Gilbert Elsey's Owlery

Chapter 39: Gilbert Elsey's Owlery

The east side of the eighth floor?

Dumbledore thought of the Room of Requirement, but that was in the opposite direction.

"Very well, we shall go and take a look. Thank you for making the trip."

As the inquiry concluded, Dumbledore rose from his seat as Headmaster and led the three professors out of his office.

The Headmaster's office was located on the eighth floor, so the east side was not far away.

"Could young Brie have been spending his time on the rooftop?" Sprout asked, her eyes filled with worry.

"Rest assured, we will find him," Dumbledore comforted her, then caught sight of the portrait of the Tea-Selling Lady.

"Oh, that lovely child? He often heads that way; you might try looking there."

Dumbledore remembered the path the Tea-Selling Lady pointed out; it led to a former alchemy classroom, though it had long since been abandoned.

"Clang!" Snape pushed open the door to the derelict classroom. Dust cascaded down, and it was clear no one had set foot inside for a long time.

"Let's check over there; there might be other rooms," McGonagall suggested.

Hogwarts held many secret chambers. She had ventured through them herself when she was a student, though that was not something to be spoken of.

Sprout seemed to recall something. Upon seeing the portrait of the Great Tree, she remarked, "I remember this painting. I discovered it when I was a student, but I could never identify what species it was."

"There is an aura of magic here." Dumbledore quickly uncovered the secret. "It is right here."

Dumbledore tapped the stone bricks with his finger, and the portrait slowly swung open. A gust of cold wind rushed in from outside, causing the two female professors to turn pale.

Snape and Dumbledore stood stunned for a moment.

"I hope there is a world beyond this, and that Mr. Oude is not foolish enough to be otherwise," Snape said, stepping inside first, with the others following in turn.

When Dumbledore and the others caught sight of the lush, verdant tree, they immediately recognized it as the one from the portrait, and the owlery nestled beside it was clearly Brie's current residence.

The platform was laid out with the garden beds Professor Sprout had provided, and one could see that many rare or edible plants had been added to the collection.

Sprout remained silent upon seeing this, choosing to ignore the magical plants native to the Forbidden Forest.

"I believe Mr. Oude's Herbology is quite excellent," Professor Dumbledore said, adjusting his half-moon spectacles as he looked at the Four-Leaf Vine creeping along the windows of the owlery. "A fine idea, full of the breath of nature, and it serves to ward off the cold wind. However, this is not a student dormitory; Mr. Oude must receive the same treatment as the other Wizards."

"Of course, since Oude discovered this place, he shall have the right to use it during his time at Hogwarts, outside of curfew hours."

Professor McGonagall did not speak, but instead studied some bronze patterns on the wall of the owlery, deep in thought. Suddenly, she said, "Gilbert Elsey!"

"Dumbledore, you should remember this name. He was the first Ravenclaw student a thousand years ago. I saw it when I was organizing the school's archives of outstanding students. He later became the first professor of alchemy, but he vanished, and all traces of his alchemy classroom and office were erased."

"The limited records mention that he was a scholar of the eastern owlery and possessed a wand made of a peculiar plant, which helped him effectively prevent the consequences of failed alchemy."

Dumbledore gently stroked the Great Tree, sensing magic flowing into the bronze patterns. He nodded slightly. "Oh, I am always forgetting things. It is fortunate you remember, Minerva. However, I believe we must knock; it is clear this owlery has accepted Breeze Order."

"Furthermore, this owlery is an alchemical construct; it does not belong to Hogwarts. As Headmaster, I can discern that much."

Gilbert Elsey was a powerful alchemy master, but those who knew him understood the poverty of his life. The Sorcerer's Stone had been his obsession, though no one knew if he had ever succeeded.

"Knock, knock, knock!" Snape walked up the stone steps and hammered forcefully on the wooden door.

Brie, who was on the second floor reading, heard the sound from outside.

"Someone is here?" Faner looked sharply toward the stairwell, then said to Brie, "It is the Hogwarts professors. It seems they have discovered this place. But why? Such a thing has not happened in a thousand years."

Brie put down his book, his face showing helplessness. He realized he could not avoid this. It seemed something must have happened for the professors to discover he was not in the Slytherin common room; the chaos in Slytherin had finally been brought to light.

"It was something I expected, though it came a bit earlier than anticipated."

Brie was not at all worried about the consequences. He was the "victim" in this situation; unless Snape was completely biased toward those pure-bloods, Brie could easily distance himself from the matter.

"You stay here, Faner. I will go down myself."

Faner nodded, looking somewhat dejected; it understood that Brie was about to leave this place.

Brie quickly went downstairs and opened the wooden door. He kept his expression calm, though he deliberately let a trace of panic show in his eyes. "Professors?"

Snape pushed past him, walked into the first floor, and cast a Lumos charm. The other professors followed him in. Professor Sprout pulled him into her arms, wrapping him in a hug to comfort him. "It is alright, child. We will see that justice is served."

Looking at the empty first floor, everyone understood that the glowing second floor was where Brie rested. But seeing that Brie had already changed into his pajamas, no one pried further.

However, Professor McGonagall's face turned stern. She said to Brie with gravity, "Mr. Oude, I have always considered you the most sensible first-year, but you..."

McGonagall bit her lip, watching Brie, who was hiding fearfully in Sprout's arms, and ultimately said no more.

McGonagall bent down, touched Brie's small face, and said with a touch of helpless tenderness, "You could have told me."

Brie's eyes reddened. He lowered his head stubbornly and said, "This is my own business, Professor. I must learn to handle things myself. Besides, I have had a wonderful month; I could study to my heart's content without being harassed by their pure-blood posturing."

Hearing Brie's words, Dumbledore's eyes flickered. He said, "Minerva is worried about you, Mr. Oude. Of course, this incident is not your fault, even though you did harm other Wizards at the time."

"I am sorry... but they tore up my most precious possessions. The diary was the only proof of my birth, the source of my name. The satchel was the first Christmas gift Betty ever gave me..."

Brie lifted his head from Sprout's arms, looked directly at Dumbledore, and said with rising emotion, "I only followed the Slytherin way to make them shut up, to make them understand I am not to be trifled with."

"My departure was a relief. I simply cannot identify with their pure-blood rules!"

"Pure-blood, half-blood, Muggle-born—they are all the same. They all possess magic. Even Muggles themselves are extraordinary; their descendants can also be born as Wizards, and they have their own power."

"Who is born great?"

"Is anyone born ordinary?"

After Brie finished speaking, he turned his head and buried it into Sprout's embrace, falling silent. Where the professors could not see, a pure red hue slowly emerged in his eyes, only to eventually fade back into pure black.

And within those pitch-black eyes, there was a trace of relief.

I swear on Merlin's soul, Brie thought, everything I said tonight was the truth.

But everyone knew that the most deceptive thing of all was a truth left incomplete.

Brie respected everything that existed in the world. Although he did not agree with blood purity, he would not look down upon it; if necessary, he would choose to follow it. As long as it allowed his own world to be better, why couldn't he accept it?

A place with both good and evil is the only kind that is normal.

Ultimately, Brie still admired the spirit of the pure-bloods. Being draped in glory truly granted a person more choices, just as Brie's excellence had earned the professors' recognition, and now they were choosing to shield him.

"Dumbledore!" Professor McGonagall glared at Dumbledore with a reproachful look.

"You shouldn't have said that. Oude has already understood his mistake, and besides, it was those young wizards who instigated the conflict; they even bought precious potions, intending to bully Oude and leave no trace behind!"

"Apologies... apologies... I think I was a bit muddled."

Dumbledore had just snapped out of the impact of Brie's words. He looked at the back of Brie's head with a complex expression and said, "I believe you, Mr. Oude. You are a very thoughtful young Slytherin wizard, and I also assure you that Snape will keep a close watch on his house."

Snape snorted. He, too, had been startled by what Brie said. If those Little Snakes had heard it, they would surely have moved immediately to destroy this peculiar Slytherin.

Snape was a half-blood who had grown up being bullied himself. Looking at Brie's aggrieved appearance, he thought of his own student days in Slytherin... and Lily.

"I will keep them in line. Slytherin does not permit such infighting!"

Snape looked at Brie and said helplessly, "Now, Mr. Oude, please pack your things and return to the Slytherin common room with me. I will arrange everything."

Hearing this, Brie understood that the matter had blown over. He prepared to leave Professor Sprout's embrace, but Sprout tightened her arms.

"I think we could talk about a house transfer."

Sprout stroked Brie's head with pity and said, "I think Hufflepuff could provide little Oude with better care."

Oude blinked. Was it even possible to transfer houses?

However...

"I must thank you for your concern... but I am a Slytherin, I am quite certain of that."

Brie smiled weakly and pulled away from Sprout's embrace.

"Slytherin should never be what it is today. I have read in many books about the true nature of Slytherins: they are shrewd, calm, thorough in their dealings, and possess inner conviction. Perhaps because of their tenacity, some fellows lacking that inner conviction have given the house a bad name and acted in more wicked ways."

"But I believe such people are in the minority. No one is born a bad seed, and besides, I trust that my own strength will be enough to handle my life moving forward."

Snape looked at Brie with appreciation and seemed to smile, though it might just have been a cold draft blowing in that made Brie momentarily dazed.

"Perhaps we should respect the choice made by Mr. Breeze Order. In that case, you may go pack your things and leave here."

"Of course, Dumbledore has already agreed that you may use this place as a secret base. No one will speak of the secrets here."

Brie bowed to the professors.

"I apologize for causing you all to worry. I will go pack my things now."

Does anyone really think I would change houses? The Sorting Hat has already sorted me, which means Brie possesses something that fits Slytherin.