Dumbledore and Old Dumbledore Are Ultimately Different / Coming Clean on My Own-No Apology Needed

"Harry, can you tell me everything you know?" Dumbledore asked calmly after a long silence between the two.

From the moment he saw Harry, he felt something was off about the boy, and after observing him just now, he was even more certain that there was definitely something wrong with the 'Harry Potter' in front of him.

Putting aside the obvious differences in details, the Zombie Floating Charm alone is not a spell that Harry Potter at this stage could use; it would be more likely to be used by Hermione Granger.

And he also brought Barty Crouch... Dumbledore could easily see through what was hidden under the Invisibility Cloak.

"I can offer some information that I'm willing to provide," Harry nodded, then said seriously, "But let me state beforehand that what you see is who I truly am; I haven't used Transfiguration or Polyjuice Potion for disguise. Also, please, Headmaster, do not use Legilimency on me... I don't want to hurt you."

"Is that so..." Dumbledore, seemingly assessing the situation before him.

If it were someone else, they would most likely think Harry was being arrogant, but Dumbledore was no ordinary person. He analyzed every word he heard with a more objective and cautious attitude than most people.

Harry's tone was sincere, but it also carried a hint of confidence, clearly indicating that he was simply Legilimency.

He also specifically mentioned Polyjuice Potion and other disguise methods, which shows that differences in eyes and temperament are not flaws at all, but rather that he is naturally like that!

"Could you tell me about Barty first? You met him at the edge of the Forbidden Forest and then brought him to me?" In the end, Dumbledore decided to start with Barty Crouch to determine whether Harry was truly trustworthy.

"That's right, and he's not in good shape right now." Harry nodded and removed the Invisibility Cloak that had been covering Barty Crouch.

"Barty ..." Dumbledore's expression grew even more serious, because Barty Crouch's condition was truly quite bad.

His eyes were closed, and he floated behind Harry without any awareness. His body was tattered and covered in blood, and his face was also covered in wounds. He looked extremely haggard.

After Harry helped him break the Mobiliar Corpus and sleeping spells, Crouch, now fully awake, pounced on a shelf in the corner of the Headmaster's Office, talking incessantly about the silverware on it.

"Weatherby, please give me the memo from the Minister for Magic of Andorra. I need to draft a reply for him... Oh, you mean my son? He recently passed all twelve OWL exams, and the results were very satisfactory..."

"Yes, thank you, I'm so proud of him... My wife is bringing him along, we're going to a concert with the Fudge tonight..."

He was talking incessantly to the shelf, but then he suddenly stumbled and fell to his knees with a thud.

"Barty!" Dumbledore, rushing forward to support him. "He's been hit by the Imperius Curse?!"

Dumbledore stared at Harry with a serious expression, clearly needing a reasonable explanation from him.

"Dumbledore!" Crouch shouted, panting heavily. Dumbledore was right beside him, yet he remained staring intently at the ceiling of the Headmaster's Office. "I want to see... Dumbledore..."

"It's Imperius Curse, but I didn't cast it. I never expected... Mr. Crouch could resist it to this extent. It's truly remarkable."

Harry sighed softly upon seeing this and stepped forward to grab Crouch's hand, which was waving wildly.

He placed one index finger in front of Crouch's eyes, waved it back and forth twice, and then suddenly snapped his fingers.

With a sharp crack, Crouch, who had been yelling incoherently, fell silent instantly, as if he had been jolted awake from a nightmare.

"It's broken?" Dumbledore's heart skipped a beat upon seeing this. Harry had broken the Imperius Curse so easily; he was utterly astonished by Harry's skill!

As far as he knew, even at the height of Voldemort's power, his Death Eater, who were most skilled at using the Imperius Curse, might not have had Harry's mastery of spells!

However, now is clearly not the time for him to concern himself with these matters.

"Is it... Dumbledore? Thank goodness, Dumbledore!" Crouch excitedly grabbed Dumbledore's robes. "Something's happened... I... I escaped! I had to warn you... Bertha is dead, it's all my fault... The Dark Lord has grown stronger, he's going to capture... Harry Potter!"

Crouch caught a glimpse of Harry standing right in front of him and pounced on him like a madman, shouting incessantly at Dumbledore.

"Protect him! Dumbledore, you must protect him! Harry Potter... The Dark Lord wants to be resurrected, he wants to capture Harry Potter!!"

"Alright, I understand, Barty." Dumbledore patiently reassured the rambling Crouch, "This is Hogwarts. Both Harry and you will be safe. You really don't need to worry."

"Is that so..." Crouch finally calmed down, but after that, he quickly became listless, and his eyes and nose gradually became moist.

"I did something stupid, Dumbledore ... It was an unforgivable mistake," he said to Dumbledore in a hoarse voice, his tone full of remorse.

"Everyone makes mistakes, Barty, even I do," Dumbledore voice, "But the important thing now is that we do everything we can to fix it! Tell me what happened, why you ended up like this?!"

"The Dark Lord has returned..."

Under Dumbledore questioning, Barty Crouch stammered out his account of his recent experiences and the colossal mistake he had made...

He used his ailing wife to exchange Barty Crouch Jr. Crouch. from Azkaban, and later, when his scheme was nearly exposed, he used Memory Charm on Bertha Jorkins...

Now, with the help of Peter Pettigrew Peter and Barty Crouch Jr. Crouch., Voldemort has grown stronger and stronger, and he has even used the Triwizard Tournament to plot a conspiracy!

"That boy... the Dark Lord wants that boy!!"

Chapter 790 Deng and Albus Dumbledore, Ultimately Different

After giving his testimony, Barty Crouch was knocked down by Dumbledore again.

That was when he was pleading with Dumbledore to spare his son's life, and the headmaster, who didn't want to continue this charade, simply cast a sleeping spell.

"The headmaster is quite a ruthless person," Harry remarked with a wry smile.

"I truly feel sorry for Barty, but his continued actions will not benefit anyone. The important thing now is to resolve the issue," Dumbledore voice. "I already know the information Barty brought, so where is his son now?"

"I'll demonstrate for you, and you should be able to understand." Harry pulled out a piece of parchment and tapped it with his wand.

Dumbledore also noticed that the other party was not using Holly Wand.

"This is the Lupin family's Homonculous Charm. I've learned it quite well. With this charm, I can basically use the Marauder's Map anywhere," Harry explained, handing the parchment to Dumbledore. "I've cast a shielding charm on Mr. Crouch and myself, so our names won't appear on this."

"This... he's actually in Hogwarts?!" Dumbledore glanced at the contents of the parchment, then his eyes widened suddenly.

Because he clearly saw someone carrying the name 'Barty Crouch' walking around the campus!

Given Dumbledore's understanding of Hogwarts, he could immediately tell that the other party was heading from the playground towards the castle!

In addition, he also took a closer look at the Headmaster's Office and found that, sure enough, besides himself, only the name of the Fawkes Fox was on the parchment.

So... the other name must be Barty Crouch Jr. Crouch Jr.!

"Hmm... what's this?" At that moment, he noticed that Harry Potter was with Professor McGonagall and Filch.

"Oh, I left him in the Great Hall," Harry explained. "Mr. Filch must have found him and taken him to Professor McGonagall."

"So are you Harry or not?" Dumbledore asked seriously.

"Yes and no," Harry smiled and shook his head. "Right now, what you should be figuring out is who Barty Crouch Jr. Crouch. really is."

Although Dumbledore more respectable, he is still a very cautious and suspicious person. So instead of honestly revealing his identity and background to him right away, Harry would rather just bring up Barty Crouch and let Dumbledore see all the facts for himself.

Soon, Barty Crouch Jr. Crouch.'s name was already in the castle, and it overlapped infinitely with Alastor Moody's name. After witnessing this, Dumbledore fully understood Voldemort's entire conspiracy!

"Alastor Moody ...yes, they need Alastor Moody. Only then can they move freely at Hogwarts and take Harry out!" Dumbledore's hands trembled slightly, his expression extremely serious. "It was a very insidious plan, thankfully it was exposed beforehand...using the Triwizard Tournament did indeed give us a chance to get Harry out of my sight...but Voldemort wanted to capture Harry ..."

"He hopes to be resurrected using Harry Potter's blood, to create a body for himself that shares the same bloodline as Harry Potter," Harry said calmly.

"Is that so?!" Dumbledore frowned deeply, beginning to ponder Voldemort's intentions with intense concentration.

Soon, he seemed to have figured out the key to everything, and a faint, almost imperceptible joy appeared on his face.

He clearly realized what benefits Voldemort's self-righteous and foolish behavior could actually bring to his side.

Harry waited quietly, wanting to know what choice this version of Dumbledore would make.

"Now it seems... staying put might be the best option." After a long silence, Dumbledore long sigh, as if he had already made up his mind.

"So, the plan is to let Mr. Moody remain imprisoned, and to keep a vicious Death Eater in the school." Harry shrugged noncommittally. "In that case, to ensure the plan's success, Headmaster, I think you should throw Mr. Crouch out as bait as well. Voldemort's orders to Barty Crouch Jr. Crouch Jr. were to stop Mr. Crouch at all costs... so Barty Crouch Jr. Crouch Jr. won't be able to stay here peacefully unless he kills his own father."

"This..." Dumbledore hesitated. He could hear the sarcasm in Harry's words, and he knew the risks and sacrifices involved in keeping Barty Crouch Jr. Crouch. at school, but...

This is truly a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity...

"It's a tough choice, isn't it?" Harry sighed softly. "Anyway, whether it's sacrificing Moody and Crouch to allow Voldemort to achieve his plan, or sacrificing Harry Potter to ensure Voldemort is finally killed, it's all for For the Greater Good."

"What did you say?" Dumbledore was stunned. "Who told you what I just said?!"

"An old man who's no longer here," Harry said quietly. "He kept telling me that true love is more important than any so-called For the Greater Good, but now it seems like nothing but a joke."

"True love is For the Greater Good ..." Dumbledore pondered these words, carefully observing the boy before him who had always amazed him, seemingly lost in deep thought.

"Child, could you please stay here for a moment and look after Barty? I need to leave for a bit. There's a medicine bottle on my desk containing Fawkes's tears; you can use it to treat Barty."

Dumbledore looked at Harry intently, his eyes seeming more insightful, clearly indicating that he had come to understand some things.

"Don't worry, I'll take good care of Mr. Crouch." Harry finally smiled. "However, I suggest you have Severus Snape bring some Veritaserum beforehand, so you don't have to make another trip later."

"That is indeed a wonderful suggestion, and I will pass it on to Severus." Dumbledore smiled kindly. "My child, I am glad that you could bring me this news, but I am even happier to meet you."

Through the conversation just now, Dumbledore has completely confirmed that the boy in front of him is not an imposter; he really is Harry himself!

However, he was not the Harry Potter that Dumbledore knew.

He may have had extraordinary experiences, and he should be very clear about everything that is happening right now... perhaps even personally involved!

And judging from the way he said it, it seemed like he still knew himself after he died...

So, he came to tell me all this, and also to remind me!

With these thoughts in mind, Dumbledore could no longer suppress his curiosity about Harry.

All he wants to do right now is deal with Barty Crouch Jr. Crouch., and then come back and have a proper talk with the kid.

Chapter 791 Taking the Initiative to Confront the Issue, No Need for Apologies

It was Dumbledore ultimately persuaded him; that's all Harry can say now.

Love and For the Greater Good... It's fortunate that Harry traveled to this future timeline beforehand, otherwise he would have wasted so much breath.

However... if it were the Albus Dumbledore from my own timeline, saying these things to him wouldn't have made any difference.

From this perspective, Dumbledore and Albus Dumbledore are indeed not the same kind of people; at least Dumbledore is capable of being moved by love.

As for Albus Dumbledore, all he could do was get beaten.

"Phoenix Tears, that's a good thing!" After Dumbledore left, Harry found the potion bottle he had mentioned in the headmaster's desk.

However, Harry didn't use it on Barty Crouch; instead, he simply put it into his Space Ring.

His blatant theft naturally displeased Fawkes, the owner of the tear-stained pet, who kept blushing and chattering at him.

"Don't be so stingy. Mr. Crouch's injury looks serious, but it's really nothing serious. I can heal myself." Harry said to Fawkes with a grin. "Besides, if I were really a thief, I wouldn't just be taking a bottle of tears."

Sometimes you have to listen to what's implied in conversation. Barty Crouch wasn't actually seriously injured. If Dumbledore had really decided to harm his son, he could have just sent him to the Hospital Wing afterwards; there was no need for the Phoenix Tears.

So this bottle of Phoenix Tears was actually a gift from Dumbledore acknowledging Harry's status as a friend and thanking him for providing the information. It would be truly foolish for Harry not to accept it.

As for him really wanting to plunder, there are other treasures in the Headmaster's Office.

Taking back the Sword of Gryffindor and dual-wielding it wouldn't be bad, or even keeping it in your mouth if necessary. Then, combined with your wind elemental blade, you could unleash a move like "Holy Sword Breaks Steel: Three Thousand Worlds of Trouble Wind," which would probably cleave Little Hangleton in two!

Besides, Phoenix Feather are just as valuable as swords...

"Goo?!" Fawkes felt utterly humiliated by Harry's piercing gaze, and on the verge of dying to prove his innocence, he vowed never to let Harry win.

Of course, Harry was just trying to scare it; otherwise, wouldn't he get bored waiting there for too long?

Fortunately, Dumbledore didn't keep Fawkes in a state of shock for too long; about an hour later, he returned to the Headmaster's Office.

Seeing the undisguised joy on his face, Harry knew he had obtained satisfactory information.

"My child, I truly don't know how to thank you enough," Dumbledore said excitedly to Harry. "Thanks to you, we successfully uncovered the enemy's plot!"

"It's nothing, that's why I'm here." Harry shook his head. "On the contrary, Headmaster, you ended up giving up a golden opportunity to turn the tables."

"Because I believe you are right," Dumbledore sincerely, looking at Harry with obvious remorse in his eyes. "You have awakened me... I have been trying to explore the power of love all along, and even when Tom Riddle came to me for the position of Professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts, I said something similar to him... But now, for a chance to defeat him, I am willing to let Alastor Moody suffer, and even make Harry sacrifice himself!"

Looking at Dumbledore reflecting so earnestly, Harry felt a little strange, but he also felt that perhaps this Dumbledore was more endearing.

He is actually the kind of person who likes to have everything under his control, as can be seen from his authority over Snape and the members of the Order of the Phoenix. However, compared to the Albus Dumbledore that Harry knew, this Dumbledore has a soft spot in his heart.

It is precisely this softness called 'love' that makes him fundamentally different from Albus Dumbledore.

"In short, now that we know Voldemort's movements, we can prepare in advance." Dumbledore's tone was filled with joy. "And Barty... his tragedy can be considered averted."

"Indeed, father and son killing each other... it's a heartbreaking tragedy no matter when it happens." Harry nodded with emotion. "Mr. Crouch was a respectable wizard, and his life shouldn't have ended in this way."

"You saved him!" Dumbledore said approvingly.

"But it was just saving him." Harry shook his head. "Barty Crouch was a typical egoist. Besides the mess he made with his terrible parent-child relationship, he also arbitrarily hurt my godfather, so I will never forgive him! But resentment doesn't affect my respect for him as a person. Just like I respect..."

At this point, Harry paused unintentionally, and a clear look of resentment appeared on his face.

"Child, can you tell me about your situation?" Dumbledore asked Harry gently.

He seemed to sense Harry's grievances and resentment. At this moment, he was no longer the headmaster who had just discussed the enemy situation with Harry, but simply an elder who wanted to listen to the boy's feelings.

"Okay," Harry nodded casually. "My name is Harry Granger, and besides Voldemort, my other enemy is a guy Albus Dumbledore ..."