https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-565-Magical-Creatures-in-the-Arctic/13461541/
Chapter 566: Truth and Illusion
Chapter 566: Truth and Illusion (Request for Monthly Votes)
In the club activity room, Harry, Ron, and Hermione were arguing heatedly.
"Harry, we shouldn't jump to conclusions. Remember, in our first year, you thought Professor Snape was planning to steal the Philosopher's Stone, but he was actually keeping an eye on Quirinus Quirrell. He even protected you when Quirrell tried to make you fall off your flying broom."
Hermione used magic to lock the door and cast a few interference spells to ensure they could talk freely about dangerous topics without being overheard.
"I know", Harry said gloomily.
"And in our second year—"
"Thanks for bringing up second year. He wanted to expel me and Ron at the start of the year, so don't tell me he was protecting me, Hermione. His brain can't magically connect with Dobby's, and he didn't even know the Chamber of Secrets would be opened."
"Oh, um..." Hermione was at a loss for words. "In third year, he was on our side..."
"Should we give him a medal for not aligning with the Dementors?" Harry said irritably. "Hermione, why are you always defending him? He was a bloody Death Eater!"
Hermione was silent for a few seconds. "But Headmaster Dumbledore defended him. You told us yourself, Harry, remember? You saw it in the Pensieve..."
"He—doesn't—deserve—trust", Harry said through gritted teeth.
"Who?"
Harry didn't speak.
Ron and Hermione looked at him anxiously. "You mean Headmaster Dumbledore—how can you think that—"
Harry remained silent.
He harbored a huge secret that weighed heavily on him, and he wasn't sure if he should tell Ron and Hermione. This secret had nothing to do with Snape but everything to do with Headmaster Dumbledore. In the stack of letters Sirius had given him, Harry had learned a shocking truth.
"Have you been having nightmares recently, Harry?" Hermione asked softly, glancing at Ron, who shook his head, indicating he knew nothing.
"No", Harry said expressionlessly, but Ron and Hermione looked even more worried. After much hesitation, Harry pulled a letter from his pocket and handed it to Hermione.
Hermione read it immediately:
"Dear Padfoot—" She paused. "Who wrote this letter?"
"My mom", Harry said. "Keep reading."
"Oh, alright.
Dear Padfoot:
Thank you, thank you for the birthday gift for Harry! It's his favorite toy. At just one year old, he's already flying around on his toy broom, and he looks so happy. I've attached a photo for you to see.
It's a shame you couldn't come...
James is feeling a bit cooped up here, though he tries not to show it. But I can tell—Dumbledore still has the Invisibility Cloak, so there's no chance to go out. If you could come, he'd be so happy.
Wormtail visited last weekend. I think he's feeling down, maybe because of the Mckinnons' news. I cried all night when I heard.
Bathilda often comes over. She's a funny old lady, and she tells lots of stories about Dumbledore. It's hard to imagine! I don't know how much to believe, but it's hard to believe Dumbledore was ever friends with the Dark Lord Gellert Grindelwald, who terrorized Europe, and that they became close because of their shared ideals!
But Bathilda claims to be Grindelwald's aunt, so if that's true, it's hard to doubt her other stories. She has no reason to lie. She even revealed a detail: the slogan 'For the Greater Good,' which Grindelwald later used to justify his atrocities and gain fame, apparently first appeared in a letter Dumbledore wrote to his close friend Grindelwald. It's unbelievable.
There are even more unbelievable things, but I can't write them in this letter. Perhaps we shouldn't be too harsh on a seventeen-year-old. Think about it, we were so foolish back then, and James still thinks everyone should know about Quidditch!
Let's stop here. I can hear Harry crying, and I hope it's not because James was being too boring. If that's the case, I'll give him a good knock on the head... Sigh, it's still hard for me to believe that Dumbledore would be friends with Gellert Grindelwald. Personally, I think he must have been a bit confused!
With all my love, Lily.”
Harry saw the shock on Ron and Hermione’s faces, almost identical to his own when he first read the letter. For a moment, he felt the gentle gaze of his mother through her handwriting, a tenderness he had never experienced in his memories. But in the next moment, the cold reality pulled him back to the present. His heart felt torn in two. One half was joyful and bittersweet, knowing that they once had a cat, and that Sirius had bought him his first flying broom. His mother was as kind and gentle as everyone had told him, perhaps a bit sentimental...
But the other half, Harry couldn’t describe his feelings. He encountered a more real Dumbledore, a seventeen-year-old Dumbledore, only two years younger than he was now. At that time, Dumbledore had become close friends with the future Dark Lord, Gellert Grindelwald, sharing the same ideals... How ironic that sounded!
And the Invisibility Cloak, Harry thought. Dumbledore took the Invisibility Cloak, but why? A great wizard like Dumbledore didn’t need an Invisibility Cloak to become invisible. He remembered the unreliable theory he, Ron, and Hermione had once proposed: the Deathly Hallows... the Invisibility Cloak held by the third brother...
If Dumbledore, in his youth, had been so friendly with someone who aimed to establish a new order dominated by wizards, did they share an interest in the Deathly Hallows, the legendary items that could make one the master of Death? To build an eternal reign, like Voldemort? Harry felt ashamed of his thoughts, how could he compare Dumbledore to Voldemort? But he found it hard to dismiss the idea, and even harder not to think that if Dumbledore hadn’t taken the Invisibility Cloak, his family might not have died.
Harry stubbornly ignored the fact that Dumbledore, Professor Flitwick, and Professor Moody had all seen through the Invisibility Cloak. He clung to the unverifiable possibility, oscillating between hope and resentment. He buried everything deep inside, locking it away with Occlumency, until it burst out during his conversation with Hermione.
He felt resentment coursing through his veins, and he looked at Ron and Hermione with intense eyes. See, Headmaster Dumbledore isn’t as perfect as we thought... He took a twisted pleasure in their nearly broken expressions.
“Harry,” Hermione hesitated, “I know this is hard to believe, but it’s understandable—”
“Understandable?” Harry shouted, “Understandable? You know he—”
“Yes, I know,” Hermione said, running her fingers through her hair, pacing around the common room, “I know... Talented people always have many ideas, especially in their most creative years. Some are even more outlandish than this—”
“Who?” Harry suddenly asked.
“What—”
“You said some people are more outlandish than Dumbledore. I can’t think of anyone—”
“That’s not important!” Hermione snapped, “We all know Headmaster Dumbledore is now in the Headmaster’s Office. He didn’t participate in any of Grindelwald’s speeches or atrocities. Instead, he stopped him.”
“He took the Invisibility Cloak,” Harry said through gritted teeth, stubbornly.
“Harry, I... I’m sorry. I know you’re hurting, but we all know the Invisibility Cloak couldn’t protect them from V-Voldemort. Their fate was sealed the moment Peter Pettigrew betrayed them—”
“I! Don’t! Believe! In! Fate!” Harry shouted, his voice distorted by anger.
Hermione glanced at him cautiously, her eyes signaling Ron to help. Ron seemed to still be in shock, struggling to gather his thoughts. "Yeah, Harry, I think Hermione has a point..."
"Which part?" Harry said through gritted teeth.
"Um, well... the idea that geniuses are always different, and they tend to be quite mature. Like Professor Hup, and of course, you—" Ron said slowly.
"Me?" Harry looked at Ron in disbelief, the anger in his heart strangely subsiding a bit, though not because Ron called him a genius. That was absurd.
"Yeah, you", Ron's tone became smoother, but his speech remained slow, as if he was making it up on the spot. "No other kid our age has gone through as much as you have. To be blunt, even Dumbledore..." He pursed his lips, still unable to say anything too harsh. "You've set your sights on one of the world's most powerful wizards, thwarted his plots multiple times, and even formed an Auror training program—"
"My grades—" Harry opened his mouth to protest.
"To be honest, they're pretty unbelievable. I collect Chocolate Frog Cards, you know the 'Invincible Andros'? He's famous for summoning a Patronus the size of a giant, and you did that at fifteen—"
"I used Runic Script—"
"But no one else, besides Professor Hup, has publicly demonstrated that, right? And your practical skills are already above the average Auror level. You've defeated Sirius in training, so he doesn't even call on you in class—"
"That was just sparring", Harry's face turned a bit red.
Ron patted his shoulder. "Harry, do you know what the other graduates say about you? You're the undisputed student leader. No one else would dare to claim that."
"I'm sorry", Hermione interjected coldly, "I haven't heard that."
"You're not a graduate", Ron said without thinking. "Collins told me, and the videos of the last two Triwizard Tournament matches are selling like hotcakes... Harry, your fame isn't just because of the scar on your forehead. Come to think of it, I'm pretty famous too, I get fan mail..."
Harry and Hermione stared at him in disbelief.
Ron chuckled awkwardly. "Of course, not as many as you, but what can I complain about?"
Harry felt a strange sensation. He didn't know how the conversation had turned to whether he was a genius, but his resentment towards Dumbledore had definitely lessened, and the gloom that had been weighing on him for days had lifted.
"Even if what you say is true, it still shows that Headmaster Dumbledore can make mistakes", he said stiffly.
"I have an idea", Hermione said.
Harry looked at her, asking, "What is it?" but not really expecting much.
"Write a letter", Hermione's lips curved into a slight smile. She took out a blank parchment and a quill from her bag, and with a flick of her wand, the quill began writing on the parchment in a style completely different from Hermione's.
Harry and Ron leaned in from either side, and they saw the first line: 'Dear Felix.' Both of them were stunned.
"Dear Felix", Felix read the letter with a peculiar expression, thinking he'd never hear from 'Miss Jane' again. He continued reading—
"Please forgive my boldness in writing to you. My last letter was rather pessimistic, but things are gradually improving.
Although the difficult situation hasn't passed, I believe the future will be better. Lately, my mind has been filled with many strange ideas, like a thousand Billywigs arguing incessantly. Perhaps turning these stories into a book would be a hit?
I don't think I'll become a writer, but the characters in this story seem to have come to life. The problems they face are the same ones that trouble me, as if they exist in reality. I urgently need valuable feedback, if you're willing...
The story is set in a remote and isolated town. The mayor is a respected elder who fought in the war and personally captured a notorious bandit. After returning to the town, he became the protector of the townspeople, and everyone respects him.
However, a few formerly powerful individuals believe the old mayor has threatened their interests. They have gathered around a brutal and evil leader, plotting to overthrow the old mayor and regain their former high status.
In the town's herbal medicine shop lived a boy. Among his neighbors was an enthusiastic and cheerful girl, who was the same age as him. They later became good friends.
After starting school, although the boy and the girl were not in the same class, their friendship continued. During this time, two significant events happened to the boy. He joined a school group that admired the ideologies of a gang that terrorized the surrounding areas. The girl always tried to persuade the boy to leave, but he wanted fame and never agreed. The other event was that, in the last two years before graduation, he had a falling out with the girl.
After graduation, the boy secretly joined the criminal gang, while the girl became a police officer and married her suitor. The girl and her suitor thwarted the gang's plots several times, which infuriated the gang leader. He personally killed them, leaving behind only an infant.
After that day, the evil leader also disappeared, and the townspeople rejoiced. During the trial, the mayor came forward to protect the boy, stating that he had indeed been a member of the gang but later recognized his mistakes and became an informant.
The boy became a teacher at the town's only school and lived there for over a decade. The orphan of the girl, who had lost both parents, was of school age. This child, whose parents had died, was secretly placed with the girl's relatives by the mayor and had a miserable childhood. He always thought he would shovel cow dung for the rest of his life, but unexpectedly received a school admission notice.
The child entered the school with great joy but was met with hostility from the teacher, who had a similarly unfortunate childhood. I don't know why, but perhaps this child always reminded the teacher of his father?
The child showed strong athletic talent and might become an excellent sheriff in the future. At this time, the criminal gang, which had been silent for over a decade, resurfaced. The orphan wanted to avenge his parents and was determined to gather information about the leader. He knew the leader had found a new weapon and learned that the reason the leader didn't die last time was because he had crafted a sturdy armor from rare materials, and there were six such armors in total.
Recently, the child noticed that the teacher, who had always been hostile towards him, had suspicious movements and might also be investigating the secret of the armor. This was unusual because the mayor had long known the reason for the leader's immortality and had personally destroyed several armors. Therefore, the teacher must have been investigating privately without the mayor's knowledge.
The child had many questions in his mind. He didn't know if the teacher who treated him poorly was good or bad. If the teacher was good, why did he defy the mayor's orders? Especially since the child recently discovered that the mayor had also made mistakes in his youth, which had shaken his image of wisdom and virtue...
Felix put down the letter and smiled broadly. Valen looked at him curiously.
"Oh, someone's secret is about to be exposed", he said, looking at the owl waiting for a reply. "You're called Hedwig?"
Hedwig reluctantly gave a low hoot and buried her head in her wings.
---
The letter Harry found was only half of it, and I added the rest. I tried to reduce the word count in the main text. The original letter is as follows:
---
Big Feet,
Thank you for Harry's birthday gift! It's his favorite toy. At just one year old, he can already ride the toy broom and fly around. He looks so happy. I've attached a photo for you to see. You know, the little broom can only rise two feet off the ground, but Harry almost crashed into a kitten and nearly broke an ugly vase that Petunia gave me (not complaining). Of course, James found it very amusing and said this child would become the next Quidditch star, but we had to put away all the decorations and watch him while he flew.
We had a cozy birthday tea party, with only old Bathilda present. She has always been very kind to us and especially dotes on Harry. It's a pity you couldn't come, but the Order of the Phoenix comes first, and besides, Harry is so young and doesn't understand birthdays! James is a bit restless being cooped up here. He tries not to show it, but I can tell—the Invisibility Cloak is still with Dumbledore, so there's no chance to go out. If you could come, he would be so happy. Wormtail visited last weekend, and I think he was in low spirits, perhaps because of the news about the Mckinnons. I cried all night after hearing it.
Bathilda visits frequently. She's a fascinating old lady who tells many stories about Dumbledore. I can hardly imagine them! I don't know if he would be happy to hear them! Honestly, I don't know how much to believe, it's hard to trust Dumbledore—
(End of Chapter)
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