war and peace

Dumbledore has been struggling lately.

As the chairman of the International Federation of Magicians, the chief wizard of the Wizengamot, the first class medalist of the Order of Merlin, and the principal of Hogwarts, the most prestigious magic school in the world, he has also successfully repelled the most notorious in modern history. Gellert Greenwald, Albus Dumbledore's life seems to be full of halo and glory.But it was such an outstanding white wizard, when he entered old age—probably the few days left in his life—he was faced with the second life-and-death difficult choice in his life.

Outside the window, there was a strong wind, thunder and lightning, and the rain dripped down the window pane.Dumbledore raised his head from the Pensieve, his face wearing a tired look that was a mixture of long-term sleeplessness and over-thinking.There was no doubt that Voldemort had fooled them all.I actually misjudged him, and not just for a while, but for more than two years.All this happened right under his nose, and he didn't notice it.If Voldemort hadn't stepped out from behind the scenes himself, how much longer would they have to speculate?Dumbledore narrowed his eyes slightly, pressing the corners of his eyes with pantothenic acid with his fingers.

Something was different, he had to admit.Keeping a low profile, he originally thought that Voldemort would never bother to do this, and he couldn't bear it for so many years.But it's true—maybe it has to?

Like using Tom's name to enter Hogwarts, which requires sneaking into the Ministry of Magic within a year of birth to forge files, so as to enter the Hogwarts student list.That would mean he did it the year he went to kill Harry's parents, which was impossible.Before doing it, how could he predict the future and then prepare for it?It is even more impossible after doing it. After checking the ruins by himself, he is already in the state of a soul, and he can't even hold a wand... Roald's eight years of world travel experience are not fake. If he recovered his body in two years, then eight In a few years, Voldemort did not come back, but let the Death Eaters scatter like birds and beasts?

In any case, it's not like something Voldemort would do.

And the other half of the matter is, does Harry know who he is holding?Dumbledore's fingers tapped the watery and silvery surface of the Pensieve, and his thoughts drifted away with the waves.Harry's behavior has always been normal...in class, doing homework, arguing with Tom, Hermione mediating between them...how can you see the problem?To be honest, the most surprising thing is that he can get along well with Tom, and that he took the initiative to choose Professor Roald to tutor him in the second grade.One thing that was certain was that Harry knew absolutely that Tom, Professor Roald, and Mr. Gaunt were the same person.

It looked like Harry already knew something... knew what he was going to do - combined with his subconsciously avoiding his eyes, it seemed that he was afraid he knew?That must be an advanced Occlumency technique... But is this possible?A boy who grew up in the Muggle world, had no exposure to even a little bit of magic before entering Hogwarts, knew the inside story, and knew Occlumency?

It's a fantasy, but it can explain a lot of things.If Voldemort is considered in this regard, it can also explain why he is unpredictable.

But if this is the case, Harry should hate Voldemort very much, right?How did it evolve into the current situation?Dumbledore glanced across the newspapers on the table, and the large black-and-white photos of the Quidditch World Cup stubbornly peeked out from under the half-moon glasses.And Voldemort should be able to prevent himself from repeating the same mistakes, let alone this happening...

On the corner of the table, a thin-legged piece of silver steamed and made a sound like a Scottish bagpipe.The opening ceremony of the new year is about to begin. Dumbledore puts on his glasses and puts the Pensieve back on the stone platform.Either the late festival will not be guaranteed, or the two will die together.Well, this might be easier than the previous one, thought Dumbledore as he pushed open the wooden door of the headmaster's office.

But Harry, who was worried and worried by the headmaster, didn't know it.In fact, he was mobbed as soon as he got off the Hogwarts Express - it wasn't there because he, Hermione, Tom and Professor Roald were sitting together.The reason is very simple. First, Harry Potter is the most popular candidate for this year's World Quidditch MVP; A trend sweeping all gossip magazines that won't fade away anytime soon.

Of course, compared to other people who wanted to know how the young Mr. Potter met and fell in love with the wealthy Mr. Gaunt, Harry was more troubled by how to explain it to Hermione.She meant how much it would have been a shock if Tom hadn't happened to be away for a while that day and let him see it with his own eyes—"but it's almost as good as seeing it now"—Hermione was seeing After the report in the newspaper concluded helplessly.Compared with Harry's bewildered face, she thought Tom's expression of just smiling was weirder.

The other is Sirius.He sent a carefully worded letter, very politely asking the same question as Hermione.Harry felt that he probably couldn't explain the intricate relationship between him, Tom, and Mr. Gaunt at all, and was very sorry to be vague-he was most moved that Sirius hadn't sent a Howler letter.Then it occurred to him guiltily that maybe Sirius would when he knew Mr. Gaunt was Voldemort.

Besides, Harry really doesn't care what other people think.When they arrived at the castle gate together, Harry had just stepped out of the carriage pulled by thestrals when several Hufflepuff students pointed at him.Harry pretended not to see it, and walked straight into the hall.Tom next to him was half a step behind and glanced at them coldly.When those students saw such murderous eyes for the first time, their faces turned pale and they couldn't say anything.

"Sometimes you really don't feel like a child." Hermione, who watched the scene from beginning to end, whispered.

"What?" Harry turned to see Hermione nodding at him.He looked at the black-haired boy who had returned to normal expressionless, and then at the few people on the other side who were already scrambling up the steps, and immediately guessed what happened. "Tom—" he draws out, a little dissatisfied.

"They..." The black-haired boy couldn't help sighing while being stared at by him. "Well, they better not let me find out there's another time."

The dominance in Voldemort's nature is really old-fashioned.On the one hand, Harry thought to himself that he would definitely drag Voldemort away from places where there were few people, and on the other hand, he felt a little joy for no reason.He blushed at his latter thought, and hastily and discreetly drew Tom close to him, trying to keep out of the eyes of the crowd.

Hermione followed behind, and began to mutter in her heart again: I really deserve it... Looking at their expressions, it seems that the Quidditch World Cup didn't happen before... No, it's getting closer and closer, how strange... …

They walked through the porch, through the hall, and into the auditorium.Peeves threw water bombs made of balloons at the students in front of the door. When Harry passed under him, he threw a freezing spell casually, and then the three of them hurried in.The rest of the students around and behind were looking up, studying the frozen... er, elves for the first time in Hogwarts history?

The auditorium is still so splendid, and it has been decorated for the new semester banquet.Hundreds of candles floated above the table, illuminating gold plates and goblets.Harry had just sat down at the Gryffindor table when someone tapped his shoulders from both sides.

"Cool~~ so cool~~"

"It's so cool~~"

Harry looked back and saw that it was the Weasley twins.They were soaked through, but their faces were still very excited. "We saw your freezing spell—" "I've never seen Peeves so deflated—" "The mouth is still open, as if he wants to say something—" "Unfortunately, he can't say anything—"

The twins sang together, making Harry laugh. "It's nothing," he said, "it's just raining and cold enough, and..."

Before he finished speaking, Fred bowed his head and whispered in his ear, "Well done! It's our Gryffindor!" Seeing Harry's blank face, he added: "The Quidditch World Cup—not only It's a game!"

Harry's eyes widened in surprise.This means... "Me too! By the way, our younger brothers and sisters are more fragile..." George's voice came from the other ear.

Then the twins stood up laughing, winked at Harry, and sat aside.

This was the first positive encouragement he received.Watching them sit down, Harry looked back at Tom's bluish face—presumably the behavior of the twins just now was defined by him as being too intimate—and couldn't help but smile sincerely.

The teacher's seat was facing the four long tables of the college, and this scene completely fell into the eyes of the people in the main seat.Dumbledore felt that Harry was undoubtedly a standard Gryffindor, so no matter how you look at it, it is more likely that Voldemort deceived him!His gaze swept to the left, and the handsome young man with black hair and black eyes seemed to feel his gaze, and raised his wine glass to him with a smile.Dumbledore tensed imperceptibly.If the other party was not Voldemort, he would be very willing to learn how to make himself younger, even to a level that other people can't even notice with their hearts.Although he is old, metamorphosis is his consistent strength after all!

At this moment, the students filled the four long tables one after another, and the dinner began immediately.Due to the weather, everyone was cold and hungry, and the atmosphere became lively as soon as the dishes were served.Harry tasted the oxtail bisque in front of him, while Hermione on the opposite side enthusiastically brought herself a small cup of raisin pudding.We didn't see Shining in this year's World Cup, so he probably won't have to be forced to be SPEW's secretary.That's probably a good thing, since there are very few house-elves like Dobby.More than……

Wait a moment!Harry felt himself grabbing the tail of something.He just remembered that he still didn't see Barty Crouch in the top box a few days ago... No, no, that's not the point... Winky didn't come, so what about Barty Crouch Jr.?

The auditorium was noisy, and Harry's whispered question to Tom went so smoothly that no one paid attention.

"Dead." The black-haired boy said lightly without even moving his eyebrows.

Harry looked at him suspiciously. "...One of them, I will free him from the cage..." Isn't that what Voldemort once said?

"Barty Crouch Jr. is dead." The dark-haired boy repeated, biting his name very clearly.

Harry narrowed his eyes, then thought of something, and slowly widened his eyes. "He's just like you," Harry said slowly, changing his name and appearance...

He knew who it was: Boggs Chester.It can be known from Voldemort's arrangement of him in the Auror Division that this person is a die-hard Death Eater; but he has never seen it before, since it didn't come out of nowhere, it must be someone pretending to be.As far as he knows and knows Barty Crouch Jr., he really has the ability to pretend to be an Auror without being exposed; think about how he impersonated Moody for a year at Hogwarts, don’t say people who don’t know him No one in the Order of the Phoenix, including Dumbledore, found out!Maybe the most intelligent Death Eater...

Harry thought it over from front to back, and finally had to admit that Voldemort had done a beautiful job of it.He not only successfully got rid of the stains of the past and his father who became an obstacle, but also entered the Ministry of Magic as a newcomer to easily gain the trust of others.The most amazing thing is the department that arranged him to go - Auror Division!Who would have thought he was actually a Death Eater, huh?

"...Only students who are 17 years old - that is to say, 17 years old and over - are allowed to enroll for consideration. We think," Dumbledore's voice rose, and Harry regained his senses Come on, so much time has passed unconsciously. "This measure is very necessary..."

Harry didn't listen to the rest of the passage, partly because he had already heard it once, and partly because many underage students were protesting angrily, and their voices were not small.Harry was a little disappointed, but after thinking about it, he had already participated once, and those projects that seemed difficult before, now he can think of at least ten ways to do it, and I guarantee that each of them is very effective.

However, Harry glanced at the black-haired boy next to him and nudged him, "What about you?"

Tom stared at him a little surprised. "The Triwizard Tournament? Me?"

Harry smiled narrowly, "Didn't you never participate?" He felt that it was a piece of cake now, and it probably wasn't enough for Voldemort to squeeze his teeth.

"You're the only one who dares to joke with me." Tom complained deliberately, and he could see that Harry was deliberately teasing him.

"...but it's a bit arbitrary to use age as the criterion for judging ability," Dumbledore changed the subject, and he could hear a turning point below, and the auditorium suddenly fell silent. "Students under the age of 17 can also sign up," Harry heard the cheers of the twin brothers, "but there is one small condition," Dumbledore glanced across the auditorium, "after we obtain your legal guardian's After permission."