The question Cedric raised was the true core issue of this meeting.
It was also what everyone cared about most.
Link looked around, taking in the anxious expressions on Cedric and the others' faces, and could clearly sense this.
He nodded, stood up, and said, "This is a very difficult decision, but I believe you all already have an answer in your hearts, don't you?"
Cedric continued, "In fact, we're not trying to drive Dumbledore away completely."
"In terms of our goals, we're actually on the same path as Dumbledore."
"We just want to have some say and some power, so that we won't be sacrificed so easily."
"Isn't that right?"
"So, Link, do it."
Cedric's words brought a smile back to Link's lips.
He nodded to Cedric and then said, "Then let's do it this way."
"Use the D.A. Army as bait, officially lure Umbridge into the game, and let the collision begin!"
"Everyone, the future belongs to us!"
As soon as these words were spoken, Cedric and the others clenched their fists in excitement.
They had put in so much effort before, all for this very moment.
They had waited far, far too long for this.
Newland, who had remained silent the whole time, suddenly jumped out and said excitedly, "Then let me do it! I'll deliberately leak the D.A. Army's information to Umbridge. That way..."
Newland stopped halfway through his sentence.
Because he realized that Link, and even Sigefin and the others, were all looking at him with the expression one might use when looking at an idiot.
This left him confused, and even angry.
After all, if he really did something like this, it would mean trading his own credibility and reputation for the success of the D.A. Army.
This kind of courage rarely showed up in a veteran Slytherin like him.
If Link hadn't previously opened up an entire library to him without holding anything back, touching him with genuine sincerity, there was no way he would have made such a decision.
And yet now, these people were looking at him like that?
Frowning angrily, Newland said, "What's wrong? Did I say something wrong?!"
Hearing this, Link exchanged a glance with Emily, sighed, and said, "Newland, ever since we opened the library, have you not rested at all?"
"Of course not," Newland said as if it were obvious. "With so much fresh and profound knowledge, how could I possibly fall asleep?"
Sigefin couldn't help but laugh, covering her mouth as she said, "Your brain wasn't very good to begin with, so you really shouldn't stay up day and night like I do. Otherwise, I'm afraid the little bit of intelligence you have left will disappear too."
"What did you say?!" Newland roared in anger.
When ordinary students belittled him, he usually responded with cruel retaliation. But even then, deep down, he never really took their insults to heart.
Because those people were on too low a level.
When it came to criticism from Link, Emily, or other professors, however, he would accept it humbly.
Because those people were truly strong.
Before he himself became strong enough, whatever they said was right.
Not to mention that Link genuinely treated him well.
Only when faced with Sigefin's belittlement would he completely lose control and erupt on the spot.
Newland himself didn't really understand why.
But there was no denying that, in his heart, Sigefin really was different.
Seeing that Newland was genuinely furious now, Link shook his head and said directly, "Newland, we don't need you to leak any information."
Hearing this, Newland's movement, just as he was about to argue properly with Sigefin, suddenly froze.
He looked at Link in confusion and said, "But… why? I should be the best choice. Otherwise, how would Umbridge discover the existence of the D.A. Army? How would she enter the game?"
"Idiot!"
Emily scolded him mercilessly. "Haven't you noticed that far fewer D.A. Army members showed up to today's gathering?"
Newland said blankly, "You mean…"
"That's right," Cedric said with a bitter smile. "They've all gone to attend Umbridge's Inquisitorial Squad training."
Cedric stood up and bowed to Link.
"This is something I didn't handle well. I just promised you not long ago that there probably wouldn't be any D.A. Army members defecting to Umbridge in the short term, but the result…"
Link smiled and shook his head, "No, this isn't your fault. Umbridge's offer was simply too tempting."
"That's an Auror position."
"Even though, after the expansion, the Auror title isn't as prestigious as it used to be, the treatment haven't decreased at all."
"Not many people can resist that kind of temptation."
By now, Newland had completely figured it out. He lowered his head and said, "So among those D.A. Army members who defected to Umbridge's Inquisitorial Squad, someone will soon offer up information about the D.A. Army as a token of allegiance, exchanging it for benefits from Umbridge?"
Link nodded, "Betrayal has always been a heavy topic."
"But for us right now, overall, it can still be considered a good thing."
"At the very least, it will purify our ranks."
"And it will also protect your reputation."
"What we need to do next is simply be prepared and keep holding D.A. gatherings."
"I believe Umbridge will come knocking very soon."
As Link spoke, he casually spun the D.A. Galleon in his hand.
Under his influence, the coin gradually began to radiate heat, and the numbers representing the meeting date kept changing.
———
Inside the headmaster's office, only a few walls away from the Room of Requirement.
Harry had already repeated to Dumbledore everything he had previously said to Link and the others in the Room of Requirement.
Dumbledore stopped the quill in his hand and looked at Harry in silence.
After a long while, Dumbledore finally took off his glasses and said, "Thank you for telling me all this, Harry. You're a good boy."
Harry said urgently, "Then we should act quickly! Even though I don't know what Voldemort wants from the Department of Mysteries, no matter what it is, we have to stop him!"
"Yes, we must stop him. Don't worry, I'll handle this properly."
"How do you plan to handle it?" Harry asked anxiously, his eyes shining brightly.
Dumbledore paused for a moment before saying, "I have my own way of dealing with it. You don't need to worry. What you should do now is practice Occlumency properly, and also, go back and get some sleep early."
Harry's breathing suddenly became rapid.
His mouth opened and closed as if trying to stop words from coming out, but just as the words reached his lips, it was as though he thought of something.
His face turned pale, and he forcibly covered his mouth, choking as he said, "I know you're just brushing me off, because you're afraid Voldemort will get information from me!"
"None of you believe me!"
"But I'm sure I really saw it!"
"No, I believe you, truly," Dumbledore said sincerely.
"But I also have to consider the safety of the other members of the Order of the Phoenix. As the leader of the Order, I must be cautious."
Harry rubbed a lock of his hair hard and lowered his head.
But soon, he spoke again, "Then what about Snape? He's a spy. I saw that with my own eyes, not through some dream!"
Professor McGonagall, who had been standing beside Harry the whole time, frowned and said, "That's Professor Snape! I don't recall ever teaching you to address a teacher who imparts knowledge to you in such a manner, Harry..."
Professor McGonagall wanted to continue, but Dumbledore waved his hand to ease the situation.
"On this point, I can't agree with you. Severus is absolutely incapable of betraying us."
Harry suddenly looked up and challenged him, "And what makes you think that? He's that bad! Hardly anyone in all of Hogwarts likes him! If you ask me, the one who should be expelled isn't Professor Trelawney, but Snape!"
"Gryffindor, minus 20 points!" Professor McGonagall shouted. "Mr. Potter! You have deeply disappointed me!"
Harry's eyes reddened, and he lowered his head once again.
On the other side, Dumbledore shook his head with a bitter smile.
Snape would never defect to Voldemort.
That was simply impossible.
Even if Snape were to defect, it should be to the Foley family, how could it possibly be Voldemort?
This was absurd calling absurdity to open the door, absurd to the extreme.
Voldemort had killed the woman Snape loved most.
The hatred of killing one's beloved and the hatred of stealing one's love, there were no hatreds in this world more intense than those two.
But Dumbledore couldn't tell Harry any of this.
This was Snape's greatest secret, and the deepest wound on his soul.
Unless Snape himself was willing, Dumbledore felt that even he had no right to rip open those wounds.
That would be a second injury to Snape.
Dumbledore sighed and emphasized again, "In any case, Severus, your Professor Snape, is absolutely incapable of siding with Voldemort."
"Although he behaves so… so awkwardly, believe me, his love for you is no less than Black's."
This time, Harry didn't argue back.
But just looking at his tightly clenched fists was enough to show that he didn't believe it, and he wasn't convinced.
Dumbledore withdrew his gaze helplessly and nodded to Professor McGonagall.
Professor McGonagall immediately understood and pulled the still-stubborn Harry toward the door.
But just as they were about to leave, Harry suddenly turned his head and said softly to Dumbledore, his voice full of grievance, "And here I was, trusting you so much, just like Link did!"
Bang!
The wooden door of the office closed completely, yet Dumbledore continued to stare at it. His expression was a complex mix of relief, vigilance, doubt, and more.
Beside the eagle-footed table, mist once again rose on the surface of the two-way mirror.
Grindelwald's deep voice came from within, "You should be a bit gentler with that child."
"After all, whether it's a trap or not, your next investigation target is still the Department of Mysteries, isn't it?"
"So why not make up some pleasant words to soothe the child's heart?"
Dumbledore continued to stare at the door and said, "That may be true, but… but that child is different, after all."
Grindelwald said mockingly, "Ha! He's the Chosen One, isn't he?"
Dumbledore didn't answer. He just shook his head, put his glasses back on, and said, "What do you think about the prophecy Sibyl made today?"
"What do I think? I think it's bullshit!" Grindelwald said crudely, without any decorum. "You shouldn't be so obsessed with so-called prophecies. Those things aren't reliable at all!"
"You think I believed her prophecy?" Dumbledore suddenly laughed happily. "That means my plan worked, even you believed it."
As soon as these words were spoken, the mist on the mirror's surface began to swirl noticeably faster.
After a long silence, Grindelwald finally continued, "So that's how it is. The most basic requirement for a prophecy to come true is that someone is willing to believe in it."
"You want this future timeline to be realized, so that Voldemort can be completely destroyed."
"And the reason you're bringing up a new prophecy with me now is because you're worried that Link might be using the same method as you to push the prophecy into coming true?"
"Gellert, you always understand me best," Dumbledore said with a sigh. "That child Link… I actually suspect he's already started doing just that.
Otherwise, with his temperament, why would he step forward to help Sibyl like that?"
Grindelwald said with a hint of schadenfreude, "Why do your students always end up stirring up trouble?"
"First Newt Scamander, then Tom Riddle, and now Link Foley."
"And this Link Foley is clearly even more troublesome than the previous two."
"Ha! That prophecy your Seer gave him this time is heavier than any before it!"
"There are two future timelines hidden in it!"
"Link is not only my student, but yours as well. You share responsibility in this," Dumbledore said, his brow twitching as he uncharacteristically shifted the blame.
"But I'm not as worried about the prophecy as you make it sound."
"After all, one of those two future timelines is actually pretty good."
"And the prophecy already tells us how to resolve the issue."
Grindelwald said, "You mean… love?"
"That's right, love!" Dumbledore said happily.
"The power of love is great. Honestly, whether in talent or in thinking, Link resembles Tom when he was young. But in the end, they are different!"
"Link possesses love!"
"That's only temporary!" Grindelwald retorted.
"The power of the bloodline within him has been growing more and more active. You can see that from the changes in his personality."
"Sooner or later, he will awaken."
"And the necessary condition for bloodline awakening, you should know it too, shouldn't you?"
"Once he does those things, so-called love will no longer exist!"
"Which means he will inevitably become a slave to his bloodline!"
Dumbledore shook his head, "No, that won't happen. I will prevent it. I will keep guiding him forward. This is for his sake, and for the sake of the entire world."
As soon as Dumbledore finished this lofty speech, a string of mocking laughter echoed from within the mirror.
But the laughter didn't last long before it abruptly stopped.
"Have you noticed," Grindelwald suddenly said gravely, "that you've actually already believed what that prophecy says?"
"And that's exactly what that kid Link wants."
"Do you really want to go along with him?"
Dumbledore suddenly laughed cheerfully, "Why not? He's the most outstanding child I've ever taught in my life. And we bear responsibility for the misfortune he carries, don't we?"
Grindelwald ground his teeth and said, "For that, you'd even give him Hogwarts?"
"Hogwarts isn't something I can just give to him if I want," Dumbledore shook his head. "What matters most there is people's hearts."
"At most, what he can take away is some authority. It won't come to the point of seizing all of Hogwarts."
With that, the office fell into another long silence.
After a long time, Grindelwald finally let out a deep sigh.
"Fine."
"Just like we used to say when we were young."
"This is all for the greater good!"