Dumbledore wearily took off his glasses.
He looked like he needed some rest.
"Legends are legends because their true forms have long been blurred by the erosion of time."
"Too much has happened today."
"We all need to go back and think things through."
"You can leave this bottle of memory with me for now."
Weilan didn't object, as he couldn't take Dumbledore's Pensieve back to the dormitory.
All the way back to the Hospital Wing, his head was still spinning.
"Slytherin actually used his own daughter to create a Blood Horcrux! He's truly mad..."
"Speaking of which, Slytherin actually developed Time magic for creating a Blood Horcrux."
"That's not strange, that Slytherin's notebook hinted at it..."
Weilan thought of the Slytherin's notebook he had obtained shortly after the start of the term.
Besides Dark Arts, it also mentioned that Slytherin had obtained a drop of Merlin's blood.
By studying this drop of Merlin's blood, Slytherin gradually assimilated some basic concepts of Time magic.
Presumably, Slytherin's research on Time magic had progressed well enough to support him in completing the creation of a Blood Horcrux.
Although the ritual ultimately failed...
"Could Olena want me to help her create a Blood Horcrux too?"
Weilan thought.
But... something felt off.
If that were the case, where were Olena's relatives? Where was her Horcrux?
It didn't quite make sense...
"My dear, you don't look well."
Madam Pomfrey walked over with a simple dinner, gently touching his forehead with concern:
"Were you too tired from going out today?"
"A little, yes." Weilan quickly reined in his wandering thoughts, took the dinner from Madam Pomfrey's hand, "Thank you for bringing me food! I think I'm almost better, when can I go back to the dormitory?"
"My dear, you still need to be observed."
Madam Pomfrey put her hands on her hips and glared at him, speaking in a slightly displeased tone.
Seeing that he couldn't argue with the diligent school healer, Weilan could only yawn, pull the covers over his head, and go to bed early.
On the fourth morning of his hospitalization, Weilan had a good appetite and ate a large piece of jam bread.
"That's more like it!" Madam Pomfrey happily collected the plate, "Eat more! Rest more! You'll be discharged very soon!"
Weilan's face was rosy, and he smiled at Madam Pomfrey, then turned to look out the window.
Christmas holidays had already begun a few days ago, and heavy snow was falling outside. Weilan occasionally saw some students staying at school playing in the snow.
His desire to be discharged became even more urgent.
"Oh, right! My dear, you have letters and a package this morning."
Madam Pomfrey handed Weilan a bulging small pouch and a letter.
"It's Mrs. Lupin!"
Weilan recognized the sender's name on the envelope at a glance.
He then opened the small blue pouch, and the cute little Galleons packed inside instantly captured his full attention.
"Mrs. Lupin is truly a good person—"
Weilan suppressed the urge to cry and opened the letter from Mrs. Lupin.
"I heard from Remus that you are a diligent and frugal good child, and also a child who works hard for a living."
"Mrs. Crouch's commission fell through. The Galleons she promised you might have been your capital to enjoy a good Christmas holiday. But now all of that is gone..."
"The thought of a child like you having to curl up in the dormitory and spend a long Christmas holiday alone, while also having to save every penny and not spend money, makes me feel very sad."
"So, James, the Longbottoms, Carson, and I, we raised 10 Galleons for you. Please take them! This is your reward for bravely repelling the enemy in the Forbidden Forest!"
Weilan counted, and there were indeed ten Galleons in the money pouch.
Weilan received the Aurors' kind intentions.
However, he was still concerned about the progress of the investigation into Bader's Death.
The letter was not over yet.
Mrs. Lupin spoke about the progress of the investigation into Bader's Death:
"After receiving your tip, we raided the entire Crouch Manor and took Mrs. Crouch in for repeated interrogation."
"We used the Priori Incantatem to check Mrs. Crouch's wand. We found that she had used the Killing Curse on Thursday of the week before last."
"This was exactly the time of Bader's Death."
"Further examination showed that the Killing Curse released by this wand matched the residual traces of the Killing Curse on Bader."
"It was Mrs. Crouch who murdered Bader Crouch—this should have been an undeniable fact, with irrefutable evidence."
"However, that woman spent a large sum of money to hire the best lawyers to defend herself. That team of lawyers argued that the Aurors could not prove that Mrs. Crouch was holding the wand and killed Bader at the time of the incident."
"All her charges were dropped, and the accusations against Mrs. Crouch were thus dismissed by the jury."
"Carson said you always have a way. So he asked me to ask you, what should we do to prove Mrs. Crouch's guilt?"
The letter ended there.
The question Mrs. Lupin posed at the end of the letter didn't make Weilan ponder for too long.
He took out some parchment, a quill, and a nearly empty bottle of ink.
After adding a little water to the ink bottle, Weilan dipped the quill in the ink.
He thought for a moment, then began writing his reply.
"The most crucial point in this case is still the primary crime scene."
"The reason you cannot prove that Mrs. Crouch committed the murder and killed Bader is that you haven't found the primary crime scene."
"Find a way to determine where Bader was killed, that way you can find evidence pointing to Mrs. Crouch."
"Regarding how to find the primary crime scene, I can offer you a few methods, but they are for reference only."
"The first, more aggressive method, is rather insidious but the most effective. That is to find an opportunity for Mrs. Crouch to 'accidentally' drink Veritaserum. Then, the truth, whether real or fake, will be revealed."
"The second, more conservative method. Through magical means, combined with eyewitness testimonies, reconstruct Bader's entire travel route on the day he disappeared. By following this route, you will eventually discover where Bader died."
Weilan troubled Madam Pomfrey, asking her to go to the Owlery to help him send his reply to Mrs. Lupin.
"Tsk tsk, don't those Aurors have Christmas holidays?"
Weilan looked out the window at the low, snowy sky, and couldn't help but feel sympathy for the Aurors who were still busy investigating the case.
He hoped Bader's case would eventually have a satisfactory resolution.