Past Events

[This chapter contains content related to Hogwarts Legacy, including the author's personal speculation based on the main storyline.]

After agreeing with Cyberlina to visit the Ministry of Magic on Tuesday, Dumbledore expressed a desire to tour her Room of Requirement.

This was within Cyberlina's expectations, so she readily agreed. Furthermore, she knew that Dumbledore must be feeling a bit unsettled after seeing the troublesome students again, so she indulged him, letting him look around wherever he pleased.

What Cyberlina didn't expect was that Dumbledore, emboldened by her leniency and soft heart, would push his luck! He toured the room once, then again, as if he wanted to count every blade of grass in the landscape paintings on the walls. Even the newly planted Dittany pots weren't spared from his touch.

Cyberlina didn't know why Dumbledore was so thoroughly inspecting her Room of Requirement, nor did she bother to think about it. After all, there truly were no contraband items in here that would concern Dumbledore, so she could let him investigate. However—this didn't mean she could accept him causing trouble for no reason!

"Mr. Dumbledore! You're not getting any younger, it's time for you to rest!"

And so, the elderly headmaster was forcibly escorted out of the Room of Requirement.

But he still didn't get to rest, because a little bat who wouldn't sleep was waiting for him outside his office.

Coming to me proactively is rather unusual. It must be something important.

Thinking this, Dumbledore said, "Severus, there's been too much happening tonight. I think we should both get some rest."

"Then you won't have time for a few more words." Snape looked up at him. "You didn't seem to need rest when you called me in the middle of the night before, did you, busy Headmaster?"

Dumbledore: "...Alright. 'Creamy Peanut Candy'."

As soon as he stepped into the office from the rotating staircase, Snape got straight to the point. "Does Sekerei have the ability to know what others are thinking?"

"Indeed, some people possess such a talent, but I assure you, Cyberlina does not." Dumbledore leaned against his desk. "Why do you think that? If it's about... Tom, from earlier, it's likely related to the existence of that diary. After all, Cyberlina is very adept at dealing with soul-related matters."

"No, it's not." Snape recounted how Cyberlina had inexplicably sensed his emotions in the Chamber of Secrets that night. "I'm quite sure she wasn't looking at me at first, and was even quite far away. Afterwards, I deliberately leaked my emotions and quickly sealed them off, yet she still detected my feelings while her back was turned to me."

Sensed emotions?

This was a direction Dumbledore hadn't considered. After all, those skilled in Legilimency often had some intuition in this area, and Cyberlina herself was very good at reading people... there were too many explanations for her acuity.

He was silent for a few seconds, then spoke slowly as he thought, "Severus, you know that emotions can cause fluctuations in magic. For those with strong magic, sensing some of it is not a problem. Moreover, Cyberlina's magic is somewhat special... Wait a moment, I think I've heard something similar—"

Dumbledore suddenly paused, turned to look at the portraits in the office, and asked, "Does anyone know where Neophyte is?"

"Who knows? She hasn't been in the office much for a long time. Perhaps she's at their secret base again," Headmaster Black said, lifting his head from his arm and yawning lazily, waving a dismissive hand. "Truly audacious, having secret bases within Hogwarts that the headmaster doesn't know about."

"It's not exactly secret, we just can't get in," the middle-aged male headmaster said, shrugging. "After all, Neophyte is a senior, plus that power... it's only natural that we can't find the place."

"Oh, she shouldn't have gone today. I saw her pass by the portrait on the third floor a few hours ago and head upstairs," a kind-faced elderly female headmaster said.

"Then I'd trouble you to find her for me. I need to ask her something about Cyberlina," Dumbledore said with a friendly smile to the portraits.

Upon hearing this, the successive headmasters rose and left their portraits—Headmaster Black looked reluctant, but was faster than anyone else.

"Neophyte Fitzgerald, a headmaster from several hundred years ago," Dumbledore explained to Snape. "She is probably the one who understands Cyberlina's power the best nowadays... Cyberlina mentioned it to me a few times, saying that Neophyte and three other portrait headmasters from her era guided her in learning to use her power, but—"

Dumbledore pondered for a few seconds.

"But she hasn't been actively appearing in the headmaster's office for a long time."

"Because of Sekerei?" Snape asked, though his tone clearly held a degree of certainty.

"Yes." Dumbledore sighed. "Before Cyberlina resigned, Neophyte had a long talk with her—I only learned about this from other headmasters after I became headmaster, but no one knows what they discussed... In any case, Neophyte has rarely come out since then."

Seeing that Dumbledore was speaking in detail and didn't intend to dismiss him, Snape was silent for a moment before saying in a low voice, "I know too much tonight."

"You should know some things about Cyberlina."

Snape looked up at Dumbledore. The blue eyes behind his spectacles looked at him with trust, as always—and he, as always, couldn't be sure how much of that trust was genuine.

"Severus, you must have noticed that I can't help but follow Cyberlina's lead." Dumbledore clasped his hands together in front of him and gave Snape a wry smile. "So I need you to remain vigilant towards her on my behalf."

Snape's expression was one of disbelief. "Are you sure you know what you're saying?"

Dumbledore raised an eyebrow. "Didn't I tell you from the beginning—don't let your guard down around her."

"How can you be sure I won't be influenced by her?"

"You already have been." Dumbledore looked gleefully at Snape's stiffening expression. "No one wouldn't be influenced by her after spending so much time together."

Snape remained silent. Dumbledore continued, "But you are someone who, even when given trust, will not let go of their vigilance, Severus."

Snape pursed his lips, tightening them into a thin line, his mouth curving upwards in a frown as he looked at Dumbledore—after all, this didn't sound like a compliment.

"Oh, Severus, don't overthink it. I'm just speaking from my own experience." Dumbledore tucked his sleeves back and leaned back, almost sitting on the edge of the headmaster's desk, a teasing look on his face. "And look, aren't you expressing your doubts about Cyberlina to me right now?"

"I found her!"

Headmaster Black's voice rang out, and Dumbledore and Snape stopped their conversation in unison.

"Oh, thank you very much, Phineas. And—" Dumbledore thanked the portrait frame from which the voice came, then looked at the adjacent frame. "Long time no see, Neophyte."

"Long time no see, Albus." A hint of weariness appeared on Neophyte's stern face—a look that perhaps shouldn't appear on a portrait. "What do you want to ask me?"

"I want to know, can Cyberlina's magic more keenly sense the emotional fluctuations of others?"

Snape noticed that the red-haired headmaster's eyes widened slightly, but then returned to normal, as if nothing had happened, and she asked Dumbledore, "Why do you ask? Did something happen?"

"It's just a doubt that arose during my conversation with Severus." Although the portraits of Hogwarts served the current headmaster due to magical contracts, Dumbledore knew that this headmaster from centuries ago was bound by another powerful oath.

So he habitually didn't tell her everything.

Neophyte tilted her head slightly, as if contemplating how to answer.

Dumbledore, understanding, said, "If you cannot say, then you don't have to."

"Actually, after Cyberlina returned this time, I could no longer sense the restrictions of the other contract, Albus." Neophyte shook her head slightly. "Perhaps I can tell you."

"What does that mean?"

Dumbledore straightened up. The portraits of the former headmasters were almost instantly filled, leaving no empty space. It was the first time Snape had seen such a full assembly, and he began to wonder, for the umpteenth time that day, if he should continue standing there.

But this time, he didn't dwell on it for long, because Dumbledore looked at him.

After Snape left the Headmaster's office, Dumbledore's expression immediately turned serious. "Neophyte, be specific."

He and the other headmasters knew very well that although the vow contract wasn't ancient, it possessed a binding force nearly identical to the ancient Hogwarts magical contract.

In fact, the secrecy vow contract was even more potent than the contract Hogwarts had for portraits. Otherwise, several headmasters wouldn't have only learned that Neophyte and three other professors had protected the same secret for hundreds of years when Cyberlina, smiling, spoke of the trials she underwent as the heir.

"Actually, these past few days, I've been repeatedly entering and exiting our Chamber of Secrets to confirm this matter—" Neophyte sighed slightly. "Never mind, let me start from the beginning. I can tell you everything now anyway.

As Cyberlina once told you all, we, as guardians, set up several trials to prevent Ancient Magic from falling into the wrong hands. We searched ancient texts and used Ancient Magic to establish vows to protect this knowledge and power.

We had to ensure only the rightful person could inherit it, and we firmly believed that those who could see traces of Ancient Magic would always follow the clues to us and begin the trials. But in all these centuries, only Cyberlina was able to truly come before us and pass the trials."

Dumbledore was beginning to sense something was wrong, because no matter what, Cyberlina did not seem like the "rightful person."

"Actually, there were no trials at first. We didn't refuse anyone who could see traces of Ancient Magic, as such special wizards were very rare. But, Isidora—a child as gifted as Cyberlina—made us change our minds.

You must have all noticed from Cyberlina that the effects of using dark magic on herself were far less than on ordinary wizards, or even nonexistent. This is because Ancient Magic itself is very pure, without any impurities, which purifies the magic of its users and strengthens their souls.

But Isidora... that child... she used such pure power to create an incredibly dark force, a power more evil than any dark magic."

Neophyte paused, then chose to say a few good words for the student who had nearly killed her: "But Isidora's initial intention was for her father, who was immersed in grief over the loss of his child. Her original research was to stop her father's suffering and the suffering of the sick."

"So what did she do?" Dumbledore asked, staring intently at Neophyte's portrait. Fragments of memories surfaced in his mind, and absurd guesses appeared.

"She... chose to extract 'pain' from the bodies of those who were suffering."

--So that's how it is.

Dumbledore closed his eyes, his voice hoarse. "But that wasn't 'pain,' was it?"

"...Yes, 'pain' isn't something tangible, how could it be extracted from the body." Neophyte's expression was serious. "Those from whom she removed something gradually lost all emotion, becoming numb and unresponsive to the outside world. And the thing extracted—it possessed a strong dark power. Isidora sought out goblins and used Goblin Mithril to make special containers to store it."

"So that's why the goblins suddenly rioted back then! They discovered those powerful dark substances through past events! Damn it!" Headmaster Black became agitated. "Sekerei didn't mention this back then! She only said it was because of her Ancient Magic and the wand that could inherit Ancient Magic!"

"That wand was made by Ollivander using things we left behind; it wasn't anything ancient. We said that at the time just to cover up the truth."

"Ollivander is tight-lipped too," Headmaster Black grumbled. "But even if the dark substances were covered up, the goblin incident was still suppressed. What was the point..."

Neophyte ignored him and continued, "Later, we discovered she had begun targeting students—oh, and like Cyberlina, she later returned to school and became a professor. But we never imagined that, knowing it wasn't a relaxing act, she would target students. She was like a madwoman..."

"Actually, this is just how ordinary wizards behave when corrupted by dark magic," Dumbledore interjected. "I think I know what happened next—you had a dispute, Isidora lost, and then you stored those dark substances and made a vow contract to ensure they would be sealed forever."

"Yes." Neophyte closed her eyes. "Back then, Cyberlina and Fig went to stop the goblin leader from obtaining that power—"

"Oh, that was the day all the professors let me show off my power, really. I was the Headmaster then—" Mmph! Mmph! Headmaster Black was silenced by the two headmasters covering his mouth.

"How dare you say that! Even if Weasley told you then, would you have believed him?" an elderly female headmaster scoffed.

Neophyte continued, "Later, Fig sacrificed himself, and Cyberlina defeated the goblin leader, Ranrok, and destroyed those substances, preventing them from being absorbed into dark energy. But—"

"But Cyberlina didn't actually destroy them." Dumbledore finished her sentence. "Did you not think carefully about what those substances actually were?"

"We didn't have time to research them before sealing them, but we observed those people from whom the substances were extracted. They had no emotions, so we thought those substances were human emotions."

"Just emotions?" Dumbledore looked at Neophyte.

Neophyte looked at the old man before her, who had been personally taught by Cyberlina and knew her very well. She sighed inwardly and said, "I don't know, Albus, but Cyberlina definitely found something else within them and, more cleverly than Isidora, found a way to extract it. I guarantee she was not corrupted by those dark substances."

"Are you trying to say Cyberlina remained clear-headed?" Dumbledore's lips trembled slightly beneath his beard. "Are you trying to tell me that her appearance in the years before her death was simply because she couldn't accept Mr. Ominis's departure?"

The office fell silent. The portraits didn't know what Cyberlina had been like in her final years, nor did they understand the cryptic conversation between these two headmasters separated by centuries.

The two headmasters controlling Headmaster Black exchanged a glance and simultaneously released him—

"What are you talking about! Can you explain clearly? What did Sekerei discover? Did she absorb those things?" Headmaster Black rushed to the edge of the frame, his face showing an expression of "I knew it." "I saw her portrait in Morrigan Square, and she looked terrible!"

"Souls." The Sorting Hat, which had been silent, suddenly spoke. "Souls."

Neophyte closed her eyes, and the other portraits turned to look at the Sorting Hat.

Everyone knew the Sorting Hat could trace its origins. But the Cyberlina who had returned now had an impeccable mind. The Sorting Hat absolutely could not have seen this in her mind, so it could only be—

"Cyberlina extracted that substance in the Headmaster's office?" Armando Dippet asked in surprise. Speaking of which, he was the Head of House when Cyberlina died. Could it be—

"No, not while you were Headmaster," the Sorting Hat quickly clarified, seeing his thoughts.

Armando paused, then looked at Black along with the other portraits.

"..." Black was silent for a few seconds. To the surprise of the other portraits, he didn't become agitated. "So how many times did she come to my office?"

"I don't know," the Sorting Hat said, shaking its tip. "Countless times. She always used the Disillusionment Charm—you know her skill level, so it's normal that you couldn't see her."

"Then why didn't you tell me?"

"You didn't lose anything, and she didn't snoop around. She just thought the Headmaster's office was the safest place, so she came to experiment." The Sorting Hat swayed its tip and brim. "Alright, this really shouldn't have happened, but there's nothing I could do. The ancient magic spells she created herself could cause me a little bit of damage—just a little!"