Dumbledore: The Best Thing Is to Do Nothing

The path leading from the school's main gate to the Castle is neither too long nor too short. To the right of the path is the Quidditch Pitch, and to the left is a neatly planned field where Hagrid's Hut, the Whomping Willow, the Greenhouse, and the vegetable garden are located. Further away is the Forbidden Forest.

It was the Christmas holiday season, and the huge Quidditch Pitch was empty except for Harry and Ron.

Harry, the starting player, originally wanted to take advantage of the holiday to give substitute player and friend Ron Weasley one-on-one training, but as a Seeker, his batting skills were really average, so it wouldn't have much of an effect on training the goalkeeper.

After a period of carefree play and speeding around, the wind and snow stung their faces, so the two found a seat in the Gryffindor stands to let their frozen cheeks relax for a while.

"I could try hitting the ball with magic; I can do it from all angles." Harry took off his glasses, rubbed his stiff cheeks, covered his face with his hands for a moment, and a muffled voice came from his palms. "What do you think, Ron?"

"Forget it, it's too cold..." Ron said in a trembling voice, "That guy Maclagan, if I can use my full strength, his skills are definitely not as good as mine. When I become the Quidditch captain, I will definitely train him hard."

"Yes, that's right..."

"Let's go back to the Common Room enough. We can sit in front of the fireplace and enjoy all the warmth and light..." Ron sighed, "But it's so boring..."

All the familiar friends have gone home for the holidays, and even Loren and Hermione, who are usually there, are not here. Today, none of the Wizard's Chess pieces want to see them again.

Harry removed his hand from his face and put on his glasses. "Let's go find Professor Lupin. It's better than staying in the Common Room, whether we want to ask him something or learn something."

"Professor Lupin?" Ron was taken aback. They had discovered Professor Lupin's secret on Christmas night, and Professor Lupin had been quite honest with them, telling them the whole story. The two of them had mixed feelings at the time and didn't say much, but they still felt awkward these past few days and hadn't spoken to Professor Lupin again.

Professor Lupin seemed to be avoiding them. They had met several other professors who stayed on campus while dining in the Great Hall, but they hadn't seen Lupin at all.

Ron fell silent for a moment. He didn't understand the Werewolf ' thoughts, but he understood the poor people's. He recalled the first time he met the professor—his patched clothes and gaunt face that had only recently regained some health...

Ron glanced quickly at Harry and asked in a low voice, "Harry, what do you think of Professor Lupin?"

"I think Professor Lupin is a good person..." Harry muttered to himself, then tried to rub his face to relax, but his glasses stopped him. "My dad and Sirius Black are friends with him, Headmaster Dumbledore trusts him, Snape brews him Wolfsbane Potion ... and he's a very responsible Professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts, the best Professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts I've ever met."

"If anyone else knew Professor Lupin's identity, the Board of Governors and the Pure-blood parents definitely wouldn't let him stay at Hogwarts ..." Ron sighed in frustration, looked into the distance, and suddenly exclaimed in surprise.

"Huh? Aren't those Loren and Hermione?"

Harry followed Ron's gaze.

After walking along the path, Loren and Hermione stood at the Castle gate, shaking the snowflakes off their shoulders. They entered the Castle and made their way to the stone statue on the Third Floor. When they called out the fourth name, "Bubbling Brew," the monster statue jumped away, and the wall behind it cracked open to reveal a spiral staircase.

The two stepped forward, preparing to ascend the spiral staircase, when they suddenly heard hurried footsteps coming from the direction of the corridor.

Harry and Ron, wearing Gryffindor Quidditch Team uniforms over hand-knitted sweaters given to them by Mrs. Weasley, hurried to catch up with them.

"Loren! Hermione!" Harry dragged Ron to their side, stepping onto the spiral staircase, looking at them with surprise and delight, as if he had so much to say to them. "Weren't you two supposed to be home on holiday? Why are you back at school..."

"We went to Diagon Alley to buy Mandrake Leaf, but there was a little mishap on the way, Professor Snape took us back to school..." Hermione explained slowly, "We were just about to go and explain the situation to Dumbledore, but we'll talk about it later."

"Diagon Alley? An accident?" Harry's eyes widened in surprise, then he exclaimed as if suddenly remembering something, "It's Bellatrix Lestrange! That Death Eater!"

At the Three Broomsticks Pub, they overheard Fudge saying something to Rosmerta and quickly connected the dots.

"Diagon Alley was indeed attacked, but it's still uncertain whether it was Bellatrix Lestrange ..." Loren shook his head. "We're talking about something else, a more serious incident."

"Another unexpected event..."

Harry and Ron exchanged a glance, their curiosity burning, but they felt it was inappropriate to press for more information.

As they spoke, the spiral staircase led the four of them to the entrance of the Headmaster's office...

The fireplace in the Headmaster's office emitted a warm glow, the portraits of past principals on the walls lay peacefully asleep, and occasionally the male principal would let out a soft snore, while the silverware on the desk emitted white steam.

Dumbledore was feeding Fawkes a biscuit. "Try it, Fawkes. It's a gingerbread biscuit Molly gave you. It's not sweet, but it tastes pretty good."

"Squeak!"

"What? No birds like ginger biscuits..." Dumbledore frowned and thought seriously for a moment, then nodded and fed the biscuit to himself. "That's a real shame."

Hearing the door open, Dumbledore turned his head and raised his gray eyebrows in surprise:

"Oh, I have to admit I'm a little surprised, but I want to say Merry Christmas, Loren, Hermione... I really love the scarves and gloves you gave me..."

"Merry Christmas, Professor, but this isn't the time for that. We have more important things to do!" Hermione rattled off a string of words quickly and crisply. "We were caught in an explosion at the Leaky Cauldron. McGonagall, Flitwick, Professor Snape, and I, along with Loren and me, were transported back many years and even met Daisy Mrs. Dursley, the creator of the Leaky Cauldron ..."

Harry and Ron looked at each other in surprise, trying to process the information Hermione had just shared.

"The Leaky Cauldron ... Mrs. Dursley. Daisy Dodridge..." Dumbledore frowned. Long-duration time travel was always accompanied by disaster, but now they were standing here safely...

Dumbledore felt a little more at ease. He brought over a few chairs and placed them in front of his desk, gesturing for the young wizards to sit down.

"It sounds like you've just had an unprecedented adventure..." Dumbledore showed no sign of urgency as he picked up the Bell-shaped White Porcelain Teapot and patiently asked, "Pumpkin Juice, maple syrup, fruit juice, or something else?"

Hermione, Harry, and Ron stared intently at the teapot, their eyes practically bulging with anxiety.

"Pumpkin Juice will do..." Loren took a teacup and handed it over. While Dumbledore poured the Pumpkin Juice, he slowly began to recount what had happened, "We met some professors at the Leaky Cauldron today. In the middle of their conversation, the explosion affected the Time-Turner ..."

Loren omitted the details of the Sorcerer's Stone Powder and proceeded to recount the subsequent time travel, witnessing the wizards' combined efforts to save the Leaky Cauldron, and Mrs. Dursley's guidance on their return...

While recounting the seemingly unimportant events, Loren was also pondering in his mind: Did Mrs. Dursley deliberately drug Professor Flitwick and Hermione, and then speak to him privately about the truth of history, recounting the struggle between several great wizards and the Immortal, and was there any secret that could not be spread?

Perhaps this ancient history, like his memories of the Book of Abraham, is a taboo subject that cannot be passed on...

But since Mrs. Dursley hadn't specifically instructed him not to recount this to anyone else, and he didn't feel that there was any curse associated with that history, after a moment's thought, Loren decided to continue the story, only slightly concealing his ambiguous connection with the Fairy Morgan:

"... After Professor Flitwick and Hermione fell into a coma, Mrs. Dursley told me a very ancient story. In the Ancient Magic flourished, there was a group of exceptionally gifted wizards..."

A dozen minutes later, Loren had drunk almost half a pot of Pumpkin Juice by himself, while Hermione, Harry, and Ron had not touched their Pumpkin Juice at all. They sat blankly in their chairs, their dizzy heads still processing the ancient history they had just heard.

The evil Immortal... Merlin and Fairy Morgan... The four founders... The inevitable war.

Hearing those magnificent historical events stirred the soul, making the heart pound and the blood flow with fervent emotion. A burning sensation coursed through the veins, leaving the whole body feeling warm.

"What a glorious history..." Dumbledore sighed softly, his azure eyes gleaming brightly.

Many questions about history and Ancient Magic have now been answered. Even if some mysteries remain unsolved, this hidden history has pointed the way.

Loren slowly finished his Pumpkin Juice and put down his glass. Dumbledore, he was surprised to find that the portrait of the headmaster on the wall was turned face down... He vaguely remembered that Dumbledore had waved his wand when the topic of Immortal came up.

Loren thoughtfully withdrew his gaze and asked the question that had been on his mind, "Professor, why did Mrs. Dursley only tell me these things in private? I mean, there's nothing wrong with these things, so why did she specifically drug Hermione and Professor Flitwick...?"

"Perhaps it's a message left by our Mr. Slytherin, perhaps it's Prophecy, perhaps it's for some other reason... In any case, Mrs. Dursley can only trust you."

Dumbledore's expression slowly turned serious, unusually devoid of any smile, as he looked earnestly at the young wizards. "I also hope that you will not reveal what you heard today, not even to your parents, brothers, or sisters... Can you promise me that?"

"Why does it feel like they're emphasizing me?" Ron muttered to himself, nodding in agreement as he followed Hermione and Harry.

"You have youth and strong bodies, so you cannot understand..." Dumbledore explained, "The desire for immortality is a bottomless abyss. Only a very few people have ever sought the abyss, and they do not know the way to the abyss... When they learn that someone has actually been to the bottom of the abyss, they will do anything to drag everyone down into the abyss."

The four young wizards nodded, their eyes revealing a look of understanding that was not quite clear.

"Professor, I still have some questions..." Hermione shook her dizzy head and asked with renewed focus, "Salazar Slytherin saw the inevitable war through Prophecy. Is what Mrs. Dursley said true...? Muggle might become slaves to wizards, or wizards' Magic Power might be considered a sin?"

Dumbledore remained silent for a long while, then gazed at Hermione with his deep blue eyes. "To be honest, I don't know either..."

"Miss Granger, I have personally experienced many Prophecy, and I have witnessed many Prophecy come true..." Dumbledore's voice was very soft, as if he were talking to himself, "If you ask me what advice I have about Prophecy, then all I can tell you is—do your own thing."

"Just do your own thing..." the young wizards repeated to themselves.

"Slurp slurp!"

Hermione turned her head in embarrassment and saw Loren sipping Pumpkin Juice from a cup that had probably just been poured from a teapot, steaming hot.

Noticing the faint smile on Headmaster Dumbledore's face, Hermione quickly tugged at Loren's sleeve, trying to get him to behave.

Dumbledore couldn't help but laugh out loud, "That's exactly what I meant! The best way to deal with Prophecy is to do nothing!"

"Instead of dwelling on nonsensical and terrible Prophecy, all we can do is focus on the present. The old wizard's experience is that if you try to mold the world into the beautiful vision you envision, your actions will only push the world in the opposite direction!"

Lunchtime, Great Hall of Hogwarts Castle.

The Christmas decorated by Professor Flitwick was still adorned with sparkling ornaments, and the four Head of House had been moved back to their original positions, but the large Great Hall seemed somewhat deserted.

Not long ago, in the Headmaster's office, Dumbledore suddenly received a letter from the Ministry of Magic. He briefly spoke to Loren and the others before hurriedly leaving. Loren and Hermione then stayed at the school for lunch.

"Dumbledore is always like this, rambling on and on. No wonder wizards who don't understand him say he's a madman..."

Ron stuffed a large piece of steak into his mouth, then turned to Loren and complained, "And you two too! Professor Lupin said you and Hermione knew about his Werewolf identity a long time ago, and you didn't tell Harry and me at all. That's so unfriendly!"

Harry glared at the two of them with equal displeasure.

"It was all Dumbledore's instruction!"

Loren, without batting an eye, pinned the blame on the absent headmaster. Anyway, Harry and Ron wouldn't confront Dumbledore, so he didn't lose anything.

And I managed to handle my friend's questions—a win-win situation!