Dumbledore's life was filled with regrets.
Once someone is hurt, they always try to avoid falling into the same pit twice.
As the saying goes, you can know a person's face but not their heart. After suffering a loss at Voldemort's hands, even though Harry Potter was someone he had watched grow up, Dumbledore still wanted to take extra precautions.
This was the Mirror of Erised incident, as Roger remembered it.
By reflecting what Harry Potter desired most, he could verify if his judgment was correct.
'Back already?'
Harry faced the mirror, once again lost in its depths, while Roger turned to look at Dumbledore, who had appeared behind him at some unknown time.
Dumbledore understood the meaning in Roger's eyes.
But instead of answering directly, he asked, "Roger, what did you see?"
"A lot," Roger replied calmly.
In the Mirror of Erised, he had seen countless beautiful things in the world. The only issue was that the mirror's images kept flickering; before he could get a clear look at one scene, another would appear.
The Sorting Hat was right; the house most suited for Roger was Slytherin. His heart was filled with greed for everything, never satisfied, always yearning.
For what he desired, a hundred years was too short, so…
"Headmaster." Hearing the conversation behind him, Harry snapped out of his daze.
After that, Dumbledore explained the Mirror of Erised's purpose to Harry, announced he would be moving it, and warned Harry not to try and find it again.
…In truth, Dumbledore's objective had already been achieved the first time Harry looked into the mirror.
However, Harry, who had never experienced familial love, stood before the Mirror of Erised for a long time, unwilling to leave. Sometimes, seeing the scene of his parents in the mirror brought tears to his eyes, which made Dumbledore feel a pang of empathy.
That was why he hadn't appeared until now.
And now, to live up to the trust of his Quidditch teammates, Harry chose to reject the illusions in the Mirror of Erised and embrace reality. Even if it hadn't been Roger who arrived, Dumbledore felt it was time for illusions to return to nothingness.
With one last look at the Mirror of Erised, Harry gritted his teeth and walked resolutely out of the old classroom.
When only two people remained in the classroom, Dumbledore looked at Roger and said, "I didn't just return; I was actually just about to leave."
This was his answer to Roger's initial question.
This matter was a bit abstract.
The internal dispute within the Middle Eastern wizarding world regarding Roger's case had been ongoing. It dragged on until Roger returned to Britain, and still, no one came to apprehend him. So, the matter was passed to the British Ministry of Magic for judgment.
However, even after the judgment, some individuals within the Middle East continued to cause trouble, and this trend showed no signs of stopping even after Roger had enrolled at Hogwarts.
Therefore, Dumbledore planned to go there himself.
For a prominent figure like Dumbledore, who held the position of President of the International Confederation of Wizards and was also a top wizard of his generation, any action would naturally not be taken without prior notice, such as simply Apparating there.
The Gulf War had just ended at the beginning of the year, and everyone was a bit on edge. Some people were bound to fear that Dumbledore intended to initiate a wizarding version of the Gulf War or something similar. If he were misunderstood, it would be troublesome.
Therefore, Dumbledore's entry followed a slow, formal approval process to demonstrate goodwill.
Upon hearing whispers of Dumbledore's impending arrival, those who harbored malice towards Roger due to his "religious seer" status became cowardly.
They all quieted down in an instant.
Dumbledore thought they had truly backed down and thus canceled his trip.
If possible, Dumbledore was not a person who enjoyed conflict.
As a result…
When his trip was canceled, those individuals assumed Dumbledore was merely trying to scare them, applying extreme pressure to make a statement, and wouldn't actually come for Roger's matter. Consequently, they started causing trouble again.
So, about a month after handing the Philosopher's Stone to Roger, Dumbledore once again issued an entry notice to the Middle Eastern magical community. He would be departing in two days to show those who couldn't recognize a good opportunity and were being foolish what the greatest wizard of Britain in this century was like! "…Thank you for your trouble." After hearing the explanation, Roger, unsure how to respond, could only say this.
At the same time, he made a mental note to visit the Middle East himself in a few years when he had the capability.
Roger repaid kindness with kindness, and if he had enemies, he would naturally deal with them! "It's nothing, just a shame I couldn't spend Halloween with the children," Dumbledore said, not seeming to mind much.
"When will you be back?"
"It's uncertain; it depends on their reaction after I arrive."
.
.
.
"Pfft, Roger, what's with your getup?"
Time always passed quickly when one was sufficiently focused, whether on entertainment or studies.
In the blink of an eye, it was Halloween.
The scent of roasted pumpkin filled Hogwarts Castle from early morning, and all sorts of strange Halloween decorations were hung everywhere.
It was a holiday today, so there were fewer classes than usual. Children who finished their lessons early were heading towards the Great Hall.
It was said that the professors had made grand arrangements for today's feast. One thousand bats fluttered on the walls and ceiling, and another thousand hovered like low-lying dark clouds, creating a spectacle as grand as the thunderstorm-filled sky at the beginning of the term.
However, on the way, another matter caught their attention.
Roger's blond hair was styled into several strands at the front and firmly secured, while the hair at the back had turned a peculiar dark red.
Roger paid no mind to the strange looks from his classmates as he walked, until a familiar classmate asked the question above.
At the start of the school year, everyone had held Roger in awe due to the rumors, but after spending so much time together, they all understood that it was likely just a misleading rumor... How could my classmate possibly be a murderer?
Roger was clearly a good person!
After their impressions changed, some of the more outgoing classmates also became closer to Roger.
"This?" Roger pointed to his peculiar hairstyle.
Then he said, "Shouldn't we dress up as something special for Halloween?"
Normally, when Halloween arrived, children would dress up as skeletons, murderers, zombies, mummies, and other cute figures, knocking on doors from house to house to ask for candy, and then saying, 'Trick or treat.'
This was also a holiday tradition; without dressing up, there was no festive atmosphere at all.
"Uh, but we're wizards," the classmate who asked was taken aback.
Dressing up as a wizard was also a type of Halloween costume.
And was there any precedent for Hogwarts having cosplay for Halloween?
Didn't everyone just go back to their dorms to sleep after the feast? After all, Hogwarts couldn't do "trick or treat."
If you really tried to "trick or treat," you'd probably be punished by having to clean the toilets.
Roger understood what he meant: "It's too boring if everyone dresses up the same, and besides, I don't think any school rule prohibits dressing up."
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