking at this lively scene, the people gathered in another corner of the Room of Requirement, Link and the others, did not have much of a smile on their faces.
Everyone remained silent, and the atmosphere was extremely heavy.
It was only natural for the other ordinary students to be happy.
Because Dumbledore's return would inevitably suppress mutant forces within Hogwarts, such as Umbridge.
At the same time, it also meant that a new power had joined the competition for students.
And what more intense competition would bring, without a doubt, was better treatment.
Just look at the current benefits students were getting.
First, Link had established factories, increasing students' part-time income outside of class.
Then, Umbridge had set up the so-called "Inspection Squad," officially for assisting with management, but in reality an advance Auror training class.
These were all tangible benefits that Link and Umbridge offered in order to compete with Dumbledore for students.
By comparison, Dumbledore actually seemed much more stingy.
But there was no doubt that the foundation Dumbledore had built was also the most solid.
With Dumbledore's return, both Umbridge and Link would suffer serious blows and would need to offer even greater benefits to win over students.
In this regard, Link was in an even worse position than Umbridge.
Because Link's D.A. Army was skirting the edge of being "Dumbledore's private force."
In a sense, it already belonged to Dumbledore's power.
The moral high ground was on Dumbledore's side.
Watching power that was already within reach about to slip away, everyone inside the D.A. Army who truly knew the situation was in a bad mood.
At this moment, Harry, who had been lying stiffly on the training bed for over half an hour without entering a meditative state, finally climbed up and hurried over to where Link and the others were.
Seeing this, no one spoke. They just quietly looked at him.
Instead, Hermione, who noticed what was happening from afar, quickly rushed over and scolded him, "Honestly, Harry! I'm already overwhelmed over there!"
"Can't you give me less to worry about? Can't you just go back and practice Occlumency properly?"
"You said it yourself, this is extremely important to you!"
Harry dodged Hermione's reaching hand and said solemnly to Hermione and Link and the others, "Of course I know how important it is to me, but in my current state, I really can't practice."
"And I also have something very important I need to tell Link!"
At this point, Harry looked around and said, "You… could you all step away for a moment?"
The people sitting on the various sofas ignored Harry and instead all looked at Link.
To be honest, they didn't really think much of Harry Potter, the so-called Chosen One.
If Link didn't say anything, they absolutely weren't going to leave.
Under everyone's gaze, Link waved his hand and said, "Just say it. Everyone here is my brothers and sisters. There's no need to hide it from them."
Harry still looked hesitant after hearing this.
But after struggling internally for quite a while, he finally clenched his teeth and said, "Actually… actually, a little while ago, I saw it again!"
"You had another dream?" Hermione said anxiously. "Why didn't you tell us?"
Harry shook his head impatiently and said, "Actually, it wasn't really a dream. It was 'seeing.'"
"I think I already understand how it works."
"To sum it up, Voldemort used some method we don't know to invade my mind and link his mind with mine."
"After doing that, he can enter my mind at any time to check what's going on in Hogwarts, including spying on information about Dumbledore and Link."
"But at the same time, sometimes I can also happen to see scenes from his side."
Hermione's face had already gone pale from fear.
She and Ron spent every day with Harry.
That meant Voldemort was watching them all the time?
That conclusion was simply too terrifying.
Harry ignored Hermione and continued, "This time, I saw Voldemort and his Death Eater followers plotting against the Department of Mysteries!"
"In those images, I even saw several Death Eaters who the newspaper said had just escaped from Azkaban!"
"This is all Voldemort's conspiracy!"
"He first rescued all the followers loyal to him from Azkaban, and then he turned his attention to the Department of Mysteries!"
"Link, we have to do something to stop him!"
Hearing this, Cedric, John, and the others all sucked in a sharp breath.
The information Harry revealed was extremely important, far beyond what they had expected.
They all looked at Link, but Link appeared exceptionally calm.
Link actually wasn't very willing to believe Harry's judgment.
This wasn't because Harry was lying, but because Link understood that the mental link between Harry and Voldemort was extremely special.
Under normal circumstances, it really did work as Harry described, with both sides being able to see each other's thoughts.
But in reality, because Voldemort's strength far surpassed Harry's, and because he was a master of Legilimency, Voldemort could easily fabricate false images and deliberately show them to Harry.
For this reason, everything Harry saw wasn't all that reliable.
Seeing that Link didn't react, Harry grew anxious and continued, "And also, Link! Snape! Snape is Voldemort's spy hidden inside Hogwarts!"
"That's impossible!" Emily blurted out instinctively.
But as soon as she said it, she remembered that Snape hadn't told them about Dumbledore's return earlier.
Her expression instantly became extremely unpleasant.
Harry was startled by the sudden ferocity in Emily's expression.
But he still clenched his teeth and continued, "I can guarantee he has absolutely bad intentions!"
"That day, right after you had just started teaching us Occlumency, I ran into Snape in the corridor."
"He attacked me with Legilimency and even docked points from me!"
"It was because I was provoked that I saw those images! And at the same time, Snape saw them too!"
"But after that, he wouldn't allow me to tell you about it!"
"Not only that, he even said you weren't a good person and told me to be careful of you!"
As soon as these words came out, Emily quietly clenched her fists.
Not far away, Cedric and the others felt extremely awkward.
They began to regret not listening to Harry earlier and stepping away.
After all, what was being exposed now was essentially a "scandal" involving Link's private relationships.
Almost everyone in Hogwarts knew how incredibly close Snape was with Link and Emily.
Now, as employees, they were hearing about discord between them right in front of their boss, who knew whether Link would hold it against them.
However, to their surprise, Link not only didn't get angry after hearing this, but instead laughed happily.
Link smiled and said, "Have you told Dumbledore about this?"
"I mean, both the possibility that Snape is a spy and that Voldemort may have set his next target on the Department of Mysteries."
"Not possibly, definitely!" Harry argued. "I'm certain both things are true!"
"But I really haven't told Dumbledore. Snape's been watching me closely these past few days. I only found a chance to speak today. You're the first."
Hearing this, Link stood up and said very seriously to Harry, "Harry, thank you for trusting me so much!"
"I'll keep the information you mentioned firmly in mind. It's indeed very helpful to me."
"And now, I suggest that Dumbledore should also know about these two matters."
"After all, relying on our strength alone isn't quite enough."
Harry shook his head, troubled, "Snape won't let me go warn Dumbledore."
"He seems to know about the Room of Requirement too. I dare say that the moment I even think about going to see Dumbledore, he'll jump out to stop me."
"And I don't know the password to the headmaster's office…"
"None of that is a problem," Link said with a smile. "I'll send people to escort you."
"As for the password, that's even simpler."
"You just need to go find Professor McGonagall first, and then have her take you to the headmaster's office."
"Th… will that work?" Harry said weakly.
He was still hesitant. It was obvious that Snape's sudden attack had left him with quite a bit of psychological trauma.
At this moment, Hermione pressed a hand on his shoulder and said, "Don't worry! I'll go with you too!"
Harry was visibly moved and then looked at Link.
Link nodded as well. John, who had been hiding in the corner of the sofa like an invisible man, suddenly stood up. With a casual gesture, he brought three D.A. members over to Harry's side as an escort team.
With so many people accompanying him, Harry finally mustered the courage to leave the Room of Requirement.
And it wasn't just Harry.
The other D.A. members who had come to the meeting left as well, their gathering time was over.
After everyone had left the Room of Requirement, Emily finally spoke impatiently, "Link, what exactly are you trying to do?"
"Professor Snape, no matter what, would never defect to Voldemort like Harry said."
"You should know that better than anyone!"
"Don't rush, Emily," Link said as he sat back down. "Dumbledore naturally won't believe what Harry said. Like me, he knows what the truth really is."
"But this matter will inevitably reach Professor Snape's ears."
"And then he'll clearly understand what kind of impression Harry Potter, the one he's been protecting all along, actually has of him."
"Think about it. Someone you've been painstakingly protecting all this time actually sees you as an enemy!"
"Haha..." As he spoke, Link suddenly laughed.
Emily looked quietly at Link. After a long while, she finally said, "You're jealous?"
Link's smile froze, and he said decisively, "I'm not."
As he said that, Link turned his head and glanced toward Cedric and the others.
Cedric and the rest hurriedly turned their heads away, eyes on their noses and noses on their hearts, putting on an "it-has-nothing-to-do-with-me" expression.
Only then did Emily remember there were still outsiders present. She sighed and changed the subject, "That… what was his name again? Firenze? That's it, right?"
"Anyway, what's the deal with that centaur?"
"You helped him become the Hogwarts Divination professor. Is he really trustworthy?"
Link shrugged and said, "He's the most proficient in divination, astrology, and fate among this generation of the Forbidden Forest centaur tribe."
"But at the same time, he's also an outlier among them."
"Unlike most centaurs of the Forbidden Forest, who are hostile toward humans, Firenze believes centaurs and humans are equal species, neither superior nor inferior."
"And his relationship with Dumbledore is also very good. He's one of the few centaurs who support Dumbledore."
"So, he can be said to be the most suitable candidate for the Divination professor position."
Hearing this, Cedric shook his head and said, "You mean he's left-leaning."
"But what I don't understand is, if his relationship with Dumbledore is that good, can he really be trusted completely?"
"After all, our goal is..."
"There's absolutely no need to worry about that," Link said with a smile. "His chieftain, his family, and his companions will keep a close watch on him."
"You mean those in the Forbidden Forest centaur tribe… oh!"
Cedric stopped halfway through his sentence as he suddenly realized something. His eyes widened slightly as he exclaimed, "As expected of you, Link!"
Link nodded at him approvingly.
He knew Cedric would understand.
At this point, the entire Forbidden Forest centaur tribe was firmly in his grasp.
Under these circumstances, Firenze would not, and absolutely could not, betray them.
Because that would bring catastrophic disaster upon the entire centaur tribe of the Forbidden Forest.
The smile on Cedric's face vanished in an instant.
He sat up straight and said solemnly to Link and Emily, "Then the next question, and the biggest problem we're facing right now. How should we deal with Dumbledore's return?"