Dumbledore's Doubts and Hermione's Embarrassment

Chap. 22 – Dumbledore's Doubts and Hermione's Embarrassment

Dumbledore was sitting at his desk, contemplating one of the new students of this term: Simon Morgan.

A few months ago, he was invited by Minister Fudge to investigate a location where a probable ritual had taken place. Rituals were rare, requiring various factors to work, such as planetary alignment, areas filled with magical energy, sacrifices, and the like.

Normally, only powerful wizards would attempt a ritual in a secure and protected location. So he was curious about who would attempt a ritual in the Muggle world, without any security, and if it was connected to the new prophecy that Sibyl had told him.

When he arrived at the location, he saw that some Aurors were present, many of them his former students. Fortunately, he saw Moody, who came to greet him after spotting him, before being approached by the others.

- Moody, what happened?

- See for yourself.

The place where a shed once stood was completely destroyed. The surrounding area was full of soot, and the charred ground showed the intense heat generated by the flames.

But none of this caught Dumbledore's attention. What made him uneasy was how chaotic the magic was at the site; he felt it would be challenging to cast any spells there, and it would cost him much more energy than usual.

- Moody, what was done here?

- We have no idea, but whatever it was, I think whoever did this achieved their goal.

- Yes.

Dumbledore then drew his wand and waved it gently.

- Appare Vestigium.

A golden powder emanated from his wand and spread throughout the area. The Aurors who were still working, watching the scene, stopped and looked at the great white wizard as he performed his spell.

Dumbledore felt that the chaotic energy of the location was making things a bit difficult. If any other wizard used this spell, nothing would happen due to how chaotic the energy was. But he pushed a bit harder, and with the help of the Elder Wand and his immense magical power, he generated a faint image.

It wasn't much. Everyone saw a group of people standing, being destroyed and turning into souls before transforming into something. But before the image could be completed, it was gone, causing everyone to sigh and look at Dumbledore.

- What was the problem?

- It wasn't magic.

- What?

- Appare Vestigium reveals traces of recent magical activity.

- I still know the basics, Dumbledore.

- Good. Why didn't I find any traces of magic at this location?

- How is that possible?

- I don't know. The image we saw was only due to the fact that, for a brief moment, there was a magical surge nearby before all the energy became chaotic.

- What does that mean?

- Either someone used some magical artifact, or someone awakened their magic.

- You mean a child? A child did this?

- Or they were present – said Dawlish as he approached.

- A ritual to turn a squib into a wizard? That doesn't exist, Dawlish.

- Then what the hell would a child be doing here? Performing a ritual?

- For now, I have nothing more to do here - said Dumbledore, ending their discussion – the magic is too chaotic even for me. Within a month, I will return to see if I find anything else.

- Thank you, Dumbledore.

Waving to Fawkes, Dumbledore disappeared, leaving the Aurors behind as he returned to Hogwarts. But instead of going to his office, he went to one of the highest towers of the castle, locked by an old steel door.

Upon entering the room, he saw an old book, with a leather cover and a quill still in an inkwell, waiting to come out and write a new name in the book.

Dumbledore opened the book and went to the last page to check the latest names to be written and stopped at the last one: Simon Morgan.

- "Are you the son of chaos? What do you intend?"

Dumbledore decided to wait a bit and not jump to conclusions. Even though he would do everything in his power and more to preserve the wizarding world, if possible, he did not want to resort to the murder of a child.

When the summer vacation passed, and the new students arrived, Dumbledore was anxious. He could feel something wrong with Quirrell, but he pretended not to notice.

Dealing with a visible enemy was considerably easier than dealing with a hidden one. He also needed to test Harry to confirm if he was truly capable of harming Voldemort and thus confirm the accuracy of Trelawney's prophecies.

Moreover, there was also the issue of Simon. Watching the children enter, his eyes wandered over all of them, quickly focusing on Harry before stopping and waiting for Minerva to perform the house selection.

Name after name was called until he finally heard:

- Simon Morgan.

He looked at the boy. Black hair, fair skin, and only one eye visible while the other was covered. When he saw him, Dumbledore felt nothing, no anxiety or nervousness. He just sat and waited for the hat's decision.

- Slytherin.

After a few moments, he was sorted into Slytherin. Although he wasn't the first Muggle-born in Slytherin – they were rare and mostly mixed-blood – it was almost impossible for someone of 100% Muggle descent to be part of Slytherin.

Dumbledore kept an eye on the boy until it was Harry's turn to be sorted. And in the brief moment when he looked away from Simon, he felt the boy looking at him. Throughout Harry's decision-making process, Simon never averted his eyes, completely ignoring Harry.

After Harry was assigned to Gryffindor, he felt Simon's eyes leave him. Then he looked slightly towards the Slytherin table and saw the boy looking at the table in front of him, completely ignoring everything around him.

Dumbledore was almost 100% sure that the so-called son of chaos was Simon, but he needed to be cautious. As stated in the prophecy, he was someone living in duality.

- "Will he be like Tom? Hiding behind a mask while committing his crimes? Or will he do nothing and follow a good path?"

Dumbledore stood up and went to the window, looking at the beautiful full moon. His eyes showed the conflict within him. He couldn't simply condemn him for having dark thoughts. He first needed to see how the boy would act.

- "For now, let's guide him. If he proves to be a threat like Tom... I will take care of him."

With these thoughts, the great white wizard rested while contemplating how to deal with the possible son of chaos, unaware that the same was pondering on how he had captured his attention and what to do to avoid being hindered.

The next day, Simon woke up early, around 5 a.m., and looked around. He ended up sharing the room with three other people, and all of them were still sleeping peacefully. They were Draco, Vicente Crabbe, and Gregório Goyle.

Although they hadn't been friendly, they had done nothing more than make a few sarcastic comments about him. He wasn't angry; if he let himself be bothered by such things, it would be a shame. Although he had to admit that if it went on a little longer, he would retaliate.

Simon put on a set of loose clothes and left the common room for an outdoor walk. He didn't know if it was because he was away from the city, but the air at Hogwarts was great. He walked for about 30 minutes, passing through the lawns before reaching the shores of the Black Lake, where he sat for a while.

In the distance, the lake mist faded away, and the night bid its farewell as the sun began to appear on the horizon. Simon enjoyed the first moments of light before returning to his room and taking a shower. Wearing his clothes, now magically displaying the colors of Slytherin, and his cloak bearing the house emblem, he went out to have his breakfast.

Simon saw that the students' table was almost empty when he arrived to eat. He had a light and quick meal—some eggs with toast and sausages and an orange juice—before returning to the common room.

He then looked at the three still sleeping and sighed softly as he grabbed his things and left to find a place to study a bit in the common room.

- "The Transfiguration class is at 9 a.m., so I still have time."

Occasionally, some people passed by him, staring at him with slightly uncomfortable eyes. Simon didn't mind and continued his studies. At some point, Draco and his friends woke up and rushed to have their breakfast. Simon looked at the pocket watch and saw that it would soon be time for class, so he closed his notebook and left the common room.

Hogwarts' staircases were a hassle, but Simon was fast, and in less than 15 minutes, he reached the classroom. He saw that although few, there were already some students in the room, and then he saw Hermione trying to pet a cat on the teacher's desk.

Simon smiled at the scene, imagining old McGonagall struggling not to scratch one of her students. He then thought of something fun and approached Hermione.

The girl was so focused on the spotted kitten in front of her that she only noticed Simon when he approached her, startling her a bit.

- Oh, hi, Simon.

- Hello, Hermione.

She didn't know how to face the boy; everyone in Gryffindor said that Slytherins were bad people, but she didn't want to distance herself from one of her few acquaintances, especially being a Muggle-born like her.

- Want to hear something interesting?

- What?

Simon smiled and leaned closer to her ear, making her blush a bit, and then whispered a few words. Suddenly, she became static and turned to the cat with scared and embarrassed eyes, but before she could apologize, Simon covered her mouth and waved slightly to the cat before taking Hermione to the table where they sat together.

Hermione kept her head down, trying to hide from everyone's view, while Simon did his best not to laugh at her. Just imagining the girl stroking and scratching Professor Minerva's neck, thinking she was an ordinary cat, was hilarious to him.

- Shut up.

- I didn't say anything.

- You don't need to.

Their friendship was weak and quite fragile; they had only known each other for a few hours before being sorted into different houses, but Simon liked Hermione's character: strong, fearless, intelligent. If possible, he didn't want to have to distance himself from her; she was a good friend.

Slowly, the room became increasingly crowded. Draco entered with his followers, and after seeing Simon with Hermione, he gave a mocking smile as he sat with Goyle, and Crabbe sat behind with another Slytherin student.

Time passed, and finally, everyone arrived in the room, well, everyone except Harry and Ron. Seeing that the teacher hadn't arrived yet, some students opened their books and started making some notes when suddenly two boys ran into the silent room, attracting everyone's attention.

Hermione was a bit disappointed and afraid that this would cost house points, but she stayed silent as she turned back to continue reading.

- We're lucky. The teacher hasn't arrived yet.

Before Harry could agree with Ron, they saw the cat on the table jump and assume a human form, revealing a middle-aged lady, well-dressed, with a stern look on her face.

- You're late. I wonder if I should transfigure you into clocks to help you arrive on time.

- We got lost – replied Harry.

- Transfigure you into maps then? I think you can find your seats, right?

- Yes, ma'am.

Seeing Harry and Ron settle, Minerva turned to another part of the room, looking directly at Hermione and Simon. Noticing the teacher's gaze, Hermione shrank even more, while Simon just smiled slightly at the situation.

- Well, let's begin.