"Do you think that child won't even let us eat the birthday cake?"

"Impossible. Besides, knowing Ellena, that girl is particularly fair. As long as you're good to her, she'll definitely repay you double..."

Hogwarts Castle, Headmaster's office.

Dumbledore and Grindelwald, who had just returned from Diagon Alley, walked down the stairs, chatting and laughing. Grindelwald patted the long package in his hand with satisfaction, looking quite pleased.

"Anyway, I gave her the latest model of a flying broom. There shouldn't be any problems. If Ellena still doesn't allow you to eat sweets, I can always share a bite of cake with you."

"The cake isn't important, I just hope she can remain this calm..."

Dumbledore shook his head with a wry smile, glancing at the cake box in his hand.

Ever since he brought this little troublemaker into Hogwarts, he's felt like he's aged many times over. If it were in his younger days, no matter how big the event, at least his heart wouldn't feel this uncomfortable.

"Professor Dumbledore! You're finally back! Come and judge, this is simply outrageous!"

Just then, an urgent and slightly agitated voice came from the Headmaster's desk downstairs – it was Professor Pomona Sprout, the Head of Hufflepuff House.

Albus Dumbledore's heart skipped a beat, and the relaxed smile on his face vanished instantly.

In Dumbledore's memory, this gentle witch had never raised her voice in such an emotional way before. Judging by the sounds coming from the Headmaster's office below, it seemed that Professor Sprout wasn't the only one present.

"Professor Dumbledore, there was a rather complicated group infraction this afternoon."

"Just so you know, I don't think it was my house's kids."

"In any case, Gryffindor House must be severely punished for starting the provocation."

Along with Professor Sprout's reminder, Professors Minerva McGonagall, Severus Snape, and Filius Flitwick also turned to look, casting a further shadow of foreboding over Dumbledore's heart.

What's going on?!

He had only been away from Hogwarts for less than half a day. How could something big have happened again? Couldn't that dear Miss Ellena Kaslana just calm down a little? And this time, four houses were involved. There was no way to let it go lightly as before. Perhaps he needed to consider expulsion or suspension warnings?

Dumbledore walked down the stairs, looking at the four House Heads with particularly grim expressions in the office below. Countless thoughts flashed through his mind, and his expression gradually became serious and solemn. No matter how talented Ellena was, if she didn't have a sense of awe and respect for the rules, then her future influence on the magical world would only be negative, not positive.

Although no one had ever dared to question Albus Dumbledore, there was no doubt that the emergence of two Dark Lords in modern European magical history was directly or indirectly related to Dumbledore.

Therefore, for Dumbledore, he would rather not cultivate the next guardian of the magical world than create a terrifying third-generation Dark Lord for future wizards because of his own reasons.

"We'll deal with these issues bit by bit later. First..."

Thinking of this, a glint of decisiveness flashed in Dumbledore's azure eyes as he said in a deep voice.

"Where is Ellena Kaslana, who caused all this trouble, right now?!"

"Ellena?"

The professors looked at each other, a hint of confusion in their eyes, and shook their heads.

Faced with Albus Dumbledore's question, most of the House Heads were temporarily stunned. Everything was already such a mess, who would care where a first-year student was this afternoon.

"Um... if I had to guess, she should still be with Hagrid."

Snape thought for a moment, glanced at the solemn-looking Headmaster of Hogwarts, and said softly.

"Anyway, she doesn't need to report to the Potions classroom this afternoon. You know that, Professor Dumbledore."

"I don't understand, what does this have to do with our house's Ellena?"

Pomona Sprout frowned heavily, looking at Professor Dumbledore with displeasure, her tone particularly impolite.

"Professor Dumbledore, as someone who witnessed almost the entire process, I can say with certainty that this matter has absolutely nothing to do with Miss Kaslana. In fact, most of the Hufflepuff students probably just found out."

Hmm? So Ellena wasn't involved this time?

Hearing Professor Sprout and Professor Snape's words, Dumbledore's tense mood relaxed slightly.

Since Ellena wasn't involved, it was probably just a regular, sudden situation on the Hogwarts campus. No matter what happened, at least most of it could be traced and was a recurring event that could be controlled.

"Um... well, this... it's Ellena's birthday today, this is the cake I bought for her."

Dumbledore coughed lightly in embarrassment, raised the cake box in his hand, and quickly explained.

"After all, as you all know, that child has put a lot of thought and effort into improving the catering for the entire school these days. As the Headmaster of Hogwarts, I think I should thank her a little."

As he spoke, Dumbledore naturally put down the cake box in his hand, calmed himself, and looked at the House Heads in the office with a smile, calmly asking.

"So, what exactly happened that caused you all to argue so fiercely?"

"Simply put, the students from Gryffindor, Slytherin, and Ravenclaw got into a fight on the grounds outside Hogwarts Castle during the break before the second class this afternoon."

Professor McGonagall pushed up her glasses and said with a serious expression, her face looking particularly grim.

Counting the number of times, this was already the second large-scale student conflict this week, and from the current situation, it seemed that Gryffindor House was initiating the provocation every time, which made the Deputy Headmistress of Hogwarts even angrier.

"They fought again?! And it involved three houses?!"

Dumbledore's pupils shrank, and the relaxed mood he had just felt instantly tightened again. He asked with a grave expression.

"What's the situation now? How badly are the students injured? Where is Madam Pomfrey?"

"Humph, no one's injured. These students put on a show together, there's no need to go to the infirmary at all."

Professor Sprout couldn't help but snort coldly, the cold light in her eyes growing sharper.

"Phew, that's good..."

Dumbledore breathed a sigh of relief. As long as no students were injured, then it wasn't a big problem.

As the Headmaster of Hogwarts, he was most afraid of serious problems such as students being injured or even dying. As long as people were still alive, then there was always room for maneuver and handling...

"But! These robbers stole the entire Hufflepuff garden!"

Before the smile on Dumbledore's face could spread, Professor Sprout stomped her feet in anger, gritting her teeth and saying in a cold voice, her whole person looking as if shrouded in a visible layer of fire.

"What clever children?! They even deceived me, acting in front of me, and then dividing up the hard work of the Hufflepuff students in the chaos! They didn't even spare the ground of the garden, not to mention leaving some roots, even the soil was scraped away by several feet!!!"

"Professor McGonagall, Professor Snape, Professor Flitwick... I don't care what role the students of each of your houses played in it, but there's one thing I'm making very clear: all the vegetables taken from the Hufflepuff garden must be returned, there's no room for discussion."

From the beginning, Professor Sprout's goal was very clear.

There should be absolutely no leniency for such vicious robbery.

If Hogwarts School chose to deal with the situation with the so-called "law doesn't punish the masses" because of the large number of students from the three houses, then it would seriously affect the growth direction of the students' values throughout the school. All the devils hidden in the children's hearts might be released.

Professor Sprout's tone was particularly intense, and the wand in her hand was unconsciously grasped.

Although the short, chubby her was only slightly taller than Professor Flitwick, in terms of momentum, she seemed like a giant crowding the entire room, exuding a sharp edge that was difficult to look directly at. Without a doubt, an honest person, when truly angry, is one of the most terrifying existences in the world.

In fact, the heads of the other three houses no longer had much doubt about Professor Sprout's request.

Returning all stolen items and imposing extremely severe punishments were things that every house head unanimously agreed on, but because the matter was of great importance, they still hoped to investigate it thoroughly and make the most appropriate and proper result.

After all, their every decision was likely to affect a student, or even the future life trajectory and growth path of this group of students, and they had to be particularly cautious and serious.

Therefore, the method of punishment was particularly important – it must not be too crude, nor too easy to let go.

"Cough, I understand. This is indeed a matter that must be seriously discussed and investigated."

After listening to the discussion of the house heads for a while, Dumbledore quickly outlined the general process of the entire event in his mind, nodded thoughtfully, and said softly without panic.

"However, I agree with some of Professor Sprout's views. In any case, first of all, tonight we need to ensure that the children of Hufflepuff House are not affected in any way – this we must guarantee. As for the subsequent punishment, we can slowly investigate and discuss it later."

No innocent child should suffer undue loss and suffering because of the malice and greed of others. This was a point that Dumbledore particularly agreed with, so between maintaining rights and punishing mistakes, he first chose the former.

"Pomona, don't worry, the Hufflepuff children will definitely be..."

Bang!

Just then, the door of the Headmaster's office was suddenly pushed open.

All the wizards in the Headmaster's office subconsciously stopped chattering and turned to look behind them.

Hagrid stood panting at the door, his face mixed with anger and self-reproach, and next to him stood several small witches with equally grim faces... Hermione, Hannah, Luna, and of course, Ellena Kaslana, whom Dumbledore had asked about earlier.

"Professor Dumbledore... um? Professor Sprout is here too?! Bad news, everyone! The Huffle- the Hufflepuff House kids, taking advantage of me and Ellena not paying attention, directly took over the Hogwarts teaching staff garden!"

Looking at the half-giant who suddenly broke into the Headmaster's office, and hearing what came out of the giant's mouth.

The expression on Albus Dumbledore's face instantly froze, and he stared blankly at Professor Sprout, who was also stunned, and the white-haired furball with a look of grievance, and suddenly felt a familiar chest tightness for no reason.

This…

Heart…

Help…