Chapter 99: Dumbledore’s Troubles

"Good afternoon, Professor."

Feeling the students approaching, and knowing that Sunny was really annoyed, Lockhart stood up. Hearing the greetings from the three female Ravenclaw students standing in front of him, he nodded slightly and replied, "Good afternoon. What's the matter?"

The three female Ravenclaw students looked at Sunny standing on Lockhart's shoulder and asked with some anticipation, "Professor, is this the Golden Snidget you talked about last time? Can we touch it? It's so cute."

Seeing the expectant expressions on the three of them, Lockhart thought for a moment and whispered to Sunny next to him, "Sunny, they still have the snacks you ate just now. If you still want to eat, you can ask them for it."

"Chirp Chirp."

Sunny easily understood what Lockhart meant, but still asked with some confusion.

"Safe, absolutely safe. Besides, with me here, they don't dare to hurt you."

Hearing the keeper's assurance, Sunny waved his wings vigorously to express his agreement. Seeing this, Lockhart said to the three Ravenclaw students, "It's called Sunny. I just met it today. It's a bit embarrassing. The snack you gave him just now tastes good. You can feed him some, maybe it will let you touch it."

Hearing Professor Lockhart's words, the three students nodded instantly. Afterwards, the three of them started to fawn over Sunny in various ways, feeding him various snacks, exchanging whispers, and exclaiming from time to time.

Lockhart, on the other hand, continued to lie on the lawn. Since he had decided to have a good rest today, he must rest enough and not think about other things.

*Hogwarts, Headmaster's Office.*

Dumbledore sat in front of his large desk, carefully reading the rune research results compiled by Lockhart. While watching, he picked up the candy next to him and tasted it. He was a little amazed, not to mention the content inside. Just looking at the content of this research experience, it was clear that Lockhart's research ideas were very clear, as if he had a lot of experience in doing research.

However, the content inside also surprised him. He believed that he had come into contact with a lot of ancient runes, including some unknown magical runes. But the runes in front of him were completely different from these, as if they were a system of their own, and many of them could echo each other. Of course, what made him most curious was why he hadn't heard of such wonderful runes before? Maybe it had been lost for too long. It was also possible that Lockhart had mentioned he had inherited runes obtained from a certain magical ruin.

Magic has been circulating for thousands of years, especially during the period of BC, which is known as the Magic Era. It may be the research result of a certain wizard from that time. But unfortunately, for unknown reasons, a large number of wizards died at that time, and many inheritances were lost, leaving only unknown magical relics behind.

After a moment of regret, Dumbledore increased his reading speed. After a while, Dumbledore finished reading the entire research paper. After reading it, he took a sip of honey tea, sat on a chair, and stared at Phoenix, who was taking a nap with its eyes closed, wondering what he was thinking about.

"Albus, how do you feel after reading Lockhart's research? Do you still need to open the inheritance library?" asked the portrait of Principal Armando Dippet hanging on the wall.

"Of course, it is necessary. Look at our Headmaster Dumbledore, he is afraid that he will teach another Dark Lord," said Principal Black sarcastically.

"The Dark Lord was born in your Slytherin house and has nothing to do with our Ravenclaw house," retorted Principal Dillys. She was from Ravenclaw House and was very fond of Lockhart, who also belonged to Ravenclaw.

Dumbledore ignored the quarrel in the portrait and looked as if he was reminiscing about the past. "Lockhart is indeed very talented and has great ideas. Through the entire research, it can be seen that the purpose of his research is to lower the threshold of magic. Whether it's the consumption of magic, learning difficulty, etc."

After hearing what Dumbledore said, the portrait of Principal Dillys said with some pride, "As expected of a student of our Ravenclaw House. Look at his research; if it succeeds, he will at least receive a first-class Order of Merlin award."

Principal Black did not speak, as if he also knew that Lockhart's research was indeed very valuable to wizards.

However, Dumbledore did not finish his words. He discovered some information through research—it must have been revealed by Lockhart intentionally. Lockhart had already begun to study the effects of bloodline and runes on mental power and magic power respectively. It is even suggested that once the research is successful, it is likely that Squibs will have the ability to cast spells.

What does that mean? Dumbledore knew very well that there were now a large number of Squibs in the wizarding world. If they all had the ability to cast spells and were included in the scope of wizards, the number of wizards in the entire world would probably increase several times. Even if they cannot master powerful magic immediately, their numbers will have an impact on the entire wizarding society. There will be many benefits. But the disadvantages are also obvious.

Think about it: the original resources could only support 100 wizards, but now there are suddenly 500, 600, or even 1,000 wizards. Even if resources can be further expanded, friction will probably be inevitable in a short period of time, and killings will not be uncommon. What's more troublesome is that now he wonders when Tom will be resurrected. Traces had been discovered last year. Based on his understanding of Tom, the other party would definitely take action in recent years.

Dumbledore thought for a while and then simply stopped thinking about it. He had too little information to deduce valuable results. No matter what, Lockhart only proposed a direction, a concept, but no concrete results yet. There is no result, and it is just empty talk.

However, he still has to enter the Heritage Library. Runes are indeed very valuable, but it is best to know their origins clearly.

*Hogwarts, eighth floor.*

Dumbledore stood in front of the tapestry where the troll beat Barnabas stupidly. He walked back and forth three times and glanced at the wall opposite the tapestry. While walking, he recited a mantra silently in his mind. This spell is known only to successive headmasters of Hogwarts. Once per year, the headmaster can enter the Heritage Library at Hogwarts through the Room of Requirement.

The books inside are basically the most precious, strange, and valuable magical knowledge in the entire wizarding world. It's the best part of Hogwarts. Although there are many high-value books in the Hogwarts Library outside, they are incomparable to the value of the Heritage Library. To enter the Heritage Library, one also needs to pay a price. To be precise, it is the entry condition. Every time one enters, one needs to pay for a high-value magic book that is not available in the library. Such entry conditions have created a situation where every Hogwarts principal constantly searches for the most valuable magical knowledge to put into the Heritage Library.

However, this time, Dumbledore didn't have to worry so much. Because the rune research that Lockhart gave him was not only of high value but also very novel and had great potential behind it. It was enough to enter the Heritage Library once.

Soon, Dumbledore saw the wall opposite the tapestry burst open, and a door came into view. He took one step forward, and his figure disappeared into the darkness.

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