I, the leader of the esoteric sect, am doing great things in the infinite world!

"...So in order to maintain the status quo, we have no choice but to do this." Dumbledore looked at Li Lin with gentle eyes, then took two chocolate frogs from the drawer and handed them to Cho Chang. "Next, we should discuss the rewards for the students."

"Miss Zhang."

Dumbledore smiled at Cho Chang: "I think it is commendable that a first-year student, in the face of such an unusual event, calmly sought the help of a professor."

"For this, Ravenclaw gets 30 points."

Thirty pure sapphires tumbled out of the hourglass in the niche of the house gate, symbolizing Ravenclaw, instantly surpassing Slytherin, who were previously in first place.

Cho Chang raised her eyebrows slightly, glanced at the kind old man with the white beard in front of her in surprise, then looked at Li Lin. After seeing Li Lin nod to her, she bowed to Dumbledore and said, "Thank you, Headmaster, and Professor Aatrox, Professor Snape... If there's nothing else, I'll go back to see Mary and the others."

“A commendable friendship, then please, Miss Zhang,” Dumbledore said with a gentle smile, as a silver phoenix flew from the end of his wand. “It will take you back to Ravenclaw.”

After Cho Chang left, Snape finally couldn't contain his emotions. He stared coldly at Li Lin: "So, you're the wizard who reported Voldemort's Horcruxes to Albus...?"

A sarcastic smile spread across Li Lin's face: "If you think challenging Voldemort isn't difficult enough, I can go find Grindelwald."

Snape's face immediately turned as if he had eaten a pound of excrement.

Dumbledore sighed inwardly. In fact, with Hogwarts unable to pay salaries and the Ministry of Magic unable to approve research funding, a considerable number of faculty and staff had already made contact with Gellert Grindelwald in the North through various channels.

As Grindelwald's power grew, the British Ministry of Magic collapsed, and more and more European wizards began to openly and secretly side with Grindelwald.

Even setting aside others, when Dumbledore saw Grindelwald's new program, he even felt a slight, inappropriate stirring of emotion.

The world is changing too fast. Would it be better to follow Grindelwald's approach?

Of course, this thought only lasted for a moment before Dumbledore erased it.

The White Wizard tapped the table with his finger, his gaze fixed on Snape: "Severus, Mr. Aatrox is trustworthy; his Patronus has proven everything."

"But that guardian spirit is a Dementor! As everyone knows, Dementors are evil spirits that have fed on people's positive emotions since ancient, ignorant times..."

"How dare you talk about your ancestors like that? You have no respect for elders!" Li Lin angrily retorted to Snape from behind.

"You!" Snape wished he could draw his wand and deliver a devastating blow to Li Lin on the spot, but unfortunately he was no match for Li Lin.

"Alright, let's stop arguing about this." Dumbledore shook his head, somewhat annoyed. "Patrons are magical creatures, which are rare, but not entirely nonexistent. Besides, even a little mouse can serve as a protector."

"More than that, I'm amazed by Mr. Aatrox's Patronus spirit, which can actually cover the entire Hogwarts! You know, the size of the Patronus determines the positive emotions it contains."

Dumbledore looked at Li Lin with a hint of envy in his eyes: "I never expected that you would have such a sunny and happy heart."

"Because I'm a sunny and cheerful guy."

Master Li, whose mind was full of slewd tricks and dirty schemes, nodded without batting an eye.

126. Dark Lord Dumbledore (Fake) [Two-in-One]

Well, when you can understand Li Lin's thoughts and think in sync with him, you will also be very happy.

Of course, not many people can understand Master Li.

“I’m afraid even St. Mungo’s Hospital can’t handle Felius Frivi’s condition.”

After waiting for about an hour, a magical portrait suddenly appeared on the wall of the principal's office and began to speak.

She was an old woman with gentle eyes, dressed in a plain-colored wizard's robe.

She is Dalys Devante, a headmistress in Hogwarts history and a renowned healer, so her magical portrait hangs on the walls of both Dumbledore's office and St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Injuries.

As a copy of her personality within the magical portrait, she is naturally able to travel freely between the two locations through the magical portrait.

Dumbledore looked up in surprise, blinking his wise blue eyes: "Sorry?"

“Albus, I think even St. Mungo’s Hospital can’t handle Felius’s symptoms. He seems to be in a state of uncontrollable delirium.”

Although she can no longer cast spells at will, as a copy of her personality preserved in the magical portrait, Delis Devant still possesses the extensive knowledge and experience she had in her previous life.

"Albus, the difficulty in treating Felius's symptoms far exceeds the current level of wizards—these symptoms are not caused by any kind of black or white magic, nor are they caused by magical creatures; they are traces left by some more essential and higher power."

Dumbledore glanced subconsciously at Li Lin, who was playing with Fawkes, a hint of doubt flashing in his eyes.

"Mr. Aatrox, could you please repeat to us what you said to Felius?"

“When a person is killed, they die.” Li Lin raised his face, his expression righteous.

Fox turned his head and made a smirk.

Snape and Dumbledore exchanged a glance, both seeing the helplessness on each other's faces.

But in any case, turning a dueling master, a top wizard, into a madman that even St. Mungo's Hospital couldn't handle through language... that's a joke that's best told in the Leaky Cauldron, where those bored wizards would have a good drink about it.

“Alright. Alright.” Dumbledore shook his head, got up, went to the window, and waved to Fawkes.

The phoenix spreads its wings, ready to take flight.

Li Lin roared, flipped over and jumped up, pinning the phoenix beneath him.

"Hmph, trying to escape? You've eaten so much of my food, and you won't even give me a taste?" Li Lin, who is extremely petty, never suffers a loss.

Caught off guard, Fox spread its wings and screeched loudly, a sound that would move anyone who heard it to tears.

"Mr. Aatrox, please stop playing with my bird." Dumbledore finally realized what was happening and quickly went over to free Fawkes from Li Lin's control, tenderly stroking the phoenix's tail feathers.

"It's mine now!" Li Lin shouted, kicking his legs as Snape held him by the arms. "That's my bird!"

A bewildered Dumbledore could only quickly scribble a note with a quill and hand it to Fawkes.

As if granted a pardon, the phoenix picked up the letter, flew swiftly out of the window, and soon disappeared from sight.

Upon seeing the phoenix fly away, Li Lin immediately deflated like a punctured balloon. Then, realizing there was still a greasy-haired guy behind him, he began to wriggle wildly like a maggot, forcing Snape to let him go.

After breaking free from Snape, Li Lin approached Dumbledore as if they were old friends and put his arm around his shoulder: "Where did my bird fly off to?"

“That’s my bird…” Dumbledore sighed, glanced at Li Lin and Snape, and decided to explain, “I just wrote a letter to an old friend of mine, Nicolas Flamel.”

Li Lin didn't remember who this person was, but seeing Snape's shocked expression, he followed suit and nodded thoughtfully.

Snape frowned. "Is it really that serious?"

As a Potions Master, he was well aware of Nicolas Flamel's unparalleled mastery of potions and alchemy. This elder, who had lived for over six hundred years, was also the only alchemist who could be called a Grandmaster.

Looking back through all of history, Nicolas Flamel is the only sage who successfully forged the Philosopher's Stone.

His achievements in alchemy and potion-making have long been a peak that all wizards aspire to reach but can never attain.

“Not only that, Severus,” Dumbledore said. “Fleming’s Philosopher’s Stone—that is, the Philosopher’s Stone—has the ability to turn lead into gold, though we all know it’s not actually turning lead into gold, but a much more subtle and profound transformation.”

"That is, the process by which base metals become precious metals after going through four cycles."

Snape's icy voice carried a hint of barely perceptible fervor, and any potion master or alchemist would surely imagine or dream of that perfectly matured crimson gem.

“Yes, even I cannot fathom the truth of the Philosopher’s Stone.” Dumbledore smiled. “Turning stone into gold, immortality… These are miracles that Muggles dream of, but great achievements for wizards. If Flamel were willing to share a portion of his magic, he could easily cure all the world’s ailments and thus quell the economic disaster caused by Grindelwald.”

“I didn’t want to do this. But Grindelwald’s long-term vision meant that he wouldn’t be limited to life and death like Voldemort. He must have searched for Nicolas Flamel’s trail several times during this period to make sure that he wouldn’t affect his plans.”

"What do you think, Mr. Aatrox?"

Dumbledore turned to look at Li Lin.

Li Lin raised his eyes to meet his gaze. His pupils were now mostly black, like the surface of a deep, dark abyss.

Snape, who was watching all this, suddenly felt his breath catch in his throat and his chest feel tight.

Is this the real face of this seemingly unreliable vice principal?

Li Lin reached out and played with the light veil hanging from the silver spirit beside him, his eyes slightly lowered, and he chuckled softly.

Finally, after a long silence, his voice echoed softly in the principal's office:

"I have heard that the greatest achievement of an alchemist is to forge the Philosopher's Stone. Unfortunately, in my opinion, even the Philosopher's Stone is not as good as real gold."

Snape opened his mouth, but fell silent amidst the clashing auras of Li Lin and Dumbledore.

Only then did he realize that the man sitting opposite Dumbledore was the financial emperor of the British wizarding world, the "savior" who single-handedly saved Knockdown Alley and Diagon Alley during this economic disaster.

If Harry Potter was the one who defeated Voldemort, then Li Lin was the one who maintained the lifeline of all wizards in the British wizarding world.

With the Ministry of Magic declared bankrupt and Gringotts nowhere to be found, who was funding all the down-on-their-luck wizards so they wouldn't starve? It was the person standing before us!

Among those penniless wizards, "Mr. Aatrox" was far more respected than Albus Dumbledore.

“I’d like to hear your opinion.” Dumbledore’s eyebrows twitched slightly. “We all know that the Philosopher’s Stone contains the truth of wealth.”

A silver veil brushed past Li Lin's fingers, and a slight smile appeared on Li Lin's lips, which were filled with happy memories.

Dumbledore is conservative... a little too much.

“Dear Mr. Albus Dumbledore, I think you’ve misunderstood something. Gold is the basic currency of this world. Whether you’re a Muggle or a wizard, a goblin or a dwarf, or even a wise dragon, as long as you have gold, any transaction can proceed normally.”

"But the Galleon, or gold-based currency, is not."

“Let me give you an example,” Li Lin said, holding up a finger. “Suppose I had a thousand Galleons right now, then I would undoubtedly be a rich man in the British wizarding world. But when I came to Grindelwald’s rule, my wealth would be greatly reduced, and I might even become penniless, because they wouldn’t recognize my wealth.”

"Unless I melt down all of this thousand Galleons and extract the gold from it."

“But doing this will also greatly reduce my wealth.” Li Lin chuckled and shook his head, “because those sons of bitches are not using pure gold at all.”

"The reason a Galleon is valued as a Galleon is because Gringotts assigns it that value, and the wizarding world acknowledges its worth. Therefore, a Galleon itself does not need to be made entirely of pure gold."

"Before the economic crisis, a Galleon only contained about 20 percent gold; the rest was all other metals. That's why fake Galleons of higher quality were accepted by wizards and goblins."

Dumbledore's throat bobbed slightly, and his wisdom quickly led him to the profound meaning behind this economic tsunami that had nearly reduced the entire wizarding world to ruins.

"Please continue."