"Did you agree to it?"
In the headmaster's office, Professor McGonagall asked.
"No." Dumbledore stood before a stone basin, using his wand to draw strands of silvery thread from his mind and drop them into it.
The silver memory spread through the Pensieve, revealing the face of a young, handsome wizard.
"I can't take that risk."
Professor McGonagall nodded in agreement. "Murphy doesn't have a good reputation. He has connections to the Muggle world, and the rumors about him selling potions to Muggles sound convincing enough that they can't all be baseless. If he got the Philosopher's Stone, perhaps he'd be planning to open his own Gringotts."
"If he could lower the service fees a little, perhaps that wouldn't be so bad," Dumbledore said.
"..."
"What frightens me isn't his ambition," Dumbledore said. "He's still very young. Wizards his age always want to change the world, but most of it comes from ignorance."
"But Murphy is somewhat different."
"He is different from us," Dumbledore said. "He is exceptionally intelligent, even wise. That intelligence isn't merely quick reactions and rapid thinking. It is as though he has spent a great deal of time thinking, as though he has examined the passing years far beyond what his age should allow. He is even more 'mature' than wizards much older than himself."
"He was born into a wizarding family, wasn't he, Minerva?"
"Of course. He is the child of Sanders Darkholm and Natalie Darkholm. I taught both of them as well."
"Did they ever show any curiosity about Muggle things?"
"Not as far as I know."
"But Murphy is extremely skilled at applying Muggle knowledge. His understanding of Muggle 'science' may be far greater than any of ours." Dumbledore recalled the paper he had read. "Moreover, he seems to have received very rigorous