The bell rang, signaling the end of class, and all the mist dissipated.
Wade looked at Dumbledore, who was also gazing back at him.
Through his thin glasses, Dumbledore's eyes seemed like the deep blue sea.
"You showed me Voldemort's entire life…" Wade asked thoughtfully, "What is your intention?"
Dumbledore extended his hand, and a leaf from outside the window drifted down into his palm.
"Look at this leaf, my boy. What does it make you think of?"
Dumbledore answered his own question:
"Some might say 'green,' others might think of 'nature' or 'the environment,' while some may simply find it pleasing to look at.
Others might see it as food for insects, or it might evoke thoughts of the passing of time and life itself. And some will say, 'A leaf is just a leaf.'"
After a pause, Dumbledore repeated: "A leaf is just a leaf, Wade."
"What you choose to see in it should depend on you alone."
He placed the leaf in Wade's hand and said with a smile, "It's lunchtime now. Go and eat. Today's lunch includes wine-soaked jam pudding—don't miss it."
Dumbledore left, leaving Wade staring at the leaf in his palm, lost in thought.
In the original storyline, Dumbledore had taken Harry on journeys through memories related to Voldemort, and by analyzing the reflections of human nature and Voldemort's weaknesses within them, he guided Harry to locate Horcruxes and ultimately defeat Voldemort.
Yet what Dumbledore showed Wade was the arc of Voldemort's life—not bogged down with intricate details or lengthy lectures, but simply presented for Wade to interpret on his own.
Is it that Dumbledore has somehow discovered our "club activities"? Or perhaps Dumbledore has inferred something from my involvement in pushing for a retrial of the Sirius case?
After pondering for a moment, Wade tucked the leaf into his book as a bookmark.
Whatever Dumbledore had hoped to convey, Wade wasn't about to change his course of action.
Early the next morning, a flood of owls swooped into Hogwarts, dropping thick bundles of newspapers onto the breakfast tables.
Wade opened the Daily Prophet, and the first thing he saw was a large photo of Harry embracing Sirius, with Lupin smiling in the background, showing only part of his face.
In the corner was a small picture of Peter Pettigrew in prison attire.
"Look! Sirius Black has been exonerated! Peter Pettigrew is sentenced to life in prison!"
Padma was flipping through the newspaper and called out to Michael.
Cheers erupted from the Gryffindor table, with the Weasley twins wearing odd hats and bouncing on their seats.
They had helped capture Peter Pettigrew and had followed the case closely. With such an ideal outcome, the twins were as happy as if they themselves had been freed.
However, their two other brothers were not so cheerful. Ron and Percy both wore grim expressions, seeming embarrassed by the fact that Peter had once been their pet.
"It's unbelievable," one of Percy's dormmates said loudly, "that we actually shared a room with that creepy guy! Percy, I'll never keep a rat as a pet for the rest of my life!"
Percy's face darkened, and everyone around burst into laughter.
Some of the girls were whispering, too.
Wade overheard Cho Chang telling her friend, "Marietta, I don't have anything against hamsters, but… uh… could you maybe keep it out of the dorm?"
Marietta looked uncomfortable. "Don't worry, I'll send it back home soon and have my mom keep it in the garden."
"By owl?" Cho asked hesitantly, "Won't it get eaten?"
"No, I'll send it back in its cage," Marietta replied.
Since students could use the school's public owls for mail, many girls preferred keeping fluffy hamsters or small mice as pets, and on nice days, they'd even bring them outside to play.
However, after the Peter Pettigrew incident, pet rodents had dramatically decreased throughout the school. Those who couldn't part with theirs were no longer keeping them in their dorms.
Two empty dormitories in Ravenclaw Tower had been turned into a pet storage space, and some students even preferred leaving their cats in the common room instead of the dorms.
Ravenclaw had it relatively easy, given its smaller student body and fewer pet owners. Gryffindor, however, was said to have frequent arguments over pets.
"Hey, Draco!" someone called in a shrill voice at the Slytherin table. "I heard Sirius Black is your uncle? He was acquitted—you must be thrilled, right?"
Draco Malfoy's face turned sour.
"Sirius Black is the last heir of the Black family. Too bad he's a pure-blood traitor who was disowned," said another Slytherin, Morton, with a deliberate sneer.
A few others snickered maliciously.
"Shut up, all of you," Draco snapped.
Out of respect for his flying broom, Marcus Flint spoke up and said, "What does a disowned traitor have to do with the Malfoy family? Draco has never even met the man."
Wade looked up and glanced diagonally across the table.
Draco Malfoy sat with his back to them, so his expression could not be seen, but Wade noticed his hand tightly gripping his wand under the table, and the tip of his wand was trembling slightly.
"Wade!" Michael tapped him on the shoulder and said, "Let's skip studying this morning and head to the game field instead."
"Alright." Wade cast another quick glance in Draco's direction, put down his fork, and the two of them walked out of the Great Hall together.
The grass on the lawn was a bit damp but not muddy. Most of the plants had turned yellow, and fallen leaves covered the ground, creating a soft, thick carpet underfoot. Follow current ɴᴏᴠᴇʟs on novel⁂fire.net
A dozen or so students had already gathered at the game field, waiting for the players from the previous round to exit. When they saw Wade, their faces turned pale all at once.
"So, which mode are you choosing?" asked Professor Flitwick, the referee, while cheerfully holding his wand. "Team Battle or Battle Royale?"
A girl timidly raised her hand and asked, "If it's Battle Royale… will it be the Wade version or the Professor version?"
Professor Flitwick chuckled and glanced at Wade. "Naturally, it'll be the Professor version. Wade is also a player today."
Everyone let out a collective sigh of relief and shouted, "Battle Royale! We choose Battle Royale!"
Wade's face darkened, and Michael snickered beside him.
"Alright," Professor Flitwick pressed the timer and said, "You have five minutes to prepare."
The students all rushed into the game field at once. Those who had prearranged teams joined up, drew their wands, and began moving debris to build defensive fortifications.
The game field's environment had become increasingly complex, and these highly creative students contributed a large part to it.
"Let's go…" Michael pulled Wade along as they sprinted inside, and said as they ran, "We need to find cover first… One round of the Professor's Battle Royale, and you'll understand why it's so popular!"
--------------------------------
🙏🙏Please consider supporting this translation project by becoming a P@treon member!!!
Your support is greatly appreciated!
Available on my P@treon page for just $4!!
Early access to the following translations:-
⭐Harry Potter: Becoming a Study God (HP:BSG)- +149 Chapters & 2 Chapters/Day
⭐MCU: Druid's Adventures (MCUDA)(⭐COMPLETE⭐) - Total Chapter 460
⭐Famous Police Detective in Detective World (FPDDW)- +165 advance chapters
⭐Marvel: Little Genius (MLG) (⭐COMPLETE⭐) - Total Chapter 450
[email protected]/Lightreaper457
--------------------------------