Hogwarts Study Panel

Chapter 282: The Cat with Closed Eyes

Don't judge your past self from your current perspective.

This is the only thing Sheen wanted to say.

Dumbledore raised his pale blue eyes, and only then did he fully grasp the emotions that Minerva and Severus had once shared.

What a wonderful child!

he thinks.

If a person possesses great strength and great talent, yet remains humble;
If a person has struggled desperately for life in barren soil, yet is still moved by every weak and insignificant struggle;

If a person has never experienced much beauty but still harbors the most genuine kindness towards the world and does their best to help all those in need...

Then perhaps only such a person can be called the greatest.

Because when he was in the same league, no one could do better than him.

The Daily Prophet describes him as the successor to the greatest wizard, but whose successor is he succeeding? In a sense, he is not a student.

"If you knew how many wrong things I've done..."

Dumbledore seemed to have returned to his student days, conversing with a great soul recognized by the Sacred Relics.

"That's not important, is it? If what you're looking for is a soul..."

So please, principal, do not pity the dead. Pity the living, and most importantly, pity those who live lives devoid of love.

Sheen looked at Headmaster Dumbledore, and his gaze told Dumbledore that there were people here who needed to be pitied.

"child--"

Dumbledore's long beard trembled as he realized with a start that these were the words he had always wanted to describe but had never been embodied in his mind.

Or perhaps, these were the shameful words he uttered before ending his disgraceful life.

“I will do it, Principal.”

Sheen heard his voice grow hoarse. Everyone here wanted Dumbledore to be an unyielding wall, including himself.

But how many people care about this old man's broken and lonely heart?

What he really wants are wool socks? Maybe...

Dumbledore was completely stunned; he couldn't describe his feelings, and his words were no more eloquent than anyone else's at that moment.

He was personally sending such children to dangerous borderlands, even though he knew perfectly well how much change such wizards would bring to the magical world.

"neglect……"

He tried to speak several times, but couldn't utter a word.

"Ignore my request, child, ignore me..."

When an owl flew out of the headmaster's office and delivered a letter from Hogwarts to Sheehan, Dumbledore seemed to have resolved some unresolved issue and spoke.

His blue eyes narrowed, regaining their usual kindness.

"There are many people in the magical world who deserve help, but I am not among them."

Dumbledore looked directly into Sheehan's eyes once more.

Only now does he realize what turbulent undercurrents lay beneath that calm.

Even someone like him would be deeply moved by such a sincere soul.

Sheehan didn't speak. Of course he knew what Headmaster Dumbledore was thinking. He knew that the Borderlands were extremely dangerous, and its danger lay even more in the wizards' powerlessness over the realm of spirits.

But Sheen is different; he always has an advantage in learning any kind of magic, and sooner or later he will be able to do everything he can.

If a lost Ariana truly exists at the border, then... asking Sheen for help now would increase the probability of success from almost zero to ninety-nine percent compared to pinning one's hopes on the Resurrection Stone.

"Forget our conversation, child, I still hope to see you here every Saturday during summer vacation."

Although I'm not as smart as you think, time will eventually teach even the dullest person something.

Headmaster Dumbledore smiled kindly and said,
"For example, speaking in a border area is just a minor issue."

As Sheehan walked out of the headmaster's office, Dumbledore could still see something in those calm green eyes. "There are no coincidences in this world, Albus. If that boy is determined to find something, he will find it."

Dumbledore recalled what Minerva had said back then.

This is a stubborn child; he always forges ahead on the right path.

So...did I make another regrettable decision?
……

Sunlight streamed down the corridor, bathing Sheen in a thin halo of light.

He subtly emphasized the importance of soul transformation; the plea of ​​an old man who had protected the magical world for decades would touch anyone's heart.

As for now, Professor McGonagall is still waiting for him.

He took out the letter; the handwriting on it was somewhat dazzling in the sunlight:

Come to me, child.

—Minerva

Professor McGonagall stood by the window at the door of the Transfiguration office.

Why do the wizards at Hogwarts all like to stand by the window?
Sheen's thoughts drifted.

"Child, come to me—"

Professor McGonagall called softly,

"When you are joyful, perhaps you should remember that someone is waiting for you to share it—"

Sheen didn't understand what this meant.
"You... actually think this is a trivial matter?"

Professor McGonagall gleaned something from his confusion.

She recalls the great achievement Olivia shared with her in the auditorium, and now feels both shocked and amused.

"You've taken an unprecedented step in Transfiguration; everyone will remember your feats of transforming into magical creatures..."

Professor McGonagall said with a smile.

"Actually, Professor, I don't understand the principle behind it yet... I haven't mastered the ancient runes of self-transformation, and it's currently an unreplicable form of self-transformation..."

Sheen then began to understand.

It turns out that he inexplicably created a magical beast version of Animagus transformation.

So for the rest of the afternoon, Sheen spent his time with Professor McGonagall learning his cat slang form.

Just like the problem he had encountered before—he couldn't fully control his body—Professor McGonagall's help came at just the right time.

In cat form, with practice, Sheen can even sense his environment through his whiskers.

With his eyes closed, he can run and jump by sensing the flow of the breeze, although he always ends up bumping into something.

The tabby cat watched as the black cat bumped into the softened wall again, covered its head with its paws, and its long whiskers trembled with joy.

Sunlight streamed into the castle, the plants on the windowsill emitted a sweet fragrance, and soft chirping could always be heard from the warm Transformation Office.

……

Sheen felt dizzy even as he walked out of the Transfiguration office.

But he didn't give up the attempt. If he could close his eyes and run at that speed, he would have another way out when fighting the basilisk.

As magical creatures, cats possess far more incredible abilities than ordinary cats.

Sheen felt that his avatar was probably one of the more powerful ones, even among the magical cat slang.

Now, he is going to find another magical creature to prepare an interesting opponent for the basilisk.

"Hagrid—"

"At the edge of the Forbidden Forest," Sheen called out.

(End of this chapter)