After repeated consideration, Snape decided to tell Dumbledore about Narcissa's plan to sneak into Hogwarts to steal the Felix Felicis. Since the old man was willing to lend a hand to Draco, he would definitely be able to handle the matter. He also didn't want Narcissa's actions to cause trouble for Dumbledore's plan.
Although Snape himself had never used Felix Felicis, as a pharmacist, he was very clear about the magic of this potion. Once Draco used Felix Felicis, he might be able to repair the damaged Vanishing Cabinet in advance.
After the Vanishing Cabinet is completely repaired, the plan to invade Hogwarts will be advanced and become uncontrollable, which is likely to disrupt Dumbledore's original plan. This is not good news.
"Your message is timely, Severus."
After learning from Snape that Bella had obtained the Felicia Ricci and that Narcissa was planning to invade Hogwarts, Dumbledore's reaction was calmer than Snape had expected, as if it was just a trivial matter.
"Narcissa didn't tell me the exact time, and..." Snape paused and looked up at Dumbledore, "How are you going to deal with this matter?"
"There are only a few ways to sneak into Hogwarts without making a sound. With Aurors patrolling, the chances of her succeeding are low."
Dumbledore seemed to be thinking about something else. After a moment of silence, the old man suddenly murmured, "This is actually a good opportunity."
"What good opportunity?"
Snape was stunned for a moment, and suspected that Dumbledore was talking nonsense.
"It would be great if you could find out the time when Narcissa invaded Hogwarts. I hope everything will be under control."
Dumbledore remembered Albert's reminder and realized that his previous series of arrangements might not be able to keep up with the changes in the situation and he needed to revise the original plan.
"I hope everything goes as you wish."
Snape looked at Dumbledore deeply and said nothing more. He knew very well that the old man in front of him did not intend to tell him too much, and it would obviously be a waste of effort even if he continued to ask.
"I'll try my best. If you have any plans, you'd better tell me in advance." Snape looked at Dumbledore deeply, turned and left.
After Snape left the headmaster's office, Dumbledore intertwined his fingers on the table and began to think about what to do after this incident. He still hoped that Harry could get that part of the memory from his old friend.
"We are running out of time!"
Dumbledore took out a two-way mirror from the drawer of his desk and tried to contact Albert. Some things had to be discussed with the other party in advance to avoid a mess later.
"What's up?"
After a while, there was finally a reaction in the two-way mirror. Albert's face appeared on the other side of the mirror. He seemed unhappy that the old man disturbed him at this time, but he also knew that Dumbledore must have something to talk to him about, so he did not complain about being disturbed.
"As you expected, our plans may have to be advanced," Dumbledore said calmly.
After about thirty seconds of silence, the other side asked directly, "How much Fuling drug did they get?"
"One bottle, about twelve hours' supply," said Dumbledore.
"Did they return to England to find Snape?" Albert seemed to be very clear about this.
In fact, it was he who asked Bard to secretly spread the news and force Bella and Narcissa to return to England.
The bounty on them was also secretly released by Bard. Anyway, there was no need to worry about someone killing the two of them and taking the high bounty. By the way, Narcissa Malfoy could also have a taste of being wanted.
"It seems you know about this."
"If you want to find someone to chat with, we can find time to have afternoon tea together." Albert let Dumbledore get to the point.
"The development of things has indeed exceeded my expectations. If I don't have time to do some things, I'm afraid I can only ask you to do it."
If things went according to the original plan, Dumbledore would have had a few months to deal with his affairs, but now it seemed that time was running out.
Without Albert, Dumbledore would never have allowed Narcissa to enter Hogwarts, let alone allow the situation to get out of control.
Although he would try to stop the other party, it was obviously necessary to make preparations for both situations, especially after Albert made an appointment in advance.
"If I were you, I would think carefully about my last words. I know you have arranged everything, but this incident may disrupt some of your plans." Albert also felt that his words were redundant, and he added: "I will help you with divination, but don't expect to get too accurate information."
"Maybe, we can sit down and have afternoon tea and talk about these things slowly."
Dumbledore was quite satisfied with this. After closing the two-way mirror used to communicate with Albert, he began to organize his thoughts. Some things did need to be done in advance. This was not good news, but there was nothing he could do about it.
On the other side, Albert, with the two-way mirror turned off, was sitting in the study thinking about this matter. There was a question that still confused him a little: Would Bella really give the Felicity Potion to Draco Malfoy
The possibility is not high!
That crazy woman would definitely prefer to use the Felicis Felix in the operation to surround and kill Dumbledore. That thing can allow multiple Death Eaters to perform beyond their normal abilities and increase the success rate of killing Dumbledore.
However, without the Felicia Felix, it was obviously impossible for Malfoy to repair the Vanishing Cabinet in advance.
In other words, the prophesied Malfoy used the Felicity Potion to repair the Vanishing Cabinet in advance.
If Malfoy had access to Felicia Felix, it could only have come from his mother, Narcissa. The chances of him stealing it from Slughorn are highly unlikely.
Bella and Narcissa got two bottles of Felicis
It's possible, but the probability is not high.
The white mist above the crystal ball spun rapidly, and a clear picture appeared in front of Albert: a young girl in school uniform was pointing her wand at Professor Slughorn.
This is... Narcissa Malfoy
Was that woman planning to sneak into the school and steal Slughorn's supply of Felicity
Albert immediately understood what was going on.
The question now is: Did Dumbledore know about this
If he knew and allowed it to happen, why did he do that
What did Professor Slughorn have in mind
Albert tapped his fingers on the parchment. "So, it's about Professor Slughorn's memory that he doesn't want to talk about?"
"Is it because of me?" Albert murmured, "What a pitfall! This mistake should be corrected."
After he found out the reason for the advance schedule, he didn't mind correcting the mistake.
The more time Dumbledore had to prepare, the less trouble he would have to deal with. And if Slughorn's stock of Felicia Ralph was looted, who knew how much damage the Death Eaters who got hold of it would cause.
Since things are already difficult to avoid, why can't we make the situation controllable
Narcissa was going to steal Slughorn's Felicity, so why couldn't he steal Narcissa's Felicity
Albert waved his wand and unfolded the large map of Hogwarts on the desk. Looking at the densely packed names of students on the map, he took out his wand and tapped it lightly, preparing to highlight Malfoy's name.
…
At the same time, Draco Malfoy, who was far away in Hogwarts, seemed to feel something and couldn't help shivering.
"What's going on?"
He muttered as he looked at the damaged apple in the broken cabinet. He picked it up, looked at it carefully, and then angrily threw it into the garbage pile next to him.
Failed again.
Malfoy scratched his hair frantically. Similar things had happened countless times since he came into contact with this broken cabinet. Failure again and again was making him lose his patience.
what to do
Ask Snape for help
No, if asking Snape for help would have been helpful, this broken cabinet would have been repaired long ago.
Malfoy took out a two-way mirror from his pocket, but did not use it in the end. Instead, he put the mirror back into his pocket, took out the notebook on repairing the Vanishing Cabinet and continued to read it, trying to find a way to repair the Vanishing Cabinet.
At this moment, the voice of his mother Narcissa suddenly came from the two-way mirror, which scared Draco who was carefully reading his notes. He hurriedly reached out to take out the mirror, but accidentally dropped it on the ground and broke into several pieces.
"Mom, is there anything you want to talk to me about?" Draco breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that the cracked two-way mirror could still be used.
"I remember you were taking Potions classes." Narcissa's question confused Draco.
"What's wrong?" Malfoy asked.
"I need you to help us get some hair from other students taking Potions with you, preferably girls," said Narcissa.
"What do you want hair for?"
Draco was even more confused, and had no idea what his mother wanted her hair for.
"Your Aunt Bella and I got some Felicis Felix in Europe, but the amount is not enough. Your Aunt Bella plans to use Felicis Felix to sneak into Hogwarts and get more Felicis Felix from Slughorn."
Narcissa did not say that she was the one who was going to break into Hogwarts, but Bella, because she knew very well that once she said she was going to sneak into Hogwarts, Draco would never help her.
In fact, Draco was really shocked by the news. When he reacted, he quickly said, "No, absolutely not. Even if Aunt Bella can really get the Felicis from Slughorn, it won't work. Once this matter is exposed, our next plan will be completely ruined."
This is also the main reason why Malfoy never took Slughorn's Felicity Potion. It's not that he didn't want it, but he couldn't afford the cost of failure.
"Don't worry, Bella knows the importance of this and won't cause any trouble for your plan." Narcissa said softly to comfort her, but the effect was not very good. Draco knew too well what kind of person his aunt Bella was.
"We need more Felicis, but we won't be stupid enough to mess this up."
Seeing that Draco was not willing to give in, Narcissa continued, "Severus also knows about this. We have already persuaded him to help us hold back Slughorn, so you don't have to worry. Bella will leave Hogwarts as soon as she gets the Felicis Felicis, and she will take a small amount of Felicis Felicis before taking action to ensure that the entire plan goes smoothly."
Narcissa did not lie about one thing, Snape did promise to provide them with convenience.
As for the hair problem, it would be more appropriate to leave it to Draco.
Because she needed someone to help create opportunities to avoid the embarrassment of an accidental encounter between the two of them.
Malfoy's eyes widened in surprise, not knowing what to do.
That night, he went to see Snape and planned to talk to him about this matter.
Knowing clearly that Snape was probably using him, even Malfoy didn't know why he still trusted Snape. Maybe it was because they were all on the same ship, or maybe he just wanted to survive with his family.
If the plan to assassinate Dumbledore failed, everyone would die, including Snape himself.
So, Malfoy hoped that Snape would succeed.
"Why are you here?"
Snape opened the door and saw Malfoy standing outside. He frowned slightly, but still moved aside to let Malfoy enter the room.
"Mother said that Aunt Bella was planning to sneak into Hogwarts and steal the Felicia Rinpoche from Slughorn," Malfoy said straight to the point.
He could do little to help in this matter, so he had to find out Snape's attitude towards it.
"I know about that," Snape said calmly.
"Why… "
“Why not stop them?”
"Yes, I don't think we should take any risks." Malfoy frowned.
"I think you may have made a mistake." Snape looked at Draco and asked, "What makes you think I can stop them?"
Malfoy suddenly fell silent.
"What if she fails?"
"If she messes up while using Felix Felicis, I'll report her to Dumbledore," Snape said grimly.
"Use Aunt Bella to gain Dumbledore's trust?" Malfoy opened his mouth slightly, not knowing what to say.
"Yes," Snape admitted flatly.
"However, from what I understand, it was not Bella who wanted to come to Hogwarts to steal the Felicia Rinpoche, but your mother Narcissa."
Malfoy's eyes widened at Snape's words.
"You mean..." Malfoy could hardly believe his ears.
"I think she's willing to take this risk for you," Snape said calmly, "If it was Bella, I definitely wouldn't agree to help."
"But, how could that be, you should stop her." Malfoy said loudly.
"Narcissa is an adult and has her own judgment. Do you really think you can convince her to give up?" Snape sneered, "Why don't you look at yourself?"
"I?"
Malfoy was silent, he understood what Snape meant.
"Narcissa's plan has a high success rate," Snape said coldly, "and even if we are unwilling to help her, she will still do it, it will just be more troublesome. As for the failure of the plan, I think she should be aware of the consequences and be mentally prepared."