Goodnight

"Severus?" Cyberlina sounded surprised by Snape's arrival. She walked towards them, one arm around a cat, "Perfect timing. I won't have to visit the Potions office again when I get back to school."

As she spoke, Cyberlina handed a bag to Snape.

Snape knew it contained the two plants she had openly traveled to Central Europe to collect under the guise of gathering them. His mood grew complicated as he took the bag and subtly scanned their surroundings. Good, no one else was around. It seemed he wouldn't be forced to listen to three people argue.

Dumbledore looked at Cyberlina, dressed in a dark green coat, and suddenly realized that although he had seen her a few times at the school over the past month, they hadn't had a formal conversation.

He had previously assumed Cyberlina was busy with her own affairs. After all, once her identity was restored, she frequently skipped classes and had even taken on the task of finding materials for Snape. So, not only was she hard to find at school, but she was likely not even in Britain. McGonagall had been the one to deliver the finished fruit candies.

But now, after Snape's reminder, he understood. She had time to drop off materials at Snape's office, time to pretend to be a student and attend a few classes, time to see McGonagall, but no time for his office! She was deliberately targeting him!

Realizing he was getting angry, Dumbledore paused, then tucked his hands into his sleeves and asked, his expression unchanged, "Cyber, did you deal with the Horcrux here?"

"Oh, I wouldn't say dealt with it," Cyberlina said, tucking the cat, which had suddenly started squirming again, into her arm. She smiled at Dumbledore, "But don't worry, Albus."

Dumbledore glanced again at the disobedient cat and chuckled, "How strange. A small animal that dislikes you."

"Isn't that normal?" Cyberlina raised an eyebrow. "Animals have their own preferences, perhaps I'm just the type of wizard this cat dislikes."

Dumbledore fell silent. He wasn't sure if it was his imagination, but he felt Cyberlina's words carried a heavy undertone of sarcasm.

Grindelwald, hearing this, turned his cat head and looked at Cyberlina with surprise. She actually speaks to Albus like that? I'm learning something new. What bad thing did Albus do?

"Cyber, I know I was wrong," Dumbledore decided to take the initiative. Comparing it to Snape, he believed the best approach with a Slytherin of her complex mind was to state his intentions directly.

Cyberlina raised an eyebrow slightly, inwardly surprised, and asked, "For what?"

"For my favoritism," Dumbledore said honestly, then pointed at Snape. "Severus has already forgiven me."

Snape, suddenly understanding why he'd been dragged over: "...Yes!" he gritted out.

Cyberlina glanced at Snape, who was being forced to play along, then turned back to Dumbledore.

"There's something else," Dumbledore said before Cyberlina could speak. He lowered his head slightly, his sky-blue eyes, unobstructed by glasses, looking directly into Cyberlina's.

Unlike the sincere emotional outpouring and veiled truths of last time, this time he actively recalled his regret over past events after seeing Snape's gradual changes; he proactively revealed his panic when he heard Cyberlina's questioning that day and his subtle desire to lessen the criticism; he proactively mentioned his surprise upon learning from Snape that she might have intended to use Grindelwald to correct his favoritism; he proactively displayed the slight anger he had just realized upon being ignored...

Cyberlina was quiet for a second, then lowered her gaze and smiled somewhat helplessly.

Little Al is too well-behaved, telling her everything. How could she still be angry?

Her recent lack of communication with Dumbledore was indeed due to anger, but the reason wasn't entirely what Dumbledore thought. The main reason was that—to ease her attitude, he had deliberately steered the conversation towards topics he used to control Snape, topics that were also deeply hurtful to himself.

She was unhappy that Dumbledore, due to his favoritism, self-righteously and arbitrarily speculated about her thoughts, and disappointed that he disregarded her feelings for a better outcome.

From the first moment she returned and saw Dumbledore, she had noticed he had indeed matured a lot, considering things more thoroughly and meticulously.

But he was also a bit too thorough, too cautious. It made her feel like he was suppressing himself, restraining himself, forcing himself to admit that his own feelings didn't matter.

He seemed to be telling her that he himself was less important than the outcome.

This realization made Cyberlina feel a bit sad, and even more powerless.

She had no doubt that if Dumbledore continued like this, he would completely sacrifice himself when he felt the need to do so in the future.

Therefore, when she realized during their usual conversations that he had emotional fluctuations regarding Grindelwald's affairs, Cyberlina had been considering when to bring Grindelwald before him to provoke him—whether the fluctuations were due to youthful affection or later animosity from drawing wands, it would at least give him some vitality.

She hadn't expected... it to be led by Snape into correcting his favoritism. Well, that worked too. She would accept it for now.

In any case, judging by how hastily Dumbledore had rushed over, her goal had been achieved.

Thinking this, Cyberlina held Gellert the cat Grindelwald by the scruff of his neck, facing him towards Dumbledore, and stroked the fur on top of his head.

"Albus..." Feeling the fur constantly bristling beneath her hand, Cyberlina's eyes were filled with amusement. "Actually, I'm not that angry."

The cat, perhaps unaware of how cats behaved when angry, had no idea that his tail was betraying him so obviously when he bristled. Dumbledore couldn't help but shift his gaze back to the cat, who was so resistant to Cyberlina's touch.

Thus, the cat's agitated, sky-blue, amber-like eyes met a pair of calm, sky-blue eyes filled with confusion.

The cat stopped bristling, froze, blinked, and put on an innocent, naive cat expression.

—Although it all happened in an instant, Dumbledore successfully captured this human-like aspect, and immediately became suspicious.

"But you don't seem like you're not that angry," Dumbledore turned his eyes back to Cyberlina, but a significant portion of his attention was still on the strange cat.

He wondered if it was an Animagus. But if it were an Animagus, Cyberlina wouldn't be holding it so casually, so he ruled that out.

"How could I be truly angry with you..." Cyberlina sighed, seemingly patting the cat's back, then said, "I told you, Albus. You are my favorite student."

Dumbledore fell silent, contemplating whether Cyberlina had used Transfiguration to turn someone into this cat.

Cyberlina tilted her head and watched Dumbledore for a few seconds, then chuckled, "Alright, you don't believe me when I say that."

"After all, you don't tell me many things. You only tell—" Dumbledore paused. He seemed to have realized something, his pupils slowly constricting.

"I only tell—what?" Cyberlina put on a look of confusion, then petted the cat's head again, causing its tail to bristle once more.

"You!" Dumbledore's eyes widened, and he looked at Cyberlina with utter disbelief.

"Me?" Cyberlina blinked. "What about me?"

Dumbledore's hands, tucked into his sleeves, clenched. He pursed his lips and met Cyberlina's gaze.

After a moment of stalemate, Dumbledore lowered his gaze to the agitated cat with sky-blue eyes. His long beard twitched by his mouth—then he reached out and pulled Snape, who had been standing quietly nearby, in front of him. "Severus says you withheld my Pepperup Potion."

Snape: "?"

Cyberlina raised an eyebrow.

Snape immediately gritted his teeth and defended himself, "I! Absolutely did not! Say that!"

"Of course, Severus," Cyberlina said with a smile, looking at Snape. "I believe you. You must have said it in a different way."

Snape: "..." He knew he was going to suffer!

Seeing Snape's face, which was already darker than usual, Cyberlina chuckled. She walked forward, standing face-to-face with Snape. Then, she casually handed the cat in her hands to Dumbledore, who was still holding it in front of him. She then patted Snape's shoulders with both hands and said gently, "Just kidding, Severus. Of course, I know you're not a good child who would tattle. Albus is just looking for trouble,"

Snape, who had indeed tattled on Dumbledore to Cyberlina: "..."

He really was better off not speaking.

But he could choose to glance at Dumbledore, whom Cyberlina had called "looking for trouble." He found that the old headmaster seemed petrified, completely still. The cat, which had been wriggling and bristling in Cyberlina's arms, was also motionless.

Cyberlina let out a "pfft" and laughed. She turned sideways, placing one hand on Snape's somewhat confused shoulder, and smiled at Dumbledore, "My dear Headmaster, it's very late now. Shouldn't we be heading back to school?"

Snape looked at the now dark sky and subconsciously nodded.

"Oh, our Potions Master wants to go back too."

Snape immediately froze.

Cyberlina released her other hand and took out her wand, casting a restoration charm on the Gaunt old house, which was half-collapsed and filled with ruins. Then, she looked at the old house, which was still dilapidated even after being repaired, for a few seconds. She suddenly let out a light laugh, then turned back, her wand resting on Dumbledore's stiff arm.

"Respecting the old and caring for the young, we'll be going back now."

The next moment, four—no, three people and a cat appeared on the Hogwarts lawn where flying lessons were held.

Dumbledore came back to his senses and looked at Cyberlina with a stern face.

"Don't worry, Albus. I won't bring anyone else. I told you, Hogwarts is very important to me," Cyberlina said, stepping forward to take the cat back—but she didn't get it back.

The person and the cat were both very stiff.

Cyberlina pouted upwards, looking at Dumbledore teasingly. Dumbledore immediately let go of his hand, and Grindelwald the cat also jumped out in perfect sync. Cyberlina caught him with one hand.

"Oh my, I thought you didn't want to be separated," Cyberlina said with a smile, blocking the cat's claws that were trying to scratch her with her other hand. She then held the cat's paw and waved goodbye to Dumbledore. "But it's time to say goodnight."

Dumbledore remained silent.

Snape frowned slightly, his gaze shifting between the two and the cat.

Cyberlina raised the cat's paw and smiled at Dumbledore.

Dumbledore: "..."

Dumbledore took a deep breath, his beard trembling. Then, fiercely, as if squeezing the words out of his mouth, he said, "Good, night... Cyberlina."

Cyberlina's smile deepened. "Goodnight, Dumbledore."

Then she turned and waved the cat's paw at Snape. "Goodnight, Severus."

Although he didn't quite understand why, Severus felt a little better seeing the old bee's dark face and generously bid Cyberlina "goodnight."

Cyberlina stepped into the castle with a smile, and in an instant, she was in her Room of Requirement. At the same time, the cat leaped from her arms, transforming into an enraged Grindelwald the moment it landed.

"Cyberlina! What on earth are you thinking!" Grindelwald roared. "Do you know that you—"

Cyberlina ignored him. She tapped the metal shelf next to the door with her wand. Green flames ignited briefly before extinguishing. Cyberlina smiled, then turned around. She walked past Grindelwald, who was pacing angrily but still elegantly in place, into a small corridor, and waved her wand—a new small room appeared, alongside the rooms for growing herbs and setting up workbenches.

Grindelwald fell silent. He began to examine the somewhat dim but extremely luxurious room and asked, "This is the Room of Requirement?"

"Guess," Cyberlina said, walking into the new room and conjuring a bed and a table with her wand.

Grindelwald chuckled. "It couldn't be the Slytherin common room."

"Why couldn't it be the Gryffindor common room?" Cyberlina asked.

Grindelwald opened his mouth, then pursed his lips and sighed. He spread his arms outwards towards Cyberlina. "This gloomy place, Gryffindor?"

"So much time has passed. The Gryffindor common room and where Albus lived must be different now."

"Even if it's different, it still—" Grindelwald paused, then stared at Cyberlina, his voice slowing down. "Even if the current Gryffindor common room is different from when Albus was a student... it wouldn't be entirely this green and silver Slytherin color scheme. It should be... red and gold, right?"

He spoke as if he knew Hogwarts very well.

"Alright, let's fulfill our Grindelwald's wish to live in Gryffindor." Cyberlina smiled and decorated the new room in red and gold, adding exceptionally bright lights and a Gryffindor tapestry.

"I never said I wanted to live—"

"Then should I change it back?"

"...Let's just leave it like this," Grindelwald coughed lightly. "Anyway, I'm not a Hogwarts student, so I don't have that many prejudices."

Cyberlina didn't respond to his taunt, just smiled at him, her eyes full of mischief.

Grindelwald: "...Alright, Cyberlina, at least tell me—what did you bring me here for?"

"If I don't tell you the reason, will you leave immediately?"

"Otherwise?"

"Otherwise..." Cyberlina put her hands behind her back, smiling enigmatically. "There would be no—goodnight from Albus."

"..." Grindelwald took a deep breath. "Tell me the password to the Room of Requirement."

"No need," Cyberlina said, walking towards the outside of the room. "You'll be moving tomorrow anyway."

As she reached the doorway, Cyberlina turned around and smiled gently at Grindelwald. "I almost forgot, I haven't said it yet—Goodnight, Gellert. I hope you sleep well tonight."

Grindelwald paused, moved his lips, and then slowly said, "Goodnight, Cyberlina."