The days at Hogwarts

Following Sirius's perspective, they chased after Peter Pettigrew all the way to the end of that bustling street...

Hermione immediately noticed the young couple chatting and laughing, and the child holding nougat in their arms.

She moved closer subconsciously. At that time, Loren had black hair and black eyes, and the curly hair on his forehead was still very thin and messy.

Seeing him hum twice and then turn over and fall asleep, Hermione's heart trembled, and that heart-wrenching feeling surged up again.

…The explosion turned the street upside down. When the blood soaked her sky blue dress, Hermione could no longer hold back. Big tears kept falling and hitting the ground, splashing silver light like water.

She felt as if there was a hole in her chest, as if someone had cut it out with a knife.

That child with magical riots... Sirius stopped where he was, opened his mouth, and his expression changed several times but he couldn't say anything.

"Now, there is no doubt..." Dumbledore sighed, he grasped Hermione's elbow and pulled gently.

In the blink of an eye, Hermione was flying higher and higher in the darkness as if weightless, and finally landed steadily back in the principal's office. The light from outside the window shone in, making her feel a little dazed.

Sirius slumped in his chair and murmured dejectedly: "I, I almost killed Loren."

……

Gryffindor common room.

The window was half open, leaving a gap of half a palm's width. A comfortable breeze blew in from the window, turning the pages of the parchment.

Loren lay on a single sofa, listening to the rustling sound of book pages to make up for the sleepiness from waking up early.

Silver light flew in through the window, and a small Phoenix Patronus landed on his shoulder, approached cautiously, and pecked his ear.

Dumbledore's deep voice sounded: "Loren, come to my office."

Loren opened his eyes and blinked a few times. He temporarily ignored the sound of the mirror breaking in his ears and slowly stood up and walked towards the principal's office.

The moment he pushed open the oak door, a beautiful figure ran towards him quickly and hugged him. He could still feel the softness of her body through her clothes.

"Loren, Loren..." Hermione repeated his name in a tearful voice, "I don't know, I don't know..."

The scorching steam from the girl's mouth and nose made his heart warm, but the little witch's hands tightened her waist and back so hard that Loren didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

Patting the girl on the shoulder, Loren whispered teasingly: "Go back and hug her, there are people watching us."

Hermione was so angry that she wanted to bite him hard.

Loren loosened his arms and pulled the girl behind him. He looked at the two people at the table calmly, "Is there anything I can help you with, Headmaster Dumbledore?"

"It's not me, it's Sirius," Dumbledore said softly, turning his gaze towards Sirius.

Sirius tried to force a smile, but couldn't.

He had destroyed a wizard's family. He had destroyed a wizard's family. This thought lingered in Sirius' mind.

"I'm sorry, Loren. I didn't know where you and your family were at the time. When I realized that your magic had erupted and you had become a wizard, it had already happened. I was so angry at the time that I only wanted to chase that damn Peter Pettigrew..."

Sirius rushed out a long explanation.

Loren acted as if he hadn't heard it. He remained calm. His eyes stayed on Dumbledore and he asked in an inexplicable tone: "Principal Dumbledore, what do you want me to do?"

There was no fluctuation in his tone, and Hermione held his hand with some concern.

Dumbledore seemed to have made up his mind: "Although I hope you can solve this problem peacefully, Hermione has convinced me that none of us have the right to persuade you to make any decision, so -"

He stretched out his hand, took a few steps back, and stood against the wall of the principal's office, leaving the main space in the room to Loren and Sirius, indicating that they should handle the matter themselves.

Although he noticed that Loren's attitude was not right, Sirius still had a glimmer of hope: "I am willing to pay any price for this, as long as it can make up for the mistakes I made. I sincerely beg for your forgiveness, Mr. Morgan."

"Put away your hypocritical behavior. Your false apology only makes people feel ugly and disgusting!" Loren said calmly, "If you really regretted this, you wouldn't be haunted by nightmares every night, and the bloodshot in your eyes wouldn't remain until now."

"I lived in a children's welfare home for several years. It was located in a remote area and was financially tight. There was a community with poor public security nearby. During those years, drug addicts, thieves, robbers, and hippies were always in and out of the community. You could always see the police chasing criminals."

"But no matter how important the criminal is, the police will slow down as long as they chase him into a crowded place. They worry that the criminal will panic and lose his way, and will fight to the death. Because the mistakes made by the criminals during the pursuit will be attributed to the police and the government, and the Muggle police care about the lives of Muggles."

"Mr. Black, you have no regrets about killing Muggles. If I hadn't become a wizard, you would never remember the twelve unfortunate people on the streets of a small Hampshire town in November 1981 in your life."

Sirius' body trembled as if he was hit. The secret in his heart that he himself was not aware of was revealed and exposed nakedly in front of everyone.

"I forgive neither you nor Peter Pettigrew."

Chapter 249 Sense and Sensibility

The bright sunlight shines into the quiet office, filling the room with a cold brightness.

Dumbledore stood by the wall without saying a word, leaning against the window to feel the faint warmth of the sun. His gaze lingered on Loren for a while, then turned to Hermione, his deep blue eyes flowing with thoughts that others could not understand.

Hermione stood behind Lauren and unconsciously put her arm around his left hand.

She didn't know what thoughts and emotions Loren was having at the moment, but she was keenly aware that Loren was very calm, almost indifferent.

After hearing what Loren said, Sirius recalled his youth.

During the years when he lived in Number 12, Grimmauld Place, he was obsessed with Muggle items in order to rebel against the rigid and outdated family values. He covered his room with Muggle posters, made friends with Muggle girls, and hung out with Muggle boys.

For a long time, Sirius believed that he was different from the wizards in his family and that he did not discriminate against Muggles.

What surprised Sirius was that he could hardly remember the names of the Muggle friends he used to hang out with.

Am I really different from those Blacks who believe in pure-blood supremacy?

Have you really repented?

"If it weren't for Loren, I would never have remembered those ten unlucky Muggles for the rest of my life..." Sirius repeated, his tone full of confusion.

The scene of the street explosion and twelve Muggles dying because of him was repeated over and over again. Sirius shook his head in pain. He couldn't give an answer, but he didn't think it was all his fault. He could only stubbornly explain:

"At that time, when I heard the news of James and Lily's death, I lost my cool and was so angry that I couldn't think at all. There was only one thing in my mind, which was to make damn Wormtail pay for this."

"Why should I understand what you were thinking at that time?"

Loren's tone remained calm, and he replied slowly, "Harry's parents are dead, so you can go after Peter Pettigrew at all costs. Similarly, my parents died because of you, so how should I treat you?"

Hermione held Loren's left hand tightly, trying to calm her trembling heart and body. Loren was the one involved, but the little witch's emotions fluctuated more violently than his.

"That was Wormtail's doing, I didn't know he was going to use that magic!" Sirius retorted.

"Harry's parents were also killed by Voldemort. Can I say that Peter Pettigrew didn't know about it?" Loren asked in a raised voice.

"It's not all my fault! I can make amends for this!"

Loren sneered: "After all, my parents are dead. No matter how great the truths in this world are, they are not greater than the blood feud. It is only natural for me to kill you!"

Feelings of irritation kept bubbling up from Sirius' heart, and he was shocked to find that he had inherited many of the things that he once despised: the family philosophy of despising Muggles had unknowingly tainted his heart, and his own behavior was the same as that of Wormtail, whom he once despised.

His brain was unable to think of anything more. In an inexplicable impulse, he stretched his neck and growled with some recklessness: "Then kill him!"

"[Shen Feng Wu Ying]"

Loren drew out his wand and swung it forward neatly, creating an invisible blade.

As Hermione screamed, an invisible blade broke through the wind and flew straight to Sirius' left chest. The blade cut through the black magic robe, the surface skin, penetrated the gap between the ribs, and pierced towards the beating heart -

Loren was more decisive than he had imagined, and Dumbledore knew he could no longer stand by and watch. He raised his hand slightly, and stopped the sharp blade from advancing.

Sirius covered his chest with his hands, and bright red blood gushed out. The severe pain stimulated his adrenaline glands to secrete more quickly, and cold sweat soaked his magic robe in a short time.

He was very good at enduring pain, and no cries of pain could be heard. He just slumped in the chair and kept breathing in and out.

The scene calmed down for a moment.

Hermione breathed a sigh of relief and clutched Loren's arm tightly, her heart beating faster and faster.

Almost, almost... She almost thought that Professor Black was really going to be covered in blood in the principal's office.

Although the good image of Professor Black in her mind was gone forever, she didn't really want to see Loren kill anyone.

Dumbledore's eyes were filled with infinite sorrow and compassion: "I can't let you do this, Loren, for Sirius, and for you..."

He waved at the Phoenix that was hiding nearby and peeking out.

Fawkes glanced at the people in the room, spread his wings and flew above Sirius, squeezed out two tears and dropped them on the wound, then flew back without saying a word.

The first tear dispelled the remaining magic from the wound, and the second tear began to repair the wound.

Sirius' pale face was soaked with cold sweat, as if he had just been fished out of the Black Lake. Blood was flowing like a stream from his left chest along his magic robe to the carpet.

The bright, clean velvet carpet was stained with blood, and the warm goose yellow turned into a red color that was almost brown-black.

"I can't let you do this, Loren, for Sirius and for you..." Dumbledore repeated, speaking to others but also as if to himself.

Morally speaking, Loren had every reason to kill him, but legally speaking, Sirius did not deserve the death penalty.

He didn't want to see Loren dominated by hatred. The love hidden in parental love should be used for creation, not destruction.

Besides, Loren was only 13 years old, and Dumbledore couldn't bear to see his soul broken and just ignore it.

Loren had anticipated Dumbledore's move, so he said nothing and just stood there in silence.

The room was silent for a moment, except for the sound of Sirius's heavy breathing.

At the moment of death, Sirius felt great fear, and the past decades of experience flashed before his eyes. It was a little different from what he imagined, he was observing his behavior from the third-party perspective of an outsider, and he was surprisingly calm.

He vaguely realized that he should feel guilty for those innocent Muggles who died tragically, and should remember the names of at least one or two Muggle friends he once knew.

Sirius raised his head with all his strength and asked, "What do I have to do to make you forgive me?"

Loren looked at Dumbledore, who had his hands clasped over his stomach and was silent again.

He looked directly at Sirius. "You wanted to ask for my forgiveness all along, just because I am the victim's son? Do the other victims have sons? Are they someone else's sons? Why don't you want to ask for their forgiveness?"

"Why should I forgive you? Why should the relatives of the victim forgive you?"

"Who else has the power to forgive you except those victims who died?"

His voice gradually rose, and he was already emotional by the last sentence.

Sirius was stunned. He had never thought about these questions, so he could not answer them. He could only slump in the chair in silence, lowering his head and watching the bloodstains on the carpet expand.

Dumbledore lowered his head silently and also turned his gaze to the bloodstains on the ground.

He seemed to see Gellert's face in the scarlet blood. For the so-called "greater good", Gellert killed many people, wizards, Muggles, innocent people, guilty people, children of other parents, parents of other children...

These are the same problems that bother him.

He couldn't forgive Gellert for the people he'd killed, no one could.

"Sirius will go to the Muggle community and find the relatives of the victims, trying to make up for their trauma and seek their...their forgiveness. No magic will be used in this process, and I will make him take an unbreakable oath."

Dumbledore looked at Loren and said, "After he has been forgiven by others, I will ask him to come to you again and seek your forgiveness. Then, you can decide whether to take revenge on him."

"Loren, can you?"

His voice was soft, with a hint of request.

Loren pursed his lips, took out a petal-shaped hand mirror from his pocket, picked up a ray of dim scarlet light from the mirror with the wand, and guided the magic power of the scarlet illusion to spin twice, then pointed it towards Sirius, and the magic power rushed over at a high speed.

This time, Dumbledore did not stop him.

"Don't ever appear in front of me until the redness in your eyes fades."

Loren took Hermione by the hand and turned away.

……

Walk out of the principal's office and go down the corridor.

"Are we going back to the Gryffindor common room?" Hermione asked.

"do not know."

Loren didn't know where he wanted to go, and he didn't really want to go back to the common room. He wasn't as calm as he appeared, and his mind was full of thoughts and confusion.

He just held Hermione's hand and walked forward aimlessly, not wanting to stop.

Hermione silently looked at the back of Loren's head, and finally couldn't help her curiosity:

"What was that magic that was cast from the mirror just now? What does the red blood represent?"

"The answers to those questions, if the redness subsides, it means he has found the answers."

Hermione nodded thoughtfully and asked in a low voice: "Actually, you didn't want to kill Professor Black, right?"

"I know intellectually that he does not deserve death, but emotionally I think he deserves death. Unfortunately, I let my reason prevail."

Loren didn't look back, and still had some time to tease himself.

It was this clear-headed rationality that made Hermione feel even more distressed.

She lightly quickened her pace, until her body was level with Loren's, and held one of his hands with both of hers, trying to make him feel some warmth in this way.