He finished processing a large pile of herbs in Snape's office.
Argus shook his tired hands and was about to leave to say goodbye when Snape called him back.
"Wait a minute, go to the principal's office. Professor Dumbledore needs to see you."
"The password for the stone statue at the entrance is: Cockroach Clusters."
"Yes, Professor!"
Argus was a little confused.
He probably didn't have much interaction with Dumbledore during this period, right?
Could it be a problem with the store?
Filled with doubt, Argus arrived at the principal's office.
When the command was given, the stone statue opened.
Dumbledore was lying in a rocking chair, holding a thick book in his hand.
Upon seeing Argus arrive, he put the book he was holding aside.
"Argus, may I call you that?"
"Of course, Headmaster."
"Have a seat. What would you like to eat?"
"If you don't mind, I think it would be nice to have dinner here."
Argus gestured with his eyes toward the torches around him, his meaning clear.
Headmaster, why are you calling me so late? If you need something, say it quickly—I haven't even eaten yet!
"Argus, do you remember our promise?"
"I remember, it wasn't you who helped me..."
It was only now that Argus realized that he hadn't really had any contact with Harry in the past two months.
Of the agreement between the two, only Dumbledore kept it.
Argus couldn't help but laugh awkwardly.
"It's not that I don't want to interact with Harry, it's just that I really don't have many opportunities to do so."
Dumbledore glanced at him, clearly disbelieving.
But he didn't argue with him and continued.
"You should be aware of Harry's situation during this time."
Argus thought about it carefully.
Without Hermione's supervision, and unlike in the original story, they didn't discover the secret of the third floor.
Harry was living a very comfortable life now.
During class, he played games with Ron and took a nap.
After class, he'd play Wizard's Chess, and when he had nothing else to do, he'd stroll around Hagrid's place a couple of times.
They were no different from ordinary first-year wizards at Hogwarts.
The only difference was his identity as the savior!
"You noticed too? Harry's life is too comfortable."
"If this continues, it will erode his will."
"You want me to tutor him? Unlikely. Knowing Harry's personality, he can't sit still in the library!"
Argus frowned.
"As for your studies, the professors will take care of that, so you don't need to worry about that."
"What I want you to cultivate is Harry's spirit of adventure."
"Adventure? What adventures are there at Hogwarts besides the Forbidden Forest...?"
Argus looked up and met Dumbledore's half-smiling eyes.
"You want Harry to go to the third floor?"
He then realized that if things continued as they were, even by the time Harry graduated, it would be impossible to discover the secret of the third floor.
Not to mention facing Voldemort behind Quirrell's head!
No wonder Dumbledore had started to get anxious; now he understood!
"As the savior of the magical world, he has to face something, doesn't he?"
Dumbledore picked up a Sherbet Lemon, put it in his mouth, and showed a happy expression.
"Yes, it's not difficult."
Argus smiled broadly.
He had just been struggling with how to deal with Hermione and the others on Halloween night.
This was the solution!
With Harry and Ron as an excuse, things would be much easier to handle!
It could even kill two birds with one stone: find a reason to talk to Harry again.
Just then, the dinner prepared by the house-elves was served.
When Lia saw that it was Argus, she hurriedly put away the dinner.
"Mr. Grindelwald, Lia didn't know this was your dinner."
"Lia thought, she thought it was the Headmaster who wanted to eat it!"
"Please wait a moment, Lia will prepare another one for you right away!"
"No need, Lia, your cooking is superb, everything you make tastes delicious."
Argus was exhausted after a long afternoon and was starving. He grabbed the food and started eating it in big mouthfuls.
Lia was incredibly excited, jumping and skipping around, completely forgetting that she was in the Headmaster's office.
"Mr. Grindelwald remembers Lia's name!"
He praised Lia's food!
"Lia is an elf with amazing craftsmanship!"
Dumbledore looked surprised.
It seemed he never expected the house-elves in Hogwarts Castle to show such respect to Argus.
Even as the Headmaster, he could not compare!
The thought of the house-elves of Hogwarts Castle taking Argus's food back made him feel a twinge of disgust.
What do you mean by thinking it was the Headmaster who wanted to eat it? Am I only supposed to eat whatever you prepare? And yet I've been in charge of Hogwarts for so many years! So, even love fades, doesn't it?
Argus quickly finished the food in front of him and let out a satisfied sigh.
He handed the plate to Lia.
"Thank you, Lia!"
"It is my honor to serve you!"
Lia skipped and snapped her fingers, disappearing from Dumbledore's office.
"Headmaster, curfew is about to begin. If there's nothing else, I'll head back now."
Argus rose, bowed to Dumbledore, and prepared to leave.
Dumbledore couldn't suppress his doubts: "Why would they...?"
"Because here, they received the respect they had always dreamed of!"
Argus didn't turn around and left the office directly.
Dumbledore was left alone, muttering to himself.
"Respect..."
"Gellert, I can't see through him."
"Do you think he's faking it or not?"
...
After leaving Dumbledore's office, he returned to his dormitory.
Argus reflected on his recent conversation with Dumbledore.
This had become a habit for him; every night after returning to his dormitory, he reflected on and summarized his behavior and words from that day.
He also pondered whether there were details in other people's words that he hadn't noticed.
Although he and Dumbledore never mentioned Voldemort, they tacitly acknowledged each other's existence.
This convinced Argus that the battle between Harry and Voldemort at the end of the first book was orchestrated by Dumbledore.
"Voldemort's Horcruxes should also be included in the collection plan."
"A dog with a collar is a good dog."
Argus lay in bed, muttering to himself.
Today, Voldemort's threat had alerted him.
Voldemort would be fully resurrected during the Goblet of Fire, in 1995.
There was still some time to go.
He took stock of Voldemort's seven Horcruxes and found that the only ones he could easily obtain were Lucius's diary and the tiara from the Room of Requirement.
"The items belonging to the four founders of Hogwarts are easily associated with each other, and these can be given to Dumbledore in exchange for benefits."
"I only need to keep a notebook as a backup plan!"
"But now is not the time to hand them over. We must wait until everyone realizes Voldemort's danger before we can reap the greatest benefits."
"Teacher, please don't blame me..."
...
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