Chapter 688: The Hidden Portion of the Prophecy
Chapter 688: The Hidden Portion of the Prophecy
"I really shouldn't have agreed to teach Dark Arts Defense at Hogwarts!"
Early the next morning, everyone in the school hospital had woken up. Tonks lay in her bed, her body wrapped tightly in bandages, filled with regret.
"I knew this day would come..." She spoke with despair in her voice. "Look at Alastor. It's been a year since he left, and he still hasn't fully recovered from the curse."
"Don't talk nonsense," Moody said in a low voice from the bedside. "As an Auror, it's inevitable to get injured from time to time. This has nothing to do with the curse of the Dark Arts Defense position."
"Then why is Kingsley unscathed..." Tonks pouted.
"Because he's strong enough," Moody said. "Whether it's Kingsley, Remus, or Sirius, they are all at their peak. They have the energy and reflexes to spar with Death Eaters."
"And so are you." Moody's tone turned serious. "You're too lackadaisical and not utilizing your strengths. As a natural metamorphmagus, it's foolish to engage enemies head-on... Why didn't you transform yourself to look like a Death Eater?"
"Also, where was your vigilance? I remember when you first joined the Aurors, I reminded you countless times to always be ready to cast the Shield Charm during battles..."
The hospital room had turned into a classroom, with Moody bluntly pointing out all of Tonks' past mistakes, leaving her face flushed with embarrassment.
"The Death Eaters wear black hoods and masks..." she argued weakly. "Our clothes are different, so it wouldn't matter if I changed my appearance."
"Oh, is that so?" Moody said coldly. "It seems I'll have to pay a visit to Professor McGonagall. She apparently didn't teach you how to transfigure your clothes."
"I can attest that we learned that in our third year," said Kyle, who was visiting them, with a smile.
To add credibility to his statement, he pointed his wand at his school robe, which instantly transformed into a pure black Death Eater cloak.
"Tsk, tsk." Moody's tone was calm. "It seems I've wronged Professor McGonagall..."
At this moment, Tonks turned her head away and pretended to fall asleep, ignoring their conversation.
She had been thinking of thanking Kyle for saving her life, but now they were even.
Everyone in the room burst into laughter.
Lupin, who had just entered, heard the laughter and asked curiously, "Did I miss something?"
"It's like this," Ron quickly spoke up. "Tonks, the professor—"
"Assistant," Tonks interrupted, opening her eyes wide. "That's important. And if you dare to tell anyone about what happened, I'll assign you ten times the amount of Dark Arts Defense homework. That's something I can still do."
Ron immediately closed his mouth.
"And that goes for you two as well..." She glared at Kyle and Hermione.
Kyle shrugged nonchalantly, wisely deciding not to provoke her further.
However, Lupin didn't seem particularly interested in the answer. He placed the sweets he had bought in Hogsmeade on the table and said with a smile, "It looks like you're all recovering well. Sirius and I were just discussing whether we should send you to St. Mungo's."
"Absolutely not," Tonks shook her head repeatedly. "I hate the smell of St. Mungo's. It's much better here. At least I don't have to deal with the mixture of various potion scents."
"Alright then," Lupin said. "If Madam Pomfrey has no objections, there shouldn't be a problem."
"I don't want to go to St. Mungo's either," Ron added.
"What you want doesn't count," Lupin shook his head. "Whether you go or not will be decided by Arthur and Molly. Oh, they're on their way here and should arrive soon."
"Oh, I'm going to get scolded for sure!" Ron cried out, pulling the blanket over his head.
"Hermione..." Lupin continued, "are you really decided against telling your parents?"
"Absolutely not," Hermione quickly replied. "They're Muggles and don't understand the wizarding world. Even if they knew, it would only add to their worries, and besides, I'm almost fully recovered, so there's really no need to worry them."
"Well... alright," Lupin hesitated for a moment before nodding.
Indeed, Hermione had sustained the least injuries among them all. She was supposed to be discharged today, but Madam Pomfrey insisted that she stay a few more days.
"I still want to thank you, Kyle, for saving us," Moody said suddenly. "If you hadn't arrived in time, none of us would have escaped."
"It's nothing," Kyle shook his head.
"You really shouldn't be an assistant to the minister," Moody said with a hint of regret. "The Auror Office is where you truly belong. You would shine there."
To be honest, Kyle didn't want to be either the minister's assistant or an Auror, but what choice did he have?
Not waiting for Moody to continue, Kyle took the initiative to change the subject and asked Lupin, "What about Harry? Didn't he come back with you?"
"No," Lupin said as he poured water into Tonks' empty cup. "He said he had something to ask the headmaster. He left before you arrived and didn't come with me to Hogsmeade."
"I see."
Kyle wasn't surprised that Harry had gone to see Dumbledore. In fact, he was a bit astonished that Madam Pomfrey had let him go, but perhaps it was the headmaster's decision.
After all, Harry had been possessed by Voldemort, which was essentially an advanced version of the Imperius Curse. If it weren't for the headmaster's intervention, Madam Pomfrey would never have allowed him to leave, no matter what.
Then came the voices of Fred and George.
"Mom, how could we stop him? He rode off on a Thestral..."
"Yeah, we certainly couldn't fly after him and drag him back..."
"Or break his legs beforehand!"
...
Kyle turned to look at Ron, who had started to shiver, curling up helplessly in his bed.
"You'd better just admit your mistake," Kyle advised kindly. "Don't try to exaggerate your contribution or make any excuses. Just apologize, and the less you say beyond that, the better."
"Huh? Why?" Ron paused, having just been thinking about emphasizing his role in the incident.
After all, they had helped foil Voldemort's plot, just like the members of the Order of the Phoenix.
"Because whatever you're thinking of saying, Mr. Weasley probably already mentioned it, and repeating it won't make a difference," Kyle explained.
"Bang!"
At that moment, the door to the room was pushed open from the outside.
Mrs. Weasley rushed in, looking as if she had been crying. She immediately rushed to Ron's side and hugged him tightly.
"Thank goodness you're alright," she said, examining Ron closely. Once she was assured that he was in decent condition, her expression turned stern. "How dare you go up against Death Eaters... Your father and you were both in danger yesterday, according to the clock. I almost fainted from worry."
Ron was about to say that he wasn't alone, but remembering Kyle's words, he quickly changed his mind. "I'm sorry, Mom. I won't do it again."
Mrs. Weasley was on the verge of tears again. She hugged Ron once more.
Mr. Weasley, who had followed his wife into the room, looked on with a mixture of surprise and relief.
"Oh, and you..." Mrs. Weasley released Ron and turned to give Kyle a hug as well. "Thank you for saving them both."
"It's nothing..." Kyle shook his head. "But Mrs. Weasley, I've heard those words of gratitude countless times since yesterday. Why can't you all just say it once?"
"That's because we're seeing you at different times," Mrs. Weasley replied, hugging Kyle again before surveying the room. "Where's Harry? Isn't he injured as well, Arthur?"
"Harry should be in the Headmaster's office," Lupin said. "He had a question for Dumbledore, I believe."
...
At that very moment, in the Headmaster's office.
Harry tore his gaze away from the blue figure hovering above the Pensieve.
The entire office was enveloped in silence, even the portraits on the walls refrained from speaking.
"Professor Dumbledore..." Harry spoke softly after an indeterminate amount of time. "Is that the complete prophecy?"
"Yes," Dumbledore nodded.
"I don't understand... What does it mean?" Harry thought back to the words spoken by the blue figure.
"The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches... born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies... and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal..."
"It means," Dumbledore said, "that the only person with a chance of defeating Voldemort was born at the end of July, nearly sixteen years ago..."
Harry felt a weight pressing down on him, making it difficult to breathe.
"That person is... me?"
He entertained the absurd thought for a moment, but quickly shook his head. How could he possibly be Voldemort's equal?
Dumbledore took a deep breath.
"If we only consider the first part, it could also be referring to Neville Longbottom," Dumbledore said quietly. "Both of you were born at the end of July that year, and coincidentally, your parents and his were in the Order of the Phoenix and had defied Voldemort three times."
"But, Professor, if Neville also fits the prophecy, why is my name written on the prophecy record?" Harry frowned.
"That's the most crucial part of the prophecy," Dumbledore said slowly. "Remember the second part of the prophecy... 'The Dark Lord will mark him as his equal.' It means that Voldemort himself chose you over Neville."
"But, Professor, could there be a mistake?" Harry still struggled to comprehend. "I'm no match for Voldemort. He could easily... control me."
"Perhaps it's not that simple," Dumbledore said, waving his wand. The figure above the Pensieve transformed back into a silver strand of light.
"You possess a power that Voldemort lacks, and it was this power that drove you to go to the Department of Mysteries to save Sirius yesterday.
"I've thought about it, and even if I hadn't intervened, you could have freed yourself from Voldemort's control with your own heart and mind."
Could he have freed himself from Voldemort's control on his own? To be honest, Harry wasn't sure he could have done it.
But thinking about this made him recall something else.
"Wait, Professor," Harry said. "I remember Kyle was also born at the end of July, wasn't he? Could he be the one the prophecy is referring to... After all, the prophecy only mentions the month of birth."
Dumbledore hesitated for a moment before shaking his head. "I once considered that possibility, but I don't think it's the case."
"Why not?"
"Because of the second part of the prophecy," Dumbledore said, looking at Harry, or more specifically, the scar on his forehead.
"The Dark Lord will mark him as his equal. That is the heart of the prophecy—by giving you this scar, he marked you as his chosen opponent.
"But what does that have to do with whether or not I'm a half-blood?"
"Because Voldemort is also a half-blood," Dumbledore said. "Even though he has always believed that only pure-bloods are true wizards, his father was indeed a Muggle, and I believe you are aware of this fact."
"Perhaps because of their shared identity, he saw himself in you."
"Me and Voldemort, the same?" Harry felt even colder, and his body began to stiffen.
"Just that he thinks so," Dumbledore said. "We all know that you and Voldemort are completely different."
Impossible, that's absolutely impossible!
Harry didn't hear what Dumbledore said; he was too busy frantically denying this claim in his mind and trying to find more favorable evidence.
"By the way, the prophecy..." He suddenly remembered something and said aloud, "When the prophecy sphere shattered before, we heard a sentence, but the content was completely different from what we heard just now. You must have made a mistake."
"Oh?" For the first time, Dumbledore showed a surprised expression.
"What did you hear?"
Harry tried to recall, "It was something like, at the decisive moment, a new person will appear...
"It was too chaotic at the time, and with all the screaming, I didn't catch the rest. But you can ask Kyle and Mr. Weasley, they were nearby as well."
Dumbledore didn't speak, only staring at the Pensieve as if he had sunk into deep thought.
"Professor," Harry asked cautiously, "You must have made a mistake, right? We didn't hear that sentence in what we heard just now."
"Harry, the strange thing is that this sentence actually exists," Dumbledore said again, waving his wand. The figure that had disappeared reappeared above the Pensieve.
"The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches..."
Harry was about to say something after hearing the same words, but Dumbledore shook his head.
"Wait, continue listening, and keep quiet."
Harry could only shut his mouth and continue waiting.
After a moment, he saw the figure open its mouth again, but this time, it only made a buzzing sound like a bee.
"What did she say?" Harry couldn't help but ask.
"I don't know," Dumbledore said. "Because that's what I heard. This part of the prophecy has been hidden."
"Prophecies can be hidden?"
"Of course." Dumbledore walked to the window and murmured, "I was puzzled about it at first, but then I figured it out.
"This prophecy is like the Black Lake; I saw it in the winter, so I could only see a part of it. As for what's in the lake, we'll have to wait until spring when the ice melts to find out."
"Time?" Harry asked uncertainly.
"Yes," Dumbledore said. "Only when the time comes will this prophecy be considered complete.
"You really don't remember what was said after that?"
Harry tried to recall again, "Sorry, Professor... It was really chaotic at the time."
"It's fine." Dumbledore shook his head. "Perhaps we are destined to never hear the complete prophecy."
The office fell silent once more.
However, this time, Harry noticed that the people in the portraits had stopped pretending to sleep and were huddled together, whispering as if they, too, were very interested in this so-called prophecy.
After a long while, Harry heard noises coming from outside the office, probably from people heading to the Great Hall for lunch.
Upon realizing this, Harry suddenly felt hungry.
With so many questions on his mind, he had skipped breakfast, and now he felt dizzy and his legs were a bit weak.
"Oh, has it been that long?" Dumbledore turned around and said, "If you have no other matters, you can go to the Great Hall for lunch. We're having fried pork chops and egg custard pies today, which I quite enjoy. But don't eat too much, as you still have the Quidditch match this afternoon."
"The match?"
"The Quidditch final between Gryffindor and Hufflepuff," Dumbledore said. "Did you forget? Today's match will determine which of your houses wins the Quidditch Cup."
"Oh!" Harry exclaimed.
He remembered now. This match was originally supposed to take place in early June, but it had been postponed until after the exams for unknown reasons.
"Goodbye, Professor." Harry was about to run out, but just as he reached the door, he stopped and turned back, asking, "Professor, can Ron be discharged early? He's our Gryffindor Keeper."
"You'll have to ask Madam Pomfrey about that," Dumbledore said. "But I think she'll most likely disagree, so it's better to choose a new Keeper.
Besides, Weasley was tortured by the Cruciatus Curse, and even if he's discharged, he probably won't be able to recover to his best condition in a short time."
As soon as he finished speaking, Harry rushed out of the office.
At this moment, he couldn't care less about the prophecy; he just hoped that he could find a new Keeper within these two hours before the match began.
(End of Chapter)
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