Trust and Responsibility

"Distrust."

The cut-and-dried reply left Avada momentarily stunned. He looked up in astonishment, meeting Baron's resolute gaze.

"It's not that I don't want to, but that I can't—after all, he has been my professor for half a year, and he truly displayed complete sincerity just now. Personally, I am very willing to trust him."

Baron's tone was low: "But choosing to trust him is not a matter for me alone, nor is it just between the two of us... Who knows if what Professor Baker said just now was the truth? Who knows what his true colors are? Who knows if, should we agree to help him, he might secretly scheme to lead us into doing something that harms others?"

"There's no way around it; he is far more powerful than us, and he has too many ways to lure or deceive us... Even his own suggestion of using a contract to bind himself could be because he actually possesses the means to counter such a contract, which is why he dared to propose such a condition!"

Avada gave a wry smile internally. He could see exactly where Professor Baker hid his "mind," and thus could try to trust this "thing capable of independent thought." But this was merely the result of his unreasonable talent peering into the essence of Professor Baker's mental power, and he had no way to prove it to anyone else.

As for the counter-contract measures Baron worried about, Avada wasn't particularly concerned. He had signed Ministry of Magic contracts before and knew that such multi-party contracts directly etched the imprint into the participants' mental energy, creating a mutual resonance. In other words, the moment Professor Baker tried to tamper with his own imprint, Avada would sense it immediately. And if Professor Baker had the means to shield that sensation—was his Magic Sense just for show?

If he sensed anything amiss, he could simply go find Dumbledore.

But if Baron was unwilling to provide a contract, he didn't dare to help a mysterious wizard far stronger than himself without any defenses—what if the man changed his mind halfway through?

"So, you intend to tell Professor Dumbledore about this?" he asked, feeling somewhat helpless.

To be honest, on this point, Avada was in agreement with Professor Baker; unless absolutely necessary, he didn't want to go to Dumbledore.

Even if he knew that if Dumbledore could also confirm Professor Baker meant no harm, he would likely help cover the matter up; even if this would help Dumbledore associate the matter with Horcruxes sooner, thereby greatly accelerating the downfall of Voldemort; and even if, before understanding Professor Baker's sincerity, he himself had once considered seeking Dumbledore's help.

The first reason was that Avada did not want Dumbledore to intervene in the matter of Horcruxes prematurely. Letting him know about them now would likely cause unknown changes to the timeline, completely disrupting the plans Avada had already meticulously laid out for Voldemort. Furthermore, among the Horcruxes was the Resurrection Stone, a dangerous artifact that Dumbledore might not be able to resist, so in this regard, he really didn't dare to trust Dumbledore blindly.

Second, he already had a conceptual approach for magic specifically targeting Horcruxes without destroying the objects, and he needed more samples to assist his research. Following Professor Baker's steps might be an excellent opportunity to understand Horcruxes, and he didn't want to miss it.

The third point, and the most important one, was that when Professor Baker said he "has not and will not do evil," he was telling the truth.

Not a bad person, in need of help, and with a reasonable request—these factors alone were enough for Avada to do his best to fulfill Professor Baker's wish, provided the risks were limited, regardless of any other interests.

Moreover, given that Legilimency and Veritaserum were ineffective against a powerful wizard and thus could prove nothing, it was highly likely that only he could truly confirm Professor Baker had not committed evil. Yet, it was an undeniable fact that he had created a Horcrux, and Horcruxes were considered the most wicked Dark Magic by everyone, including Dumbledore. If Professor Baker were to fall into the hands of other wizards... the consequences would likely be far worse than just "ruined reputation."

This was not the fate a person who had done no evil deserved.

"I won't tell anyone else."

At this moment, Baron suddenly spoke, answering Avada's previous question.

"Hm?" Avada frowned in confusion.

"I said just now that I didn't dare trust Professor Baker because I couldn't verify the truth of his words. But what if what he said is true? Wouldn't my actions then cause an innocent person to suffer an undeserved disaster?" Baron said earnestly.

"Then what exactly do you plan to do?" Avada asked with some curiosity.

"I will apply for a temporary leave of absence from the school," he said. "After I get home, I will find a way to verify if there is any possibility of exploiting loopholes in a Mental Imprint Contract. If there is, I will tell the professors the whole story; but if there isn't..."

"If there isn't, I will have my family's house-elf assist me in drafting the most comprehensive contract possible, without my parents' knowledge, to ensure Professor Baker is completely bound. Then, after the Christmas break, I will return to school and present it to Professor Baker."

"Sounds good."

Avada nodded in approval.

"And if Professor Baker really does have some ulterior motive, and only intended to exploit a loophole in the contract, but realizes his intentions are exposed upon seeing that airtight contract, and then decides to trap me, force me to make an Unbreakable Vow, or even attack me using some hidden means..."

"I will leave a distress letter in my dormitory before I return, which will contain a full record of the entire incident. If I don't return to handle it within two days, it will automatically move to a conspicuous spot and open itself."

Baron smiled confidently.

"Are you planning to take all the risk upon yourself?" Avada frowned, noting that Baron had used "I" instead of "we."

"This is my responsibility."

"What responsibility do you have? You're just a first-year student!"

"I am also a pure-blood, and a Slytherin. Protecting the magical world, protecting wizards, and protecting the innocent are my inherent duties. Perhaps I could usually push these responsibilities onto those stronger than me, but if I do that now, an innocent person might suffer—this is the only choice."

"If Professor Baker is truly innocent and his needs are entirely reasonable, I should do my utmost to help him. And not just him, but anyone."

"This is the duty inherent to pure-blood families, and the price we must pay for the wealth and honor we enjoy beyond that of ordinary people."

"..."

Avada remained silent for a long time.

He wanted to tell Baron right now that his greatest duty was to protect himself and give peace of mind to those who cared about him, rather than placing others above himself, taking risks at will, and squandering his own safety and life.

However, the choice Baron had just made was exactly what met Avada's needs: solve this matter secretly on their own, and do not let Dumbledore come into contact with the Horcrux at this point in time.

He looked at Baron's clear and firm eyes, and suddenly felt a hint of guilt in his heart.

He had, in a sense, used Baron.

Moreover, Baron didn't need to be dragged into this—if it hadn't been for his sudden whim to tell Baron about the Room of Requirement, this matter would have been for Avada to bear alone.

"Then at least take me with you."

He said somewhat powerlessly: "I am a participant and a person in the know, after all; I have the qualification and the responsibility to share the risk with you. Besides, you can't expect me to stand by and watch a friend walk into danger while I do nothing."

"That's easy enough."

Baron finally nodded, though he still kept a straight face: "Let's go downstairs first; standing here arguing isn't going to solve anything."

"True."

Avada smiled, turned, and walked toward the stairs.

"Obliviate!"

"Protego!"

Almost in the next second, in the blink of an eye, the two first-year students staged a round of magical offense and defense that would have left the professors' jaws on the floor.

Avada gripped the wand he had drawn at some unknown moment, holding up a pale blue, transparent barrier in front of him, looking through it at Baron's stunned expression with a hint of amusement.

From Baron's sudden change in attitude to his surging mental power, how could Avada not know what he was planning?

However, the fact that Baron had actually mastered the Obliviate charm in his first year did surprise him a little.

"You should try to trust and acknowledge others."

Avada looked into Baron's eyes and said calmly, "Not everyone needs your protection and help, and besides, you can't protect everyone; this is arrogance on your part."

"You cannot bear the risks this entails alone, and right now, you need my help."

"You..."

Baron looked at Avada, whose expression was serious but whose eyes held a trace of a smile, and then at the thick, pale blue barrier in front of him with a complex look on his face, before finally slowly putting his wand away.

"Fine."

Then, without another word, he brushed past Avada and headed down the stairs first.

Avada watched Baron's back disappear around the corner, then turned his head to take one last deep look at the very end of the eighth-floor corridor before quickly following in Baron's footsteps.

The Hogwarts headmaster's office was on the eighth floor.