Argus was unaware of the discussion Dumbledore and the other two had been having in the hospital room.
After being examined by doctors at St. Mungo's Hospital and confirmed to be healthy, he was still placed in a ward for observation and rest for a period of time.
He knew that if he could speak with Alan or Fudge now, Dumbledore and Harry's reputation would suffer a devastating blow.
Unfortunately, St. Mungo's Hospital didn't provide him with a way to speak to them.
Disapparating abruptly in St. Mungo's would easily arouse suspicion.
Argus believed that Dumbledore wouldn't believe him, or at least not all of it.
It was just that they couldn't find any flaws in their words yet.
Lying in bed, a feeling of exhaustion washed over Argus.
It wasn't physical exhaustion, but rather the result of a series of battles and psychological struggles.
After suddenly relaxing, he felt mentally exhausted.
Just as he was drifting off to sleep, a noise in the room caught his attention.
Argus snapped awake and instinctively pulled out his wand.
"It's me, Argus."
Dumbledore's voice was slightly hoarse.
"Headmaster? You haven't rested yet?"
Argus did not let his guard down; on the contrary, his vigilance instantly reached its peak.
Dumbledore wouldn't lay a hand on him, but outsmarting such a cunning old fox would be too exhausting.
"So much happened tonight, I can't sleep."
"Would you mind chatting with this centenarian for a while?"
It's the middle of the night, and I'm exhausted!
Who wants to chat with you?
You have something on your mind that keeps you awake at night, but I don't!
Argus was rolling his eyes so hard they were practically reaching the sky.
He glanced at his hospital gown and politely declined.
"Headmaster, if it weren't for Fawkes here today, I might not even have the chance to lie on this bed."
"You really had a hard time tonight."
"Just hope there won't be a next time." Argus sat on the bed and put his wand away.
Dumbledore sighed.
But now that he was here, he obviously wouldn't let this opportunity slip by easily.
Secrets cannot be kept hidden forever.
The only thing they could do was to coordinate their statements with Argus beforehand to minimize the impact of this incident.
A professor actually attacked his own student and almost turned him into an idiot!
If this got out, what reputation would Hogwarts have left!
"There's something I need your cooperation on."
"If all goes as expected, an Auror will come to investigate you tomorrow morning."
"Especially concerning Lockhart, the heir to Slytherin."
"Lockhart, the Slytherin heir?" Argus frowned.
He quickly realized: "Hogwarts intends to place the title of Slytherin heir on Lockhart?"
"You are a smart child."
Dumbledore gave him a deep look.
"You've been following this matter ever since the first petrification incident."
"After a lengthy investigation, you have discovered that Slytherin's Chamber of Secrets seems to be related to Professor Lockhart."
"You followed him to the Slytherin Chamber of Secrets, only to find that it required Parseltongue to open."
"So you find Harry and use his Parseltongue to open the Chamber of Secrets."
"As a result, Lockhart discovered them, and in the battle with Lockhart, Harry and Ron were unfortunately injured, while Lockhart was also devoured by the basilisk and eventually died."
Argus fell into deep thought.
For Dumbledore, a Slytherin heir harming students was clearly far better than a professor.
Lockhart's fame and reputation in the wizarding world ironically became Dumbledore's best excuse.
As for the honor of uncovering Lockhart's truth... Argus believed that Dumbledore didn't want to hand over the lion's share to him.
But now he needed his cooperation.
Moreover, the Hogwarts students knew perfectly well what Harry and Ron were capable of.
They think they could figure this out on their own? Nobody believes that!
Only Argus had some credibility.
"There are a few points of doubt." Argus didn't mind accepting the honor.
This prestige came at just the right time for him.
After a moment of contemplation, he said, "First, if I really find Lockhart entering the secret chamber, my first reaction should be to report to the professor or the Auror."
"The kind of thing where you rush in yourself..."
He looked up at Dumbledore and continued, "Only Harry and Ron could have done it."
"Lockhart is a professor and a well-known figure in the wizarding world. You don't know if there are any of his accomplices in Hogwarts, so you can't trust anyone else."
"The headmaster's office requires a password, so we can't get in right away. We plan to wait until we find evidence before reporting it to the Ministry of Magic."
"I never expected him to discover me in the secret room."
Dumbledore was well-prepared and had already prepared all the arguments for Argus.
He knew that this explanation would be questioned.
But compared to other results, this was already the best possible outcome.
"But the true Slytherin successor has not yet been found," Argus said, feigning ignorance.
Dumbledore rubbed his temples wearily.
Argus's words served as a reminder to him.
The matter of the Chamber of Secrets in Slytherin had not been fully resolved.
The missing diary could very well be a foreshadowing of the eventual failure to defeat Voldemort.
He needed to pay more attention to this aspect.
"Leave this matter to me."
"It's getting late, you should get some rest."
You know it's getting late!
They woke me up in the middle of the night, a little kid!
Argus saw Dumbledore leave and didn't say anything more, quietly lying on the bed waiting.
He knew that someone would definitely appear later.
About an hour later.
A figure in black robes appeared in his hospital room.
He was slightly surprised to see Argus sitting at the head of the bed.
Did you know I was coming?
"With something so serious happening to Harry, of course you'd come to ask me what happened."
"Professor!"
"Being too smart is not a good thing, Mr. Grindelwald."
Snape remained expressionless, his hawk-like eyes staring directly into Argus's eyes.
"Tell me, what exactly happened?"
"What do you want to know? The secret room? Or..."
"Everything! Including... the reason you were there!"
Snape's ability to act as a double agent for Voldemort demonstrated a level of intelligence that was beyond the comprehension of ordinary wizards.
Always be skeptical of everything!
Even if Dumbledore's answer was flawless, he wouldn't easily believe it.
Argus knew this, which was why he anticipated that Snape would come to him for confirmation.
He didn't mind using this opportunity to sow discord between Dumbledore and others.
Unlike Professor McGonagall, Snape's loyalty to Dumbledore stemmed solely from his desire to protect Lily.
After Lily died, this wish was transferred to Harry.
That's all.
Similarly, for Harry's life, he probably wouldn't mind being stabbed in the back again!
"This is a long story, it all started with a deal I made with Headmaster Dumbledore."
Argus yawned and began to recount the whole story from the beginning…
…
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