After giving a few instructions to Sheila, Penelope, and the others, Lewis followed Dumbledore to the headmaster's office.
They came to the stone gargoyle.
"Chiffon cake."
Dumbledore said the password, and the gargoyle split apart, revealing the spiral staircase behind it.
They climbed the stairs and entered the wooden door of the headmaster's office.
He had been to Dumbledore's office before; it was a very beautiful circular room, with portraits of Hogwarts headmasters hanging on the walls. They were all sleeping lightly, snoring softly.
Lewis sat down opposite Dumbledore's desk, looked at the headmaster, and quietly waited for him to speak.
"Perhaps before we talk, we can have something to drink to moisten our throats."
Dumbledore waved his hand, and a kettle and two cups flew from a shelf beside him to the table in front of him. The kettle was filled with fruit syrup, and under Dumbledore's control, it filled both cups.
One of the filled cups floated over to Lewis. Dumbledore raised his glass, inviting him to drink together.
Lewis did not refuse and took a sip of the wine.
However, his psionic power never stopped observing Dumbledore for a moment.
Professor Dumbledore had a kind expression and looked at Lewis with a smile, as if sharing candy with a child.
But Lewis could faintly sense the inner conflict of the old bee.
Lewis only took a small sip before putting the cup down, and Dumbledore did not insist.
"First of all, I am very glad that you stepped up to protect the students that day," Dumbledore said gently. "Your Patronus Charm is excellent, even surpassing my expectations."
Lewis understood that he was referring to the matter of his breath killing the Dementor.
But he just shook his head modestly and said, "Headmaster, it is what I should have done."
Intelligent, brave, and humble, every move of the young man in front of him displayed the perfect demeanor of a student.
But in Dumbledore's view, although this young wizard was only a fourteen-year-old boy, his motives were far more complicated than those of many adult wizards.
This made him think of the information he had recently gathered.
In Lewis's first year, he had met the newly promoted Auror Nymphadora Tonks through some channel and had a close relationship with the Tonks family.
In his second year, through Tonks, he met her superior, the Deputy Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, Jaina Proudmoore.
What followed showed that he was also very close with Deputy Head Proudmoore.
Through the dragon-slaying mission and the subsequent series of events, Jaina Proudmoore's influence in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement had grown increasingly large, and Nymphadora Tonks had been directly promoted to squad leader within three years of joining the Auror Office.
The female noble they brought back from South America, Katrana Prestor, not only mixed well among the prestigious families of the magical world but also performed outstandingly in the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, directly rising from the Dragon Research and Restraint Bureau to the department head.
Unknowingly, this young wizard, an orphan from a Muggle background, had actually woven such a network of connections within the Ministry of Magic.
He did not delve into the conspiracies behind it. Dumbledore changed the subject, "Lewis, do you know why Voldemort must kill Harry?"
Lewis looked at Dumbledore and shook his head.
Of course, he understood; to put it plainly, this matter was a bloody case caused by a prophecy.
Dumbledore stood up, walked to a black cabinet next to Fawkes's perch, and took out a shallow stone basin.
Lewis had seen something similar in the secret room beneath the Restricted Section — a Pensieve.
He placed the Pensieve on the table, raised his wand to his temple, and pulled out a few strands of silver, cobweb-like thought fibers, sticking them to the wand, then placed these thought fibers into the stone basin.
He returned to his seat behind the desk, watching his thoughts swirl and float in the Pensieve.
After a while, he sighed, raised his wand again, and picked up these silvery threads on the tip.
A figure emerged from it, wearing a shawl, her eyes looking particularly large behind her glasses. It was the Divination professor, Sybill Trelawney.
She opened her mouth and spoke in a harsh, hoarse voice:
"The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches... born to those who have thrice defied him... born as the seventh month dies... and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not... and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives... the one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies..."
The slowly rotating Professor Trelawney sank back into the silver threads below and disappeared.
The office was silent. Dumbledore, Lewis, and all the portraits — none of them made a single sound; even the phoenix fell quiet.
Dumbledore said, "The one who has only one chance to vanquish the Dark Lord forever was born at the end of July nearly ten years ago. This boy's parents defied Voldemort three times."
"You mean Harry Potter, right?" Lewis stated his purpose. "You want to tell me that it is true that Harry is the savior of the wizarding world."
Dumbledore nodded, staring into Lewis's eyes. "I know that you were friends with Harry before joining Hogwarts, and at Hogwarts, you have shared many hardships together many times. You must understand that as the savior, he will face tremendous pressure, far exceeding anyone else in the magical world. Voldemort will stop at nothing to eliminate Harry, and he needs your help."
In the end, you want me to be Harry Potter's babysitter and tool, right?
Lewis was very dissatisfied internally, but he did not refute it directly:
"Actually, Professor Dumbledore, I also have some research on prophecy magic."
Dumbledore propped his elbows on the table, clasped his hands together, rested his chin on the back of his hands, and looked at the young wizard with interest. His glasses reflected white light under the moonlight.
"Many people say that prophecies are illusory and that divination requires talent. But in my view, the essence of prophecy is the collection and consultation of world information; it should have a systematic set of techniques and methods." Lewis stated his view on the school of prophecy.
"That sounds a bit like the theory of Arithmancy divination," Dumbledore commented.
"The specific techniques are more complex than Arithmancy," Lewis explained. "But you're right. True prophecy magic should be like Arithmancy — completely controllable, reproducible, and systematically researchable."
"And in my theory, the world is actually composed of countless interlocking world lines. Every choice you make is constantly creating new world lines."
"And prophecy of the future is essentially peering into the future information of a certain world line."
"This information appearing in a prophecy only proves that it has the possibility of occurring, but it does not mean that the future must truly follow the path of that world line."
"But prophecies still have their use, don't they?" After listening to Lewis's theory, Dumbledore remained very calm. "For example, when we know a prophecy, we can make some preparations to deal with the fate that is most likely to arrive."
"However, the reverse is also true. The more you believe in a prophecy, the more likely it is to occur."
Lewis shook his head.
"By the way, according to my information, the boy who fits the conditions of this prophecy is not just Harry; Neville is also one of them."
"Yes, you are right, Neville is also a child of fate," Dumbledore agreed with this statement. "But in the end, it was Voldemort who made the choice."
"It was he who chose to kill Harry, and it was he who chose to believe in this prophecy."
"That is to say, in your mind, the fates of these two boys and these two families are all in the hands of Voldemort's whim?" Lewis pointed out sharply.
Dumbledore had already stepped into his logical trap.
But old Dumbledore remained very calm, as if accepting this fact was no big deal.
"That was just Voldemort's choice."
He said.
"Yes, that is to say, only the strong can control their destiny, while the weak are controlled by others," Lewis stated his view.
This was not only his own opinion, but also the conclusion derived from Dumbledore's logic.
"Precisely because of this, there is no savior in fate. Everyone's only savior is themselves! If I am dissatisfied with reality, I will continuously strengthen my own strength, and then put in my own efforts, to turn the imperfect story into what I expect it to be."
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