Douglas sat at the table at ease. He made no response to Dumbledore's question and continued meticulously spreading jam over the entire slice of bread.
Only after taking a bite did he say unhurriedly:
"A novel needs all sorts of characters. If you want readers to immerse themselves in the story, you have to do the same while writing it. By putting myself in our fellow student Tom's shoes and combining that with some information, I can naturally deduce some of his actions.
"But those are only deductions, and people are unpredictable, so I used a few little tricks too. For instance, I turned Wormtail into a tracking device. That lets me gather more information and make more accurate predictions."
Dumbledore thought it over and found Douglas's words reasonable. So far, all of Douglas's actions had been responses based on known information.
Yet his calm voice carried an unquestionable authority.
"Douglas, putting yourself in Voldemort's shoes is far too dangerous. I worry it might create cracks in your mental world, give rise to multiple personalities, and ultimately cause you to lose yourself. Don't think I'm being alarmist. As you know, magic is extraordinary. While you're putting yourself in his shoes, you could very well resonate with his soul, allowing him to glimpse your thoughts."
Douglas ｡◔‸◔｡ "Professor..."
Douglas picked up his teacup and took a small sip. The warm liquid slid down his throat, steadying him a little. For a moment, he did not know what to say. He could not give the real reason, but Dumbledore was not wrong either. He had read about something called Thought Assimilation in some Dark Magic, though it required a high degree of synchronization between souls.
Once their souls resonated, the weaker party could borrow the stronger party's magic, while the stronger party