Redemption and the Cage — Second Update

Hogwarts.

With its majestic exterior, intricate interior layout, and omnipresent magical atmosphere, this castle had become the academy countless wizards and witches dreamed of attending.

The castle's outer walls were built from massive gray stones. Though battered by wind, rain, and snow, they remained unshakably sturdy, as if every stone had witnessed the rise and growth of countless wizards.

The spacious Great Hall, winding corridors, richly stocked library... and the distinctive Headmaster's Office—these were the childhood memories many wizards could never forget, even after a lifetime.

Every year, when the school term began.

People gathered here.

"Fawkes, you've been flying out so often these past few days. Is there something interesting outside drawing you in?" Dumbledore looked curiously at the fiery-red figure flying in through the window.

Since the school term had not yet begun.

The castle felt somewhat deserted.

All the students were on holiday, and even the professors had homes of their own... perhaps only people like Snape and Dumbledore still remained at school.

They were not homeless.

They simply... could no longer feel the existence of home.

"Kree!"

The clear, soaring cry showed that the Phoenix was in a good mood.

"The term is about to begin. You mustn't go darting around the school, or you'll frighten the young wizards." Dumbledore began tidying the slightly disheveled feathers of his Phoenix.

This was one of his few forms of entertainment.

For Snape.

There was no difference between staying at school and staying in that so-called home.

As for Dumbledore.

He simply did not have the courage to face Godric's Hollow again.

Yes.

Courage.

Many people saw only Albus Dumbledore's brilliance and power. Few could glimpse just how lonely the Headmaster of Hogwarts was beneath all those dazzling halos.

When a Gryffindor lost his courage.

It was enough to prove that he had already fallen into the abyss, completely lost.

"If you truly want something to do, perhaps you could help me search for the Chamber of Secrets again." Dumbledore did not actually understand the language of Phoenixes.

However.

That did not mean Phoenixes could not understand human speech.

"Kree! Kree! Kree-kree!"

The Phoenix agreed.

Dumbledore could sense it emotionally.

"Thank you for the trouble."

He took out some snacks.

However.

The fiery-red Phoenix perched on Dumbledore's arm showed complete disdain for the snacks Dumbledore offered it. It merely let out a crisp cry toward the grounds beyond the school.

"Severus."

Dumbledore looked up.

He saw Snape entering the school from outside, his face heavy with worry. Judging from the direction he had returned from, Dumbledore could more or less guess where Snape had gone.

"So you finally went to visit that poor child?"

Dumbledore vanished from before the office window and appeared in the castle passage Snape had entered the next instant—this was the Apparition of Fawkes the Phoenix.

Though the rules within Hogwarts Castle might not necessarily have been able to restrain a wizard like Dumbledore, he rarely broke the school's millennia-old traditions.

"That damn brat is not pitiable in the slightest."

Snape seemed to have been startled by Dumbledore, but after hearing his words, his face could not help twitching as he recalled the horrifying sight he had just seen.

The boy was even playing around with Dark Magic.

How could that be called pitiable?

"Do not always suppress your emotions. That child needs you to care about him."

Dumbledore's voice seemed to carry an eternally soothing magic.

He patiently tried to persuade Snape.

Many had believed that Dumbledore merely used Snape, or perhaps pitied him... but the truth was that Dumbledore saw his own past in Snape.

Perhaps what had happened to them was different.

But Dumbledore was likely the person who could empathize with Snape the most.

They had both once pursued extreme ideals.

And both had awakened after sudden, drastic upheavals.

Only.

Unlike him.

Snape still had a chance at redemption.

"I admit that what I said before was somewhat extreme. He has only you as family now. If even you still wish to reject him, then he will have no one to rely on in this world."

Dumbledore truly hoped to see something in Snape that he himself could never hope for.

"..."

Snape's eyes flickered slightly.

For once, he did not retort.

"Ian is a loving child. Do not let him lose love, all right?" Compared with before, Dumbledore had clearly changed his approach in persuading Snape not to close off his heart.

Of course.

He was also certainly thinking of Ian, this orphan. With a wizard like Snape to rely on, no matter what happened, a young wizard's future path would be much easier.

"He is doing very well in Hogsmeade Village. He seems quite accustomed... to life in the wizarding world." Snape's expression was slightly unnatural as he spoke.

Dumbledore did not mind.

"He can take good care of a group of children, so of course he knows how to take care of himself as well." Dumbledore had personally investigated Ian's background, after all.

He knew quite a lot about Ian's circumstances.

"Hah! That reckless brat! He takes far too good care of himself!" Snape gritted his teeth. Just thinking about what he had seen made his blood pressure rise.

"Isn't that a good thing?"

Dumbledore chuckled softly.

He clearly did not know the full story.

"..."

Snape merely gave Dumbledore an odd look and said nothing more. He shook his head, walked around Dumbledore, and prepared to return to his office.

He still had a cauldron of potion brewing.

Then.

As though remembering something.

He stopped again.

And turned back.

Dumbledore was still standing where he was, the Phoenix resting on his hand.

"Albus."

Snape spoke hesitantly.

"What year were you in when you learned Compound Magic, and how long did it take you?" The Potions Professor of Hogwarts stared directly at his Headmaster.

This left Dumbledore slightly puzzled.

"Although people outside lavish praise on my magical talent, in truth, my talent was merely a little better than average." Dumbledore first humbly downplayed himself before answering.

"If my old brain remembers correctly, it was one afternoon during Second Year. It was not magic I should have encountered at the time, and it took me an entire afternoon."

For most wizards.

This would absolutely count as Dumbledore's Versailles moment.

However.

"Damn it. It seems your reputation is somewhat undeserved..." Snape was not mocking him, but sighing. When he turned to leave, his expression grew even more troubled.

"????"

Dumbledore stood frozen for quite a while.

Then.

He seemed to realize something.

A trace of... horror flashed through his eyes behind his spectacles.