Holy crap! Herman exclaimed inwardly. Who has the nerve to call Dumbledore "Laodeng"? Could she be Dumbledore and Grindelwald's illegitimate daughter? The magical world might be wondrous, but could something that defied nature like two men getting it on really produce a child?
Bursting with curiosity, Herman hurried over to Dumbledore's side, eager to see just who this mysterious person was.
He saw a girl with long red hair as dazzling as flames and green eyes like deep lakes. She slowly lowered the long legs she had propped on the table, rose gracefully, and said to Dumbledore, "Old Dumbledore, can I go now?"
Only then did Herman realize she had called him "Old Dumbledore." Apparently, she still had some respect for Dumbledore, though seemingly not much.
Dumbledore did not get angry, as though he had expected this attitude from her. Still smiling, he said, "Of course, Harley."
Harley!!!! Herman's mind instantly went blank. Did Harry go to Thailand for sex reassignment surgery?
Momentarily at a loss, he could not help looking Harley over again. Yes, she really was quite pretty.
Did she stop off in South Korea for cosmetic surgery before coming back to Britain?
All sorts of absurd thoughts galloped through Herman's mind like wild horses off their reins. Dumbledore did not notice anything unusual about Herman and continued speaking to Harley:
"Although I've bailed you out again this time, I sincerely hope there won't be a next time involving you turning up at another wizard's murder scene."
Harley shrugged dismissively and said without a care, "So what? There's no evidence anyway. Besides, I really didn't kill him. Sirius did! Everyone knows it was him. I just happened to be nearby."
Herman could not resist chiming in, "Exactly. Without evidence, you can't establish guilt. Just like me."
Dumbledore shot Herman a sidelong glance, ignored him, and continued speaking to Harley. "Perhaps letting Sirius take you away was a mistake in the first place."
"A mistake? I don't think so. In a sense, I'm avenging my parents too." Harley looked utterly unconcerned.
"I originally thought having a child would put Sirius on the right track, but clearly, I was wrong." Herman's ears stood straight up like an alert rabbit's, his mind racing as he tried to work out what on earth had happened to this world.
Harley had become a girl, Sirius had not gone to Azkaban and had raised her instead, and the two of them seemed to have been involved in more than one wizard murder case!
There's definitely something wrong with this Harry Potter world! Herman grumbled inwardly.
"I think things are fine as they are. Can I leave now?" Harley asked, looking at Dumbledore standing in the doorway. If he had not been blocking the way, she probably would have been long gone.
"Of course! But this 'Old Dumbledore' still has a few more things to say." With that, Dumbledore took a few steps into the room and slowly sat down on the cell's only stool.
Harley sighed helplessly and sat back down on the bed, propping her feet on the nearby table again. She reclined on the bed and stared at the ceiling, looking as though she was waiting for Dumbledore's "lesson" to begin.
"You should know that those pure-blood wizards Sirius killed had friends in the Ministries of Magic of many countries. We were lucky this time. One of our professors has some connections at the French Ministry of Magic, which allowed us to bring you straight back. Otherwise, you would have had to stand trial in France."
At this, Harley behaved reasonably well, sitting up properly and saying, "Thanks, but Sirius already had a plan. He was going to sneak into the Ministry of Magic to rescue me."
Dumbledore explained helplessly, "Then you would truly have become a wanted criminal, with no choice but to spend the rest of your life on the run with Sirius."
"That sounds pretty good too." Her reply left Dumbledore speechless. He froze for quite a while before continuing:
"In any case, I can't let you keep running wild with Sirius like this. You've just turned eleven, too. It's time for you to start school."
With that, Dumbledore produced a Hogwarts acceptance letter from his sleeve as though performing a magic trick and handed it to Harley.
Harley looked at the letter Dumbledore offered her. After a moment's silence, she finally accepted it solemnly with both hands.
"All right, it's time we left this place. I have a little friend with me, after all. Children shouldn't spend too long here."
No, this place suits me just fine. I really want to hear some more juicy gossip. I need to hurry up and figure out just how drastically this Harry Potter world has been altered, Herman muttered inwardly.
At this point, Harley also emerged from her thoughts about receiving the acceptance letter. After all, she had grown up in a traditional wizarding family (being raised by Sirius barely counted as a traditional wizarding family), so naturally she had deep feelings for Hogwarts.
Moreover, although Sirius had some issues with Dumbledore because of what had happened back then, he had always cherished fond memories of Hogwarts. After all, he had spent the happiest days of his life there. Under his influence, Harley was also full of longing and dreams about Hogwarts.
Dumbledore headed outside, and Harley hurried after him. Herman seized the chance to strike up a conversation with her. "Hello, my name is Herman Horace."
Harley looked Herman up and down, then thought intently for a moment before saying, "Horace? I don't think I've heard of any pure-blood wizards with that surname. Are your parents wizards?"
What? Herman was startled. Has Harley been indoctrinated into worshipping pure-blood wizards? But that can't be right. Sirius isn't that sort of person either.
Herman paused, but still answered honestly, "I'm an orphan. I don't even know who my parents are."
Harley nodded in satisfaction. "That's good. Saves you coming after me for revenge if Sirius kills your parents someday."
"..." Herman was momentarily speechless, filled with helplessness. What kind of Harley is this? Have I wandered onto the wrong set? Is this Harley Quinn? She doesn't seem quite that crazy, though.
Dumbledore gave a timely cough, breaking the slightly awkward atmosphere between them.
"Herman is starting school this year too. Perhaps you'll become good friends, just like your parents and Sirius back then. Oh, there's something I need to give you. Herman, give me that photograph."
As he spoke, Dumbledore held out his hand to Herman. Remembering it too, Herman hurriedly handed over the photograph of Harry he had received from Director Margery-or, more accurately, the photograph of Harley and her parents.
Dumbledore passed the photograph to Harley, saying, "Happy birthday, Harley. Hagrid found this through an old friend. It's a photograph of you and your parents."
Taking the photograph, Harley finally showed a trace of a young girl's tenderness and whispered, "Thank you."
After leaving Level Ten, the three soon reached the Ministry of Magic's ground-floor atrium. Harley spoke first. "Headmaster, I'll be leaving now."
Dumbledore nodded. "All right. Please pass a message to Sirius for me. Blood cannot extinguish hatred. It only brings endless killing."
Harley curled her lip disdainfully. "But someone has to do something, and someone has to pay the price."
With that, Harley turned and walked away, making her way to a fireplace, where she vanished in a swirl of green flames.
Not long after Harley left, a figure approached Dumbledore's side as silently as a great bat.
"Are you sure you don't want to say a few words to her?"
Snape shook his head without speaking, clearly not mentally prepared yet.
"It's all right. Term starts soon. There'll be opportunities. Oh, there's something else."
At this, Snape emerged from his daze as he stared at the fireplace. Resuming his cold, expressionless look, he asked, "What is it?"
Dumbledore said solemnly, "As I recall, McGonagall assigned the student admissions task to you. I think it's time I handed Herman over to you. Don't worry, I've already explained the basics. All you need to do is take him to Diagon Alley to buy his school supplies."
After speaking to Snape, Dumbledore waved at Herman and quickly vanished into the fireplace's flames, leaving Snape and Herman staring at each other in a slightly awkward atmosphere.