Chapter 225: I Regret It
Chapter 225: I Regret It
An intangible wave spread through Dumbledore's office.
In the rebirth flame where Fawkes was transforming, a peculiar sound, like a log cracking in a campfire, echoed.
It was as if a lock had been opened with the right key, and something had been released from its seal.
At the same moment, at the Weasley family home, Arthur Weasley, who had just returned from the girl named Silke and learned that Sherlock was safe, suddenly froze. His mouth opened wide as he stared in the direction of Hogwarts, his entire body falling into a stunned state.
"Is it finally the day?"
In the Auror Office, Kingsley, who was studying the report brought back by the two Aurors who had scouted Derbyshire, paused momentarily. He then shook his head with a smile, looking somewhat surprised but not particularly shocked, and continued with his work.
In an unremarkable town on the outskirts of London, Mad-Eye Moody, who had been retired for two months, was carefully maintaining his wooden leg in the yard. His magical eye spun, and a light smile appeared on his lips as he tapped the adjusted leg on the ground.
"Good lad, I knew it."
In the Deputy Headmaster's office at Hogwarts Castle, the Cheshire Cat, who had been dozing on the desk, suddenly lifted her head with alertness. She gazed toward the direction of the Headmaster's Office on the eighth floor, her eyes filled with a complex and comforting human emotion.
In an unknown cottage, an elderly wizard with a walrus-like mustache, lounging on a sofa with a large belly, stared at the golden honey mead in his hand. After a long moment, he raised his glass to the air and murmured.
"To Selena."
Not only these five, but several Wizards around the world simultaneously put down their work as the seal that had kept their secrets locked away was released. Each one knew what this meant.
Inside Hogwarts, Sherlock was completely unaware of the chain reaction caused by the burning of the contract. Nothing around him had changed.
Fawkes, having completed his rebirth, was now a bald and ugly chick, lying in its nest under the golden branches, chirping with its tiny beak.
Dumbledore, having completed this, returned to his seat. He interlaced his fingers on his belly and looked at Sherlock, deep in thought about how to phrase his words before beginning to tell Sherlock the secret that had been hidden for twenty years.
Sherlock did not rush him, waiting patiently. After a long while, Dumbledore finally spoke.
"To be honest, Sherlock, when you came to my office after graduating from Hogwarts and asked to stay as a professor, I refused you and made a firm decision to keep this secret hidden from you forever, letting you live a peaceful life. At the time, I believed it was the best arrangement for you, as did everyone else who knew about it."
He did not dive straight into the secret but instead spoke about Sherlock.
Dumbledore's expression was solemn, and his voice was calmer than ever before.
"But then something unexpected happened. When you came to Hogwarts to apply for a teaching position that year, I saw your disappointment and loneliness. This made me worry. I was afraid that my well-intentioned decision might lead you down the wrong path. I had already made this mistake once and did not want to make it again, especially with you."
"Fortunately, that year also gave me a chance to change my mind. When the previously confirmed Defense Against the Dark Arts position had an unexpected turn, I had Minerva send you the appointment letter."
"At the time, many people tried to stop me. Even Minerva, who delivered the appointment letter, did not understand my decision. Many people found out about it and came to me, not wanting you to get involved, including coming to Hogwarts."
"After you became an Auror, they deliberately kept you in administrative roles. No matter how many times you applied, no matter how many people recognized your magical talent, they would never let you face any danger, not even the slightest."
"They understood very well that teaching at Hogwarts was far more dangerous than being a frontline Auror at the Ministry of Magic."
Sherlock finally understood why the original owner had always been kept in administrative roles at the Auror Office.
Clearly, everyone could see that his strength and understanding of magic were on par with any senior Auror. With some professional training and experience, he could have become a pillar of the Auror Office, like Mad-Eye Moody.
But many people, indeed, most people, did not want him to take such risks. Even an Auror as strong and experienced as Mad-Eye Moody had lost a leg and an eye.
Dumbledore’s gaze was calm as he looked at Sherlock, his eyes clearly reflecting on the events of that year.
"But I was still stubborn. Not only did I make you the Defence Professor at Hogwarts, but I also approved your application to join the Order of the Phoenix. I was afraid, just like they were, afraid that something might happen to you, afraid of breaking our initial promise, but I was even more afraid that you would give up on yourself and fall into a state of despair that no one could bear to imagine. That would only make things worse."
"My thoughts back then were quite simple. Do you remember what I said to you at the start-of-term Feast? If your performance as a professor this year did not meet my expectations, I would have to let you go the following year."
He smiled and blinked at Sherlock.
"In truth, when I said that to you, I was thinking that I would let you be a professor for a year, just to satisfy your curiosity, and then, regardless of how things went, I would let you go the next year."
Sherlock’s face also showed a helpless smile. If Dumbledore hadn’t mentioned it, he wouldn’t have thought that Dumbledore had such a mischievous idea behind his serious expression at the Feast.
"But you completely surprised me, Sherlock. Or rather, if those who opposed your appointment as a professor and your entry into the Order of the Phoenix had seen your performance, they would have been shocked."
"Perhaps you truly wanted to be a good professor. Although your performance when you first joined Hogwarts didn’t seem much different from before, I could see that you had changed a lot by then."
"By the end of that year, when you protected Harry and the others in the Gryffindor common room, dealt with Tom, and killed the Basilisk, I felt that bringing you to Hogwarts was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made."
"So I changed my mind again." He spread his hands and laughed, "If you proved that Hogwarts was the right place for you and that the position of Defence Professor was the right fit, why would I let you go? Why not make the right decision?"
"But you continued to surprise me, Sherlock."
His smile faded, and his expression became calm again.
"Even though I agreed to let you stay at Hogwarts, and even though you became increasingly excellent, the more you improved, the more I hesitated and wrestled with certain things."
"However, today might be a good time. Two years ago, I was afraid of making another mistake and decided to bring you to Hogwarts. Now, two years later, there’s no need to keep these things from you anymore."
Sherlock’s expression grew serious, realizing that the crucial part was about to come.
"The encounter with Barty Crouch Jr. tonight is surprising but not a major issue. The key is that he recognized you, recognized that you are Selena’s son", Dumbledore said softly. "If you hadn’t let a Death Eater go tonight, there might have been some room for maneuver, but now that someone has brought back information about your identity, there’s no other choice."
"Tom knows your lineage and will place you on the same level as Harry. He will do everything in his power to kill you."
The office fell silent, and only the fledgling Fawkes, nestled in its nest, chirped in discontent, as if the conversation had disturbed its rest.
Dumbledore and Sherlock looked at each other, and Dumbledore spoke slowly.
"When you were two years old, it was the height of Tom’s power in the Wizarding World. At that time, he had the strength to rival the Ministry of Magic. That was also the year his madness began."
"Within just one year, the Ministry of Magic lost nearly twenty Aurors, countless Muggles were murdered, and non-pure-blood wizards were tortured to death. Some Muggle-born wizards were so terrified that they broke their wands and renounced their wizarding identities."
"At the time, the Order of the Phoenix was still in its early stages, with few members, but everyone shared a clear consensus: although dark wizards were wreaking havoc everywhere, the root of all this chaos was just one person—the one whose name the entire Wizarding World dared not speak—Voldemort."
"Kill him, and his followers would be nothing. Everyone knew this, but no one could do it. They placed their hopes on me, believing that I was the only one who could kill Voldemort."
"However, I knew from the beginning that it wasn’t me. An old friend, who had once made a mistake, gave me a prophecy and a warning: the one who could kill him was not me, and it could not be me."
(End of Chapter)
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