Dumbledore's "Education"

Sean walked to the cushion next to Dumbledore and plopped down on it.

"You look very unhappy, Sean. Well, at least you're starting to look like a child now?" Dumbledore laughed happily.

Sean curled his lip in annoyance. "As someone involved in this, it's certainly unpleasant that an elder I trust treats me like a thief, but it has nothing to do with age—any normal person would feel the same way, Professor."

Dumbledore nodded thoughtfully. "You make a good point. It's true you should be unhappy, and it has nothing to do with age..."

Sean just wanted to roll his eyes. You're so agreeable now—and in Dumbledore's eyes, it's probably not just him, but even someone as old as Sirius is probably considered a "child".

He remained silent, waiting for Dumbledore continue.

The old man tugged at the wrinkles in his robe and said in a tone of etherealness that Sean rarely heard, "Sean, I already know about your conversation with the headmasters. I must admit that your insight surpasses my expectations, and you have indeed learned a lot from Gellert. At least in terms of understanding other people's minds, I have never seen a peer who is better than you."

"However—" he changed the subject, "It's not good to use acting skills to extract information from the elders. They have all made contributions to Hogwarts and the entire Wizarding World. We can't just take advantage of them because they are just Portraits, can we?"

Sean glanced at Dumbledore. Both of them had lake-blue eyes, but Dumbledore's were deeper, while Sean's were brighter.

"Professor, I don't deny that I used some acting skills and some persuasive statements—but I spoke from the heart," Sean said softly.

"Oh—" Dumbledore seemed surprised that Sean would say that.

After a while, he sighed, sat down on the cushion like a child, and touched the corner of his eye. "I'm very touched, Sean."

Sean paused for a moment, then said something he himself found very harsh, "Right now, being moved doesn't mean much, Professor."

Even after he said it, Sean was surprised that he had actually spoken such cold words to Dumbledore.

However, Dumbledore didn't seem displeased, only his voice was a little lower. "From the current perspective, you are right, Sean —but I must state that feelings are the greatest treasure of mankind, whether wizards or Muggle."

Sean could no longer hold back; he felt himself losing his composure. "Professor, you will die, won't you? You've been hiding a part of the Prophecy from me?"

Dumbledore neither confirmed nor denied it; he simply changed the subject. "Sean, allow me to ask you a question—do you believe that the world today, not only among wizards but also among Muggle, can continue to exist in equality and amicability?"

"Professor, I know you are a kind and benevolent person, but I also admire your wisdom, so you should know the answer to this question," Sean replied in a different way.

"No, I want to know your answer." Dumbledore persistent.

Sean took a few uncomfortable breaths, looked around, and then stood up.

His ring was opened, and Dumbledore was not surprised when he saw the Magical Creatures emerge. However, Dumbledore did seem somewhat surprised when he saw what the Magical Creatures were carrying out.

It was an exquisitely designed classical piano.

Sean stroked the piano casually, then said to Dumbledore, "Professor, this piano is from England, made by John Broadwood, and has a long history—the piano in front of you is worth hundreds of thousands of pounds—"

A hint of surprise flashed in Dumbledore's eyes, and he looked at Sean with a thoughtful expression.

Sean chuckled softly, "This piano was in my family's living room when I was born. From the age of three, when I could only roughly tap the keys, this was the piano I used. It's a musical instrument, but also a luxury item. For most people in this world, if they weren't born with a piano like this in their family, they probably wouldn't have one in their lifetime."

"Is this fair, Professor?" Sean looked at him calmly.

Dumbledore fell silent.

Sean continued, "But for me, this is just a rather expensive musical instrument. If I accidentally break it, my parents will only ask me if I'm hurt before they'll care about this... toy?"

"Although I became a wizard, my mother still wanted me to keep practicing the piano. She believed it was a skill that could enhance one's value. So, I moved the piano away, and I practice whenever I have free time. My animals love to hear me play, even though my piano skills are not good and I am not worthy of this very expensive piano."

"And then? To make the living room not seem so empty, my father bought a collector's edition piano, which was even more expensive, but no one even touches it when I'm not home."

Sean pressed a black key on the piano, producing a trembling note.

"Professor, is this fair?"

Dumbledore let out a long breath, almost with a wry smile, "Sean, your words are sharper than I expected. As an old hand, I even feel the sting."

Sean simply said, "Professor, you asked me this question, but you also know very well that there may be fairness in this world, but there will never be equality."

"Would these animals still obey if it were someone else? No, because the person they've chosen is Sean Wallerup, and I, Sean Wallerup, am naturally endowed with this talent—Professor, you should feel this even more deeply than I do. As a renowned magical genius in the Wizarding World, you might humbly deny it, but it's a fact—from the moment you came into contact with magic, you were better than others. You learned much faster than others, and your spells were much stronger than others. This is an indisputable fact."

"If there were another person, John? Tom? He put in exactly the same effort as you, or even more, studying magic day and night—then why isn't there a wizard in the Wizarding World named John or Tom who becomes a wizard like you? Others feel respect when they see Dumbledore, but they don't when they see Tom or John. Is that equality?"

Dumbledore shook his head with a wry smile, "I almost regret asking you that question—but I do know a genius named Tom?"

"Okay, I know them too—" Sean shrugged. "Professor, I can understand your dilemma to some extent, but I must say that everyone is born different, and we don't need to demand that everyone be the same. Personally, I believe that achieving a relative degree of equality of opportunity, that is, society should provide the necessary opportunities and conditions equally for each member to pursue their own interests, development, and improvement, is what those with ability and power should do, and it is also the direction that the world is pursuing."

"Professor, your mercy won't be evenly distributed to everyone—and I don't think it's something for you to worry about. You should think about how to encourage others to work harder to improve themselves and to give as much help as possible to as many people as possible. Aren't you the headmaster of Hogwarts?" Sean said softly.

Dumbledore fell into deep thought. After a moment, he let out a long breath and then smiled, "You are a genius, Sean."

Sean shrugged. "No, I'm just more pragmatic than others, and as someone who benefits from the status quo, it's actually annoying for me to say things like this. It's just a casual discussion between us."

Dumbledore seemed to have figured something out. He touched the piano and said with interest, "Sean, I've suddenly become curious—oh, please forgive me for suddenly having so many questions..."

"Please don't mind, Professor."

He pressed the white keys, and the piano emitted a soft note. "Do you believe that there is absolute good and evil in this world?"

Sean didn't know why the other person had asked this question. He shook his head. "I never say anything absolute, but good and evil certainly exist—because I stand on my own ground, or rather, my ground is close to that of most ordinary people. So, the boundary between good and evil may not be obvious, but the boundary will definitely exist."

Dumbledore said thoughtfully, "What you said is very interesting."

Sean casually leaned against the piano, pressing the keys idly. Dumbledore surprised to find that the boy he knew so well seemed to have become a different person. He was no longer so gentle, elegant, and humble. He seemed to have suddenly transformed into the most arrogant genius boy, his eyes full of pride and confidence.

"Professor—" Sean's lips curled into a smile, "Although it's not very modest of me to say this, I still have to be honest with you—in some ways, you are not as good as me."

"Oh—of course, for example, in matters of the heart," Dumbledore said with a smile.

Sean showed no embarrassment or shyness; he simply smiled faintly. "That's only one aspect. However, Professor, when you say this, you must have had something on your mind. You can maintain your humility and tolerance, but deep down, a thought must have involuntarily surfaced—that as Albus Dumbledore, I am stronger than most people in this world, in every way."

Dumbledore remained silent, waiting for Sean to continue.

"This is humanity, this is human nature, Professor. You don't see human nature as clearly as I do—" Sean stared directly at the other man, without the slightest hint of guilt. "You are too kind, and you have too much faith in the good parts of human nature. It's not that good things are not worth pursuing, but that while pursuing them, we should maintain a certain degree of... ruthlessness."

Sean raised his head. "Professor, your reverence for beauty has prevented you from truly seeing through human nature, and even made you afraid to pursue that lofty 'beauty'."

"And you've always held onto a different kind of superiority that's unique to Albus Dumbledore —oh, these difficult problems, are they something only I can handle? Should I not expose those young people to more cruelty—as the 'superior' Albus Dumbledore, you're incredibly proud, even more so than Gellert Grindelwald."

Dumbledore simply sighed, looking somewhat remorseful.

Sean then changed the subject. "Professor, what do you think of my interpretation of you from another perspective?"

Dumbledore said bitterly, "This leaves me speechless, and even a little breathless, Sean."

Sean chuckled easily, then plopped down on the expensive piano, the black and white keys emitting a jumble of notes.

"Professor, I have a question—who do you think was the proudest of the Four Founders of Hogwarts?"

Dumbledore shook his head, but answered according to his own understanding, "Salazar Slytherin and Rowena Ravenclaw are not easy to judge, but Slytherin is probably more arrogant, as can be seen from his requirements for recruiting students."

Sean replied, "No, I think it's Ms. Hufflepuff. Helga Hufflepuff."

Dumbledore gave a thoughtful look.

Sean continued, "Sounds a bit strange? Hufflepuff, the house with the most people at Hogwarts, and the kindest one—even the Sorting Hat sings it—you might belong to Hufflepuff, where people are honest and loyal, and Hufflepuff students are persevering, honest, and unafraid of hard work. Everyone says that all houses are the same, but undeniably, many people openly or secretly believe that Hufflepuff students aren't so great, that they are mediocre, even with outstanding representatives like Cedric."

"Everyone says that Slytherin, Gryffindor, Ravenclaw all have their own admission requirements, and only Hufflepuff kindly takes in students who are rejected. But I think that Ms. Hufflepuff is not the most tolerant one, but rather the most arrogant one—she is so arrogant that she believes her house can still educate students rejected by other houses into excellent wizards."

Sean smiled. "Ms. Hufflepuff is incredibly proud."

Dumbledore's expression shifted to one of sudden realization, and he shook his head almost in admiration. "Sean, you really are..."

"I accept your compliment, Professor—" Sean said with a graceful gesture to his chest.

"I never imagined that I would be the one receiving the education, when I originally intended to talk to you about, well, your thoughts. This feeling—" Dumbledore smiled happily, "Is wonderful, very wonderful, Sean."

Sean laughed too, "Wouldn't it be better if we looked at things from another perspective?"

"Yes, yes—" Dumbledore exclaimed, then his expression turned serious. "Sean, it's time to get down to business."

"I've been waiting for this moment."

Dumbledore voice, "There are some things I really don't want to tell you, because I think it's not good for you to know them. But there are some things I really can't tell you, especially some things that will affect you."

Sean frowned. "Sin?"

"That's right."