the Gambler

Hedwig threw a roll of newspaper in front of Harry, judging from the exclamation of others, he had already guessed the general content.Nothing more than Thomas Gaunt's true identity is the unforgivable Dark Lord himself.Harry slowly tore off a piece of bread and threw it into the air, where Hedwig deftly caught it.The owl uttered a joyful chirp and buried its head in the palm of its owner.Harry tilted his head and chuckled as he combed his girl's snow-white feathers, and took a moment to glance at the long Slytherin table. The atmosphere there was obviously the most depressing in the entire auditorium, as solemn as if he had just returned from a funeral.

Tom was the only one who looked normal, but Harry could still feel his irritability.This is probably the same as the huge bold subtitle - because of love and justice, Marvolo Gaunt defected to Albus Dumbledore, bravely confronting the most evil dark wizard in history! —it had a lot to do with it, and those words and Tom's in the same sentence would be absurd if Harry had to say it.

"Do me a favor, Hedwig?" Harry pointed in Tom's direction, and the owl nodded knowingly. She flapped her wings across most of the auditorium and landed on the gloomy Slytherin's shoulder, snatching a large piece from the opponent's plate. Bread, complacently made the decision to add meals independently.

"I thought you hated me." Tom grabbed Hedwig and put it on the table, carefully stroking the owl's feathers, which did not forget to stare at him while receiving the service.Tom raised his eyebrows, and his tone became much more cheerful, "I'm sorry, I forgot that your master likes me." After speaking, he quickly withdrew his hand, and Hedwig pecked fiercely into the air.The owl looked at him as if warning of retaliation, took another piece of bread and flew away proudly.Tom turned his head and smiled at Harry, just in time to see a grey-yellow school owl throw the parchment in front of him. Harry unfolded the letter and turned to Dumbledore to nod.

Tom plunged the knife into the sirloin, gnashing his teeth and promising that he would definitely get rid of that bastard Dumbledore as soon as possible, absolutely!He just couldn't let go of interrupting his relationship with Harry!damn it!

The end of breakfast was only 15 minutes before the first period of class. After Harry and Hermione explained the situation (Ron was fighting with the roast chicken at the moment, there was no time to give him attention.) They quickly followed Dumbledore Out of the auditorium behind.Dumbledore was nothing like a 100-year-old man should be. He was high-spirited and steady on his feet, and Harry had to trot to keep up with him.

As soon as he walked into the office, Harry stated what happened last night, and by the way told Dumbledore that he was the seventh Horcrux. He could see the surprise flashing in the eyes of the old man, not the kind of 'I Not the 'know' surprise, but the 'I didn't expect you to know' surprise, which distraught Harry a little.

Dumbledore always kept secrets from himself, and Harry thought unhappily that maybe both he and Grindelwald had spoken the truth far more than he had.Although Aberforth said that Harry was very important to the old man, who knew what he really thought?The thought made Harry more and more unhappy.

excusable.Harry reminded himself again that Grindelwald was the headmaster's ex-lover after all, and Harry was pretty sure he'd have more conversations with Tom as well—wait, did that mean he'd put Tom in the lover's shoes?Harry wrinkled his nose, the thought of which made him squirm a little and his face burn involuntarily.

Dumbledore cleared his throat loudly on purpose, and Harry quickly ducked his head to avoid the other's amused expression.

Perhaps he should know about Dumbledore's feelings for Grindelwald?After all, the lesson of falling in love with the Dark Lord is right in front of him, and Harry is actually a little uneasy, for fear that he will follow the old path of the principal, for fear that he will not have enough courage to stand opposite Tom to meet him.And, more importantly, he wants to know if Dumbledore still loves Grindelwald after so many things, or more simply, has he forgiven Grindelwald?

"Sir, may I ask you a personal question?" It was a bold decision, but Harry was eager to know what Dumbledore was really thinking.Since getting Aberforth's testimony, he has thought more than once about what decision he would make if he and Tom stood in the position of Dumbledore and Grindelwald back then.There is no doubt that if Tom is the culprit who caused so many people to be displaced and lose their lives, Harry will use all his strength to defeat him.He knew that he couldn't kill Tom cruelly. This was not only selfish, but also hoped that the other party would repent.Death is sometimes too easy a punishment.

"Ah, I've noticed your gaze for a long time, Harry. I'm still wondering how long it will take you to come to me." Dumbledore gestured for Harry to sit down, and the latter obeyed the order obediently, but his expression remained the same. Very stiff.

"Were you and Grindelwald ever lovers?" As soon as the words came out, Harry felt that he was being too blunt.Fortunately, Dumbledore was not offended by this, he looked very calm, so calm that it made people panic.Harry shifted uneasily in his chair, raised his head and met the old man's deep eyes firmly, "After he was imprisoned in Nurmengard for so long, did you forgive him?"

Dumbledore didn't answer the boy's question directly, he asked instead: "Harry, if, I mean if, it was Tom who killed the Dursleys, would you forgive me?"

"No, I won't. Even if they treat me badly, they are still my family." Harry said after thinking, "The mistakes they committed should not be made up for by death. This approach is extreme."

"I am the same, dear child." Dumbledore stroked his waist-growing beard, and spoke in a voice that was only slightly louder than a whisper, which was still clearly audible in the silent room, "As myself, I can choose to accept Gellert's confession even if I don't. But I still can't approve of his actions, let alone forgive him in place of countless destroyed families. He deserves these. I am a sinner, Harry .Choosing to commit myself to combating Voldemort's rise is not only my responsibility but also my punishment. I can see your suspicions, not because of attachment to untimely death, but because of failing to stop his mistakes before they were discovered."

"You didn't know then, sir, that it wasn't all your fault," Harry retorted softly, "You were also blinded by power, as anyone could be."

"Ignorance is not an excuse to escape responsibility. The greater the ability, the greater the burden on the shoulders."

Harry kept his mouth shut.

"I'm glad you held Tom's hand before he made an irreparable mistake, and I hope you never let go of him, Harry, you are his only shackles," said Dumbledore, " Of course, I am also not qualified to ask you to do so, this is your own choice."

"Thank you, sir." Harry struggled for a while, then met Dumbledore's eyes again.

"What do you want to tell me, dear boy?"

"Third-party forces? This is a good choice." Dumbledore casually grabbed the cockroach skewers on the plate and threw them into his mouth. The crunching sound made Harry frowned, although the principal was like a grandfather to him , but he still can't accept the old man's taste, to be honest, this snack looks too disgusting!

"I've actually been paying attention to the interaction between the two of you for a long time, and I'm glad you're going to inform me of my decision, Harry," said Dumbledore, whose eyes sparkled behind half-moon lenses. "Tom is a genius, isn't he?"

Harry pursed his lips and said nothing, feeling subtly jealous even though it was true.

"Third-party forces often break the stalemate and take unexpected paths." Dumbledore said, "But I guess Voldemort will not be happy. If I find out about your actions, he must have noticed."

"But he—" Harry paused, showing an expression of sudden realization, "You mean he has eyeliner in Hogwarts too? Is it Snape?"

"Professor Snape, Harry," Dumbledore corrected, "you still look prejudiced against him. But you're right, Severus is a double agent, working for both sides , this is a very dangerous task. I can guarantee his absolute loyalty to you, even if it seems ridiculous to you."

"He hates me, sir." Harry didn't trust Snape at all, he was always trying to humiliate himself, and the word loyalty had nothing to do with that greasy old bat, let alone absolutely.

"I hope you can at least trust my decision," Dumbledore changed the subject. "As for your and Tom's vision, it is very constructive. I hope you will make good use of your power. There is one thing I am concerned about, Slytherin The joining of students will affect their families. You should notice that many students' parents are Death Eaters, and Voldemort may act out of his mind because of this. I suggest you discuss it with Tom, and maybe find a chance Convince Voldemort to stop his atrocities."

"Voldemort is not the type to be persuaded."

"I also believed so firmly before absorbing the soul piece, but now he has reason. Of course, ordinary methods cannot change his mind." Dumbledore stretched out his finger and pointed at his temple, "The soul link between the three of you is a wonderful thing. s things."

"I'm worried about Tom." Harry admitted generously. "What if he can't convince Voldemort but is persuaded by him? You also know that he deceived me more than once, and cooperated with Voldemort many times."

Dumbledore crossed the table, put his wrinkled hand on Harry's, and squeezed it in relief: "Keep faith in Tom, Harry, you are bound by love."

"I'll try." Harry was still not convinced. He glanced at his watch. This time he came here during the break, and it was less than 5 minutes before the start of the Transfiguration class. Even if he successfully avoided all movements The stairs are also difficult to reach on time.Noticing the boy's embarrassment, Dumbledore took out a piece of parchment from the drawer, scribbled something on it and handed it to Harry.

"Give this to Minerva, and she'll know I'm taking your time."

Harry got up and rushed out of the headmaster's room quickly, not noticing that Dumbledore's loving eyes had been following him.The old man walked slowly to the silver tray, the phoenix stretched out its beautiful feathers, and lightly pecked his fingers knowingly.Dumbledore stretched out his hand to caress Fawkes, who tweeted joyfully, and he smiled brightly again: "Fox, my dear old friend, Harry is a miracle, isn't he?"