Chapter 422

A/N: Do you want to finish reading the book today? Do it! Now you can ;)

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"Hmm... since we started talking frankly, can I ask a question?"

Dumbledore nodded affirmatively.

"What was the whole situation for in the first year? In the second? The third and so on… I don't understand."

"In the first year?" the headmaster raised one eyebrow a little in surprise. "I cannot refuse my long-time mentor and friend his request. But I can't tell you its essence either. Regarding your concerns, I can say that Fluffy is not capable of harming a student. Even if the student thought he was about to be torn to pieces by a Cerberus, Fluffy would do nothing more than drool all over the poor boy from head to toe and tear his pant leg. Absolutely any magical animal located on the territory of Hogwarts is subjected to such an indestructible magical effect — the spell of the Founders themselves. The whole obstacle course was traumatic but safe. I tried to combine my mentor's request, accompanied by Hogwarts' financial support, with an attempt to capture Voldemort's spirit. The Mirror of Erised is a rather tricky artifact. If it is configured correctly, it will eventually catch the soul of the one who is specified in these settings. Catch it, and destroy it like a Dementor, sending the rest away from the world. A day — so much time was needed for the Mirror to capture Voldemort's spirit. But I underestimated Mr. Potter's dedication, and as a result, the Dark Lord was distracted from the Mirror, and the ritual failed..."

"Then the basilisk..."

"Absolutely safe. It was until you killed it. Even if it had received orders from Slytherin himself, Petrification is its limit."

"What about Myrtle?"

"It's hard to say for sure, but her body had traces of petrification, and only then she died. Death from a glance is as traceless as from Avada."

"What about poison?"

"The Basilisk is capable of changing the properties of its venom over a wide range..."

"Yes, I've read in books. However, he usually uses instant lethal, or acidic."

"Exactly, Mr. Knight. In one of his few surviving works, Slytherin described the limiting spells deliberately used in his creation. A basilisk biting a student could leave severe scars and a powerful, painful effect, and subsequently - temporary and safe paralysis and sleep. Slytherin created it as an ideal guard, able to appear anywhere in Hogwarts at any time and protect it from invasion."

"But a diary? How?"

"Now that's another mistake I made. I couldn't then, and couldn't now, sense such an artifact. The Horcrux. You've noticed that it doesn't stand out in any way if you don't know where to look. It's no big deal - a girl brought a notebook with charms. Thousands of different small handicrafts and enchanted items are brought to Hogwarts every year. If signal charms sound the alarm on obviously Dark artifacts, then for such - no. And I'm by no means omnipresent myself, and many things only come to my attention after the fact."

"Indeed," thinking, I drank the tea left in the cup in one gulp.

"You didn't think I was doing this on purpose, did you?" the headmaster was genuinely surprised. "What kind of "story" did you have there?"

"Very ambiguous and not talking about anything at all. Headmaster, did you know that Sirius is innocent?"

" No," he shook his head. "You know the nuances of Fidelius, right?"

"Yes, it has been read and studied."

"When I suggested to James and Lily to use Sirius as a Secret Keeper, I was guided solely by the qualities of the young Mr. Black at that time. He would never betray and would keep the secret under any torture. It was a logical decision, the right one. The presence of the future Secret Keeper himself at the ritual is not necessary — his blood is enough. I never thought that they would choose Peter instead of Sirius. I thought until the very end that it was Sirius who betrayed them, which, of course, was strange but technically possible. You know, Mr. Knight, I find it absolutely impossible to save those who are their own enemy."

"What about the fake Moody? Many of those who know that you have known each other for a long time wondering how it was possible to overlook the fact that he is not real?"

"And this refers to the second reason for my introduction about occlumency. Alastor is terribly paranoid. Mr. Knight, what can you say about him?"

I thought long and hard. I don't know Moody well enough, but he appears in a slightly new, different role every time. That's what I told the headmaster.

"True," I added with a chuckle, "there's also «constant vigilance!»"

Dumbledore smiled back.

"Yes... Constant vigilance. It is so constant that he keeps his occlumency to the max, as, by the way, do you, Mr. Knight. The problem with communicating with such people is that such people are not felt empathically at all. Communicating with them is like talking to a wall. Especially when it comes to Alastor. He can be anything, and you don't know when he's real. It's a little easier with you - you have distinctive habits, movements, a set of smiles. But in empathy, you're just as empty and as if you don't exist. I'm sure you feel like you're the one who doesn't want to communicate with other students. In fact, it is they who are uncomfortable communicating with you. Do you know what they think of you?"

"No. I'm not interested. Although right now, specifically, they're afraid of me."

"Not everyone, no. They admire you. They respect you. But when they try to communicate with you, kids just get lost. They just don't feel you. At least some feeling from you appears in moments of witchcraft or when you forcibly form magic around yourself, increasing its pressure. It's hard to confuse adults like this, but children… They have a strong dissonance in their head from the fact that here you are, you can be seen, you can be heard, there is a certain smell from you, but you are not felt. As I know, few have really found the desire and strength to fully communicate with you."

"Interesting..."

"Yes. Alastor is absolutely the same because of his paranoia. It's still a big secret to me - what is he like, the real Alastor? That's why I wasn't surprised by the slight inconsistency in Barty Crouch Jr.'s image. It was quite in Alastor's spirit. He read the material competently and as it should be, with experience and according to the scheme of the Aurors Academy... I am by no means a genius or omnipotent, though many have decided otherwise, blindly following the image they have invented for themselves."

"I see..." I nodded, sighing. "But why are you telling me all this anyway?"

"It's just that you, Mr. Knight, have a completely neutral attitude toward me. I'm sure you'll take the information you receive adequately and will not use it in any way, nor will you release it to the masses. And then... Then I won't care anymore. But I wanted to tell someone."