Will froze. "Sorry?"
Hearing that word from Dumbledore left him unsure how to respond.
"Professor..."
Dumbledore turned around. Moonlight cast shifting shadows across his face and haloed his silver-white hair, making him look older than usual.
"I asked you to become a double agent," Dumbledore said, his voice unusually heavy, "to face the most dangerous Dark Wizard in the world at fourteen."
"I gave you a task even an adult wizard might not be able to carry out. It was a problem I caused, yet I dragged you into it."
He walked back to the desk but did not sit down. Instead, he braced both hands on its surface and looked at Will.
"Severus was right. I shouldn't have done that." In Dumbledore's blue eyes was a weariness Will had never seen before. "I should have found another way."
Will was silent for a few seconds, then slowly rose.
"Professor," he said, pausing to meet Dumbledore's gaze, "I chose this path. Not because you asked me to, but because it was my own choice.
"So you don't need to apologize. You just need to stand behind me when I need you, or help me in some other way."
Dumbledore studied him, something complicated flickering in his eyes for a long while. At last, he nodded gently.
"Will," he said slowly, "you really have grown a great deal. It seems you've begun to move past what happened."
Dumbledore meant Will's theft of Muggles' emotions.
He sat down again and picked up his cup, but the Honey Tea had gone cold. He warmed it with a wave of his Wand, took a sip, and a trace of relief returned to his face.
After a moment's silence, they chatted about a few inconsequential things—Honeydukes' new products, a tune Fawkes had recently learned, and