The process was not complicated. Umbridge took the strikers to Hampshire early in the morning to find some material for the front page of today's Daily Prophet.

She is now very familiar with this kind of thing, so the people she brings with her are all veterans who have had many experiences and cooperate well with each other.

When they arrived at the place, the strikers skillfully dispersed and looked for useful clues, but as luck would have it, they actually ran into Death Eaters who came to do business.

Then when the batters came back after their tour, they saw an extremely horrifying scene.

Umbridge, who was always arrogant, rolled on the ground in pain, struggling and begging for mercy, and next to her was Bellatrix, holding her wand and laughing wildly.

Almost subconsciously, a striker with a camera took a picture of the whole scene, but for the sake of the Ministry of Magic's face, this photo was not chosen in the newspaper in the end, and another one was used instead.

"So, Umbridge bumped into him on her own initiative?" Kyle asked in disbelief.

"I guess so..." Chris said, "Now that the mysterious man has not shown up, he is obviously hiding something. Under normal circumstances, the Death Eaters would not do such a boring thing if they are not threatened.

"But Umbridge is an exception. Now everyone knows that she is a staunch opponent of the Death Eaters, and her attitude and words are even better than Barty Crouch's back then.

"And Bellatrix is ​​one of You-Know-Who's most crazy and loyal followers. Now that she has met You-Know-Who, she naturally wants to eliminate such a threat for You-Know-Who."

"Then why couldn't she just use the Killing Curse?" Kyle glanced at the photo in the newspaper. "Why would she use the Cruciatus Curse? This curse can't kill people."

"I think she probably wants to get some useful information from Umbridge." Chris thought for a moment and said, "For example, the Ministry of Magic's plan, or the location of the Order of the Phoenix headquarters. This is also her usual method."

"She thought Umbridge was a member of the Order of the Phoenix?"

Chris looked at Kyle strangely, as if he was surprised that he would ask such a question.

"Do you think..." he said, "there is anyone more like the Order of the Phoenix than Umbridge?"

"Well, it seems to be true." Kyle muttered.

Judging from her recent performance alone, Umbridge is indeed more like a standard member of the Order of the Phoenix than anyone else...including genuine members such as Sirius or Moody.

Especially the last appearance of Dumbledore in the newspaper just proves this point.

"Umbridge will probably be very happy." Kyle muttered softly, "She became an important figure in the Order of the Phoenix overnight, and by the way, she also fulfilled her promise in the newspaper... Fighting the Death Eaters to the end, they are irreconcilable..."

Chris shook his head and said nothing.

Half an hour later, Kyle left the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures and returned to his office.

To his surprise, Fudge acted very calmly and was not panicked by Bellatrix's appearance and actions.

Of course, he was still surprised, but he soon returned to normal, as if he had really accepted the news that Voldemort had been resurrected.

Since Voldemort has been resurrected, there is nothing strange about what happened today.

By noon, at Fudge's request, Kyle went with him to St. Mungo's to visit Umbridge.

As soon as he arrived at the fifth floor of St. Mungo's, Kyle heard Umbridge's shrill voice coming from the corridor.

"I want to go out...I want to see the minister!"

"It's not safe here. That crazy woman may come here at any time..."

"You can't stop me, I'm the Senior Minister for Magic, get out of here!"

Hearing the last sentence, Fudge's expression suddenly changed a little... If Umbridge is a senior minister, then what is he.

Then, for some unknown reason, the screaming stopped abruptly.

A therapist ran out of the room, sweating profusely, and saw Fudge standing in the corridor.

"I'm sorry, Minister. I didn't know you were here." He explained quickly, "Ms. Umbridge was screaming too loudly. In order not to disturb other people's rest, we can only find a way to make her fall asleep temporarily."

"Oh, it's okay. This is what we should do." Fudge didn't mean to blame the therapist at all. He smiled and said, "You really shouldn't yell here. There's nothing wrong with what you did."

Hearing this, the therapist breathed a sigh of relief.

"It seems like our trip is in vain." Fudge looked at Kyle and said meaningfully, "I think we should let her rest for a while. This will help her recover."

"That's right, Minister." Kyle said. Since Fudge said so, he naturally would not refute it.

But to be honest, Umbridge is still quite amazing. Even though she had just been tortured by the Cruciatus Curse, she was still able to scream out. This is not something that ordinary people can do.

For example, Sirius was weak for several days after being hit by the Cruciatus Curse. Kyle didn't think that Bellatrix's Cruciatus Curse was worse than that of others.

Because of this incident, Fudge just walked around the fifth floor of St. Mungo's and went straight back to the Ministry of Magic without even entering the ward.

For the rest of the afternoon, Kyle returned to his previous idle state, with nothing to do but play auto-playing Wizard Chess in the office.

Kyle chose the black chess pieces. With every move, the white chess pieces would automatically move to the corresponding position. This was very suitable for killing time when one was alone.

The day passed quickly, and when Kyle returned to Hogwarts, people in the castle were still discussing the contents of this morning's newspaper.

Although the Daily Prophet has published some news about the Death Eaters every now and then in recent times, it is basically relaying the words of the striker or someone else, as if the Ministry of Magic can only follow the Death Eaters and will never be able to catch them.

But today's newspaper came with a clear photo showing Bellatrix's crazy look, which caused another panic.

Fortunately, someone also saw Dumbledore flash by in the corner.

"The headmaster is here too..." a Gryffindor girl said with relief, "This Death Eater is definitely finished."

"No wonder the headmaster has not been in school recently. It turns out that he went to deal with the Death Eaters..."

"But what if the headmaster is not here and the Death Eaters choose to attack Hogwarts..." someone said worriedly.

"Don't worry, don't forget Professor McGonagall..."

"Yes, with the professors here, the Death Eaters will suffer if they dare to come."

…

There was a lot of discussion in the auditorium, and you could hear it wherever you went.

But this situation soon disappeared.

With less than a week left until the exam, the increasingly heavy workload has made their minds preoccupied with the upcoming exams, leaving them with no way to concentrate on other things.

The Quidditch final originally scheduled for this week was postponed by Professor McGonagall to after the exams for some unknown reason.

Maybe she felt that reviewing could distract people better than playing ball.

After a Transfiguration class, they received the exam schedule and specific requirements.

"The NEWT exam will last for two full weeks, just like the OWL exam." Cedric said during dinner, "One course per day. Theory exam in the morning, practical exam in the afternoon. You can continue reviewing during the rest of the time."

"I think it's better to finish the exam as soon as possible." Mikel seemed to remember last year's experience and said with a bitter face: "To be honest, I was always very nervous during the days of the OWL exam. I couldn't concentrate on anything. What about you guys?"

"I'm fine," Cedric said, "and I think I can pass the test."

Having said that, Kyle noticed that Cedric couldn't help rubbing his hands and taking deep breaths. It seemed that Cedric was also very nervous about the upcoming exam.

It's exam week at Hogwarts.

"Dumbledore, your plan was successful. The Dark Lord seemed to think that Ogden was dead before you found him..."

"Severus, believe it or not, it was not my plan for Umbridge to be there," said Dumbledore.

Snape sneered, obviously not believing what he said.

Bellatrix had just found Ogden's location when Umbridge appeared in front of her. If it wasn't arranged in advance, how could such a coincidence happen? Did he think he was an idiot? Looking at his expression, Dumbledore knew that he couldn't explain it anyway, but what he said was true. It was all just a coincidence.

Dumbledore sighed and decided not to explain. He had more important things to do now.

"Thank you for your hard work, Severus. You should go back to Hogwarts first."

"I don't think this is a good idea." Snape said without moving, "The Dark Lord has been very unhappy with me recently. I need to know what you are doing."

Dumbledore turned to look at him, "Believe me Severus, if you tell Tom what I am about to do he will kill you in a heartbeat.

"This is his biggest secret, and he won't let anyone know."

Snape was silent for a moment.

"It's a Horcrux, isn't it?" he said. "What else have you found?"

"Ogden's memories should be of some help to us," said Dumbledore.

He did not try to persuade Snape to leave, but continued walking forward until he came to a wooden signpost.

There were two arrows on it, saying: Great Hangleton, 5 miles. Little Hangleton, 1 mile.

Dumbledore turned in the direction of Little Hangleton, and Snape followed.

They walked for a while, following high hedges on both sides, and came to a valley. Between two steep hills stood a village.

On the hillside opposite the valley, there is a magnificent mansion.

"That's where Riddle lives?" Snape frowned as he looked at the mansion. "So you're going there? Then why take such a long detour?"

However, what Snape did not expect was that Dumbledore did not go to the village, but walked towards the side path, then turned right and disappeared through a gap in the fence.

Hidden entrance, just like St. Mungo's and the Ministry of Magic. Before the Muggle Repelling Charm was invented, this was also the most common method used by the older generation of wizards to protect themselves from being discovered, and the effect was quite good.

Snape hurriedly followed.

The two came to an even narrower dirt road. It was extremely desolate, with twists and turns, potholes, and rocks all over the road. Vines on both sides spread onto the road. It was obvious that no one had been here for a long time.

The path led to a dark forest. Dumbledore came to the front of the forest, drew out his wand and waved it gently.

The tangled bushes in front of him were separated by an invisible force, revealing a strangely shaped house hidden among them.

The house had not been inhabited for a long time. Even the door was covered with lush vines, making it look like a huge cocoon.

Dumbledore waved his wand again, and the vines automatically parted to both sides. With a creaky sound, the door that had not been used for who knows how long was opened.

Snape noticed that there was a snake on the door. It was brightly colored, as if it had been nailed there just yesterday, and it was out of place with the quaint and old surroundings.

"Where is this..." he couldn't help but ask.

"Gaunt House." Dumbledore bent down and walked into the house.

"Gaunt..." Snape's expression changed slightly.

"Yes," said Dumbledore, "This is where Tom's mother last lived... Be careful, I don't know if Tom has cast any additional magic, so it's best not to touch anything here."

"I know, you don't need to remind me," Snape said, "how you found this place."

"Bob Ogden," said Dumbledore. "I happened to have this information when, as a former member of the Department of Law Enforcement, he was here on a case."

Every time the two of them took a step in the room, the ground would creak sharply. Moreover, although it was daytime, it was unusually dark here, as if all the sunlight was blocked by the trees outside.

"What are you looking for?" asked Snape.

He looked around and found that the place was even more shabby than he had imagined. Most of the things were gone, leaving only some broken furniture or chipped cups.

Dumbledore said nothing as he walked around the house, finally stopping in front of a small table with spindly legs.

Snape guessed that the table must have once been filled with exquisite and valuable decorations, but now there was only a thick layer of dust.

"Not a very clever trick... This doesn't seem to be the way Tom would protect it." Dumbledore took out his wand and tapped it lightly on the table.

Then, the tabletop turned over like a glove being taken off, and an ugly ring appeared in front of the two of them.

The ring was gold, with a black gem the size of a copper coin in the middle.

Snape looked at the ring carefully and felt that it looked familiar.

Dumbledore also saw the ring, and his eyes unconsciously fell on the black gem.

In an instant, his breathing became much heavier and he subconsciously stretched out his hand.

"Stop!" Snape shouted hurriedly, "There's something wrong with this ring. Someone has cast a terrible curse on it."

Dumbledore seemed not to have heard his reminder and had no intention of stopping.

As his hand was about to touch the ring, Snape realized to his horror that it was too late to do anything.

However, at this moment, a string of golden threads suddenly appeared on Dumbledore's arm.

The strings acted like ropes, tightening around Dumbledore's arms and forcing his hands to stop less than an inch from the ring.

Subconsciously, Dumbledore tried to force his arms free, but was met with a sharp pain.

The thin wires embedded into Dumbledore's body, and in just a moment, several bloody marks were left on his arms.

However, this pain also made Dumbledore's increasingly confused brain clear up again.

He looked at the ring so close to him and gasped.

"I……"

Dumbledore was about to say something, but at this time, Snape had already run over. He didn't seem to see the golden lines, but only saw several bloody marks on Dumbledore's arm for no reason.

In addition, Dumbledore's finger was too close to the ring. In a hurry, Snape didn't care about anything else and just raised his leg.

"Damn it, don't touch that thing!"

With a dull thud, Dumbledore felt a pain in his body, and then the scene in front of him suddenly began to move backwards rapidly.

When Dumbledore finally realized what was happening, he saw the dusty floor and a flash of Snape's shoe sole.

(End of this chapter)