Love-Brained Defector from the Dark Side!

"I'll come up with a safe way, Harry, and Dudley too. I promise you!"

Dumbledore fell silent for a moment before speaking sincerely.

"You'd better add another promise, Dumbledore!" Dudley said coldly. "If you think of a solution, I hope you'll tell us directly, like I just did, and discuss it with us instead of arrogantly carrying it out on your own.

"You can evaluate my methods, and I need to evaluate yours. Understood?"

"I'll discuss it with you, Dudley. I promise!" Dumbledore replied without hesitation.

"Keep asking!" Dudley leaned back in his chair and shifted into a more comfortable position.

"I have no more questions. Now that I know your intentions and capabilities, and have unexpectedly learned the key information for defeating Voldemort, the other minor questions no longer matter."

Dumbledore changed his sitting position as well, his face full of compassion. "Now it's your turn to question me."

"Fine!"

Dudley waved Diggle's wand and summoned three bottles of juice from the refrigerator. The caps on the glass bottles popped off automatically, and the bottles flew respectively to Dumbledore, Harry, and himself.

Dudley picked up his juice and took a hearty drink. After quenching his thirst and calming himself down, he continued:

"Our questions are simple. There are only two major ones: one about the past, and one about the future.

"First, the past. Mr. Dumbledore, Harry and I need to know exactly why Voldemort killed Aunt Lily and Uncle James.

"Why did Voldemort target the Potter family? What was his motive?"

"Because of a prophecy—a prophecy about Voldemort's nemesis," Dumbledore answered without hesitation.

"What was the prophecy?"

"Voldemort's nemesis would be born to a family that had defied him three times, would be born on the last day of July, and would possess a mysterious power Voldemort did not understand."

"Who made the prophecy?"

"Professor Sybill Trelawney. When she made it, she was applying to Hogwarts for the position of Divination professor."

Dudley and Dumbledore traded three questions and answers in rapid succession. Dumbledore had answered each one readily and frankly, until the next question...

"How did Voldemort learn of this prophecy? Who told him? Could it be that Professor Trelawney couldn't suppress her urge to show off and blabbed about it everywhere?"

As Dudley questioned him, his eyes remained fixed on Dumbledore, carefully observing every microexpression and movement.

"This... no. Professor Trelawney made the prophecy at the Hog's Head in Hogsmeade, during her interview for the Divination position. At the time, only she and I were in the room..."

Dumbledore was no longer answering directly. Instead, he spoke slowly, answering from the side.

"Dumbledore!"

Dudley suddenly shouted, startling Dumbledore and cutting off the hesitant words he had been about to say.

Then Dudley stared sharply into Dumbledore's eyes and reminded him:

"Please answer honestly, Mr. Dumbledore! When you paused just now, you pressed your lips into a straight line. That's a sign that you wanted to conceal something.

"And while answering, your eyes kept shifting between the lower left and upper right corners. Your thoughts were wandering back and forth between the memory and imagination sections of your brain.

"You were trying to make something up to cover for someone's guilt, weren't you?!"

"This... you... I..."

Dumbledore was somewhat flustered. He did not dare meet Dudley's aggressive gaze and shifted his eyes away, only to see the disappointment on Harry's face beside him. A sharp pain stabbed through his heart.

"I'm sorry, Dudley and Harry. I simply didn't want you to form an irreparable bad impression of someone before knowing everything."

Dumbledore let out a long sigh. "Dudley, you are truly too perceptive. I've never heard such a... professional explanation for those signs you mentioned."

"This is Muggle Legilimency—a science called microexpression psychology, Mr. Dumbledore!

"So please don't lie to me or play tricks in front of me! It isn't clever, and it isn't fair!

"Harry and I answered your questions truthfully just now!"

Dudley shot Dumbledore a fierce glare, his eyes filled with warning. "Also, please restrain your ingrained habit of making decisions for others. Just tell us the truth. How Harry and I interpret it is our business!

"Now tell us: who told Voldemort about the prophecy?!"

"Severus Snape. He overheard Professor Trelawney and me speaking at the Hog's Head. He heard the first two parts of the prophecy and told Voldemort the secret."

Dumbledore still told the truth, but immediately added an explanation. "At the time, Snape was obsessed with the Dark Arts and pursued power and organizations, so he joined the Death Eaters and became Voldemort's subordinate.

"After Voldemort learned of the prophecy, he conducted a widespread search throughout the Wizarding World. In the end, he identified two possible targets: Harry and Neville of the Longbottom family.

"Snape had known Harry's mother, Lily, since childhood, and the two had once had a... complicated emotional entanglement.

"Snape had always loved Lily. So when he learned that his betrayal had put Harry's family on Voldemort's kill list, he was filled with regret.

"He defected from the dark side and secretly came to me to explain the situation, asking me to protect Harry's family. I agreed..."

"Pause there, Mr. Dumbledore."

Dudley suddenly interrupted Dumbledore's endless explanation. "The situation is already very clear. This Snape was Voldemort's accomplice. He just had a bit more of a love-brained obsession than an ordinary accomplice, along with some impulse to turn himself in.

"By Muggle legal standards, he should receive at least ten years in prison!

"Mr. Dumbledore, you can't defend and excuse him just because he became your spy.

"Your casual remark that 'Voldemort conducted a widespread search after hearing the prophecy' represented the destruction of an entire group of wizarding families!

"Hagrid mentioned to Harry and me yesterday that Voldemort and his Death Eaters had killed many outstanding wizarding couples. Hagrid could name several examples himself!

"Those people never needed to die. It was all because of Snape's betrayal!

"And from what you've said, it's clear that Snape didn't recognize his own wrongdoing at all. He was simply so crazily obsessed with harassing my Aunt Lily that he had lost his mind!

"If Harry hadn't met the conditions of the prophecy, if Voldemort hadn't planned to persecute Harry's family, would Snape still have defected from the dark side? Huh?! Ask yourself what you truly think and tell me—would he?!"

Dumbledore fell silent. After a pause, he finally answered with difficulty:

"He probably... wouldn't."