“Things seem to be clear now.”

Dumbledore emphasized the word "seemed", but Fudge's face did not look so good.

"Wait, wait!" He shook the fat on his face and said to Cyrus hurriedly, "According to you, Tom Riddle has been in Hogsmeade all the time, right?"

"I'm afraid so."

Cyrus nodded calmly, but this aroused Fudge's anger, or rather, he screamed as if he was stressed: "This is impossible! Dementors patrol Hogsmeade twice a day! Twice! Do you understand? Whether it's Sirius Black or Tom Riddle, if they appear in Hogsmeade, they will be caught immediately!"

"Cornelly, it turns out that the Dementors may not be able to find those two people." Dumbledore said again, "Sirius Black and Tom Riddle were able to escape from Azkaban. Obviously, they had a way to hide from the Dementors. Now we should let those guys leave Hogwarts."

"But...but...Albus, if this is the case, who can catch those two vicious fugitives?" Fudge's voice weakened, but he still did not give in.

As for the guards of Azkaban, Dumbledore always emphasized that these guys were not trustworthy.

But for Fudge, a mediocre man like him, even the position of Minister of Magic was like a pick-up. He did not want any accidents to happen, and did not want to see the possible bad effects behind the changes.

They didn't expand on the question, but let Tonks continue.

"Later, I was knocked unconscious by them. When I woke up again, the dark wizards and goblins planned to sacrifice me. At this time, Tom Riddle appeared. He suppressed the dark wizards without reciting any spells. He made me faint without using a wand. But what is certain is that the goblins wanted to get the wand. The dark wizards wanted ancient magic. Tom Riddle was also interested in ancient magic."

Dumbledore nodded, and his beautiful blue eyes turned to Cyrus, his gaze seemed to be meaningful: "It seems that his magical power has increased compared to last time."

"I didn't expect that kind of place would have the secrets of ancient magic. But is ancient magic really that powerful?" Moody asked.

Dumbledore paused for a moment. "It is hard to say, but there are indeed many ancient magics that have great destructive power."

Magic is different from technology. Technology is always getting more and more advanced and constantly moving forward. Moreover, there are many lethal weapons that can be stored even if they are not used after they are invented.

However, spells will disappear with the death of the wizard. Even if they are recorded, they are limited by the wizard's magical power. Many powerful spells are lost due to the lack of suitable successors.

Furthermore, as large-scale wars in the wizarding world have decreased, more lethal spells have gradually ceased to be used, and most wizards' spells are more inclined towards life. Perhaps many years later, dark spells like Fiendfyre and the Killing Curse will become so-called "ancient magic."

Dumbledore did not find it strange that Tom Riddle was pursuing ancient magic, because more than a decade ago he had lost to an ancient magic called "love".

"Ancient magic is indeed very powerful. You know, there is a special room in the Department of Mysteries that seals off ancient magic." Fudge said, "I remember Harry Potter's mother, Lily Potter, worked as a taciturn person there for a while, right?"

Was Harry Potter's mother a Unspoken Person?

Cyrus' eyes flashed with surprise.

"That's true," Dumbledore nodded. "At that time, she hadn't married James yet, and was doing research in the Department of Mysteries. Later, as Voldemort and the Death Eaters became more rampant, she joined the Auror team and worked with the Order of the Phoenix to fight the Death Eaters."

"You mean the locked room filled with 'love'?" Cyrus couldn't help asking. The last time he went to the Department of Mysteries, he entered several rooms, but he didn't risk forcing open some of the locked rooms.

After all, a blockade obviously means danger.

Fudge suddenly became excited and asked quickly: "Did she leave anything behind--"

"Ahem..." Scrimgeour suddenly coughed a few times, interrupting Fudge. His face was expressionless, looking like an uneven blue slate.

"I don't think we should discuss the work of the Department of Mysteries in a place like this, should we?"

"Oh, yes, yes." Fudge realized his gaffe and wiped his sweat with his handkerchief awkwardly.

The topic stopped, but it took root in Cyrus' heart like a seed.

Lily Potter studied the ancient magic in the Department of Mysteries and used it to defeat Voldemort!

Just as Fudge wanted to ask, Cyrus also wanted to know if Lily Potter had left any manuscripts. Maybe she had recorded her research on this magic? Cyrus glanced at Dumbledore while thinking, and he found that the old man was looking at him with a smile. His heart tightened immediately, suspecting that this was a bait.

The other party threw out the bait of "ancient magic" and waited for me to take the bait! But does this mean that Dumbledore already knows that he is not "Dawlish"?

Or was it just a guess? He subconsciously tightened his grip on his wand, but then he heaved a sigh of relief when he thought about being in a hospital. Dumbledore couldn't possibly duel with him here.

"Dawlish, what are you doing standing there?" Fudge frowned in dissatisfaction when he saw that Cyrus had been silent for a long time, "We're all waiting for you!"

Cyrus then realized that the reason Dumbledore was looking at him was not because he saw through his disguise, but because he was waiting for him to tell what happened next. He felt his mind inexplicably relaxed: "Then they started fighting. The goblin used a silver whistle to summon a Norwegian Spinosaurus, which should have been secretly raised in captivity--"

"Those evil guys!" Moody cursed.

"Then Tom Riddle started fighting with the dragon, and wizards and goblins joined in. I took advantage of the chaos to rescue Tonks and didn't dare stay for long. When I came back, the battle was over. Tom Riddle, the dragon, the dark wizards, and the goblins were all gone. Only the devastated coastline was left."

Moody nodded: "Indeed, a small amount of dragon blood was found in the sea."

"Do you think Tom Riddle died in the dragon's mouth?" Fudge asked expectantly.

He hoped that the escaped prisoner Tom Riddle would surrender as soon as possible. Even death would be better than being on the run.

But not to mention Dumbledore, even Cyrus shook his head when he heard it.

"I'm afraid I have to disappoint you, Cornelius." Dumbledore stood up and seemed to be about to leave. After saying goodbye to Tonks, he walked to Cyrus and stopped.

He turned his head, his wise eyes met Cyrus's, and he spoke slowly: "Mr. Dawlish, can you please move aside? I have some other concerns that I want to discuss with you alone."

Thanks to Kopcn for the 100-point tip and Captain Zhao for the 100-point tip. Thank you both!

(End of this chapter)