Chapter 4: Dumbledore and the Silent Witch
Dum-dum-dum-dum-Dumbledore?!
Loira felt her head spin, and she nearly fainted on the bed.
Dumbledore is here?!
Why?! She looked at Lupin, her face pale, her blue eyes filled with astonishment.
You... You already know?
And Dumbledore's presence here... doesn't that mean Lord Grindelwald...
Her lips trembled, wanting to ask something, but she couldn't get the words out.
To face Dumbledore now, without even a wand... This is just too unfair, isn't it?
Forget a once-in-a-lifetime chance, at least give me a fair fight!
Not like this, where I'm trapped like a prisoner, just waiting for Dumbledore to show up and execute me!
"Don't be afraid," Lupin said gently, seeing Loira's sudden pallor. "Headmaster Dumbledore is a kind man."
"He won't be too angry." He paused. "After all, no one wishes for this kind of thing to happen."
"This... kind of thing..." Loira took a deep breath. Who betrayed Lord Grindelwald? To even know... that I was supposed to bide my time...
Her mind a total mess, she didn't even realize she and Lupin were talking about two different things.
Lupin just thought the student in front of him was worried about being scolded by Dumbledore for a spell gone wrong.
Looking at Loira, who was breaking out in a cold sweat, Lupin subconsciously wondered, Have the rules at Hogwarts really gotten this strict?
To make a girl who looks like a second or third year this terrified...
Thinking it over, he decided to properly console this Hufflepuff student. "Don't worry, I'll put in a good word for you."
"I've known Headmaster Dumbledore for a long time."
"..."
His words made Loira's body tremble.
So it's already been decided... they're going to put me on trial before the Wizengamot?
"Can... can I not go to Azkaban?"
After a long moment of trembling, Loira asked in a low voice.
"Azkaban?" Lupin was stunned for a moment, then burst out laughing. "Hahahaha... You're not some Dark wizard. Why would you be sent to Azkaban?"
"According to Hogwarts rules, it'll probably just be a few points deducted." He shrugged. "Back when I was in Gryffindor, I lost the house plenty of points."
"It's not exactly glorious... but it's definitely not bad enough for Azkaban."
"It's just a spell that misfired."
A spell that misfired?
Loira suddenly breathed a sigh of relief, as if grasping a lifeline... Yes, yes!
They don't know Lord Grindelwald's plan, and they've never seen me! After all, ever since I joined Lord Grindelwald's ranks, I've been stationed at Nurmengard...
It's not something I'm proud of, but it's coming in very handy right now!
Yes... yes... I just misfired a spell... a spell misfired...
Wait, but I'm not a Hogwarts student!
Just as Loira was at a complete loss, there was a knock on the door.
Knock, knock, knock.
"Remus?" An old but energetic voice came from outside.
"The Headmaster is here." Lupin smiled and stood. "Please, come in, Headmaster Dumbledore."
As he spoke, the door was pushed open.
A tall, elderly man entered Loira's line of sight. He had white hair, a long beard that reached his waist, and was wearing spectacles and long blue robes. He looked vigorous, and his eyes were full of wisdom.
But...
How come Loira remembered Dumbledore being a young man?!
Who was this old man?!
Dumbledore's father?
She hesitated, pressing her lips together. Her blue eyes met Dumbledore's for a few seconds, and she immediately felt a spell wash over her.
Legilimency...
Dumbledore was subtly trying to see into Loira's mind, but fortunately, as a Durmstrang student, she was already proficient in Occlumency.
"Miss Hamilton, my apologies." Dumbledore seemed to realize this, and he smiled lightly as he apologized.
"Headmaster Dumbledore?" Lupin looked at the scene, confused, apparently unaware of what had just happened.
"Remus... could I trouble you to wait outside the door?" Dumbledore said as he walked into the room. "I have a few things I'd like to discuss with Miss Hamilton in private."
"I understand..." Lupin nodded, but before he left, he said quietly, "No matter what, she's still just a student."
"Don't be too hard on her, Headmaster."
"Of course I know, Remus." Dumbledore smiled and nodded, but Lupin seemed oblivious to the meaning behind that smile.
Click.
As the door closed, the smile on Dumbledore's face slowly faded. He strode over to Loira and began to study her thoughtfully.
"Just as I thought." He nodded, looking at Loira's drooping, pointed ears.
"Miss Loira Hamilton," he said. "That is your name, correct?"
"Mhm..." Loira pressed her lips together and shrank back. She swore that if Dumbledore exposed her identity, she would immediately lunge at him and bite his ear off...
Assuming he was the Dumbledore she knew...
What if he just had the same name, or was that Dumbleddore's father or something?
Loira couldn't believe that Mister Grindelwald's enemy was this old man... even if they did look somewhat similar.
"Interesting." Dumbledore was silent for a few seconds before giving his reply. "After fifty years... you haven't changed at all."
"Fifty... years?" Loira froze, her eyes widening.
"It is currently the end of June, 1992." Dumbledore paused. "Exactly fifty years have passed since your disappearance."
Exactly fifty years?
Doesn't that mean I disappeared in 1942? But I clearly remember... it was 1945... Wait...
This isn't the time to be worrying about that!
Have I somehow been unconscious for fifty years? Does that mean fifty years have passed since my last conversation with Lord Grindelwald?!
Lord Grindelwald's mission... After fifty years, is Lord Grindelwald even still alive?
"Then Grindelwald..." Loira instinctively started to ask after Grindelwald's whereabouts, but she immediately remembered who she was facing.
"Grindelwald has been defeated and imprisoned," Dumbledore said in a comforting tone. "And the dark reign he established in Europe is no more."
In his eyes, Loira was just a person living in the shadow of the past.
So Lord Grindelwald... really did lose?
Loira bit her lip, forcing herself not to cry out, but tears still welled and streamed from the corners of her eyes.
Then I... I've failed Lord Grindelwald's trust for fifty years... And he... he trusted me... he was waiting for me to complete the mission...
Dumbledore seemed to say something else, but Loira couldn't hear it... She was completely immersed in the fifty years that had passed. For her, it wasn't just 'fifty years.'
For her, it was fifty years of failing someone's trust... For someone who had almost never been trusted, this was too heavy a burden to bear.
Finally, Dumbledore seemed to leave, and Lupin came in and said something, but Loira didn't hear any of it.
It wasn't until the first rays of sunlight appeared the next day that she finally came to her senses.
"No... I absolutely cannot give up..."