Forget

Bellatrix's sharp laughter pierced the otherwise peaceful Hogwarts night.A green flash pierced the originally peaceful night sky. Draco could see the Dark Mark hanging high outside from the corridor window just by turning his head slightly.The owl at the Hog's Head, whose proprietress's name was either Roseberta or Rosetta, had delivered a second parchment.Professor Dumbledore is back, and he has to hurry.He had never wanted to meet his headmaster so badly.Compared with his calm appearance, he felt like his heart was about to explode.He was very uncomfortable, but he couldn't find the source of his discomfort, he didn't know how to make himself feel better, he thought he should go to see Professor Dumbledore - isn't that what Potter usually does?

Draco hurried to the Astronomy Tower, knowing he didn't have much time, and Bellatrix and the others wouldn't mess with the guards for too long. ——Although he secretly hoped that some people who slept not so dead would jump out, find out what was going to happen here, and then...

Then?

Draco shook his head to dismiss the thought.He didn't know what was going to happen, he was messed up enough now.

But when he finally set foot on the stairs of the Astronomy Tower, his steps slowed down involuntarily. Draco pressed on his heart to keep it from beating so fast.He was very nervous, and he was repeatedly rehearsing what would happen next in his mind along the way, but when it finally arrived, he found that his brain had become blank.It was just horrific.At the same time, he was also alarmed to find that he had forgotten to consider another situation - he didn't know what Professor Dumbledore would think of him, and he wasn't sure if Professor Dumbledore would attack him as soon as they met.He wasn't sure he could win Professor Dumbledore over.Although in fact no one can admit that they can win Dumbledore.Professor Dumbledore won't do anything to his students.But now Draco wasn't sure if Professor Dumbledore would consider him a student, or, like everyone else, a - though he was - a Death Eater.

This will bring different results.

Draco thought.He reached out and pushed the door open.

"Good evening, Draco Malfoy." Dumbledore looked at him with a smile, half leaning against the railing.The Dark Mark hanging high in the sky behind was dazzling, and the huge skull seemed to be watching everything that happened with a grin.

"Is it just you, Professor?" Draco held his wand, and he could feel the sweat in his palms.

"I should ask you that." Dumbledore gestured to the Dark Mark on his back. "Although I don't like this pattern, I have to admit that it is eye-catching enough. ——It seems that you have brought a lot of guests? Where are they?"

"It's downstairs. I guess it'll be up soon, Professor." Draco took a deep breath. "I would like to believe that you may already know something of what happened."

"Oh, of course I know. In fact, I may know a little more than you guessed." Dumbledore blinked. "You came to see me alone, not with the guests, and maybe we could talk—how did you know I'd be here tonight?"

"There's always a way, isn't there, Professor?" Draco lowered his eyes slightly, as if reluctant to talk about it. "I don't know where it's safe but Hogwarts.—in fact, I'm not sure Hogwarts is safe."

"I quite agree with your point of view. Even a student can bring Death Eaters into the castle. As the headmaster, I am really responsible for the safety of Hogwarts." Dumbledore seemed to be thinking, He paused and said. "Ah, I thought... lovely Rosmerta... how long has she been under the Imperius Curse? Was it you who cast it?"

"About three months. Since Bellatrix went to Hogsmeade," Draco said. "Professor, you know what I'm here for today. But...with all due respect, you don't seem to care at all."

"I have to admit I underestimated you. But given what you've done before - the necklace or the mead - you should know there's almost no way I'd drink that bottle - seriously, look like a kid Just kidding," said Dumbledore.

Draco's eyes widened, and the pent-up but still palpable anger showed on his expressionless face: "Just kidding? I can't believe you're saying that—almost two of your students because of this die!"

Dumbledore didn't speak immediately, he tilted his head slightly, and looked at Draco with interest and a little bit of inquiry.Suddenly, he spread his arms and made a completely defenseless posture: "Draco, I am here, in front of you. Maybe you can try to complete your task."

Draco looked at Dumbledore in shock.Although Draco himself couldn't tell why he was angry just now, and what he was angry with, he thought that Dumbledore might tell him, but obviously he didn't guess that Dumbledore would say such a thing.

The wand in Draco's hand trembled slightly from his master's nervousness.It points to the greatest wizard of this century, and the greatest wizard may die under this wand.Dumbledore waited quietly, watching his pupil with an encouraging smile, as if it were just an ordinary Charms lesson.

Draco's breathing was rapid, his chest heaving violently.He suddenly lowered the arm holding the wand, lowering his head unwilling to look at Dumbledore.There was a thin bead of sweat on his forehead.

"I'm sorry." Dumbledore sighed. "But Draco, you're not a man to kill."

Draco clenched his wand tightly, gritted his teeth, "I almost—"

"But you didn't. To make matters worse, you regretted almost killing two people," interrupted Dumbledore.

"I didn't." Draco denied, but his tone softened, almost pleading.

"You have." Dumbledore firmly emphasized. "Draco, if you didn't care, you wouldn't dwell on it. For a bad guy, killing two people isn't a big deal. Even if you're not a bad guy, if you're a qualified fighter, it's a big deal. There is no regret in killing an enemy. To some extent, people who can stand on the front line of the battlefield, for better or worse, will only care about their own goals, not the sacrifice of individual people , because they clearly know that some sacrifices are necessary. But this is something you can't understand. Draco, you are not fit to be a bad guy, you can't even stand on the battlefield. You can't kill me, and you can't kill anyone people."

Draco bit his lip and slowly rolled up his left arm sleeve, the vivid Dark Mark appeared in the moonlight: "But Professor. I'm really a bad guy, and I really need to stand on the battlefield. I need to kill a lot of people, sooner or later .”

"Oh." Dumbledore looked at the brand, obviously not expecting it. "That didn't occur to me. I thought you were under your age - and Snape didn't tell me that either."

"Of course he won't tell you. He's just like me." Draco rolled his sleeves down. "Our allegiance is to the same side."

"I may not agree with this." Professor Dumbledore shook his head and changed the subject. "So, how are you going to accomplish your mission?"

"I don't know, Professor," Draco said. "I've been trying, but nothing seems to be working."

"This kind of thing can't be done with hard work." Dumbledore shook his head and laughed. "Since your guests haven't come over yet, why don't we come over for one last lesson. Maybe you have a question and your professor can help you?"

Draco was silent for a moment, then nodded: "I have a lot of questions, Professor. There are a lot of things that bother me. But I don't know how to ask them."

Dumbledore listened quietly, motioning for him to continue.

"Will you...will leave safely tonight?" Draco asked bravely.

"I can't say that well." Dumbledore shrugged. "It doesn't depend on me, you should know.—But I can make a guess, and there's not much hope."

"Not much hope?" Draco looked at him in shock.

"Son, I can't fail my student's mission, can I?" Dumbledore replied with a smile.

"But..." Draco's voice turned sharply, and he asked in a barely audible voice, as if he had made a big decision. "The lord...he's going to fail, isn't he?"

"Of course." Dumbledore nodded.

"But what if..." Draco swallowed the last half of the sentence about whether Dumbledore would be able to leave safely. "...So, how would he fail?"

"I'm not sure about that either. There's no definite answer to anything that hasn't happened." Dumbledore shook his head. "However, someone will end everything."

"Is that... Potter?" Draco asked, licking his parched lips. "Harry Potter? Can he be trusted?"

Dumbledore didn't answer, just looked at him with a smile.

"I thought you could tell me." Draco seemed to give up the question, he closed his eyes slightly, and looked at Dumbledore with courage. "Professor, I'm on a terrible road.—It's not my choice, but it's a really bad road."

Dumbledore tilted his head slightly, as if he wanted to hear more clearly.

"I've seen a lot of porn, and I've seen a lot of biographies of dark wizards. Those pictures and descriptions are indeed scary, but I wasn't scared. Until—— I saw thestrals." Draco took a deep breath in one breath. "—the animals are tame indeed, but I don't want to see them, Professor. I'm disturbed."

"Then why not stop?" asked Dumbledore. "Before today, Hogwarts has been safe. If you stopped, you wouldn't be in danger, would you?"

"I can't. I've seen the fate of many losers, and I still don't know the real information about my parents." Draco consciously slowed down his speech so as not to get excited again. "I want to visit you in the past, but I don't dare. You know my mission, and I'm not sure if I will rush to see you...Professor, I dare not take too many risks."

Dumbledore was silent for a moment.He sighed and said, "It was my mistake, maybe I could have found out earlier... You might really not be suitable for this job, you're too timid. It's also something I didn't expect. Draco , you seem to be a little different from what I imagined—you can easily fall into a dilemma like this."

"Professor?" Draco looked at Dumbledore suspiciously. "I do not understand……"

"I'm not blaming you. Maybe you haven't even realized that you are much kinder than you think." Dumbledore said.

But Draco shook his head: "I don't think so. I'd rather admit that I'm a coward."

"Yes, you are so timid that you have no guts to stop yourself. You clearly know what you are doing, but you have no way to stop." Dumbledore continued. "You can't get pleasure from it. Your anxiety, suffering, and all your resistance actually come from the incredible kindness in your heart."

"With all due respect, your words sound unbelievable." Draco bit his lower lip. "I'm a Slytherin..."

"I know, I know. Boy, I've met a lot of Slytherins." Dumbledore nodded. "Everyone is very different. If you have to give them a personality, it will probably be like what the world sees, cold, ruthless, wise and safe or other words. Most of the time, you will fix yourself, which is very unattractive. Like...but I have also seen very brave Slytherins. Every student may be influenced by his house, but the truest personality will not change so easily. No matter how good the disguise is, it is just Hiding, not destroying."

Draco looked at him. "So, what should I do, Professor?"

Dumbledore was silent.He didn't know how to answer this question.His plan was so perfect that he didn't have time to think about it and teach Draco any more.In fact, until today, he had only sympathized with Draco, an important but sad chess piece, maybe after tonight it will become a dispensable chess piece, and it is unknown how long the chess piece can survive.But he doesn't care.As he himself said, those who want to achieve their goals have no way to care about how many unnecessary sacrifices there are.Like many people, he only stayed on the word "Slytherin" for this little Malfoy, but ignored some other things.

There was no doubt that Draco was a good Slytherin.He is timid and delicate, but the purest kindness is wrapped under the hard thorny shell.Dumbledore had no way of predicting the future, but he knew that there were some Slytherins who were as strong as they were cowardly.

Dumbledore sighed regretfully. "Draco, I'm starting to regret it. Maybe I should have talked to you earlier."

There was the sound of quick footsteps on the stairs, and Bellacritus' shrill laugh. Draco looked back anxiously, gripping his wand even tighter.

"It seems that we don't have much time to chat." Dumbledore lowered his voice.He threw the wand in his hand at Draco, watching Draco take it in his hand in panic. "Calm down! Many times saving people and self-help go hand in hand, even those who get lost in the night have to work hard to make the morning star rise, don't they. Be brave! Believe in Hogwarts, believe in what you learn here Trust your professors and friends, trust everything your heart tells you."