Dumbledore's Most Important Person Now
Just as Ryan was mentally condemning Sirius's unreliability, in the last room below the forbidden area on the fourth floor of Hogwarts, Harry checked the time and realized it was getting dark when he suddenly remembered something.
"Wait, Professor Dumbledore, I have something else to say. I had a dream earlier, and someone was trying to steal the Philosopher's Stone. He might be Voldemort's accomplice!" Harry pulled out the Philosopher's Stone, pointed at it, and said to Dumbledore.
At that moment, Harry's actions seemed to activate some kind of code.
The Philosopher's Stone trembled violently, flashing a dazzling red light. Dumbledore quickly pulled Harry behind him and conjured a faintly visible shield.
"What is this?" Harry asked, still shaken.
The Philosopher's Stone fell to the ground, its vibrations gradually slowing down, and then an image appeared in the air.
"That's him, the wizard from my dream," Harry said, pointing to the young man who appeared in the moonlight.
Dumbledore didn't speak; he stared intently at the image in the air.
This was beyond his expectations. Before this, Dumbledore had always thought that everything was under his control—except for Grindelwald's cooperation.
When the mysterious young man fell into a deep sleep with just a single sentence from Fluffy, his face was ashen, and his eyes revealed astonishment.
As the mysterious young man commented on and criticized each professor's defenses, he smiled slightly—this You-Know-Who's words and actions clearly showed that he and Tom were not on the same page.
And the moon?
Are they wizards from America?
More than twenty years ago, Muggle went to the moon, a place where wizards had never set foot.
This feat ensured that Dumbledore, even years later, still remembered the Muggle's name—Neil Alden Armstrong —and his famous quote—"That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind."
Great! Now there are even wizards living on the moon, as if they've never been to Earth (Devil's Snare is not uncommon in the wizarding world; the reason some wizards have been killed by it is simply because it looks like Christmas Cactus when placed in a flowerpot).
Meanwhile, Harry felt a deep connection to the mysterious young man's comments.
Harry even felt that the mysterious young man's assessment of Professor McGonagall's defenses—the faceless white pieces—was not perfect enough.
Aside from the color and the lack of a face, Professor McGonagall probably deliberately made it very tall, so that people can only look at it from below, which is the same principle as the size of the statues in the churches of the Muggle world.
Looking from bottom to top can unconsciously make people feel solemn and oppressed.
"That's right, Professor Dumbledore. These defenses are at the level of a first-year student. Even Professor Snape's puzzles can be solved if you just calm down."
"Why did Voldemort rush in like that? And Professor Quirrell, didn't he have any doubts?" Harry looked at the video, first nodding in agreement, then asking Dumbledore with a puzzled expression.
"Tom doesn't care if there are traps, and he knows there are, but he's certain the Philosopher's Stone is here. As for Professor Quirrell, he's not the one who makes decisions, at least not anymore," Dumbledore said sadly. He had watched Quirrell grow up and then personally interviewed him to become a professor of Muggle Studies.
"Fortunately, this young man who claims to be Magician is at least not Tom's accomplice." Dumbledore breathed a sigh of relief at the end.
"But the Philosopher's Stone is gone?" Harry asked, puzzled. "Your friend— Nicolas Flamel— "
"Oh, you actually know Nico?"
"I'm getting senile. Hagrid told me that the three of you already knew," Dumbledore said cheerfully.
"That's right. Before the Philosopher's Stone was entrusted to me for safekeeping, Nico and I talked and decided to destroy it in the end," Dumbledore explained.
"But then he and his wife would die, wouldn't they?"
"Could it be that they have other Philosopher's Stone?" Harry wondered.
"No, they just have some Elixir of Life stored up, enough for them to get things sorted out."
"Then, they will die." Seeing the astonished look on Harry's face, Dumbledore couldn't help but smile. "I've talked to you about this before, remember, also by the Mirror of Erised."
Yes, I remember.
"That person—the one who took the Philosopher's Stone, possibly a wizard from the moon, do you know who he is?" Harry finally asked.
"I don't know. I have to say, it's better this way; I'm more optimistic about the future." Dumbledore little tune happily, smiling as he looked at the ceiling.
Then came a long, awkward silence.
When Harry's legs were almost numb from standing and he didn't know what to do, Dumbledore finally stopped staring at the ceiling as if there was something on it.
What Harry didn't know was that Dumbledore had many questions he wanted to ask Harry.
He wanted to say: the connection between Harry and Voldemort; why Harry insisted on staying at his aunt's house; and why Voldemort came to Harry's family's door.
There were so many things he wanted to say to Harry.
He was so worried about Harry that he couldn't find a reason to tell him this.
He cared more about Harry's happiness and joy than about letting Harry know the truth; he cared more about Harry's peace of mind than about his plans; he cared more about Harry's life than about the sacrifices that would have to be made if the plan failed.
In other words, Voldemort did exactly what he thought these loving fools would do.
Dumbledore didn't think anyone else cared about Harry as much as he did. Harry had already suffered too much in his childhood, and he didn't want Harry to suffer any more.
As long as Harry is alive, healthy, and happy by his side, why worry about the sacrifices of those unknown people and creatures in the uncertain future?
Dumbledore never imagined that he would cherish and care for someone like this.
Only now, as he prepares to reveal everything to Harry, does he realize how much he values Harry.
Harry Potter is already very strong; he can even face Voldemort alone—and almost defeat him, Dumbledore kept telling himself.
But he still couldn't bring himself to say it. Only he understood that Harry's future was only death—he was Horcrux, and even though he had prepared a plan to save Harry's life, what if it failed?
This child is more important to him than anything else.
"Let me see what this is." Dumbledore pointed his wand at the "Philosopher's Stone," pretending not to realize that it was just a device for recording images, and that it could be turned on and off simply by inputting magic.
"Harry, why don't you go check on Ron? He's fine and resting at the Hospital Wing." Harry's eyes widened in surprise at Dumbledore's words.
After waiting for so long, Harry knew that Dumbledore to say, but was that all?
This made Harry temporarily forget who Ron was. With a pout, he walked toward the door where the black flames were no longer present, leaving Dumbledore standing there in a daze.