006 Conversation with Dumbledore (Re-Written)

The extremely cold weather had frozen the vast Black Lake into a solid sheet of ice. In the faint light, the Forbidden Forest swaying in the biting cold wind resembled a lake with rippling, jagged waves.

"Before last Easter, I remember you wrote to me saying that you were exploring the ruins of an ancient Greek wizard in Greece, and you mailed me five pints of dragon blood and forty ounces of dragon liver," Snape said, his voice carrying an indiscernible meaning as he walked shoulder to shoulder with Bryan towards the castle standing on the cliff's edge.

As they passed the three tall goal posts on one side of the pitch, Snape took the opportunity while Bryan was gazing at the flickering firelight from Hagrid's hut to observe the young man, whose eyes were now deeper than three and a half years ago when he had graduated.

"But immediately after, the Daily Prophet disclosed an interesting piece of information. The Norwegian Ministry of Magic stated that someone had illegally broken into their Dragon reserve, stolen a precious Norwegian Ridgeback dragon egg, and slaughtered a Norwegian Ridgeback dragon in front of two Muggles who had accidentally entered the reserve. Bryan, I suppose these two incidents have no connection whatsoever, right?"

"What do you think, Professor?" Bryan withdrew his gaze from the distance and looked towards the only room in the tower with a burning fire amidst a row of dark rooms, and smiled. "Or rather, what kind of answer do you hope to get from me?"

The corners of Snape's mouth curled up in a habitual sneer, but as the words reached his lips, he suddenly realized that the young man beside him was no longer the student from a poor background who disliked forming deep connections with classmates and only liked to immerse himself in his own world. Instead, he had quickly grown into a wizard that even Snape found somewhat inscrutable.

"To me, none of this is important, Bryan. I merely wanted to remind you," Snape said, lowering his head and striding towards the castle. The warm meeting Dumbledore had envisioned did not occur between this teacher and student.

"I hope you know what you're doing right now, and I also hope you know that this school is not as peaceful as it appears on the surface—especially in recent years. Bryan, if your habit of keeping a low profile hasn't changed, then continue to maintain it, particularly in front of Dumbledore. Lastly, my advice is to leave here as soon as possible, even leave the British Wizarding world, and come back only after everything has settled... If your mind is still as sharp as it was back then, you should understand what I'm saying."

...

Perhaps because tonight's actions were too ordinary, the stone gargoyle at the office door showed its dissatisfaction by grimacing and baring its teeth as it moved aside.

"Thank you for your reminder, Professor." As he passed by Snape, who had no intention of going in, Bryan smiled softly. "I've always known what I'm doing, and I'm well aware of the risks I will face."

Dumbledore, who was already in the office, and had taken the time to change into a clean, presentable wizard's robe. He had clearly sensed the visitor's arrival in advance. As the wall closed and Bryan stepped into the office, Dumbledore was already standing behind his desk, gazing at the door with a beaming smile.

"Good evening, Headmaster Dumbledore!" Although he had mentally prepared himself beforehand, when those bright, piercing blue eyes, condensed with the wisdom of a century, fell upon him, illuminated by the steady, bright firelight, Bryan Watson still felt his face tighten and his heartbeat quicken involuntarily.

Fawkes, in the fire basin, heard the slightly familiar voice and was struggling to stretch his neck out from a pile of ashes, looking around curiously.

Thirty feet away, the tall, lean figure of the old man, bathed in firelight, embodied not only the vast, cloud-like magical power but also an unparalleled, legendary life experience that was a living history of modern European magic.

Facing such a person, it was hard to imagine how the first and second generation of Dark Lords had managed to last so long.

"Welcome, welcome~" Dumbledore extended his hand with a smile, greeting Bryan who was striding towards him. His penetrating gaze swept over Bryan's young face, lingering on those pale purple eyes for only a brief moment before shifting his attention to the snow-dusted gray hair.

"Good evening, Bryan. I apologize for having you make an arduous journey in such dreadful weather. As compensation, may I offer you a drink?"

"Thank you, that's exactly what I need." Bryan sat down at Dumbledore's indication, while Dumbledore himself walked to a bookshelf on the side and pulled open a cabinet housing a Pensieve. From a hidden compartment, he retrieved a bottle of aged wine.

"For the sake of my health, I had to hand over most of my collection to Poppy, but this bottle... to be honest, Bryan, I haven't shared it with anyone else yet!"

"Ogden's Old Firewhisky, over eighty years old, priceless on the market," Bryan sniffed the fragrant aroma wafting in the air and smiled reservedly. "Thank you for your generosity, Headmaster Dumbledore. With just this, my trip here is well worth it—"

The years had bestowed a hint of rich mellowness upon this invaluable liquor. Bryan sipped the whisky in small mouthfuls, quietly waiting for his stiff fingers to regain their flexibility.

Dumbledore was in no hurry to initiate the conversation either. He quietly observed Bryan, his gaze gentle. Although he hadn't asked any questions, he seemed to have already obtained what he wanted to know, and moreover, the result was quite satisfactory.

"Severus once told me that in the past two years, you have been following in the footsteps of those great predecessors, exploring magical ruins lost in time," Dumbledore said with a smile when he saw the color return to Bryan's pale cheeks from the cold.

"I am glad that after leaving this school, you have not forgotten to diligently study magic and improve yourself. This makes me feel that the educational philosophy I have persisted in at this school has not been a complete failure. At the very least, Hogwarts' education has still allowed a very small number of people to realize that besides the Ministry of Magic, there are quite a few other good places in the magical world."

Dumbledore did not mention the appointment by the board of governors or anything related to the Chamber of Secrets, which slightly surprised Bryan, who had already prepared his statements and plans.

"In my school days, young wizards did not rush to find a way out for themselves after graduating from school but would all go on a graduation trip to look around. Before I graduated, I had planned to go to Greece with an old friend of mine to search for those legendary magical creatures in mythology and to visit the alchemists' experiments in Egypt...

"But unfortunately, some unexpected events interrupted my plans, and it left me with regrets for almost a lifetime," Dumbledore said with a sigh, his gaze sinking into reminiscence.

"Perhaps making such a choice has something to do with my Muggle background." Bryan put down his glass. Although he was smiling in agreement, confusion arose in his heart.

Before coming here, Bryan had pondered many times in his mind the process of his conversation with Dumbledore. In his speculation, the inscrutable old man behind the desk might have probed into his experiences over the past two years and would not be easily deceived by his simple explanations.

He might have been curious, like Professor Snape, about his true intentions in attempting to return to the school again.

He might have a thorough discussion with him about the perpetrator of the Chamber of Secrets attacks and express doubts about the preventive measures he proposed.

But now it seemed that Dumbledore was not interested in any of these things and only wanted to have a simple chat with him.

'Was this possible?'

Bryan did not think of Dumbledore to be so naive. He became even more vigilant in his heart, but on the surface, he showed great interest in the current topic.

"Children from wizarding families take the wonders of magic for granted, while people like me who grew up in the Muggle world can better understand how precious it is to be able to make miracles bloom with the wave of a wand. Compared to this, power and wealth seem so trivial."

"No need to be modest, Bryan. There are many children from Muggle families, but the ability to revere knowledge and pursue it tirelessly is a talent unique to you," Dumbledore said, his deep eyes behind the half-moon spectacles showing gratification at Bryan's explanation, which happened to align with his expectations.

"Most importantly, after having had many experiences, you can still use the phrase 'miracles bloom' to describe magic, rather than 'power'—" Dumbledore blinked with a playful smile on his face.

"When you were still studying here, Professor Snape privately expressed his concerns to me several times about your research into the Dark Arts, which led to the two of us 'bumping into each other' many times late at night in the Restricted Section of the library."

"*Cough, cough!*"

Bryan, who was taking small sips of the liquor, choked on the strong alcohol. He wiped his scarlet lips, his expression a bit like the embarrassment of a child whose past awkwardness was exposed by a parent.

"It's rare for a wizard as busy as you to remember those little things, Headmaster Dumbledore. I have never been intoxicated by the immense power of the Dark Arts. I just believe that whether it's the Dark Arts or the Light Arts, they are all just a part of magic, a part worth studying—I mean, worth learning from. Blindly rejecting them only highlights our own ignorance."

"Of course, of course, a truly philosophical perspective," Dumbledore nodded in agreement. However, his expression immediately turned solemn.

"But not everyone has a clear self-awareness and strong control, Bryan. So, Professor Snape's concerns about you back then were not without reason."