A Certain Scientific Harry Potter 33

Now that it had actually happened, he was saying that no one needed to be held responsible for it?!

Such sophistry made Harry's entire worldview feel like it was about to explode!!

However, what left Harry even more speechless was that Professor Flitwick seemed to be in complete agreement with this?

Most intuitively, after Dumbledore said these words, although Professor Flitwick still looked somewhat sorrowful, he no longer seemed as self-reproachful as he had been before!

My mentality is absolutely collapsing~

"Harry, you don't need to take this matter too much to heart. I will step in to soothe Draco." Dumbledore, seemingly oblivious to Harry's emotional shift, calmly and methodically brought the matter to a close.

"Headmaster Dumbledore, I don't quite understand what you mean... You could have told me, or the other professors, about my uniqueness in advance!" Harry questioned Dumbledore with a dark face. "Furthermore, Mr. Filch previously provided you with clues about a foreign House-elf infiltrating Hogwarts. I want to know... why hasn't that intruder been caught yet?!"

"Harry, I admit that what you say has some merit, and I am very gratified that you have shown a maturity beyond that of an average child. But I want to tell you that we cannot prevent every single thing in advance. We cannot go around making a huge fuss to guard against something that hasn't happened yet based on a mere clue, because that would not only be ineffective, but could instead trigger even more serious panic and incidents."

Dumbledore paced over to stand in front of Harry, patting him lightly on the shoulder: "Harry, I fully understand your long-standing worries and your urgent desire to stay away from this place. But you and Hermione have no need to worry at all; Hogwarts is absolutely the safest place for you. On this, I can give you my word!"

Listen to that, old Dumbledore says Hogwarts is very safe~

I'm afraid that I and Hermione are only "very safe" when my actions are completely under your control, right?!

"Harry, in my heart, you really are a very good child. Therefore, I also sincerely hope that you can identify with Hogwarts and find your own true joy on the journey of growing up!"

A child?

Hmph, so that's how it is~

At this point, Harry finally understood everything.

Why Dumbledore kept so many things hidden; why, even though he had provided the clues, Dumbledore hadn't taken action to resolve things the way he had expected; why... he knew many of his actions would provoke Harry's resentment, yet he refused to change, and even more so, refused to lower his stance to have an open and honest conversation!

Because the root of all this lay in an adult's inherent arrogance toward a child!!

Chapter 61: The So-called Reconciliation Brought by Growing Up (4/10)

Dumbledore is the Headmaster of Hogwarts, but when dealing with Harry's problems, he acts more like a parent, always keen on making arrangements he deems "better for Harry" according to his own judgment.

Therefore, to prevent Harry from growing into a brat, and also partly out of a desire for Harry to experience family affection or other aspects, he took it for granted that he should foster Harry at the Dursley home.

Even knowing Harry wanted to stay away from the wizarding world, he still had an owl send Harry his admission letter because he felt it would be better for Harry to become a wizard and that he would be safer at Hogwarts.

He hid the uniqueness of Harry and the Holly Wand from others because the matter was of great importance, and he also did not want other students at Hogwarts to alienate Harry once they learned he was a "Wand Snatcher."

Finally, he allowed a House-elf—possibly sent by the Malfoy family or some other pure-blood family—to lurk in Hogwarts, because the intruder had not caused any serious incidents other than stealing food.

Therefore, as long as no malicious events occurred, the interior of Hogwarts remained stable, and the conflict between Harry and Draco remained merely a dispute between two children, not escalating to the level of their respective families.

This is the so-called "let children handle children's business, and let adults worry about adult matters"~

From this perspective, Dumbledore was indeed not wrong, because everything he did was for Harry, to ensure Harry could have a wizarding apprenticeship that he considered safe, normal, stable, and happy!

But for Harry, there is no phrase in this world more selfish than... I am doing this for your own good.

I am doing this for your own good, so I am right and you are wrong;

I am concerned about you, so you must listen to me;

I care about you very much, so you must grow up into the image I like;

I am doing this for your own good, why are you so ungrateful?

I am doing this for your own good, why can't you try to see things from my perspective?!

Everything I do is for your own good, if you don't accept it... then you are just an ignorant child, and you are completely breaking an adult's heart!!

So, this is the most condescending arrogance an adult can have toward a child...

After thoroughly understanding all the key points, Harry finally gave up on the idea of having an open and honest talk with Dumbledore, because he knew... it was completely meaningless.

Yes, Harry admitted that he had been wrong for a long time.

Dumbledore was actually a good person, someone who, like Hagrid, Professor Flitwick, and even the Tsundere Bat Spirit in Slytherin House, had been caring about him all along.

But so what? Does that mean he must accept the other party's arrangements?

Indeed, all the efforts Harry had made since entering school were often absurd, because from a god's-eye view, Dumbledore would never let him drop out!

But what made Harry feel sad was not that he had been doing useless work, but that even when things had reached this point, even when Dumbledore fully understood Harry's personality and had even devised a series of "using people to control people" methods to restrict Harry's behavior, his attitude toward Harry was still the same old "parent dealing with a child" routine!!

He thought the path he had designed in advance would eventually lead to Harry's success, but little did he know... that was not what Harry wanted at all!

However, Dumbledore had lived for too long.

He had walked too many paths and seen too many things; Harry had no way to change his mind.

Harry also had no way to demand that Dumbledore place him on an equal footing for a conversation!

Moreover, if Harry persisted blindly, he might arouse suspicion and end up being captured and having his brain pried open to read his memories.

He didn't believe wizards lacked such abilities!

Therefore, shallow communication was useless, and deep communication invited suspicion; in the end, Harry could only choose to give up on communicating.

In his past life, he had also gone through the process of moving from opposition to reconciliation with his parents, so he knew deeply that the fundamental reason for reaching reconciliation was not simply so-called rational communication, but rather...

Growing up.

As a child continues to grow, although parents might say things like "a child is always a child," in their hearts, they simultaneously acknowledge that their child is gradually becoming independent and gradually widening the distance between them.

Until one day, when parents discover that their child's stature, experience, and ability have all completely surpassed their own, the so-called reconciliation naturally arrives.

Therefore, Harry had absolutely no need to continue wasting time with Dumbledore.

What he should be doing instead was finding Hermione immediately!

Harry didn't remember much of the plot of the Sorcerer's Stone, but he was generally clear on a few iconic scenes.

On the day they learned the Levitation Charm in Charms Class, on the eve of Halloween, that fellow Quirrell would lead a Troll into Hogwarts!!

If he couldn't find Hermione in time... Harry couldn't even bear to imagine it!

He ran first to the second-floor girls' bathroom where Hermione might be, shouting at the door with thick-skinned persistence, even risking being labeled a pervert to go in and check stall by stall, yet he found nothing.

He ran to find Hagrid, but only learned from him the reason for Hermione's anger, and exactly how he had deceived her...

He even considered going to tail Quirrell directly, only to discover that Quirrell hadn't been at Hogwarts since the afternoon!

"Hermione... where on earth have you gone?!"

The dungeons, the Ravenclaw common room, even the secret room on the fourth floor and the Prefect's Bathroom on the sixth—Harry searched everywhere Hermione might have gone, but in the end, he still found nothing.

Damn it!

Never had Harry hated himself as much as he did right now... he had actually managed to lose Hermione!

If he had known Dumbledore would give such a useless explanation, he shouldn't have gone to the Headmaster's Office with Professor Flitwick, leaving Hermione all alone!!

After a bitter, desperate search, when a frantic Harry stumbled like a headless fly into a classroom on the fifth floor, he froze in his tracks.

This appeared to be an abandoned classroom; dilapidated desks and chairs were piled haphazardly against the walls, and thick layers of dust were visible everywhere, clearly untouched for a long time.

Yet, in the very center of this room, sat an object that clearly did not belong there.

"This is... a mirror?"

It was a massive mirror, its height reaching the ceiling, with a golden frame inlaid around the glass. It emitted a faint glow in the dim room, looking quite grand and mysterious.

At the very top of the mirror, a string of strange characters was carved.

Erised stra ehru oyt ube cafru oyt on wohsi

Harry only had to read it once to know that this string of characters should be read backward.

'I show not your face, but your heart's desire'

That was the true meaning of the characters above.

(p.s. This plot point is a bit scary, but the protagonist needs a chance to understand himself. He and Dumbledore are essentially the same type of person—both are self-righteous, overgrown parents. Dumbledore doesn't think there's anything wrong with his constraints and secrets regarding Harry because he is an adult and Harry is a child; by the same logic, Harry didn't think his behavior constituted deception toward Hermione because he is an adult and Hermione is a child... In any case, the protagonist will reflect on this, and his thoughts will gradually begin to align with Hermione's.)

Chapter 62: Robbers Can Be Very Kind Too (5/10)

Harry finally remembered now that this Mirror of Erised seemed to be the medium through which he obtained the Sorcerer's Stone in the original story.

Back then, he had simply looked into the mirror and discovered that the version of himself in the reflection had the Sorcerer's Stone in his pocket, and then he truly obtained the object.

It was also in front of this mirror that Harry had personally strangled Quirrell to death...

So, what was the point of him finding this mirror now? Could it possibly help him find Hermione?

Thinking this, Harry looked up at the magic mirror, only to be startled to discover that a phantom had appeared within it!

"I can really see something... No! This isn't Hermione!"

Harry was overjoyed at the sight and hurried to the front of the mirror, only to find that the silhouette inside was not the person he wanted to see.

The figure in the mirror was blurry, with facial features impossible to distinguish. Although he could roughly tell it was a young girl, she had long, golden hair that reached her waist.

Based on this alone, Harry could conclude that she was definitely not Hermione!

"So... ugh!!"

However, just as he wanted to confirm further, a sudden, sharp pain felt like needles piercing his brain, turning his mind into a mess of mush!

Countless fragments of memory came flooding in, wave after wave assaulting Harry's mind. Harry's spirit could not withstand such a violent impact, and he finally rolled his eyes back and fainted in front of the Mirror of Erised.

After Harry collapsed, the silhouette of the girl in the mirror gradually faded, reflecting only his own shadow...

"Ugh... oh no!"

He didn't know how much time had passed, but Harry woke up with a start, struggling to sit up from the floor.

He felt that some inexplicable memories had been added to his mind, but he didn't dare to recall them at all, because the moment he even had a fleeting thought, his head would ache as if it were splitting apart.

He stood up cautiously, only to find that his body was extremely weak, trembling as if he were suffering from exhaustion, unable to even clench his fists.

The Mirror of Erised... Harry glanced at the mirror standing not far away with lingering fear, a trace of wariness flashing in his eyes.

This mirror clearly hid some incredible secrets, but it also possessed extraordinary danger. Harry certainly didn't dare to investigate it easily again for the time being.

"So, the time... damn it! How is it already this late?!"

Dragging his body to the corridor with great effort, Harry felt a surge of extreme anxiety when he saw through the window that the sky outside had already turned completely dark.

It was already night; the Halloween feast might have already started... then what about the Troll?!

He stumbled and ran toward the Great Hall on the first floor, nearly falling down the stairs several times, yet Harry didn't care at all!

He only wanted to reach the Great Hall as quickly as possible to confirm that Hermione was safely sitting at the Ravenclaw table, enjoying her dinner.

If she wasn't there...

"Troll—in the dungeons, you should know by now..."

Harry, panting heavily, had barely reached the first floor when he heard a shrill warning. He followed the sound and happened to see Quirrell, who had been missing all afternoon, collapse in a faint right next to Dumbledore's chair.

So... where was Hermione?

Before the entire Great Hall descended into total chaos, Harry checked the Ravenclaw table as quickly as he could, but he didn't find any sign of Hermione.

She wasn't here!

It seemed he had to go to the girls' bathroom after all!

Ignoring the students in a panic behind him and Dumbledore's shouts to maintain order, Harry stumbled as he turned around and rushed back toward the second-floor girls' lavatory!

In the original movie, this was where Hermione encountered the Troll. Although Harry had checked this place first thing that afternoon, no one could guarantee that Hermione hadn't come here while he was unconscious!

At the same time, just as Harry made up his mind to break into the girls' bathroom for a second time, Hermione, who had been held captive all afternoon in a room unknown to anyone else within Hogwarts castle, was currently struggling to break free from her confinement.

"Let me go! Do you hear me... I said let me go!!"

Hermione was bound to a chair, unable to even reach her wand, and could only shout in vain over and over again.

After Charms Class, a heartbroken Hermione had intended to find a secluded corner to have a good cry by herself, but while passing through a certain corridor, her vision had suddenly blurred, and she knew nothing after that.