Chapter 648
Recovery
Chapter 648 Recovery
Fudge angrily pushed open the door to the principal's office, and Umbridge jogged after him with a fawning expression on her face.
Wade was starting to admire this woman. After being disliked and ostracized by her direct supervisor, she was able to climb back up and even seemed to have regained Fudge's attention.
Neither of them noticed Vader standing by the door. Only after both of their figures descended the spiral staircase did Vader dispel the illusion spell and step out of thin air.
The principal's office door was still open. Wade politely knocked on the door before going in.
Dumbledore stood beside the Pensieve, his eyes gleaming with a thoughtful light.
“Professor,” Wade said softly, “some strange things have happened in the Forbidden Forest.”
Dumbledore turned around, his gaze sweeping over the toad in the birdcage. He paused slightly, then looked at Wade and asked, "What happened?"
Wade casually placed the birdcage on the table, skipped over his past dreams, and briefly recounted the people and events he had encountered that day—
The restlessness of the werewolf Lucas, the warning from Lady Grey, and the ancient lily of the valley reviving in the forest.
Dumbledore didn't say a word during this time; he just listened quietly.
Finally, Wade pointed to the toad and said, "This is the 'uninvited guest,' and it seems unable to undo its transformation..."
Wade paused briefly, then added, "But I don't know whose Animagus looks like this, nor do I know what his purpose was in infiltrating the school, so I brought it to you to see."
The toad in the cage breathed a sigh of relief without being noticed, thankful that its identity had not yet been discovered.
On the way, Lucius encountered Draco being harassed by Crabbe's students. After his anger subsided, he felt that it might not be a coincidence and had been feeling uneasy. Only now did he feel at ease.
Although his identity will likely be revealed by Dumbledore, the old headmaster is someone even the Dark Lord fears, and he was once Lucius's headmaster and teacher. Making a fool of himself in front of him is no big deal.
Having left Malfoy Manor and traveled all the way to Hogwarts, Lucius certainly wasn't there to seek his son's help.
He knew that Draco's loathing for toads was no less than that of his wife Narcissa.
He was betting that Dumbledore wouldn't deliberately humiliate anyone, much less abandon a cursed wizard to his death.
As for what happens after the transformation spell is dispelled...
Lucius is still a member of the Hogwarts Board of Trustees! How could he possibly be killed for no reason at the school?
Given Dumbledore's personality, he certainly wouldn't gossip like a busybody and spread the word about Lucius Malfoy's disheveled state today.
As a Death Eater, Lucius Malfoy actually trusted the old headmaster's character more than the average person.
But the toad, pretending to be inside the cage, didn't see the fleeting smile in Dumbledore's eyes at that moment.
Having spent so much time together and observed each other for so long, Dumbledore, though still unaware of Vader's special abilities, could tell that Vader was lying at this moment.
So Dumbledore drew his wand, winked, and said deliberately, "Then let's break the spell on him and figure out what's going on."
The toad immediately tensed up again.
But then Wade stood up, smiling, and said, "Professor, with you handling this matter, I think I can go back to my studies with peace of mind." "Don't you want to know who he is?" Dumbledore asked again.
Wade bowed slightly: "There's no point in witnessing someone's embarrassment. Whoever he is, I hope that when I see him next time, I won't have to recall what he looked like as a toad at this moment."
He turned and left, closing the principal's office door behind him. Soon after, the sound of the spiral staircase descending could be heard outside.
The toad looked up at the principal's white beard fluttering in front of the cage and couldn't help but let out a soft croak.
"Goo-"
Stop looking, please remove the spell first.
He didn't want to be a toad anymore, not even for a second longer!
"Oh yes."
Dumbledore turned his gaze and said softly, "I think you have a lot to say to me, you unfortunate sir. I haven't seen a Transfiguration Charm of this caliber in many years."
He tapped the birdcage with his wand, and the exquisite cage instantly returned to its original form, turning into a forked tree branch.
The wand tapped again, and a gold ring covered in dirt detached from the toad and clattered onto the table.
Then, a flash of golden light appeared, and the toad in the cage began to swell and deform violently—
His limbs bulged like inflated balloons, swelling here and there.
The tiny claws first transformed into hands and feet, making it look like a bizarre deformity. Then, its head suddenly swelled up, and its long, pale golden hair cascaded down like a waterfall.
Surprise finally appeared in Dumbledore's eyes; he finally recognized the unfortunate wizard's true identity.
Fortunately, the wizard's transformation was very brief. Lucius's strange appearance changed in the blink of an eye, replaced by a tall, thin, and haggard man.
He was temporarily unable to adapt to his restored body, and he had to brace himself on the table to avoid falling. His expensive silk robe was wrinkled and clung to his body, and he was trembling all over.
Even though Dumbledore actually loathed Lucius Malfoy, a hint of pity couldn't help but show in his eyes at this moment.
He waved his hand silently, and a high stool appeared behind Lucius with a "whoosh," gently nudging him so he could sit down comfortably.
Dumbledore tapped the table again, the teapot flew up, poured Lucius a cup of hot chocolate, and then four or five plates appeared, piled high with the dinner prepared for the students in the kitchen that day:
Perfectly grilled steak, fragrant mashed potatoes, freshly baked cream bread, and steaming hot pies.
Lucius's fingers tightened and loosened. He wanted to maintain the Malfoys' haughty demeanor to refuse, but before he could speak, his stomach rumbled loudly.
Although he forced himself to eat in order to survive when he turned into a toad, he could not happily eat his fill; he could only barely avoid starvation.
Moreover, he had just gone through a long hibernation, and Lucius couldn't even understand how he could still be alive after not eating for months.
His arrogance was quickly shattered by intense hunger. He barely maintained the elegance of an old family when he picked up his fork, but when he swallowed the steak, it looked like he was going to gnaw the fork off along with it.
Dumbledore patiently waited for him to finish the last bite of mashed potatoes before slowly speaking: "I think we can talk now, Lucius. I think you have a lot to say about your recent experiences?"
(End of this chapter)