"What happened?" Damon took a sip of black tea and said calmly, "Nothing really happened. I made enough money and didn't want to perform anymore. That was all."
Perhaps knowing that explanation was not sincere enough, he added voluntarily:
"If piano talent were judged by O.W.L. grades, I'd say my talent barely reached a passing A. I'm still far from E and O."
"How could that be? Weren't you a prodigy?"
Dumbledore did not understand.
"Professor, it was actually a rather cheap trick." Damon smiled, but a trace of loneliness flashed through his eyes. "If we compared actual piano-playing skill, I was nowhere near those masters. Even if I spent my entire life trying, I would not reach half the level they had in their youth.
"I merely used a gimmick like performing blindfolded to make laymen think I was impressive, and they even gave me the title of Music Prodigy.
"It was like when they called me The Duelling Prince. At the time, I had only used an Expelliarmus. I couldn't Apparate, and I couldn't even cast Protego, yet those people thought I could do anything."
Dumbledore nodded thoughtfully.
"I understand." He sounded rather regretful. "So the image of you as a music prodigy was something you created by accident, while your actual talent was not particularly exceptional?"
"Yes. Back then, the Orphanage was so poor it was about to close down. I had no choice but to step forward and become an 'idol,' saving it through my performances."
"But I always knew I wasn't some genius. Compared to music, what people truly valued was my age. So after I made enough money, I withdrew instead, and ended up with a good reputation.
"If I had kept performing like that, even if I had only continued until I was