Silence filled the room as the two of them raised their teacups once more.
No wonder Dumbledore had said the Glove Lady had worked so hard, and that they should make her happy if they could.
She had kept her lonely vigil here for four hundred years, unable to leave the Room of Requirement. It was like being in prison.
"Is there nothing even Professor Dumbledore can do?"
Zhang Xiao asked softly. With every advantage of timing, place, and support, Dumbledore was already the strongest wizard to date. After all, no wizard before him had ever reached the Magic Network.
"Dumbledore is powerful, but even he has no better way of dealing with an entity made entirely of negative emotions."
Morgana smiled. "Do you remember Hogwarts' unwritten rule? No young wizard may remain at school over the summer holidays."
Zhang Xiao nodded. It was a strange rule, considering some young wizards were unwilling to return home because of their family circumstances.
Tom Riddle in his early years, for example, and Harry. Both had asked to stay at Hogwarts over the summer, and both had been refused.
"Because of the soul split off into it, that negative entity instinctively absorbs the young wizards' negative emotions. All I can do is gather the happiness that drifts out here.
"Then I balance the two...
"Just before the summer holidays, the children's emotions run highest, and most of those emotions are happy. That makes it the best time to neutralize it.
"Every year, I use that opportunity to slowly wear away this twisted monstrosity. During that process, balancing the two causes the castle to release large quantities of..."
Morgana tried to find a suitable description, but finally could only frown and say:
"I don't know how to describe it, either, but it could do