Chapter 53: Dumbledore: Back in the day, there was a senior...
"No need... let's go back together." Aberforth's voice came from the forest.
He walked out of the forest with Aurelius, who was pale.
Aurelius's eyes were tightly closed, but fortunately he was still breathing.
It seemed that he had just fainted.
He did as he said, he could still hold on and wouldn't die...
...
In the blink of an eye, everyone Apparated back to the Hog's Head.
Aberforth carried Aurelius back to the attic.
Theo was left by Dumbledore on the first floor of the tavern, and then they sat together at the bar.
"I think you might have something to explain to me." Dumbledore asked.
"Alas, tonight was really... a very thrilling night, Professor." Theo said with emotion.
He didn't lie about this. If his magic level hadn't improved significantly recently, he would have been in Nagini's stomach now...
Dumbledore didn't interrupt Theo and was still listening quietly.
Theo put the cage containing Nagini on the bar.
"What is this?" Dumbledore asked.
In fact, Dumbledore wanted to ask Theo what this was just now.
Because Theo had been carrying the cage and had never let go.
"Inside is Nagini." Theo said.
"Huh?" Dumbledore heard this and quickly looked at the cage again.
Sure enough, in the dense gaps of the cage, he saw a small green snake.
"What exactly is going on?"
Theo said, "I met her in the Forbidden Forest, and then she started attacking me... Finally, I controlled her, and then used Transfiguration to shrink her and locked her in the cage."
Dumbledore looked at Theo in surprise.
Theo's calm tone just now... seemed to not know how amazing his words were!
Dumbledore had picked up a piece of Nagini's scales in the sewer before, so he naturally knew that Nagini's current size was many times larger than it was back then.
An eleven-year-old wizard, facing such an aggressive giant snake, had no hope of escaping!
But now, Theo said that he not only controlled her, but also used Transfiguration to shrink such a huge snake to such a small size?
It was absurd to even think about it!
However, Dumbledore was not the kind of professor who easily denied his students.
"Logically speaking, you shouldn't have the ability to escape in front of Nagini... Did Aurelius help you?"
Theo shook his head, "No, Aurelius had already left when I was confronting Nagini."
"That is to say, you dealt with Nagini alone and then controlled her?"
"Yes, that's right." Theo nodded.
At this time, Dumbledore didn't ask any more questions for the time being. Instead, he gently touched the cage made of vines with his hand.
The cage was opened instantly and turned into vines again.
And when those vines fell on the bar, they turned into withered yellow leaves...
Obviously, these fallen leaves were the original state of the cage.
Dumbledore guessed that if Theo's words were true, then he should have turned the fallen leaves, which were everywhere on the ground in the Forbidden Forest, into strong vines, and then controlled Nagini.
After that, he could shrink the motionless Nagini...
Dumbledore quietly observed the small snake on the bar that was still unconscious, occasionally poking the snake's body with his fingers.
Before long, the surprised look on Dumbledore's face became more intense.
Because after careful inspection, Dumbledore found that this was really Nagini!
Moreover, the Transfiguration that shrank Nagini's size was so violent that even Dumbledore was amazed.
How could Theo use Transfiguration of this intensity?
"This is indeed Nagini... how did you do it?" Dumbledore moved his eyes from Nagini to Theo's face again.
Just as he moved his eyes, the fallen leaves on the bar moved again and turned into a solid cage again, locking Nagini inside.
Dumbledore's Transfiguration, which was so accurate and without any casting action, amazed Theo.
"This has to mention the reason why I went to the Forbidden Forest tonight." Theo took out the lighter from his pocket. In his eyes, the lighter was still emitting a faint blue light.
"Professor, can you see the blue light on it?"
Dumbledore shook his head. He didn't see any blue light on the lighter.
"As expected... even you can't see it?" Theo said with slight disappointment.
"What exactly is this? Why does it have anything to do with you going to the Forbidden Forest tonight?" Dumbledore asked.
So Theo told him about shopping at the junk shop that day and accidentally finding the lighter.
Of course, the purpose of going to the junk shop was also changed from buying an old wand to wanting to find some magic manuscripts.
He couldn't tell Dumbledore about buying an old wand.
"Blue light that only you can see... can I see the lighter?" Dumbledore asked.
Theo handed the lighter over.
Dumbledore took the lighter and looked at it carefully.
"Although I can't see the blue light, I can indeed feel the traces of ancient magic left on it..." Dumbledore returned the lighter to Theo, "There is no doubt that there was indeed an ancient magic power on this lighter, but this power is gone now."
"So that's it... Tom said he couldn't see the blue light, and the clerk couldn't see the blue light either. I thought it was strange, so I bought it back." Theo adjusted his Occlumency and continued, "After I came back, I also asked Mr. Aberforth, and he said he didn't see it either. So I planned to put it aside and ask you when you came."
Dumbledore nodded, indicating that Theo should continue.
Theo continued, "...When I was sleeping tonight, I vaguely saw that the lighter actually opened by itself, and then the flame inside flew out and flew out of the window. So... I followed it, and unknowingly, I came to the Forbidden Forest..."
Dumbledore said seriously, "You shouldn't do such a dangerous thing, Theo. You should at least find Aberforth. What if you encounter danger?"
"Sorry, Professor, I was very curious at the time... so I didn't think so much." Theo showed an embarrassed look on his face.
"Alas... it's good that you're fine now. But you must remember this lesson." Dumbledore said helplessly. "Although you haven't entered school yet, I feel that you are very likely to be sorted into Gryffindor..."
Theo widened his eyes and asked curiously, "Do Gryffindor students often go to the Forbidden Forest at night?"
"Uh... of course not. I'm just saying... forget it, you'll know when you go to school. You continue." Dumbledore quickly changed the subject.
So Theo continued, "...At that time, I kept following the flame, and then in a hidden place in the Forbidden Forest, I found a glass bottle. The bottle contained a kind of very strange mist. It was black and red, and there was a blue light flashing..."
The highest level of lying was to tell half-truths. With the cover of Occlumency, Dumbledore didn't have any doubts.
Dumbledore frowned when he heard that there was such a strange bottle. Under normal circumstances, things like this were inseparable from dark magic...
"Is that bottle still there?" Dumbledore asked quickly.
"Uh... it broke when I confronted Nagini..." Theo rummaged through his pockets, poured out some broken glass, and put it on the bar. "As for the mist in the glass bottle..."
Theo's face became hesitant, as if he wanted to say something but didn't dare to.
"Theo, tell me, you should believe me, right?" Dumbledore comforted Theo.
"Yes..." Theo seemed to breathe a sigh of relief, and then continued, "The mist seemed to get into my body. After that, I felt... I felt like I was full of some strange power. I had an urge to vent all this power. Then..."
Theo pointed to Nagini, "I shrunk her."
After Dumbledore heard Theo's words, his face was a little surprised. Then he waved his hand lightly, and the glass shards floated over and landed in his palm.
Dumbledore approached the glass shards and observed them carefully, even his nose almost touching the glass.
After a long time, Dumbledore breathed a sigh of relief, and then looked at Theo with a strange look. "The magic traces left on the glass shards are exactly the same as the lighter... but this might be a good thing."
"Good thing?" Theo, who almost believed his own lie
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