"Oh, really?" Snape tugged at his lips and sarcastically said, "It seems the Malfoy family really values their family members, huh..."
"That's not important. What's important is this notebook, Severus." Dumbledore's half-moon spectacles gleamed in the moonlight, "As far as I know, it should be an extremely advanced creation of Dark Magic. If I'm not mistaken, the woman disguised as the so-called 'Melop' should be the young Voldemort."
"However..." Dumbledore slightly frowned, "Melop... I feel like I've heard this name somewhere before?"
Snape did not interrupt Dumbledore's contemplation and just sat there quietly.
Dumbledore thought for a long time but could not recall who this 'Melop' really was, so he put aside the name and spoke again, "If I'm not mistaken, Voldemort should have used some kind of evil Dark Magic to split his soul, hiding a part of it in that notebook."
"That's probably not the main point, Headmaster." Professor Snape's signature sarcastic voice sounded again, "If I'm not mistaken, I think we might be facing two Voldemorts now, two."
"Yes, even one is already a headache." Dumbledore sighed, "Once the term starts, I think you should thoroughly investigate within Slytherin College to prevent similar incidents."
"I will," Snape lifted his eyelids, "Meanwhile, I also hope you can take your eyes out of the honey pot, so they don't get blurred by the syrup."
After Snape left the Headmaster's office, Phineas Black's somewhat sneaky voice echoed from the wall.
"If I were you, Albus, I definitely wouldn't worry about that Voldemort fellow."
Dumbledore chose to ignore Principal Black, as, in his view, the Black family, who advocated 'always pure', couldn't say anything useful in this regard.
Phineas only stopped after saying one sentence, sitting leisurely with his legs crossed on the sofa within the painting, still anticipating that Harry Potter would give Voldemort a small shock with some Ancient Magic.
However, Snape walked a few more steps before returning to the Headmaster's office.
"Is there anything else, Severus?" Dumbledore asked.
"I need to remind you, Headmaster," Professor Snape said leisurely, "that parent doesn't know about my visit to the Headmaster's office."
"Don't worry, Severus," Dumbledore smiled gently, "After all, he is a board member of Hogwarts, and I would still like to leave him some dignity."
...
Early the next morning, Harry got out of bed.
Early to bed and early to rise is an essential habit of a Young Wizard to maintain health and exuberance.
Stretching, Harry slipped on his shoes and went to wash up.
He then went outside to buy a bunch of food and returned to his room.
Since the suitcase also contained a Pabi, Harry bought a bit too much food, and Tom was a bit worried about waste—but Harry assured him that as he was growing, his appetite was quite large and he could eat all of it.
"Time to eat, Pabi," he said, opening the suitcase.
"You seem like a Magical Creatures poacher," Pabi said mysteriously, "How is it, how is it, did anyone find out you're smuggling a Unicorn!"
"No," Harry rolled his eyes, "I need to remind you that I am still just an underage Young Wizard, and can't handle a Unicorn alone."
"Oh? And then?" Pabi asked.
"So an evil Unicorn kidnapped a poor first-year student." Harry reverses the situation, taking out a sandwich and stuffing it into Pabi's mouth before she could speak again.
"Eat your sandwich."
Pabi, with a sandwich blocking her mouth, had her words caught below.
"What's your plan today?" she asked curiously after swallowing the sandwich.
"I still need to make a trip to Gringotts later. You'll have to stay here a while longer," Harry said, "Once I finish at Gringotts, I'll take you back to my uncle's house."
"Yay!" Pabi cheered.
She had heard that Harry's uncle's house had gardens and lawns in front and back—she hadn't grazed in a long time and was eager to nibble over there.
After the meal, Harry let Pabi back into the suitcase.
He then drank the Ageing Potion again, transforming back into seventeen-year-old Harry.
However, he didn't notice a slight opening in the suitcase as he left the room.
With his departure, the suitcase slowly closed.
Inside Gringotts, fairies were still bustling about on their tasks.
Yesterday's minor incident hadn't affected Gringotts' operations. After all, the fairies' crisis PR was quite competent.
When Harry arrived at Gringotts, several fairies in suits promptly scurried up to him.
"This way, Mr. Potter," they said respectfully.
Harry nodded and followed them to the VIP lounge.
Soon after, Bodrick and Gringotts' director Scard entered.
"Good morning, Mr. Potter," they both greeted Harry.
"Hello," Harry slightly bowed in his greeting back.
"Here's the situation, Mr. Potter." Scard approached Harry, "May I sit down?"
"Of course," Harry nodded.
Scard exhaled lightly, placing a sheet of paper in front of Harry.
"After an emergency meeting of Gringotts' board yesterday, to compensate for the losses Mr. Potter and Miss Grindelwald suffered, and to express our apologies to both, we've decided to propose substantial recompense to you."
Glancing at Harry, Scard continued, "We must admit that this was indeed our oversight in safekeeping, so the board decided to transfer a seat on the Hogwarts School Board to Mr. Potter as compensation."
Harry was somewhat surprised to hear this from Scard.
A seat on the school board?
Honestly, a hundred years ago, he did envy Cassandra because her father was a school board member at Hogwarts.
But he displayed neither satisfaction nor dissatisfaction, just sitting as poised as ever without any comment.
Seeing Harry's demeanor, the fairies exchanged glances, a bit deflated inside.
Unsure whether Mr. Potter was satisfied or not, they offered a second proposal.
"Additionally, the board can propose some compensation in the form of Alchemy Materials, like some rare components such as Ghost Tears."
Ghost Tears?
Harry didn't know their use, but he currently needed Angel's Feather and Snake Monster Poison Fang the most.
Originally, Vivi had stored some Angel's Feather in the vault, but Gellert's withdrawal included the Angel's Feather—crucial for rescuing Vivi.
In truth, Harry wasn't too concerned about that money, those antiques, or other alchemical materials; those were inconsequential to him.
Only the Angel's Feather was truly necessary for him.
"Mr. Potter, does this proposal satisfy you?" Bodrick inquired tentatively.
"Gringotts has a long history, so I assume there should be materials from Snake Monsters too?" Harry asked casually.
Scard exhaled slightly.
"Indeed, but currently we only have some Snake Monster Shedding. If Mr. Potter needs it..."
"I need some Snake Monster Poison Fang and Angel's Feather," Harry said.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Potter. All Snake Monster Poison Fang was purchased over fifty years ago," Scard said regretfully, "As for Angel's Feather... Gringotts does not have such a collection."
(Asking for monthly tickets, the fourth update today is complete! Good brothers raising this book, please turn on automatic subscription)
(Four updates and sixteen thousand words in a day, I'm amazing!)