The Plucked Phoenix, Dumbledore's Pensieve

"It's nothing, I guess I was just a little excited to see an old friend."

"Is... is this really excitement?" Harry asked skeptically. "But Abei has already shown its claws, it won't..."

Before he could finish speaking, Abei vanished in a white blur and swiftly charged toward Fawkes.

Fawkes immediately spread its wings and flew to the ceiling, causing it to miss its target.

Abei roared and spread his white wings, taking to the air to give chase.

Two figures, one in red and one in white, rampaged through the Headmaster's Office, smashing gold and silver utensils all over the floor.

Fawkes is in a terrible predicament; although it's unwilling to admit it, it really can't beat Abei right now.

If it were outside, it might have had some room to escape, but the Headmaster's Office was neither too big nor too small, and it was caught up by Abei in no time.

Sharp claws gripped its neck. Fawkes saw a hint of joy mixed in Abei's pure eyes and panicked. He burst into red flames, trying to use the intense heat to make Abe loosen its grip.

Abei glared at it disdainfully, and a layer of pure white scales appeared on its body, easily withstanding the Phoenix's flames.

Next, it began to pull with its other claw, and Fawkes let out a shrill, mournful cry.

In just a few seconds, a third of the red and gold feathers were plucked, and even several of the dazzling tail feathers were pulled out.

"Stop! Stop it!" Harry couldn't stand it any longer and shouted loudly.

Abei paused for a moment, then turned to look at Aaron. Only when it saw its master nod did it release the lifeless Phoenix.

"Uh... don't mind it." Aaron said, seemingly serious but actually talking nonsense. "Sometimes, Fantastic Beasts just greet each other in such a simple and unpretentious way."

"Is this how you greet someone?" Harry said angrily. "Even if I'm not well-educated, you don't have to try to fool me like this!"

Fawkes was bullied so badly, look, it's even crying.

"What? You cried?"

Aaron seemed somewhat surprised by this and quickly went to Fawkes's side.

Just as Harry thought he was going to comfort and apologize, Abei pulled an empty crystal bottle out of his pocket.

"I understand." Aaron patted Abei's little head, then carefully collected the Phoenix tears. "This is a holy medicine for healing, it's a pity it fell on the ground."

Abei scoffed disdainfully, then, right in front of Fawkes, he pulled out the feathers one by one and stuffed them into his pocket.

Phoenix cried even more bitterly, and her tears flowed much faster.

Harry, who was standing nearby, was also dumbfounded when he saw this scene, and for a moment he couldn't think of any words to describe it.

He'd really seen something new today. Aaron and Abei's antics had opened a whole new world for him. Not only did they pull him out of his skin, but they even shed tears.

They even collected Fawkes's tears and feathers right in front of him. That's beyond description; it's utterly inhumane.

"This is terrible. Dumbledore will be very angry when he comes."

"It's not that bad, it's just that a little bit was pulled out."

"Is that a little bit?" Harry was speechless. "Right now, Fawkes is only slightly better than Turkey."

Aaron paused for a moment, then turned and gave him a thumbs up. "This is a perfect opportunity."

Before Harry could react, Abei handed Aaron another empty crystal bottle.

The original Phoenix had already shed almost all of its tears, and Harry's words made Aaron collect another half-bottle of tears.

"Alright, what a great haul!" Aaron said with satisfaction. Abei patted its pocket as well, feeling that today's trip was worthwhile.

Harry couldn't bear to pick Fawkes up and gently placed him on a soft cushion, then gave him some water to drink.

"Dumbledore sees it in this sickly state, he definitely won't let us off the hook." Harry was on the verge of tears. "You've really dragged us into this mess."

"Don't worry, the Phoenix's self-healing ability is extraordinary. To a certain extent, they are immortal creatures." Aaron said dismissively, "The damage to its body now is just that it is unwilling to heal itself."

"It's alright, Abei, treat it."

Abei hesitated for a moment, then reluctantly approached Fawkes and activated his healing ability.

A white Magic Array appeared above Fawkes, and in no time the wounds on its body were completely healed. Apart from missing a few feathers, it was almost impossible to tell that it had been injured.

Harry's lips twitched, and he blurted out instinctively, "That's really mean!"

"What did you say?"

"No, it's nothing." Harry waved his hand immediately, then looked at the mess in the Headmaster's Office. "Let's clean up quickly before Dumbledore arrives."

Aaron shrugged, then drew his Wand and waved it at the ground, sending all the gold and silver objects flying to their respective positions.

"Done."

"A truly astonishing magical talent," the Sorting Hat said. "Sorting you into Slytherin was the right decision; your value has been Splinching."

"Tch, if you don't want to take a shower, then shut your mouth."

"Okay."

Harry shook his head speechlessly and casually found a chair to sit down.

This was the first time he had ever sat so casually in the Headmaster's Office, and he could immediately tell Dumbledore his dream, which made him feel much more relaxed.

In a daze, he noticed a cabinet that wasn't closed properly, and a bright silver light was emanating from the gap.

Harry hesitated for a moment, then curiously walked over and opened the cabinet door.

Inside was a shallow stone basin with strange carvings on the rim, covered with characters and runes.

The basin contained not liquid, but wisps of silvery light that swirled and danced freely within it, creating beautiful ripples.

"Aaron, do you know what this is?"

"I know." Aaron nodded. "It's called Pensieve. I have one too."

This magical item is not just rare; it can store memories, preventing the forgetting of certain things over time.

It stores memories and allows people to observe their own memories from a third-person perspective, finding details that are easily overlooked.

"Does that mean there's a secret Dumbledore has hidden inside?"

"No, it can't be called a secret, it can only be called a memory."

"No one would put their real secrets in the Pensieve, otherwise it would be terrible if others saw them," Aaron said seriously. He occasionally put some memories in the Pensieve, though he didn't really want them, he just felt it would be a pity to forget them.

Harry stuck his Wand inside and stirred it.

The silver light slowly rotated, making the light even more translucent.

"That's not how you play," Aaron said helplessly. "You need to get closer."

If you want to know anything about Barty Crouch's memories, just think about him.

"Would it be in here?"

"This might not have happened before, but Dumbledore will definitely extract this part of the memory in the near future..."

Aaron's voice abruptly stopped halfway through his sentence because Harry had already stuck his head inside.

"Awesome!" Aaron's lips twitched slightly. After hesitating for a while, he pulled him over. "You're quite something too. Entering someone else's memories without permission is dangerous. Wasn't Tom Riddle's lesson enough for you?"

"Dumbledore and Voldemort are completely different," Harry said, panting heavily. "And I've learned a lot of useful things, Crouch, Karkaroff, Ludo Bagman, and... Professor Snape."

"What did you see?" Aaron asked, frowning.

"At the trial of Karkaroff, he was arrested by Professor Moody and personally tried by Barty Crouch."

He wanted to reveal the names of other Death Eater to escape from Azkaban, but he was unlucky; those who did were either killed or captured.

He also confessed to...

Harry hesitated for a moment, then continued, "Severus Snape, Dumbledore said Snape was a spy he planted on Voldemort's side."

"Hoo!" Aaron took a deep breath and looked at Harry seriously. "You'd better keep this to yourself and never tell anyone else, including Sirius Black."

"Many people know that there were at least a few Warlock in that trial."

"There are still many people who don't know," Aaron said irritably. "There are dozens of students at Hogwarts who don't even know about it. If you spread this around, Professor Snape will be very troubled."

Harry nodded blankly, "I understand."

"And then? Who did Karkaroff implicate?"

He not only escaped Azkaban, but also became the principal of Durmstrang Institute, achieving considerable fame and success.

"You won't believe it, it's simply unbelievable."

Barty Crouch's son, Barty Crouch Jr. Crouch Jr., is actually Death Eater.

"Wait... are you sure you didn't see it wrong?"

"Absolutely not," Harry said with absolute certainty. "Barty Crouch Sr. sent his own son to Azkaban in front of his wife, who fainted. It was just... too cruel."

Aaron remained silent for a while after hearing this. "Is there anything else?"

"And then there's Neville. His father was tortured by several Death Eater with the Cruciatus Curse." Harry said solemnly, "Professor Moody knew about this. He probably used the Cruciatus Curse in front of Neville during Defense Against the Dark Arts to try and get him out of that nightmare."

"He lost, Neville was so scared his face turned pale."

"And Ludo Bagman, who has also been accused of being Death Eater."

"Are you kidding me?" Aaron exclaimed, speechless. "If someone like him can Death Eater, then Voldemort's standards for selecting people are way too low!"

Harry wholeheartedly agreed. In his view, although Ludo Bagman was somewhat annoying, he was fundamentally different from the Death Eater. At least he would never dare to overstep the Ministry of Magic's rules.

"Many people think so, which is why Ludo Bagman was released with almost no trial." Harry shrugged. "That's all we've seen so far. It's no wonder it's Dumbledore's memory; even a little bit leaked out is enough to shock us all."