The moonlight shines with great brightness and the constant pounding of the waves against the cliffs accompany Hogwarts for thousands of years. The first week of classes is about to end and the spirited young wizards have already passed their initial excitement. Tonight, besides the clanging armor throughout the castle, occasional whispered conversations of portraits that stay up late at night, and Peeves patrolling his territory as usual, everything is quiet and peaceful.
Do you know who that person is, don't you?
In front of the two ugly stone beasts on the eighth floor, Professor Snape questioned Dumbledore without emotion.
"What misunderstanding have you fallen into, Severus?"
Dumbledore, surprised, shook his old face skin, his long beard reaching to his waist shone with a silvery white light under the moonlight, and his eyes looked innocent.
Snape moved his thin lips slightly and did not pursue another word. Instead, he turned directly and left.
In the past, he might have argued with Dumbledore, but today his emotions had undergone a turbulent upheaval. After confirming that the dark wizard was not Sirius Black, he no longer wanted to concern himself with the matter, even though the dark wizard had caused quite a bit of trouble for Dumbledore and the Ministry of Magic.
Dumbledore stood in place without moving, staring at Snape as he flew quickly away, until his silhouette disappeared at the corner of the corridor. Only then did he lower his silver beard and turned to walk into his own office.
The fox, which was not often active, had already fallen asleep on the golden branches in the firepot. Dumbledore leaned back in his office chair, his long fingers intertwined on the table, gazing at the portraits of Hogwarts heads of generations hanging on the wall.
As usual, at this time the portraits should all be sleeping, but tonight, none of them were asleep. They remained quietly in their frames, all their eyes fixed on the empty frame behind Amundio Gimli Dupont.
The waiting was excruciatingly long, and the previous heads of Hogwarts couldn't bear the loneliness. They quietly visited each other's houses and whispered conversations. Only in this office, the only living being, Dumbledore, maintained an admirable patience.
"It has been confirmed, Dumbledore!"
Finally, the owner of the empty frame returned, and without anyone asking, it spoke in a jubilant voice.
"No, during this time, there was nothing alive in the Black House except for an old and toothless house-trained hobbit. My clever grandson has not returned."
"Smart?!"
Amundio Gimli Dupont's portrait said in a very harsh voice, "Headmaster Black, I assume you must know that your 'smart grandson' is a filthy, stinking traitor?"
Amundio Gimli Dupont's barefaced insult truly rubbed salt into the wound, and Philonymus immediately shouted out loud!
He charged into Dupont's portrait and started arguing with him. He shouted something about 'noble Black family', 'Wisenham must have made a mistake', 'that boy is innocent', 'you're targeting' and so on. If it hadn't been for Miss Delia Devante who had pulled it back, there might have been a spectacular battle of heads in the office.
Dok, dok—
"Please remain quiet, everyone. I cannot let this historical office be destroyed by me."
Dumbledore tapped his finger on the table and calmly said.
The commands of the current Headmaster of Hogwarts have a strong constraint on these portraits. Under Dumbledore's intervention, the portraits returned to their frames, with Amundio Gimli Dupont's and Philonymus Black's portraits side by side, but they were facing different directions and ignored each other.
Even after death, the highly respected Lady Delia Devante replaced all the heads to ask that critical question,
"You must know what the boy's intention was to break into the Black family manor, Albus?"
"Oh, this question--"
Dumbledore removed the half-moon glasses from his nose, rubbing his forehead gently while smiling helplessly, "There are some guesses. I believe my guess is very close to the truth."
"What?" Lady Delia Devante asked.
"It doesn't matter, Delia--" Dumbledore, having received the answer, leaned back in his chair wearily and said, "What matters is that he really did it."
The topic of Amos Traven had been discussed more than once in this office, and the portraits were all aware of Albus Dumbledore's high regard for the young man. Seeing Amos make another near 'crazy' move, their hearts could not help but be overshadowed by a shadow.
"Speaking of--"
Delia, in a kind manner, hesitated, "Could it be a mistake, Albus? According to your words, that dark wizard has hidden his magic very well... perhaps I mean that you have to admit that everyone can make mistakes at times, right?"
"I don't have to rely on appearance and magic to recognize who someone truly is, Delia--"
Dumbledore's deep blue eyes twinkled with intelligence as he spoke gently.
The office fell into silence again. According to the opinions of most heads, they all believed that Dumbledore should intervene and send Amos to Azkaban... However, in reality, they all knew that even with Dementors guarding it, Azkaban might not be able to contain a wizard of his caliber.
"Sin is sin, Albus."
Amundio Gimli Dupont firmly stated, "We should take advantage of our ability while we still can, by eradicating sin at its root, Albus. If Azkaban cannot keep that troublesome young thing, then you should kill him directly!"
"I have realized it!"
Professor Dupont's suggestion immediately ignited Philonymus, who spat at Dupont.
"You're jealous, aren't you? Jealous of the outstanding genius produced by the great Slytherin House! You want to destroy him!"
Blacks' words had a broad defense, and many heads came forward to accuse Slytherin. Amundio Gimli Dupont hit the nail on the head, saying,
"Great Slytherin House? Hmm, I'm sure you haven't forgotten how much panic the secret chamber left by Slytherin caused at Hogwarts last year!"
"That secret room wasn't that simple!" Philonymus counter-attacked.
"Albus has already told us that the secret chamber is another story, to be honest, I am immensely grateful to Amos Traven. He cleared away the smear against Salazar Slytherin himself that had been spread throughout the magical world for thousands of years. Slytherin himself left the secret chamber and Basilisk for some other purposes, not to slaughter small wizards in the school!"
Phinias's statement was a conclusion reached through a common discussion, not representing his personal opinion alone, so Amundio Gimli Dupont did not refute it but remained silent instead.
Just like winning a holy war, Phinias stood up straight, his eyes shining as he looked at Albus Dumbledore proudly, saying,
"Would you like to hear my views, Albus, about Amos Traven?"
"I am eager to hear your insights, Philonymus," Dumbledore said sincerely, smiling, "Your wisdom will undoubtedly guide us."
Having been praised by Dumbledore, Philonymus was full of enthusiasm. In a moment, he seemed to have returned to the days when he was the current head of Hogwarts and held all the power. He arrogantly looked at Dupont on one side, who was also giving him a cold look, clearing his throat,
"Firstly, there is a question that needs an honest answer from you, Albus--"
After receiving Dumbledore's nod of response, Philonymus Black's small eyes shone with a keen light.
"Up to this day, Albus, can you still deal with Amos Traven?"
