A certain Hogwarts professor of runes

Chapter 139 Two Memories

The office was completely silent.

The exquisite silverware on the corner of the table spun, emitting wisps of smoke and making a "tick-tock" sound.

"Your testimony is very useful, Felix," Dumbledore said, his eyes, beneath thick silver brows, fixed thoughtfully on the diary. "He's more insane than I thought."

"You mean Voldemort?"

"I prefer to call him Tom, Tom Riddle, which is his real name. He never shied away from it when he was in school, and the professors never called him by his surname 'Riddle,' but rather called him Tom affectionately," Dumbledore explained.

Felix thought to himself, "It seems Voldemort had a much better life than me when he was in school."

"Is it because he made more than one Horcrux?" Felix asked.

"That's right, Felix. This magic is more evil than you imagine, granting immortality by splitting the soul—"

“Headmaster Dumbledore, I’m not interested in that,” Felix interrupted him. “Do you have any other questions?”

Dumbledore blinked, a satisfied smile spreading across his face. "Felix, you understand the importance of restraint better than I did when I was younger... I do have one more question."

He placed his hands on the table, saying, "I want to know more about what happened when the Horcruxes were destroyed."

Felix had anticipated this, and coincidentally, he also had two things he wanted Dumbledore to know. So he turned to look at the black cabinet behind him. "Why don't you see for yourself, Dumbledore?"

He turned around and saw Dumbledore's surprised look.

The old man said, "You mean, the Pensieve? Many wizards avoid this topic..." This was a reaction he had not expected at all.

“Yes, I saw it when I was here last time. The cabinet wasn’t closed then,” Felix explained. “As for avoiding it? I do avoid it, but I personally believe that since Voldemort isn’t dead, he will come back someday, and you are the person he fears most.”

Dumbledore shook his head, his aged face already covered with wrinkles: "Felix, I am old." He waved his hand, and the black cabinet door opened, from which a shallow stone basin flew out steadily and landed on the table in front of the two of them.

Felix examined the Pensieve closely, this ancient and rare magical artifact. Its rim was adorned with strange carvings: various mysterious letters and symbols.

He could recognize some of them, but most were outside the scope of his knowledge.

Inside the Pensieve was a pool of silvery substance, somewhat like bright silver, but constantly flowing. Felix drew his wand and gently touched it with the tip, and the silvery light began to swirl softly.

He then pressed his wand to his forehead and said softly, "Felix, I must thank you for your trust in me."

Felix gave a mischievous smile: "Oh, Headmaster Dumbledore, I'll only show you the most crucial memories. I'll keep some private things very well hidden—you won't get anything even if you put your nose right in someone's face."

For the first time that night, Dumbledore showed a hearty smile.

A shimmering silver thread was drawn out and added to the Pensieve. Felix stirred it with his wand, allowing the thread to blend into the silver light.

The two of them reached out at the same time, and when their fingertips touched the silver light in the basin, a tremendous attraction pulled them in, and without resistance, they fell into the meditation basin.

The first memory was very brief—

A little elf fell to the ground, and Felix summoned the Fiery Sword, pointing it directly at the diary.

The Horcrux cried out in its dying breath: "No, I can tell you the secret to conquering death—"

But Felix didn't hesitate for a moment, controlling his longsword to pierce through the Horcrux, and the sound stopped abruptly.

This memory ends here.

The two figures reappeared in the office. Dumbledore's expression was complex, yet also carried a strange sense of relief.

He looked at Felix: "I am proud of your choice. In times of war, many famous wizards were easily bewitched by him, not to mention his secret to conquering death."

Dumbledore didn't even mention why Felix was able to master the Fiendfyre spell to such an extent.

At other times, he might have advised Felix not to get too involved, but now, compared to resisting the temptation of Horcruxes, that was utterly irrelevant.

And that was the first thing Felix wanted to tell Dumbledore.

The next memory is the second one—

In a pure white space, ice-blue and bronze magic intertwined to form a huge vortex, constantly tearing at the crown, with wisps of black energy emanating from it.

Dumbledore stared strangely at a figure not far away. Opposite Felix stood a beautiful but stern witch, Helena, arm in arm with her. They were talking, but Dumbledore could hear nothing; even their faces were blurry.

"Is this what you call privacy?"

"We're discussing my path in magic," Felix said briefly.

Dumbledore kept his mouth shut; such things were the secrets of powerful wizards. He turned to look at the vortex in mid-air and let out a sigh of admiration.

After a while, a blurry face burst out from the crown, only to be completely shattered by the vortex.

Dumbledore sighed with emotion, but he discovered that the two had not left the memory. After a while, he heard the only sentence in the entire memory.

That's what Mrs. Rowena Ravenclaw said to Felix, "I will rebuild the crown as your reward."

This sentence echoed endlessly in the empty white space.

Dumbledore stared silently at Felix beside him, who was nodding in agreement. The next second, the memory ended.

The air in the office was quiet, and no one spoke first.

After a long pause, Dumbledore said helplessly, "I understand what you mean. The crown is yours, and no one can take it away from you. If others have any objections, I will testify for you."

Felix smiled broadly. "Thank you so much, Headmaster Dumbledore. I was worried that some ignorant school board members or Minister of Magic might cause me trouble."

As he spoke, Felix nimbly used his wand to pluck out his memories, causing them to vanish completely.

Dumbledore suddenly felt a pang of heartache. He waved his hand and said, "Take the crown."

Felix politely took his leave and turned to leave.

As he walked out of the office, a satisfied smile appeared on his face; all his anticipated goals had been achieved.

His main goals were threefold: first, how to weave the diary into his version of the story; second, how to dispel any doubts Dumbledore might have: what if Felix became interested in the Horcruxes? and third, the ownership of the tiara, which he was unwilling to compromise on.

So after telling the story, he casually revealed two memories, corresponding to the second and third goals respectively. Of these, the second goal was the most important.

He was so careful because he knew that Dumbledore had once been wary of him, fearing that he would turn to darkness and become the next Dark Lord.

What's even more alarming is that Dumbledore is over a hundred years old and cannot afford the consequences of a misjudgment. And Felix? He's only 22, far from his peak.

Judging from past events, Felix fully understands this concern.

Therefore, he could only put in more effort to outwit and outmaneuver the old principal and dispel his doubts.

"I'm such a considerate person."

Group entry password: Professor of Magic Runes

(End of this chapter)