Hogwarts: Voldemort, don't stop me from studying

Chapter 1016 Harry's Memories

Leaving the headmaster's office, Ron remained frowning, muttering to himself as he pondered Dumbledore's words. The more he thought about it, the more something seemed amiss.
“Harry, you said…”

He suddenly leaned close to his friend, his face full of suspicion, and said, "Dumbledore just said so much, but I feel like... he said something, but then again, he didn't say anything at all?"

Harry paused, having the same thought in his mind.

Aside from the instruction "do not spread it indiscriminately," the rest... while not entirely wrong, failed to provide any definitive answer regarding how to interpret the prophecy, which was of utmost concern to them.

He gave a vague "hmm" and said, "Perhaps... Professor Dumbledore himself isn't quite sure... Perhaps, as Hermione said, it's just not the right time yet..."

Ron was even more puzzled. He scratched his head and said with some dissatisfaction:

"Then why did he leave Wade behind alone? I think Dumbledore definitely wants to have a real discussion with Wade. All those things he said before were just to fool us!"

At that moment, it was as if a veil of self-deception had been lifted, and Harry's heart felt as if it had been pricked by something.

That familiar, uncontrollable sour feeling resurfaced.

Why is it always Wade who is left behind, trusted, and entrusted with important tasks by Dumbledore? Why not Harry Potter?
But Harry immediately suppressed the thought, even feeling disgusted at having such an idea.

he thinks--

Vader's spells are stronger than mine, he studies harder than me, and his abilities in all aspects are far superior to mine. Even when facing those dark wizards... his performance is much better than mine.

If it weren't for Wade holding back, Harry didn't think he would have made it to the end in the Magical School League.

How could someone like him compare to Wade in terms of who was the student Dumbledore valued most? Was he supposed to rely on the title of "the boy who survived," something he didn't want at all?

Wade was his friend, intelligent, brave, calm, and clearly had more to offer... He should be happy for Wade and should support him.

At the same time, Harry's desire to become stronger, to have more weight, and to be trusted and relied upon in the same way grew wildly in his heart like weeds.

While Harry remained silent, Ron pondered for a while, then suddenly stopped, his face drained of color, his eyes widened, and he looked at Harry in horror.

“Wait, Harry!” Ron exclaimed in horror, “Did you just say… the prophecy referred to… the Man Who Levitt and the dark wizard Grindelwald?”

"Huh?" Harry didn't react immediately and asked blankly, "Yeah, what's wrong?"

“But…but…” Ron said in a trembling voice, “Could the mysterious man be resurrected again? Is he…is he immortal?”

Harry's heart skipped a beat, and he suddenly realized the problem.

On the night the Hogwarts tournament ended, Wade was still unconscious in the hospital wing, and Harry had a long and somber conversation with Dumbledore.

On that occasion, the headmaster calmly explained to him some things that Harry couldn't understand—

For example, why Voldemort insisted on using his blood to resurrect him, why the Killing Curse didn't take his life, and the strange resonance that occurred when the wands touched.

As the conversation drew to a close, Dumbledore gazed intently at Harry and solemnly warned him:
"Harry, once you return to the common room, do not speak of Voldemort to anyone, including Ron, Hermione, and Neville."

"If someone tells you that Voldemort is dead, don't rush to refute it."

"Why?" Harry asked, puzzled. Dumbledore stood up, walked to the window, and the moonlight bathed his long, silvery hair.

He said in a deep voice, "Voldemort once did something very dangerous."

"He used some dark and ancient power to cast an extremely powerful ignore spell. When people think of him, they subconsciously ignore him, forget him, and even distort their memories to believe that he is dead."

After a pause, the old man continued, “Of course, because of some strange connection, the spell’s effect on you is not as pronounced as on others, so you can distinguish between truth and illusion, but don’t tell the truth to others.”

Harry felt a chill run down his spine and couldn't help but say, "If that's the case... shouldn't we tell people the truth?"

“No!” the old man said firmly. “Harry, not now.”

His attitude carried an unusual severity.

"But why?" Harry couldn't help but press. "Is it a requirement from the Ministry of Magic? Because Minister Fudge doesn't want any accidents to happen..."

Dumbledore slowly shook his head: "No, of course not... Cornelius's opinion is not that important."

“Harry, you need to know that human consciousness is a very mysterious thing. The profound connection between thought and magic is something that even Merlin may not be able to fully understand.”

"But what we can be sure of is that forgetting will breed deeper forgetting, and distorted cognition will reinforce distorted reality. When people firmly believe that Voldemort can no longer harm the world, this collective belief can even resonate with reality."

"So... when Voldemort used this spell to temporarily hide himself and accumulate power, he inadvertently weakened his power and influence."

"It's a contradiction, but Harry, that's often how dark magic works—it hurts others and it hurts the caster. Sometimes, the damage to the caster is the most severe and far-reaching."

Harry listened intently, taking a moment to comprehend what he was hearing.

“So,” he said incredulously, “if we do nothing and let that ignore spell run away… will Voldemort eventually disappear from the world completely?”

A meaningful smile appeared on Dumbledore's lips, and he said:
“I don’t completely rule out that…theoretically possible. But it’s more likely that he’s still alive, but his strength is far less than it used to be.”

"Voldemort's past power was not only due to his profound mastery of dark magic, but also to people's fear of him—a deep-seated fear that caused many to lose the will to resist him and fight him."

"Think about it carefully, Harry, which situation do you think is more helpful in protecting people?"

"—So that everyone knows Voldemort is still alive, can remain vigilant, but live in constant fear, tremble at the mere mention of his name, and lose the courage to pick up a wand the instant they see him?"

"—Or have we forgotten our fear of Voldemort and treated him as an ordinary stranger, an obviously identifiable dark wizard, just like any other dangerous stranger?"

Harry remained silent for a long time, and when he finally spoke, his voice was a little strained:

"I don't know which is better, Professor..."

"But I know that when I faced him, if I hadn't kept thinking 'he is Voldemort,' I might have been able to strike faster."

“If he weren’t Voldemort, perhaps Peter Pettigrew wouldn’t have made the decision to betray him, and the Ministry of Magic would have taken the threat he posed more seriously, instead of making people want to hide in their shells. Many people… many people wouldn’t have been killed by him.”

(End of this chapter)