Chapter 250: Dumbledore, you bastard! (Edited)

Tom placed the newspaper back on the table, which had the following headline in bold: "8 Dead! Professor Hal Hunter from the University of Sheffield is to blame."

There were other newspapers on the table, most of the front-page headlines also related to Dr. Hunter: "Ancient Egyptian Ruins Unveiled, Fractured History Could Be Mended," "17 Gold Artifacts, Professor's Thrilling Adventure with Pregnant Girl," "Blood-Stained Gold"...

"Lately, Dr. Hunter has been going through a rough time," lamented Tom. Dr. Hunter had returned to England a few days before them, and his thrilling adventure and the valuable artifacts he had brought had created a sensation that shook the entire archaeological community, while the deaths of six security company employees and two students had put Dr. Hunter in the center of public opinion.

Tom was glad that the press hadn't picked up on him and Hermione, which had saved him a lot of trouble.

"Tom, breakfast is ready~," Hermione said, coming out of the kitchen wearing an apron and holding a plate.

Tom's face twitched unnaturally twice, "Actually, you can do all this work..."

"No, let me do it!" Hermione cut off Tom sharply, "This is my house, and it's my duty to prepare breakfast, so don't say another word!"

Tom grabbed the fork, placed the burnt omelet on the charred toast, and crowned it with two equally burnt bacon strips. He felt like he was going to the grave.

When Tom and Hermione returned to London, the Grangers were still on vacation in France... so it was natural for Tom to stay at Hermione's house. The security situation in London had deteriorated lately, and it wasn't safe for Hermione, a girl, to live alone in such a big house. Hermione also offered to take care of Tom's breakfast. Having tasted Hermione's cooking, Tom was more than determined to take on the responsibility of cooking lunch and dinner.

While Tom struggled to finish his sandwich, Hermione sat across from him with a bowl of cereal.

"I want to go to Regent Street today," she said, toying with her cereal bowl with the spoon, "I need to buy new clothes for the school year."

"Sure." Tom knew Hermione wanted him to accompany her.

"Who do you think is better, Aristoc, Levante, or REX?" Hermione suddenly threw out a question.

Tom: !!!

The three are famous hosiery brands in Europe and America.

Levante is a renowned hosiery brand founded in 1969 in the Mantua region in northern Italy and is an icon of Italian design, always leading Italian hosiery design. It symbolizes the luxury and quality of French products and is recognized as one of the most important luxury brands in the hosiery sector worldwide. Aristoc, on the other hand, is the oldest hosiery brand in the UK. It was founded in 1920 and is known as the "aristocrat of hosiery."

"Ah, well, I don't know much about it. What do the three stores sell?" Tom's eyes shifted for a moment, hesitating to give a positive response to the question.

This nonsense couldn't fool Hermione, who chuckled softly, "Really? I can see you quite like-"

Before Hermione's teasing could continue, the news anchor on the television came to Tom's rescue: "This is a brief message from the news station. Yesterday afternoon at three o'clock, Folsom Prison convict Sirius Black took advantage of his outdoor hour to climb up the canopy to the prison wall and escape."

Sirius Black, male, born on November 3, 1959, 174 cm tall, black hair, gray eyes, was sentenced to life imprisonment in 1980 for causing an explosion that killed 12 people.

The public should be aware that Sirius Black is armed and extremely dangerous. A hotline has been set up for the public to report any suspicions."

At the same time, a thin face appeared on the TV screen.

Hermione covered her mouth and exclaimed, "Oh my God, he caused an explosion that killed twelve people! How horrifying."

At that moment, the news anchor's face returned to the screen, broadcasting other news: "Home Secretary Jim Hacker..."

Tom turned off the TV.

"Are you still going to Regent Street? You know Sirius hasn't been arrested yet, he could be anywhere-"

"But you can protect me, right?" Hermione lightly kicked Tom twice, "Crack! Pop - two, and you have this maniac killer subdued and arrested."

"It's not that simple." Just then, an owl flew in through the window, dropped a rolled-up newspaper into Tom's hand, and then perched on the table with a small leather bag in its claws.

Tom's eyes lit up, and he immediately handed the uneaten toast to the owl.

Owl: ⊙▽⊙

Owl: Thank you for your kindness, but duck doesn't have...

Tom: Take it!

He suddenly pushed the toast into the owl's beak and quickly put some copper Knuts into the leather bag before sending the owl out of the house.

Tom unfolded the Daily Prophet brought by the owl, pointed to a photo on the front page, and asked Hermione to look at it.

[The Most Dangerous Man: Sirius Black]

"Looks like the newspaper editor didn't consider You-Know-Who as a man," Tom quipped. "'The Most Dangerous Man,' how would Grindelwald and Voldemort feel about that?"

"The fugitive, a wizard."

Hermione: ...

But not even a lurking mad killer could deter Hermione from going shopping on Regent Street.

As Tom sat on the small sofa eating frozen yogurt and watched Hermione sift through piles of clothes, he felt like he had made the right decision to go out today.

At that moment, Hermione sat down next to him with a pair of black nylon stockings.

"What do you think of these stockings? I think they would create an elegant vintage look with a tulle skirt, and those black heeled boots I was looking at, and this little hat, but the nylon stockings are too stretchy..."

Tom swallowed and was about to say something when a soft, familiar voice exploded in his ears.

"Very keen eye, Miss Granger, but there might be a better choice at Madame Malkin's."

Oh! Tom nearly jumped; he knew the owner of the voice all too well—it was his charming Headmaster: Dumbledore!

He looked toward the source of the voice, and there he was, Dumbledore with his traveling cloak and pointed hat, looking at him with a kind face.

There was only one thought in Tom's mind at that moment: Dumbledore, damn it!