Chapter 4

Dumbledore nodded and said,

"Then, let's get to the main topic. So, do you know what this locket is?"

Phineas nodded,

"I know, it's the thing you thought of, a foolish and erroneous magic."

Dumbledore looked at Phineas and asked,

"You say it's a foolish magic?"

Phineas nodded,

"I don't believe that in your hundred years of experience, you wouldn't know that this magic was originally created to cut the soul to save one's life when a soul curse is cast. That person took the wrong path. The Horcrux can indeed ensure that his soul remains intact, but to achieve immortality through this is a joke. The consequence of a split soul is emotional instability, and almost all positive emotional magic becomes unusable."

Dumbledore sighed,

"Yes, he took the wrong path. However, I'm still not sure how far he has gone down this wrong path. Well, let's not talk about this. I think, since you told me about Regulus Black and handed me this locket, what do you want?"

Phineas nodded,

"Of course, there are some things I need your help with. I want you to cast the Fidelius Charm on this house to hide it."

Dumbledore frowned, looked deeply at Phineas for a moment, and then nodded,

"Alright, who will be the Secret-Keeper?"

Phineas looked at Dumbledore and smiled,

"Headmaster, at this time, I don't trust any of the Black family's relatives. So, could you be my Secret-Keeper?"

Dumbledore was taken aback and asked,

"What are you worried about?"

Phineas looked at Dumbledore with a mocking expression,

"I don't believe you don't know what inheriting the Black family's fortune as a child would bring. Moreover, there are people outside who have ill intentions towards the Black family. My older brother was wrongly sent to Azkaban, and I don't believe you were unaware of this."

Dumbledore nodded,

"Yes, Sirius betraying James is such an unbelievable thing. They were so close, like brothers."

Phineas nodded,

"Yes, at that time, even the Blacks who didn't join the Death Eaters supported that person. But my older brother chose to join your Order of the Phoenix. I don't believe someone like him would betray you in the end. Although I don't have much memory of him, from the family diary, he was a somewhat arrogant and carefree person. Such a person is unlikely to become the Secret-Keeper in a conventional way."

Dumbledore's eyes lit up,

"Right, if he wasn't the Secret-Keeper, then someone else betrayed. Well, let's not talk about this. Now, I will cast the Fidelius Charm for you. Oh, by the way, the Secret-Keeper can be you yourself. After all, you said you don't trust anyone now."

Phineas was taken aback; he had forgotten this point,

"Alright, but Headmaster, I still trust you. If even the greatest white wizard can't be trusted, then we really need to despair of this world."

Dumbledore smiled at Phineas,

"Now, I'm looking forward to the day you join Hogwarts. But the Secret-Keeper should be you. After all, I have too many secrets to protect, don't I?"

As he said this, he winked at Phineas.

Phineas nodded, bowed to Dumbledore, and said,

"Then, I'll leave it to you, Headmaster."

The Fidelius Charm is an extremely complex spell that uses magic to hide a person's secret in the soul of a living person. Casting such a spell requires a great deal of magic and rich experience, after all, it involves casting a spell on the soul, and any unexpected events are not considered unusual.

However, Dumbledore had cast this spell more than once, and he successfully hid the house. From then on, unless Phineas voluntarily revealed the location of the house, no one could find it, not even owls.

Immediately after completing the spell, Phineas told Dumbledore the location of the house. After all, he still needed to receive the Hogwarts acceptance letter, though it might require Dumbledore to deliver it personally.

"Since everything is done, I'll leave first. Yes, by the way, although I'm very busy, if a young wizard writes to me to ask about some magical knowledge, I think I still have time."

Dumbledore winked at Phineas and disappeared.

Phineas understood the meaning of his last words.

It wasn't that Dumbledore saw Phineas's talent and wanted to teach him, but rather, he was telling him not to read those magic books on his own and to ask him if he had any questions.

Dumbledore was preventing the emergence of another Voldemort.

Phineas shook his head disdainfully and said to the air,

"Kreacher!"

Kreacher appeared beside him,

"Take me to Ollivander's wand shop in Diagon Alley. Yes, let's go to Gringotts first."

Kreacher snapped his fingers and took Phineas to Diagon Alley.

Diagon Alley is the largest magical commercial street in Britain, with numerous flagship stores of the magical world, as well as Gringotts, the wizards' bank, and Ollivander's wand shop, the best wand shop in Britain.

Phineas's current goal was Gringotts and Ollivander's wand shop.

Gringotts is a very prominent building, a tall white structure at the intersection of Diagon Alley and Knockturn Alley, known as the second safest place in the world after Hogwarts.

Gringotts is operated by a group of goblins, and only they can lead the way on the rotating underground mine carts to reach the vaults, and only goblins can open the vaults to retrieve the stored wealth.

As a bank, Phineas's purpose for coming here was to withdraw money.

At the entrance, there are two large doors. The first is a shiny bronze door, with a goblin guard in a scarlet and gold uniform standing at the entrance.

The second is a silver door, with the following words engraved on the side of the door:

"Enter, stranger, but take heed,

What awaits you is no less than greed,

Those who take without giving,

Shall face the harshest of fates,

So if you wish to take from our underground vaults,

A fortune that is not yours,

Thief, you have been warned,

Beware, for what you seek is not treasure, but woe."

Entering this door marks the official entry into the interior of Gringotts. Inside is a spacious marble hall, with about a hundred goblins sitting behind long counters, hastily recording in large ledgers.