"Before I got here, you all did rather well, didn't you?"
Dumbledore said to the group.
"Headmaster Dumbledore."
They all greeted him at once.
Dumbledore looked at Harry, covered in mud, then at the Dementors in the distance.
His expression changed by more than a little—everyone could see he was angry.
Perhaps furious.
The students even heard unpleasant words from his mouth.
"I'm alright, Professor."
Harry had eaten some chocolate Justin gave him, and he had recovered a little.
Dumbledore's expression darkened further.
Before Harry could say anything more, a whole crowd of Quidditch players rushed over.
"Headmaster Dumbledore—Harry, are you okay?" Fred said noisily.
"We thought you were dead," Alicia said, trembling.
"Can we have a rematch?"
Harry asked at once.
No one spoke.
The awful truth sank into Harry's heart like a stone.
"Diggory caught the Snitch,"
George said.
"Right after you fell. He didn't know what had happened. When he turned around and saw you on the ground, he wanted to call for a time-out and have the match replayed. But they won fair and square… even Wood admits that."
"Where's Wood?"
Harry suddenly realized Wood wasn't there.
"Still out in the rain,"
Fred said.
"We think he's trying to drown himself."
Harry buried his face between his knees and grabbed at his hair.
Fred seized his shoulder and shook him roughly.
"Come off it, Harry, we've still got loads of chances."
"Perhaps Mr. Weasley is right, but why not help Harry up to the hospital wing, Mr. Weasley?"
Dumbledore said with a twinkle.
"Yes, Headmaster Dumbledore—if Ravenclaw beats Hufflepuff, then we still have a chance…"
Fred kept rambling while helping Harry along.
"Oh—my broom? Did anyone get my Nimbus?"
Harry suddenly remembered something important and asked Justin.
"Er—"
Justin and Hermione exchanged a quick look.
"What is it?"
Harry asked, looking from one to the other.
"Well… when you fell, it got blown away by the wind."
Hermione said hesitantly, glancing in a certain direction.
Harry followed her gaze and saw a dozen splintered pieces of wood and twigs lying near the Whomping Willow—the remains of his loyal broomstick, smashed to bits at last.
Harry's vision went black. He almost wished he had stayed unconscious.
"Don't worry, Harry."
Sean spoke again, in that same slow voice.
Strangely, whenever he spoke, everyone fell silent.
"You'll have a good broom. Someone can hardly wait to buy you one."
Sean glanced toward the stands.
"What…"
Harry didn't understand, but he believed Sean instinctively.
Dumbledore easily caught that fleeting look on the young wizard's face, though he made nothing of it. He simply narrowed his eyes as Harry was taken away, then stopped the young wizard.
"Mr. Green, why don't you come and have a cup of afternoon tea with me?"
he said.
…
Outside the headmaster's office,
the stone gargoyle ignored them as always and simply sprang aside.
Once inside the familiar office, Sean was able to feed Mr. Fawkes a few herbs again.
[You gained Phoenix (Fawkes) affection at Beginner standard. Affection +3]
[Phoenix Fawkes: Slightly Affectionate (Beginner) (89/300)]
Mr. Fawkes's affection increased as slowly as ever.
"Oh? Is there something you want to tell me? Anything at all."
Headmaster Dumbledore flexed a finger, and steaming tea poured itself from the teapot.
The steam gathered on the windows and formed bright hexagonal frost patterns.
"Messages have been coming in from the Ministry lately, all about Hogwarts. It seems my understanding of this castle is not quite as deep as I imagined?"
Dumbledore said meaningfully.
"It was an accident, Headmaster."
Sean said.
The day he had planned to tell Dumbledore, Snape had interrupted him.
"Who in the world would doubt you, Mr. Green, who never lies?"
Dumbledore said, smiling.
"And yet you captured a fugitive, mm… Sirius, and your headmaster knew nothing of it?"
"Oh…"
Sean said hesitantly,
"I didn't capture Sirius Black."
"Well then, it seems I must make a choice between the Ministry and you, and that isn't very difficult,"
Dumbledore said, his gaze growing distant.
"They told me the fugitive had been caught, but it was not Sirius… Peter, was that the name, child?"
Sean was a little surprised.
Headmaster Dumbledore's wisdom had clearly not dulled in the least.
"I didn't capture Peter Pettigrew either."
Sean said honestly.
"…"
For the first time, Dumbledore fell silent.
He thought of the last possible explanation.
Remus Lupin.
To choose between trusting him and trusting the young wizard before him—that was too painful, even for him, the greatest white wizard of the age.
"The scene of the capture was discovered by Professor Snape. A fierce battle broke out in the Shrieking Shack, and Pettigrew escaped."
Fortunately, Sean's next words eased much of Dumbledore's concern.
"He escaped again?"
Dumbledore asked.
Sean nodded.
"But his rat Animagus form was exposed. He won't come back again.
Also, Professor—during the Divination exam, Professor Trelawney became very… very strange. And in that state, she made a prophecy."
Sean added.
"Is that so?"
Dumbledore said.
"You mean stranger than usual? Forgive me, but before meeting you, I had rather thought there were no seers who were not odd… not even him."
"Him?"
Sean asked, not following.
"Oh, perhaps he may become one of your teachers."
Dumbledore clearly did not wish to linger on that topic.
"Could you tell me exactly what happened?"
Dumbledore asked.
"That day, her voice became low, her eyes rolled about, and she said… Voldemort's servant would set out before midnight to rejoin him… and that the servant would help him rise again."
Sean explained.
"Then Professor Trelawney returned to normal, and remembered none of it."
Dumbledore looked a little astonished.
"You know, Green, I think that is quite possible."
he said thoughtfully.
"Who would have guessed? That would make two genuine prophecies from her in total. I ought to give her a raise… but for now, I think we should ask our guests to leave."
Dumbledore rose to his feet.
"So you know everything now, Fudge?"
He produced a mirror, and the smooth round face of Minister Fudge appeared.
"Yes, yes, I saw it all through the magic network! The Daily Prophet has work to do again! We uncovered the truth, found Peter, and then let him slip through our fingers! I'm going to become a complete laughingstock!
Ah… I'd better notify the Ministry at once…"
"And the Dementors?"
Dumbledore asked.
"They must be removed from the school now, surely?"
"Oh, yes, they have to go,"
said Fudge, distractedly running a hand through his hair in the mirror.
"Who would have thought they'd try to kiss an innocent boy… this whole thing's a complete mess… no, I'll have them sent back to Azkaban tonight… perhaps we should consider using dragons to guard the school gates…"
"Hagrid would be delighted."
Dumbledore said with a faint smile.
"Oh—perhaps. Who knows."
Fudge replied irritably.
"At least you discovered the truth, didn't you, Minister?"
Sean suddenly said.
"Mr. Green?"
Fudge looked surprised.
"You're there too?"
"Good evening, Minister Fudge."
Sean greeted him.
"Good evening, Mr. Green,"
Fudge seemed to relax a little, his eyes shifting.
"Of course, you wouldn't know this, and you don't need to. Truth matters to you, but everyone else would feel safer only if they saw Peter locked up…
Fortunately, you exposed his disgusting disguise—turning into a rat and sleeping with students—"
Fudge said, looking slightly revolted by the thought.
"At least we needn't worry about him crawling into another student's bed. The Ministry will be conducting a full inspection of every rat… and of course, there's one small favor I need your permission for as well…"
"What is it?"
Sean asked.
"A story, naturally. What do you think of the headline: The Secret Buried for Twelve Years and the One Who Uncovered It: Hermes?"
Fudge asked hopefully.
Sean understood immediately.
Fudge wanted another story to pull the public's attention away, so they wouldn't focus too much on the escaped fugitive.
After all, what could possibly attract more attention than the name Hermes?
"As you wish."
Sean said.
"I wish you a pleasant evening."
Fudge, fully satisfied, cut the magical connection.
"And the same to you, Headmaster Dumbledore."
…
In the end, the Dementors were driven from the school.
Dumbledore and Sean personally searched every corner, making certain not one Dementor remained at Hogwarts for even a second longer.
Besides that, there was another major event.
Professor Lupin was leaving.
The day was bitterly cold, everything white with frost.
Outside the headmaster's office stood two wizards, one large, one small.
"Professor Lupin is leaving?"
Sean looked genuinely surprised.
"Perhaps that is what I ought to be asking you, child,"
Dumbledore said, smiling at him.
"Remus told me he had something more important to do, and apologized for some things he had concealed."
"Something more important…"
Sean fell silent for a moment.
"I suspect he was not the only one hiding things… but I thought no one could poach him away from me. Clearly I was mistaken in that too. It seems I truly am growing old. Remus believes he ought to work for a younger wizard instead of for me, doesn't he?"
Dumbledore asked as kindly as ever.
Sean could not answer.
What was he supposed to tell Dumbledore?
That Voldemort's last Horcrux was Nagini?
But Professor Trelawney's words still echoed in his mind:
He remains cunning… beware… the seventh…
The future had already shifted too far. Would Voldemort's last Horcrux still be Nagini?
Would he still make only seven Horcruxes? Would he choose the same kinds of vessels?
Sean did not know.
So he could only avoid pushing the future further off course if he could help it.
At least until Nagini was found, he did not want to talk too much about a future he could no longer be sure of.
As he had told Lupin:
"Professor, what we need to do now is more unknown and more dangerous than anything else—and more important than anything else."
Suddenly, Sean understood.
The centaur teacher had said prophecy was imprecise magic. Could his current situation be a precise confirmation of that?
At the same time, he remembered the centaur's other words—prophecy was never wrong.
That made him even more cautious in the face of fate, and even less willing to waste breath on uncertain things.
Because one thing was certain.
He would keep increasing his magical power until it crushed every trick and scheme before him.
"Old people always know how to understand the young, don't they? Even though the facts are plain in front of me, I am still willing to be forgiving. But, child, I think I should begin teaching you privately this term."
Dumbledore changed the subject.
"Privately?"
Sean asked, curious.
"Yes. I think it is time I taught you more."
Dumbledore nodded with a smile.
"What would you teach me, sir?"
Sean was already beginning to look forward to it.
"Oh, a little of this, a little of that."
Dumbledore said lightly.
Sean nodded and turned to leave.
Professor Lupin would be departing very soon, probably this afternoon, and Sean wanted to find him before he did.
"Oh, and isn't there something you want to ask me?"
Dumbledore said.
Sean shook his head.
He was about to go.
"Oh, perhaps you should think carefully."
Dumbledore continued.
Sean did not understand.
"Professor Lupin is leaving…"
Dumbledore prompted.
"So… we are missing a professor?"
Sean asked cautiously.
Dumbledore smiled. It was exactly the answer he had been waiting for.
"Exactly. We are short a professor, for reasons we both understand. So we will need another one.
As it happens, I know that Professor Snape is willing to teach Defense Against the Dark Arts for half a year. Which means we need only find a Potions professor.
And, by extraordinary good fortune, there happens to be a potions master presently living in retirement…"
Dumbledore looked directly at Sean.
"Oh. May I know who he is, Headmaster?"
Sean asked, as though following a script.
"Of course. Someone you ought to know of. Slughorn—one of our retired colleagues."
Dumbledore said.
"Is there anything I can do to help?"
Sean asked obediently, just as Dumbledore clearly wanted him to.
"Oh, I think I shall be able to make use of you."
Dumbledore's beard trembled as he suppressed a smile.
~~~