"Lynn, I have something I want to talk to you about."
Harley spoke up to Lynn just before they were about to go back to sleep.
"Alright."
He stopped walking. Neville headed towards the entrance of the common room alone, while Cho opened a door leading to Ravenclaw Tower in front of the Room of Requirement.
"See you tomorrow."
Cho waved goodbye to them. After her door closed, a new wooden door opened.
The Room of Requirement could be considered an absolutely safe room in Hogwarts, immune to prying eyes and surveillance. Still, Harley asked Lynn to take out the omni-tent, and the two of them crawled inside.
"Why so cautious today? Actually, this sort of thing doesn't matter anymore. Voldemort personally confirmed that he was deceived by your mother—he fell into a trap."
"So, all the previous inexplicable details have been patched up."
"Even Professor Dumbledore can't overturn this destined conclusion; he would believe it too."
"Just based on a few words from Voldemort?" Harley looked at Lynn doubtfully.
"Although Voldemort is a villain rotten to the core and a raving lunatic, it is undeniable that he is talented. In the Dark Arts, Voldemort's talent is supreme."
"To be honest, back when Voldemort was rampaging, if it really came down to raw power, Dumbledore was more likely to lose."
"But everyone says Voldemort is afraid of Dumbledore."
Harley rested her chin in her hands, looking at Lynn with puppy-dog eyes, waiting for an explanation.
"If Dumbledore were truly much stronger than Voldemort—a character he could completely defeat—then the curse Voldemort left on Hogwarts wouldn't still be in effect today."
"Defense Against the Dark Arts is a cursed class. Back then, Voldemort wanted to teach Defense Against the Dark Arts at Hogwarts, but Dumbledore refused and exposed his disguise."
"Besides, it's perfectly normal for a student to fear their teacher, especially the guide who introduced him to the wizarding world."
"Dumbledore knows his most unspeakable past. If you want to ask me how I know... well, that's a secret. I can't say."
"Hmph~"
Harley raised her small fist and tapped Lynn, feigning an angry expression. "I didn't want to ask anyway. I'm not curious at all."
"But if we do this... did I harm Neville?"
After a moment of silence, Harley asked the question she most wanted to ask Lynn.
"I used to be a boy, so the prophecy actually wasn't wrong. I was the true target Voldemort was looking for. But now, Voldemort thinks the person in the prophecy is Neville..."
"Mom protected me with her life. Professor Dumbledore told Aunt Petunia that there is protective magic left by Mom inside me. It prevents me from being harmed by Voldemort. Even the powerful Killing Curse couldn't hurt me; instead, it rebounded and destroyed Voldemort's body."
"There is no counter-curse for Avada Kedavra. Before that event, it was even believed that no magic could block it."
"Compared to Neville, I definitely have more assurance when facing Voldemort, right?"
"Don't underestimate Neville. He's a person with great perseverance and talent. A prophecy isn't a one-way selection, but a destiny where two sides rush toward each other. Even if Neville can't replace you as the new Child of Prophecy, isn't there still me? I'll help Neville become a reliable person."
Since he had changed the so-called prophecy and destiny, Lynn felt a sense of responsibility to take charge. Voldemort was strong, but not so strong that he couldn't be opposed.
Although hearing Lynn say this lifted a heavy weight from Harley's heart, an even bigger trouble still made her uneasy.
"And there's another thing—when my head felt like it was splitting open earlier..." Harley curled up uneasily, hugging her knees and burying her head so only her emerald green eyes showed.
"I seemed to feel his emotions at that moment—it was a strange feeling, as if... the person who was agitated and screaming crazily in front of us wasn't Voldemort..."
"I almost had a hallucination. It felt like the person who said those words and fell into that agitated emotional state... was me..."
Harley touched the scar on her forehead. "This scar seems to have established some kind of connection between me and Voldemort."
"I'm a little scared, Lynn. I'm afraid I'll be influenced by Voldemort, and then my personality will change drastically, turning into a bad thing like him."
Harley was more sensitive than Lynn had imagined. Perhaps this was the difference between boys and girls? Harley now had very keen perception regarding certain details.
"Don't worry, that won't happen. Your scar has indeed established a deep connection between you and Voldemort, but he will be more afraid of it than you are. Because he completely fails to understand the magic your mother left on you. Plus, he is now certain that your mother deliberately set a trap for him back then. That guy is a suspicious person."
"Rest easy, I'm here." Lynn rubbed Harley's little head, sensing that she had relaxed a lot.
"Lynn, actually, you know even more things, don't you?" Harley tilted her body and leaned on Lynn's shoulder. "I always feel like you're very calm when encountering these things, as if you had already foreseen this scene."
"Voldemort believes in prophecies, which means there must be people in the world who can make prophecies. Maybe you're one of them?"
"But since you don't want to say, I won't ask. You'll tell me naturally when you want to."
"I trust you, Lynn."
"Prophecy?" Lynn mused. That was indeed a good excuse. After all, awesome Seers popped up every now and then. Wasn't Grindelwald a Seer back in the day? "Let's just assume I am, for the time being. But I'm not omniscient or omnipotent; there are too many things I don't know."
As long as he didn't actively expose this excuse himself, it would become a handy pretext later on.
"Then there's one thing you have to tell me now."
Harley suddenly sat up straight, staring directly at Lynn.
"Back when you came to find me at the swings, was that intentional?"
"Yeah, it was." Lynn nodded, admitting to the past event.
"Aha! So you letting me eat that cookie was intentional too, right!"
"Because it's interesting that way. But no matter what, this change is pretty good, isn't it?"
"Even if that's true..." Harley pursed her lips slightly. "But do you have any idea how badly I was scared when I saw the mirror in the bathroom back then!"
"Hey, hey! We were talking nicely, why are you getting physical? Don't come over here! Come any closer and I'll put you in a headlock—"
Harley's knot in her heart was untied. In the end, she was just worried about Neville and the connection between herself and Voldemort.
She wasn't someone who couldn't shoulder a burden or lacked a sense of responsibility; quite the opposite, Harley had a bit of a busybody nature.
The next morning, the Great Hall at Hogwarts was particularly lively. Today was the last day of exam week. Except for the seventh-year students who still had to deal with the N.E.W.T.s, the students of other years had been liberated.
Farsighted people had already finished their holiday homework during this time so they could play to their heart's content for two months, but such people were rare. Most students would walk the path of "one pen, one lamp, and one miracle."
After finishing breakfast, the four tacitly walked together, heading towards the Headmaster's office on the eighth floor.
"Cockroach Cluster."
Upon hearing the password, the two stone gargoyles jumped aside, revealing the spiral staircase leading to the Headmaster's office.
After they knocked and entered, Dumbledore stopped teasing Fawkes.
"Please, have a seat."
He put down a bottle burning with magical fire in his hand. That was Fawkes's favorite little dessert—Gubraithian Fire, an everlasting magical flame that suited a phoenix who rose from the ashes quite well.
"It seems a night of rest has restored your spirits. I sincerely hope that what you saw yesterday didn't give you nightmares."
"Professor Dumbledore." Cho was the first to speak. "What I want to know is, was Voldemort's death back then merely the destruction of his body? He looks less than a ghost now. Was his soul injured as well? Besides the Killing Curse, what other magic can touch the soul?"
Cho had thought for a long time after returning last night. The world said Voldemort had died ten years ago, but seeing the black mist Voldemort's soul had transformed into, and the shadowy figure killing the unicorn in the Forbidden Forest, she couldn't help but feel uneasy.
Whether it was Neville or Harley, Cho didn't want to see them hurt. Since Voldemort had already made threats to return for revenge, any amount of preparation was justified.
Dumbledore's gaze turned to Cho Chang. There was a hint of surprise in his eyes; he hadn't expected Cho to ask in such detail. She was practically asking, "What method should we use to kill Voldemort?" Are Ravenclaw girls this fierce nowadays?
"Voldemort's body was indeed destroyed. When he used the Killing Curse to try to kill Harley, Harley's mother's magic protected her and rebounded the spell. The Killing Curse destroyed Voldemort's body and damaged his soul, leaving him only able to linger in this world as a wraith."
"As for magic that damages the soul," Dumbledore paused, "it certainly exists, but those methods almost all belong to the realm of the Dark Arts. I do not wish for you—at least not now, before you understand what good and evil are—to touch them."
"Good and evil are not as simple as doing good deeds and doing bad deeds." Dumbledore pointed to his chest, then tapped his temple. "It is hidden in our hearts, but the realization lies here."
"Premature contact with the Dark Arts makes it easy to lose one's own heart. Not every Dark Art is as evil as we perceive, but undoubtedly, magic classified as Dark Arts will affect our minds. They are magics that require intense emotions to catalyze their full power, and they can lead people down an extreme path."
"There once was a very helpful wizard whom everyone praised highly. Until one day, he met a Muggle child. The child had been beaten by his parents and sent out a cry for help when he was on the verge of death."
"The result was an accident that baffled everyone. He killed the child's parents using means that were practically torture, and the child went insane from witnessing the scene."
"But he always firmly believed his actions were correct. He considered himself the embodiment of 'justice.' His extreme justice pushed both himself and that family into the abyss."
"Because the balance of good and evil in his heart was lost. The magic he used pushed him into an extreme, narrow-minded justice, blinding his eyes."
"Magic is a double-edged sword, so I hope you can be cautious. What you need to do now is study well, master more knowledge, and solidify your foundation. I hope you make more contact with the world, understand the world more, broaden your horizons, and witness those good and bad things with your own eyes."
"Only when you have realized your own definition of good and evil through your own practice can I rest assured in letting you explore freely in the ocean of magic."
"Voldemort is currently in a very, very poor state. At least for these few years while you are accumulating knowledge, he won't have the strength to come out again. So, you can be at ease about this matter for the time being. Inside Hogwarts, you are safe."
Dumbledore was a bit long-winded because he didn't want these smart children to walk down a path of no return due to curiosity. The smarter the child, the easier it is to step wrong because of that intelligence. Following the rules definitely doesn't belong to smart people, because wisdom drives them to actively explore the unknown ahead.
But chatting with smart people also has a benefit: when you point out the consequences, they can understand and comprehend the risks, and handle them carefully.
If he were facing guys with small cleverness but no great wisdom, Dumbledore would likely choose "Obliviate."
Half-filled buckets slosh the loudest—those are the ones most likely to cause trouble.
"I understand." Cho nodded. She already understood what Dumbledore was hinting at. Curiosity killed the cat; she understood the meaning of that phrase. Some things were not for them to touch right now.
"Then what about the prophecy Voldemort mentioned?"
Neville immediately raised his hand.
"Of course, I can tell you this." Dumbledore nodded. When Voldemort mentioned the prophecy, he knew he would have to tell them sooner or later. Moreover, last night, they had proven they had the courage to face Voldemort and the desire to defeat him.
[The original text of the prophecy is in the author's note at the end]
"Then is it possible—I mean, that it's both?" Harley asked Dumbledore. She was a little nervous. "Neville and I are actually both the ones. The Voldemort of the past chose me, and now he has chosen Neville. Also, the prophecy didn't specify that it was only one person, right?"
"That is indeed possible. Prophecies are often two-way choices. A friend of mine was once an outstanding Seer." Speaking of this, Dumbledore's gaze dimmed slightly.
"Voldemort chose Harley back then, so you were the person the prophecy pointed to. Now Voldemort has chosen Neville, so Neville has also become the person the prophecy points to. You both are."
"So now—" Dumbledore nodded gently to Harley and Neville. "We have double the strength to fight against him."
"You both possess power that Voldemort has never understood."
Dumbledore didn't tell them what the power Voldemort didn't understand was, but neither Harley nor Neville asked. They wanted to discover this power that could defeat Voldemort themselves.
The three thanked Dumbledore after asking their questions. Many previous doubts had been answered, and they wanted to digest what they had just heard.
However, Lynn stayed behind, remaining until the end at Dumbledore's signal.
"Professor Dumbledore, is there something else you wanted to see me about?"
Lynn was actually quite curious about what Dumbledore wanted to ask him.
"Yes, I have a question."
Dumbledore looked at Lynn with a somewhat curious gaze.
"You are a very special child, but there is one thing that concerns me."
"I want to know what exactly you saw... in the Mirror of Erised back then."
"Why?" Lynn was a bit confused by this question. Even if Dumbledore asked him "Is Harley turning into a girl related to you?", it would be more appropriate than this question.
"It's probably some kind of intuition." Dumbledore picked up his teacup and took a sip of the sugary drink. "My intuition tells me that the thing you saw is very dangerous."
His hand brushed over the tabletop, and the engraved revolver Lynn had once displayed in front of Ollivander appeared.
"It makes me feel uneasy, so I want to ask you, what exactly did you see?"
"If that's the case..." Lynn thought for a moment. "I saw war."
"And this—" he pointed to the gun, "—is the helper I chose at that time, one that can protect myself and even more people."
"The wizarding world is rotten to the core, right? At least England is. Wizards are still living in the illusion of the Middle Ages and can't walk out of it. If that time comes, they will die miserably."
"To forget war is to court danger, Professor Dumbledore."
"My wand is their life-saving treasure."