Chapter 55: Dumbledore, You Wouldn’t Want Grindel-cough, Harry
“You’ve been hit by Dark Arts, and a rather powerful spell at that. A wicked wizard’s mind is influencing you.”
“Look, Hermione doesn’t even know the Vanishing Spell, yet you vaguely recall it. Think about last night. Don’t you find it terrifying?”
“But Madam Pomfrey…”
“Don’t interrupt. Right now, he can only influence you simply, but soon, you won’t be able to distinguish whether the thoughts appearing in your mind are your own or the dark wizard’s. Harry, you wouldn’t want to be replaced by someone else one day, would you?”
Harry sat by the bed, his face already pale, his eyes vacant.
No wonder he had been restless and unable to sleep all night!
He felt as though a tiny representation of himself in the depths of his heart was trembling, while an evil shadow extended its huge claws, grabbed him, and devoured him. Then, the face with the gaping maw gradually took on his likeness.
Harry shivered violently and looked at Vaughn in despair, his lips pale and trembling, “Am I… am I going to die?”
“Death is unlikely. There’s magic that can save you.”
Harry’s hope was immediately rekindled, and then he saw Vaughn looking troubled.
His heart sank. “What’s wrong?”
“Unfortunately, I don’t know it. Vaughn sighed. “Those are two Memory Magic spells: Legilimency and Occlumency. Occlumency can save you, and Legilimency is a magic to assist in learning Occlumency.”
Hearing such terrible news so early in the morning, Harry, already frightened, quickly asked, “Then, where can I learn it?”
Hermione, who had been listening and felt a chill run down her spine, also looked at Vaughn expectantly.
Vaughn pretended to ponder and hesitate. After a long while, he finally said, “Dumbledore knows both of these spells, but I don’t think he’ll teach them to us.”
“Why?”
“Because they are taboo, Harry. Legilimency and Occlumency are not permitted to be taught to students.”
Hermione couldn’t help but say:
“But that could save Harry’s life! Dumbledore can’t just watch Harry die, can he?”
A good girl, she really knows how to play along!
Vaughn nodded seriously. “I don’t believe Dumbledore would be so cruel either.”
“How about this…” he said, pulling out paper and pen. “Harry, you write a letter to Dumbledore. I’ll mail it to him during lunch.”
Harry, dazed, took the paper and pen and wrote the letter as Vaughn instructed. He then followed Hermione back to Gryffindor in a stupor, as if sleepwalking the entire time.
He didn’t remember anything Hermione said to him in between, nor what he did. The next time he regained his senses, he was already sitting at the Long Table in the Dining Hall. This made Harry’s face even paler—with a guilty conscience, he didn’t think he was just spaced out due to the shock.
Instead, he believed Vaughn was right; he was getting worse!
Halloween was still a relatively grand feast. Dumbledore, who was rarely seen during lunch, was present at the staff table.
Harry couldn’t help but cast frequent glances at the respected Headmaster, but the Headmaster didn’t notice him; he was talking to Snape.
“Severus, I need your help with something.”
Concealing his inner turmoil with a smile, Dumbledore said to Snape.
Snape’s face was blank; he really didn’t want to talk. Old Dumbledore always found trouble for him.
But Dumbledore had thought about it all night and clearly wouldn’t let him off the hook. “I want you to teach Harry…”
At this moment, a suddenly arriving owl interrupted him. The owl dropped a letter in front of him.
Then it flew to the Gryffindor Long Table, landed beside Harry, and pecked his hand.
Seeing Harry hastily feeding the owl while secretly observing him.
Dumbledore frowned slightly. If he remembered correctly, that owl seemed to belong to the Weasley family… but he should read the letter’s content first!
He took a sip of Pumpkin Juice and pulled out the letter paper.
Beside him, Snape quietly breathed a sigh of relief and slowly picked up his knife and fork, finally able to enjoy his lunch in peace. He truly feared he wouldn’t be able to eat if he heard what Dumbledore needed his help with.
Then—
Pfft!
Dumbledore, reading the letter, saw something that startled him and sprayed his entire mouthful of Pumpkin Juice directly in front of Snape.
The yellow, viscous liquid adhered to Snape’s plate, right on the roast chicken that should have been both visually appealing and delicious.
Several nearby professors were stunned, watching Snape slowly turn his head, as if they could hear the creaking of bones.
His hands, gripping the knife and fork, had whitened knuckles, and his dark eyes harbored fury.
“Dumbledore—”
…
In the afternoon, Vaughn arrived at the Headmaster’s Office in good spirits.
“Good afternoon, Albus!”
His clear voice seemed to instantly liven up the room, which was filled with portraits of deceased elders.
Headmaster Old Black persistently called out to his dear Slytherin, and then the white-bearded teacher persistently rushed into Old Black’s picture frame to wrestle and fight with him.
The surrounding elders watched and egged them on.
Only Dumbledore sat behind his desk, his face drooping.
Vaughn paid no mind to his gloomy expression and cheerfully sat opposite Dumbledore, smiling as he said, “I heard you sprayed a mouthful of Pumpkin Juice onto Professor Snape’s plate at noon?”
“Then you must be careful, Albus. When I came up, the professor was trying to brew a batch of poison. He mixed eight-eyed spider venom, wolfsbane, belladonna, and dead man’s bells… the smell alone could kill a Ghoul. I think for a while, you’d best not let him touch your food.”
Dumbledore’s beard trembled. Looking at the smiling child before him, he suddenly felt a bit of sympathy for Snape’s mindset whenever he saw him.
What a mess!
He said irritably, “That letter from Harry at noon, you instigated it, didn’t you?”
“Why use such a derogatory word as ‘instigated’? Although I did deceive Harry, Voldemort’s influence on him is indeed present. Albus, you wouldn’t want Harry to turn into Voldemort’s shape one day, would you?”
Dumbledore didn’t quite understand, but he felt the malice in the statement. He struggled, “But I was considering having Snape…”
Vaughn spread his hands. “Given the professor’s attitude towards Harry, do you think Harry would truly agree to be taught by him? In my opinion, Harry might break down after a few lessons and might even develop a rebellious streak.”
Dumbledore’s eyes dimmed. This was indeed a problem he hadn’t considered.
He looked at Vaughn. “Severus is the wizard I know who is most skilled in Occlumency. Unless you can prove you are more suitable.”
Vaughn looked around and smiled. “No need to test me. You must have already asked the Sorting Hat, haven’t you?”
Dumbledore said nothing.
Not answering was the best answer. Vaughn knew that the day he put on the Sorting Hat and discovered it could tell he knew Occlumency, Dumbledore would eventually find out.
As his talents were revealed, Dumbledore would inevitably investigate everything about him, especially after he mentioned Horcruxes.
“Everyone has their secrets, Albus, as long as those secrets don’t affect others.” Saying this, Vaughn took out his wand.
“Expecto Patronum!”
A white light symbolizing warmth and brightness bloomed. The translucent Guardian Spirit leaped out, soaring and leaping in the air.
Dumbledore watched silently, appearing indifferent, but only those who knew him well knew that he had quietly breathed a sigh of relief.
Yes, everyone has secrets, as long as those secrets don’t affect others.
After a long moment, he finally spoke, “A very beautiful Guardian Spirit, Vaughn.”
