Dumbledore: You're Right
On the last night of the school year, the lights in the Great Hall were brightly lit, the four long tables were full of people, there were hundreds of candles hanging in the air, and the flames swayed gently with the draft.
The ceiling reflected the sky outside, half golden red and half dark blue, the clouds were high, and a few stars had already emerged.
Great Hall is filled with silver-green decorations, flags hang from the ceiling, Slytherin's snake emblem is coiled on silver satin, and green ribbons are wrapped around the walls and window frames.
House Cup, Slytherin are first. This is the seventh consecutive year. Prefect set the atmosphere in advance.
Regulus's eyes swept over the silver-green decoration and landed on the professor's chair, with Dumbledore sitting in the middle.
The dark purple robe is embroidered with silver stars and crescents, Half-moon Spectacles is placed on the bridge of the nose, the white beard has grown to below Orion's Belt, it is neatly combed, and he is talking to Professor Flitwick with his head turned.
It was hard to tell how many places this old man had traveled in the past few months, how many people he had met, and how many rejections he had received. The way he sat there looked like an old principal who had been in school throughout the semester and had never been anywhere.
Regulus was holding Pumpkin Juice's cup, looking at Dumbledore across most of the Great Hall.
Dumbledore's blue eyes turned around and met him through the candlelight and the noise of four long tables.
The old man raised the wine glass in his hand and tilted it slightly in his direction.
Regulus raised Pumpkin Juice in his hand and replied.
Dumbledore's eyes fell on the orange liquid in his cup, a sly smile flashed in his blue eyes, and he winked at him.
Children should drink Pumpkin Juice.
Regulus put the cup down and twitched the corner of his mouth.
The food on the plate was almost eaten, and the desserts were served. Dumbledore stood up from the professor's chair and tapped the wine glass with a silver spoon.
The sound of "dang" spread throughout the whole place, and all the conversations fell silent instantly. Hundreds of pairs of eyes looked at the professor's chair.
"Another school year is over," Dumbledore's voice was clear, and his blue eyes swept over each long table. "At this time of year, I will stand here and watch some of you walk out of this Castle for the last time. Some of you are preparing to welcome the new semester, and some of you are still regretting that you ate too many desserts just now."
Sporadic laughter emerged.
"Before announcing the final results of House Cup, I want to say that no matter which college wins this year's cup, it represents the hard work of all of you this year. Every progress in the classroom and every effort to help classmates will be counted."
He picked up a piece of parchment. "This year's House Cup, fourth place, Gryffindor, three hundred and twelve points."
Some people on Gryffindor table sighed, and some looked at each other.
James·Potter banged his head on the table with a bang, and Sirius rolled his eyes beside him.
"If you hadn't been caught three times by McGonagall--"
"You were caught twice too!"
Lupin sighed beside him.
"Third place, Hufflepuff, three hundred and eighty-seven points."
Hufflepuff clapped their hands over there, and some people shrugged, with little reaction.
"Second place, Ravenclaw, four hundred and twenty-one points."
The applause on Ravenclaw Table was neat and calm.
"First place, Slytherin, four hundred and fifty-six points."
Dumbledore put down the parchment in his hand and took the lead in applauding. "Congratulations to Slytherin, House Cup for seven consecutive years."
Slytherin table's applause was reserved and decent, the senior students toasted each other, Polius nodded slightly in the direction of Regulus, and Veronica's chin was raised high.
Regulus clapped his hands twice and put them down.
The applause dispersed, Dumbledore put his hands on the edge of the professor's desk, and his blue eyes scanned the four long tables.
His tone was still gentle, but his smile faded a little, and he became more serious from the relaxed tone just now.
"You have learned a lot of things, spells, knowledge, and rules in Hogwarts, but when you leave this Castle and return to your home, your family, and your friends, you will find that some voices are different from what you heard here."
His eyes did not stay on any long table, but slowly swept across them.
"Some people will tell you that there are only two kinds of people in the world. Some people will tell you that some people are born more worthy of Magic than others. Some people will tell you in a very sure tone which side you should stand on."
Great Hall became completely quiet, and all the little wizards stopped what they were doing.
"The world outside is changing, and many of you have already felt it. Some are afraid, some are angry, and some are hesitant about what to believe. These are all normal and dangerous.
Because when a voice is loud enough, certain enough, and enough to make you feel like you don't have to think about it anymore to follow it, you will really want to hand yourself over."
His blue eyes flashed behind the lenses, and his voice spread to every corner of the Great Hall: "Don't hand yourself over."
"Your fears are your own, don't give them to others to keep for you. Your anger is yours, don't give it to others to use for you. Your loyalty is yours, don't give it to anyone you truly believe is unworthy."
Great Hall is so quiet that you can hear the subtle crackling sound of candles burning wax.
"I won't tell you what is right and what is wrong, but I want you to remember one thing -
In the past few years, what kind of people have you sat and had meals with, what kind of people have you attended classes with, and what kind of people have you argued with, forgiven, competed with, and helped? These experiences are your own, and no one can remember them for you."
"When you need to make a judgment, use your own experience to answer, and don't use the answers given to you by others."
Having said this, he paused for a moment, slightly curved the corners of his mouth, his white beard trembled, and his tone became cheerful again.
"I wish you all a safe holiday and see you in the fall."
Dumbledore raised his glass, Great Hall was quiet for a while, and then applause broke out.
Gryffindor was the loudest, and Sirius clapped especially hard. He probably didn't fully understand every word, but he understood the words "Don't Give Yourself Up".
The applause for Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff was even and serious.
On Slytherin table, some of the applause was sincere, some were polite, and some hands did not move at all.
The expressions on the faces of the seventh graders became subtle. They understood that after returning home during the summer vacation, some of them would have to make a choice, while some had already made their choice.
Regulus lowered his head and took a sip of Pumpkin Juice. The rim of the cup blocked half of his face, showing no expression at all.
The dinner ended, and little Wizards began to leave in an orderly manner. Great Hall was crowded with people, and Prefect from all grades led the team in front.
Regulus followed the team of Slytherin as they walked outside, surrounded by Avery and Alex, Hermes walked behind, and Lina and Samuel followed at the end.
Suddenly there was a voice in his ears, with a relaxed tone and a little narrow smile.
"Regulus, if you are not in a hurry to sleep tonight, I just bought a new box of Cockroach Cluster. Maybe you would like to try it."
Regulus's eye twitched very slightly.
Cockroach Cluster.
He continued to walk forward, followed the team down the stairs, passed through the cellar Corridor, and entered Slytherin common room.
Back to Dormitory, Hermes was lying straight on the bed, Avery was looking through the luggage to be packed, Alex looked worried and wanted to say something, but no one paid attention to him, so he went to pack his luggage himself.
Regulus sat by the bed for a while, then Baruk crawled out from under the pillow and lay on his lap, tilting her head to look at him.
He patted its carapace, picked it up and threw it into the fireplace, then stood up and went out.
Headmaster's Office's Spiral Staircase entrance and Stone Gargoyle have already moved out of the way. Every time he comes, he moves out of the way directly without a password.
Regulus stepped forward, and the spiral steps slowly rose, sending him to the oak door of Headmaster's Office.
It's the first time I've come here this semester, and it's probably the last time, after all, I'm going home tomorrow.
Pushing the door open and entering, the circular office is still the same.
The walls were covered with portraits of past principals. Most of them were taking a nap with their eyes closed, but one or two opened their eyes and closed them again when he came in.
The silver instrument was buzzing on the shelf, emitting a small stream of smoke. Sorting Hat was placed on the top of the elevated cabinet, with the brim of the hat drooping, dirty and worn.
Fawkes's perch is by the door. Regulus walks directly in and stops in front of it.
The golden-red Phoenix stood on it, with its head buried in its wings, and a tail feather hanging on the outside of the perch, being blown by the wind blowing in through the crack in the door.
Regulus looked at it for a while, stretched out his finger and gestured towards it in vain.
Fawkes's head was pulled out from the wings, and a bright black eye glanced at him, with words clearly written in the eyes, "Don't come and touch me."
After taking aim, my head went back into the wings, and I ignored it.
Regulus shrugged.
Isn't it just a bird?
Isn't it just that Rebirth from Fire can be Rebirth from Fire? Isn't it that Phoenix Tears can heal all wounds? Isn't it that it can carry things countless times heavier than its own weight and travel through space? Isn't it that Magic and Anti-Apparition Charm can ignore all defenses and teleport directly to wherever it wants to be? Isn't it that it can see souls?
What's so great about it?
Does he care?
Of course he doesn't care, Fawkes has this attitude every time, it's not like he has never seen it before.
He stood for a moment, but couldn't help but reach out with his fingers and lightly stroke Fawkes's tail feathers hanging outside the railing.
The feathers are warm to the touch, with a smell that is unclear whether it is sunlight or ashes. It also contains rich vitality and a subtle Magic Power vibration, which is very comfortable.
Fawkes pulled the head out from under the wings and let out a short cry, which was sharp, clear and extremely penetrating.
The tone went up for a moment and then came back down, conveying a very clear meaning.
That's almost it. Don't think I dare not peck you.
"He just experienced nirvana last month and his temper is not very good." Dumbledore's gentle voice came from behind the desk with a smile.
"When did he have a good temper?" Regulus walked back from the perch and sat down on the chair in front of the desk.
Dumbledore was sitting behind the desk, with a stack of documents spread out in front of him and a cup of steaming honey lemon tea beside him.
The teapot and teacup on the corner of the table flew over by themselves, and Regulus also made a cup.
There was also a copper plate in front of the old man, which contained dozens of brown Cockroach Cluster, piled high.
"Want one?" Dumbledore pushed the plate towards him.
Regulus politely but firmly refused. "No, thank you, Professor."
Dumbledore took one and threw it into his mouth. He chewed it loudly. After chewing it, he smashed it in his mouth. His blue eyes flashed with joy.
"Young people should try more new things."
"Cockroach Cluster is not something new, Professor, it is a live cockroach."
Dumbledore's hand had just reached out to the next Cockroach Cluster in the dish. When he heard this, his fingers stopped for a moment on the edge of the dish.
Then he grabbed the Cockroach Cluster without hesitation, threw it into his mouth, and chewed it.
The blue eyes blinked behind the half-moon lenses, with a risk-taking tone in his voice. "You're right - but this one tastes better."