Snape, the Sunshine of Hogwarts.

Chapter 236 Once and For All

"I know his abilities and what kind of person he is better than anyone else."

Lucius clenched his fists tightly.

“I have been branded with his mark, which means that no matter where I run to, I can never escape his control, so I have to stay!”

Dumbledore watched him quietly, scrutinizing Lucius as if he were examining this arrogant, opportunistic, and short-sighted pure-blood wizard in a different light.

After a long silence, Dumbledore spoke again.

"Since you know you can't escape, you should also know what kind of fate awaits you if your undercover work is discovered, right?"

Lucius took a deep breath.

"I understand, and I'm prepared!"

“If you’ve already prepared yourself mentally, I’m pleased, Lucius.” Dumbledore tapped his fingertips on the desk. “So now? What can I expect from your arrival?”

Lucius clearly understood what Dumbledore wanted.

"I don't know if your inside man has reported this to you, but recently they've been planning a prison break in Azkaban—no, not planning, they've already started working on the plan!"

"According to my information, someone in the Ministry of Magic has agreed to work with them from the inside to help them go to Azkaban and bring those imprisoned there out of the island!"

Dumbledore listened attentively to Lucius's story while asking questions.

"Are you aware of the time they've decided on for the prison break?"

"The Dark Lord set a deadline for me to find fresh unicorn blood. They will definitely start their operation on that day!"

“This is very valuable intelligence, Lucius,” Dumbledore said solemnly. “With this information you’ve brought, I will handle this matter well.”

But after he said that, Lucius seemed a little uneasy and hurriedly reminded him.

“Even if you take any action next, you can’t make it too obvious! If their prison break plan fails, the Dark Lord will definitely suspect that there’s a problem inside! He can see through everything, and I’m not proficient in Occlumency!”

Dumbledore simply reassured him softly.

"Don't worry, we will take care of your safety."

"What do you plan to do with my wife and son?" Lucius continued to ask anxiously.

Although Dumbledore has shown him respect and seriousness from the beginning, Lucius always felt that something was inexplicably wrong.

If you were to pinpoint exactly what's wrong with him, it's that even though the wizarding world generally describes Dumbledore as eccentric and having a thought process unlike that of normal people, and even if he contributed to those perceptions, he himself never truly believed that Dumbledore was the kind of madman who let everything unfold naturally without any preparation.

After hearing his question, Dumbledore seemed to ponder for a long time before he finally spoke.

“I will have people make arrangements for them. Since you are willing to come to me, give me some trust, Lucius. I promise I will be responsible for the safety of your wife and children.”

These words reassured Lucius somewhat, and he concluded by saying...

"Is there anything I need to prepare? How much do they need to bring?"

"You don't need to prepare anything right now. If you really want to help, then stay home for the next few days, do nothing, and don't contact anyone. Just wait for my news," Dumbledore said calmly. "But there's one more thing I must remind you of. The Dark Lord has tasked me with finding fresh unicorn blood. If I fail to do this, I will certainly never be able to remain one of his core servants again."

"You don't need to worry about this. Remember what I said. All you need to do now is wait for my news at home."

Dumbledore looked at him.

"You just need to wait for me to contact you first, that's enough."

In the end, Lucius arrived at Hogwarts with determination, and left with trepidation and unease.

After he left, Severus emerged from the shadows deep within the principal's office, watching his departing figure.

"He's been forced into a corner and has no choice but to take sides."

Severus sat down in the chair that Lucius had been sitting in.

"However, his decision saved him in a way, and the subsequent reckoning against him should be much lighter."

Dumbledore shook his head.

“You don’t understand Wisengamo’s working model enough. What Lucius just said to me is enough to make the judges overlook his past mistakes and not pursue any further charges against him.”

“In the wizarding world, it is impossible to be completely rational with the law, let alone in the form of a judge’s vote. If a person who often does bad things suddenly does a great good deed, people will be surprised by his change and praise him. On the other hand, if a person who often does good things suddenly does something bad, he will be met with countless insults.”

Dumbledore looked at Severus.

"Your reputation in the magical world has turned around precisely because of this irrationality."

Severus, of course, neither agreed nor disagreed with this.

"This is a flaw in society."

"You've already spoken to Kingsley about Azkaban?"

“He’s the only one in the Aurors who’s somewhat decent right now.” Severus’s expression turned serious when he said this. “I let him pick someone from the Aurors who he felt was reliable and capable, but that’s not enough. After the lesson I learned at Crouch’s house, I’ve realized that we can’t completely trust the Ministry of Magic for something as important as this.”

Dumbledore crossed his arms.

"What are you going to do?"

“Besides the people Kingsley chose, Remus and I will both go. And if you agree, I suggest giving the students of Hogwarts a day off, and having the four current heads of the house, as well as yourself, and some of the old guard from the Order of the Phoenix all go.”

This suggestion made Dumbledore raise an eyebrow.

“This is quite a big event. Minerva and the others should be fine. Although Alastor has retired, I think I can still get him involved, even if it means losing face. But your Dean Horace, he probably won’t agree to participate. You know him.”

“Of course I know him,” Severus said softly. “So I’ll go straight to him later and talk to him about it.”

"We must resolve all the destabilizing factors in Azkaban, once and for all!"

(End of this chapter)