Partiality

Dumbledore had intended to keep silent, just as he had when dealing with Cyberlina before. Unfortunately, Cyberlina seemed determined not to let him off easily today, and he could not simply walk away as he had during their arguments decades ago—after all, this was his office, and there was also a rat waiting to be dealt with.

"Cyber..." Dumbledore sighed. "Perhaps we could wait and discuss this later. Severus should be bringing Harry here any moment now—"

"How is Harry supposed to come over?" Cyberlina raised an eyebrow slightly, watching Dumbledore's suddenly stiff expression with satisfaction. "He's in the hospital wing, and one of his arms is still limp. I doubt Madam Pomfrey will let him leave. I wasn't at school the last few days, so I only found out today... What's wrong? Has our all-knowing headmaster still not heard about this?"

Dumbledore: "..."

Forgive him. He had truly been shocked by Snape's action just now. On top of that, Cyberlina's death stare beside him had kept him focused on figuring out how to explain himself—so much so that the elderly man had completely forgotten Harry was still in the hospital wing.

And—

Dumbledore cast a furtive glance at Cyberlina.

Why does it feel like Cyber sounds more and more like Severus?

Dumbledore looked toward Pettigrew, who lay on the floor appearing to wail without making a sound. He had just been about to speak when Cyberlina gently moved her wand—and Pettigrew suddenly stopped moving.

"All right, that's temporarily dealt with too. Can we talk now?" Cyberlina asked with a beaming smile.

Dumbledore was silent for a few seconds before slowly returning to his chair. He placed his hands on the desk, fingertips touching, and calmly looked at Cyberlina. "Cyber, you should know that, under those circumstances... using something that shouldn't have been used was unavoidable..."

Cyberlina raised an eyebrow slightly, indicating that he should continue.

Dumbledore lowered his head and clasped his hands together tightly.

"Once certain things begin, they have to continue. Even if they're no longer appropriate, they can't be stopped, for the sake of..."

"For the sake of ultimate victory." Cyberlina softly finished his sentence. She lowered her head and looked at the aged Dumbledore before her, her smile gradually fading.

Regret, self-reproach, love—

When Albus used these things... had he truly done nothing wrong?

Cyberlina knew that Dumbledore trusted Snape because Snape was tightly bound by those things. But she knew even more clearly that Dumbledore trusted Snape because of them precisely because he himself was also firmly shackled by them, unable to break free for his entire life.

"That doesn't mean you were wrong." Cyberlina nodded, then smiled and shook her head. "But that isn't what I meant. I never intended to blame you for that, Albus."

Dumbledore thought, Cyber probably hasn't noticed that her tone has already softened.

He raised his head and looked at Cyberlina in confusion. "Then what is it about?"

Cyberlina casually glanced at Pettigrew on the floor. "This rat's mind is far too fragile. I saw many things from his school days." Cyberlina looked toward Dumbledore, whose expression had turned uneasy. "I remember someone once telling me that he wasn't particularly biased toward Gryffindor either..."

Dumbledore avoided her gaze once again.

Just as Cyberlina thought she would have to stare him down for a while longer, Dumbledore suddenly turned his head toward her and said quietly, "I'm sorry, Cyber... This really was my fault."

Cyberlina froze.

The child had admitted his mistake so quickly for once that she was a little unaccustomed to it. When they had discussed the same subject last time, he had still tried to argue his way out of it.

"I've seriously considered what you said last time." Dumbledore looked directly into Cyberlina's smiling eyes without hiding anything. "I was indeed far too biased. That cannot be denied. I've also realized my mistake, but... those things have already happened, and I..."

Dumbledore did not continue, but Cyberlina saw the intense emotions radiating from him, as well as the genuine expression in his eyes.

He was not lying.

But he was being a little too self-righteous about it.

Cyberlina lowered her eyes slightly.

"All right, Albus. Since you've realized you were wrong, and everything has already passed, then let it stay in the past." Cyberlina sighed softly. "Who can blame you when you're my favorite student? The harm suffered by everyone else... forget it."

Dumbledore: "..." Something isn't right.

Just as Dumbledore was preparing to explain further, Cyberlina suddenly changed the subject.

"Today's matter was also my oversight. I actually noticed something was wrong with the rat in Little Weasley's pocket on the first day of term." Cyberlina looked down at Pettigrew, who had passed out on the floor. "But after asking in detail about this rat, I thought he was a wizard whose Animagus transformation had gone wrong, causing him to forget that he was a wizard and completely devolve into an animal, so I didn't pay much attention afterward.

"As it turned out... I was simply too ignorant. I never imagined that a wizard with self-awareness could live as a rat for more than ten years without the slightest guilt. I hope the Weasley children won't break down too badly when they learn about this."

Dumbledore nodded sympathetically, then said, "I haven't changed my mind. I hope Harry learns the truth about what happened back then. Then I'll take him to the Ministry of Magic and let him personally watch Sirius come out—" Seeing Cyberlina's questioning look, Dumbledore added, "Sirius Black. He's Harry's godfather, and I believe Harry would want to see him cleared of his unjust charges."

"What if Little Black doesn't want that?" Cyberlina offered her own opinion. "He's been in Azkaban for so long. He should look terrible by now. Would he really want his godson to see him in such a miserable state?"

Dumbledore paused. "All right, I hadn't considered that. I'll find a way to ask Sirius what he thinks beforehand."

Cyberlina raised another question. "If he was framed, then why did he remain in Azkaban for so many years? I mean, he should have had a way to prove his innocence. Legilimency and Veritaserum should both have been options. The Wizengamot wouldn't refuse to accept such evidence."

"Perhaps... he no longer had the will to defend himself..."

Dumbledore let out a sigh. Cyberlina wore a puzzled expression and made it clear that she could not understand the Gryffindor way of thinking at all.

"Then he really was at ease—I'm not prejudiced against his surname; I'm simply stating the facts." Cyberlina glanced at the wall and regretfully noticed that Black's portrait was not there. "In that case, take Harry to the Ministry of Magic and clear Little Black's name, Albus."

"Aren't you coming?"

"I don't want to go to the Ministry of Magic again anytime soon." Cyberlina shrugged. "You know, I just met with some Ministry people a few days ago."

Dumbledore nodded. He did know that the Wizengamot had spoken with Cyberlina separately about the matter, and he even knew what it concerned—the matter of Voldemort splitting his soul.

But as far as he knew, Cyberlina had not revealed much. Moreover... she had shamelessly played the victim over the break-in at the Department of Mysteries, expressed sorrow about it, voluntarily participated in strengthening the Department of Mysteries' security, and even pretended to submit written paperwork requesting to participate.

And he had signed as her guarantor.

Dumbledore felt that sooner or later, he would be dragged into the interrogation room as an accomplice.

Before leaving the headmaster's office, Cyberlina disdainfully put the rat-transformed Pettigrew into a small cage. Her reason was: "What if our busy headmaster accidentally lets this cunning, filthy rat escape?"

Dumbledore: "..." He truly felt that Cyber had been led astray by Severus!

After Cyberlina left the office, Dumbledore began to think. He had the distinct feeling that Cyberlina had gone far too easy on him this time.

He had known from the beginning that Cyberlina was angry with him for his bias. Yet he had deliberately confessed to another matter instead—because just as he was unable to refute Cyberlina's sincere outpouring of emotion, Cyberlina could not bring herself to be harsh when he exposed his own wounds.

He was somewhat biased, but was Cyberlina not biased as well?

Cyberlina was both a Slytherin and his teacher. Dumbledore understood his position in Cyberlina's heart quite well—compared to those younger Slytherins, she was definitely more biased toward him.

Most importantly, he truly regretted many of the things that had happened back then, and he believed Cyberlina could sense his genuine feelings.

Dumbledore had thought that after this series of moves, Cyberlina would not scold him too harshly even if she remained angry. But he had never expected her not to say a single harsh word.

That made Dumbledore uneasy. He felt that Cyberlina had not truly let the matter go, but he could not guess what she planned to do next.

Meanwhile, after leaving the headmaster's office, Cyberlina went straight to the Potions professor's office, only to find that no one was inside. After looking around and using Scourgify on several cauldrons, she left the office. She then headed straight to the underground area where the ghosts usually gathered. After giving them a few instructions, she conjured a chair and a lamp, settled herself comfortably into the chair, and took out a black-covered book to read.

The ghosts: "..."

Thinking of the persecution they had suffered at Cyberlina's hands over the years, they chose anger, then turned and left. Only Nick floated over with his head hanging at an angle, nearly severed, and asked whether she could cut it off for him. Cyberlina smiled and refused, then mercilessly drove him away.

Three and a half hours later, Nick returned. This time, he had brought the results of the task Cyberlina had assigned him, so he floated before her with his head cocked to one side, entirely self-righteous—only for Cyberlina to thank him with a beaming smile and ignore his request to cut off his head once again.

Cyberlina slowly made her way upstairs and happened to run into Snape just as he was about to enter the Potions office.

"What a coincidence, Severus."

Snape's lips were pressed into a tight line. After staring at Cyberlina for several seconds, he finally said slowly, "Madam Sekerei, the next time you have those ghosts keep watch, please teach them not to run back while shouting at the top of their lungs."

"Oh, that may just have been one or two unruly ghosts." Cyberlina showed no embarrassment at being exposed. Instead, she issued Snape a familiar yet alarming invitation. "Would you like to go out after curfew, Severus? Though there's still plenty of time before curfew begins."

Snape felt that he should not agree again. Unfortunately, Cyberlina did not give him a chance to answer this time. As she stepped forward to ask him, a floating blue castle had already lit up beside her. She smiled and grabbed Snape's arm, then touched the map beside her with her other hand. In the next instant, Snape discovered that the surroundings had changed.

They were in the Forbidden Forest.

Snape could only roughly determine that from the surrounding environment.

"Relax, Severus." Cyberlina glanced at Snape's tightly clenched wand hand and smiled as she put away the Marauder's Map. "It's just a change of location to somewhere without any portraits, ghosts, or house-elves."

"...That sounds like something unfortunate is about to happen to me."

Snape gave the map in her hand an oblique glance. Although Cyberlina was difficult to read, he could not help admiring her power and talent—using a method similar to Apparition inside Hogwarts? He had never even imagined such a thing!

"Then Albus will definitely come after me." Cyberlina chuckled and turned north.

Seeing that she had clearly not intended to let him refuse, Snape closed his eyes briefly, then resigned himself to following her.

The cold wind passed through the branches, its howling echoing high above. Only a slightly chilly breeze reached the ground, stirring the grass and trees as scattered points of fluorescent light drifted through the air.

"This is the northern side of the western Forbidden Forest." Cyberlina walked slowly along the stream with her hands behind her back, green light swirling around her. "I used to love coming here when I was a student, and later when I was a professor."

Snape faintly sensed what she intended to do. He stopped and gave a cold, deeply resistant laugh. "If you intend to have some ridiculous heart-to-heart talk, there's no need. You would do better to go counsel your sweet-loving model student."

"Of course I know you don't need that sort of thing." Cyberlina turned to look at him. "Just do me the kindness of listening to an old woman tell a story."

Snape narrowed his eyes, looking at Cyberlina as though she were some rare species. "Have you caught Dumbledore's illness of going mad late at night?"

Cyberlina laughed. "It seems Albus often comes looking for you in the middle of the night."

Snape gave a cold snort, which counted as an acknowledgment.

Cyberlina lowered her eyes to the school robes billowing in the wind and said softly, "I'll say the same thing again, Severus. Albus truly trusts you."

"Heh..." Snape found it utterly ridiculous. One member of this teacher-student pair told him to beware of the other, while the other told him to trust the first. The key was that the two of them seemed to trust each other deeply, making him feel like some sort of fool being toyed with.

Cyberlina ignored his silent mockery and merely asked, "Why didn't you return to the headmaster's office today?"

"The Savior is in the hospital wing, and Dumbledore didn't say much, so I—" Snape's voice abruptly cut off.

"You see? You understand each other's meaning very clearly."

"That doesn't mean trust—"

"Yes, I understand. It's merely a habit formed through years of working together." Cyberlina raised her head and looked at Snape with a beaming smile. "And I'm not here to persuade you to trust him either. I just want to tell you something."

"Something Dumbledore can't hear?" Snape raised an eyebrow.

"At least something he shouldn't hear." Cyberlina chuckled. "I imagine the Potions Master has quite an extensive network of contacts, so you already know what I did at the Ministry of Magic."

Snape nodded. He knew more than that—Lucius's letters had bombarded him until he had no choice but to make a trip to Malfoy Manor to explain matters concerning Voldemort. Then he had told Lucius that he did not know much about it either.

"I wonder whether you noticed that I deliberately emphasized one particular thing."

Snape thought for a moment, then showed a puzzled expression.

"When I used Riddle's memories, I mentioned... Gaunt many times."

Snape paused and stared expressionlessly at Cyberlina. "Are you going to tell me a love story?"

His tone and manner suggested that if Cyberlina nodded, he would immediately fly back.

"No. It's a terrifying murder story."

Cyberlina looked at Snape with her usual beaming smile. Her pale golden-brown eyes appeared somewhat eerie beneath the green fluorescent light. A cold wind passed by their feet, and an inexplicable chill rose from the base of Snape's spine. He still felt that something unfortunate was more likely to happen to him tonight.