After the Halloween dinner, the little wizards returned to the dormitory together after eating and drinking.

After the students left, the professors also left one after another.

In the headmaster's office, Dumbledore looked at Snape with a gloomy face and asked, "Severus, what do you want from me?"

"It was two weeks ago, Dumbledore." Snape slapped a gold-rimmed map on the desk in the principal's office and said expressionlessly, "The matter of Kyle Chopper selling maps in school... should have come to fruition by now."

"So that's what it is." Dumbledore calmly took a sip of tea and said, "Can I hear your thoughts?"

"People like this who ignore school rules must be expelled!" Snape blurted out.

"That's not a very good joke, Severus." Dumbledore shook his head and said, "You should know that there is no rule in Hogwarts' school rules that prohibits students from selling items on campus."

"And as far as I know, this map should have been sold to Slater by Miss Prince..."

"That was instigation!" Snape interrupted Dumbledore angrily, "I've inquired, and all the maps were given to her by Kyle!"

The sound was so loud that even the portraits around them, who were pretending to be asleep, could no longer bear it.

A big-nosed wizard said angrily, "Kid, watch your attitude. This is the principal's office."

Snape ignored him and continued, "I should have insisted that Connor be transferred to Slytherin instead of listening to you and letting her stay in Hufflepuff."

"I think this is a good thing." Dumbledore smiled and said, "Don't you think Connor's character was a little too introverted before? As the only descendant of the Prince family in the British magic world, this is not a good thing.

And you can’t always protect her.”

Snape was silent for a moment, then said impatiently, "We are talking about Kyle Chopper now. He dared to sell a map for five Galleons today, and he dared to rob Gringotts tomorrow. So, even if he is not expelled, we cannot just let it go. He must be punished."

"Well, you have a point. Five Galleons is indeed a bit expensive for freshmen." Dumbledore pondered, "Well, I will ask the students in person for their opinions. If they all feel that they have been cheated, then I will naturally deal with it."

…

Snape fell silent again.

In fact, he had already asked this once when he confiscated the map, and this is what Rawl said at the time...

"Being cheated? Professor, you must be kidding. It's only five Galleons. It's not a big deal~~"

Even if Dumbledore asked, the result would probably be the same.

Although if Snape wanted, he could easily make the Slytherin students change their views on this matter and criticize Kyle.

But this kind of thing is too despicable. He is just biased, not completely shameless.

Moreover, this kind of thing is difficult to hide, and once it is exposed, it will cause a lot of trouble.

"Kyle also has character problems." Snape suddenly said: "I have observed that he is very talented, but his performance in class is very average.

He is so hypocritical at such a young age, aren't you afraid that he will become the next Dark Lord?"

"I prefer to call this behavior modesty, Severus." Dumbledore said calmly: "It is not easy for a person to shine, but it is even more difficult to put away the light. This is a very rare quality."

"So..." Snape looked at Dumbledore coldly and said, "You are not going to punish him?"

"If he didn't make any mistakes."

"very good!"

Snape's face became even gloomier. He waved his robes and turned to leave the headmaster's office.

I don’t know if it was intentional, but when Snape turned around, the hem of his robe hit the portrait of the big-nosed wizard.

The other party was furious and shouted angrily at Snape's back: "Come back and apologize, you rude Slytherin boy!"

Snape still ignored him, but Phineas Black next to him couldn't help it, rushed over and grabbed his collar and said, "What did you say about Slytherin just now!"

"Why, you want to fight?"

The big-nosed wizard, who was angry, punched Phineas in the face without saying a word.

Seeing this, the other portraits came over with candies, melon seeds, and butter beer, and formed a circle to dissuade them:

"Stop fighting, stop fighting."

"You are such a grown-up, can't you be more steady... Why did you hit his legs? Why did you grab his hair? Can't you see that his hair is so long?"

"You knight who's watching over there, put away your sword quickly before they see you!"

"Oh no, Felix went to get the sword."

"Someone go call the hunter in the corridor. I remember he has an axe."

Their voices soon attracted more portraits, and every frame was packed. The principal's office had never been so lively.

Dumbledore sat behind his desk, happily adding sugar to his tea.

Portrait fights were not uncommon, and other than eavesdropping on gossip, it was their only form of entertainment.

Dumbledore didn't bother to care, as long as the frame and canvas were fine.

But at this moment, Professor McGonagall's voice suddenly came from outside the door.

"Mr. Minister, are you here to see Albus so late at night?"

The portraits twitched their ears, no longer caring to watch the fun, and left the principal's office as quickly as possible.

Before leaving, the Fat Lady of Gryffindor and two knights forcibly took away the bruised and swollen big-nosed wizard and Felix.

They couldn't be seen in this state by the Minister of Magic, otherwise Hogwarts would be disgraced.

"It happened suddenly, Minerva. There's nothing I can do."

Accompanied by a low voice, the door of the principal's office was once again pushed open from the outside.

"Albus, long time no see, how are you?"

Cornelius Fudge opened his arms and walked towards Dumbledore with an eager look on his face.

"Long time no see, Cornelius." Dumbledore hugged him and said with a smile, "Would you like a cup of black tea? Or pumpkin juice?"

"Black tea is fine."

Dumbledore snapped his fingers, and immediately a cup of steaming black tea appeared on the table next to him.

“Do you need some sugar?”

Fudge shook his head. He looked a little nervous. He kept stroking his top hat with both hands and glanced at Professor McGonagall from time to time.

"Albus, I'll be going back now."

Professor McGonagall immediately understood what Fudge meant and turned to leave the headmaster's office.

"Albus, we can't hide it anymore. Those magical creatures that were smuggled in..."

As the griffin slowly closed the door, Fudge's voice disappeared completely.

Although she only heard half of the sentence, Professor McGonagall could probably guess why Fudge came so late.

The newly appointed Minister of Magic always liked to conceal news that was unfavorable to him. When he could no longer hide it, he came to Dumbledore for advice.

I think it will be the same this time.

Professor McGonagall pursed her lips. Cornelius Fudge's irresponsible attitude was far worse than that of Millicent Bagnold.

(End of this chapter)