HP: The Duelist of Hogwarts - 452

Chapter 452: A Conversation with Dumbledore

After the meeting, Sean and Dumbledore sat together in the study.

With no one else present—Sirius in particular nowhere in sight—Kreacher suddenly emerged from Merlin knew where, bearing a tray of tea and cakes. After he set them down and turned to leave, Sean stopped him.

“Kreacher, stay,” Sean said. “Part of what we are going to discuss concerns you. There are some things I may need your help with.”

At once, Kreacher nodded. “As long as young master Sean has need of Kreacher, Kreacher will stay and obey young master Sean’s orders.”

“Kreacher, that is not necessary,” Sean said gently. “You can make your own choice. Whether or not you help, I will be grateful.”

“No,” Kreacher said stubbornly. “Kreacher must repay young master Sean. Kreacher will carry out whatever task young master Sean gives him.”

Seeing the set look on his face, Sean sighed and let it go.

In the plan he had in mind, Kreacher was, in fact, the one who would be in the least danger.

Dumbledore’s eyes moved from Kreacher to Sean. He thought for a moment, then asked, “Sean, are you planning to have the Order abandon this place?”

“Nothing gets past you, Professor,” Sean said wryly.

“There are things I cannot see through,” Dumbledore replied. “For instance, how you have managed to learn so many branches of magic so quickly, and drive them all to such heights.”

Sean smiled at once. “You know I opened the Chamber of Secrets, Professor,” he said lightly. “I even killed the Basilisk inside. Perhaps I picked something up there.”

“Oh, that is exactly what I told the former headmasters’ portraits,” Dumbledore said, then gave Sean a small, twinkling look. “But you were already showing signs of that talent in your first year. Did you open the Chamber then as well?”

“Who can say?” Sean said. “Perhaps I did.”

“Then let us say you opened it in your first year,” Dumbledore answered.

And with that, he let the matter drop.

Sean knew full well that if he did not explain, no one was likely to guess the truth about the strange “panel” that had been boosting his power from the start. But the benefits he had drawn from it were impossible to hide. His leaps in strength, especially in his clashes with Voldemort and the Death Eaters, were far too abnormal to escape notice.

Had people spotted it when he was still weak, it would have been disastrously dangerous. Now, though, the tide was in his favour. Even leaving aside the various factions that backed him, on personal strength alone, he no longer feared anyone prying too closely. Short of Voldemort and Dumbledore joining forces, he had ways to survive even if Voldemort came for his life.

And that was never going to happen.

If those two ever met, the only question would be how much of the scenery was left standing afterwards.

“Sean,” Dumbledore said mildly, “I have the distinct impression you are silently criticising me.”

The instant he heard that, Sean snapped Occlumency into place. His features smoothed into a guarded, closed look that faintly echoed Snape’s habitual expression.

“Professor Dumbledore,” he said, “using Legilimency on me is extremely discourteous.”

“Oh, now you wrong me there,” Dumbledore said. “I did not deliberately use Legilimency on you. You yourself are quite skilled at it. You should know that when someone standing in front of you is harbouring thoughts about you, you can usually sense it.”

“A very thorough justification, Professor,” Sean said dryly.

Dumbledore shook his head, chuckling. “Let us speak of serious matters,” he said. “What did you see earlier?”

“I saw some of the Order members dying,” Sean said quietly.

Dumbledore had braced himself for bad news, but hearing the words still carved a line of sorrow across his face.

“Who are they, Sean?” he asked.

“Professor Moody. Mr Weasley. Professor Lupin. Sirius. Tonks. And…” Sean glanced at him, then went on. “The Weasley twins from Gryffindor. My friends Blaise and Jensen. And a number of other students from the different houses who took part in the fighting.”

This time, Dumbledore’s expression turned grim.

“Sean,” he said, voice low, “why? Why so many children…”

“Hogwarts is full of secrets,” Sean said. “Hidden tunnels and passageways, that sort of thing. The Death Eaters eventually find a way to infiltrate from inside the castle. There’s a battle in Hogwarts itself, but in the end, we manage to drive them off.”

“But you know as well as I do, Professor, that Death Eaters do not spare students on purpose. And some of the students fight back.”

“The Weasley twins…” Dumbledore murmured. “So what you saw happens this year, does it not?”

Sean nodded. “Yes. This year. Because Hogwarts falls under the control of the Ministry—or rather, of Umbridge. She finds some method to let the Death Eaters in from outside. I have not seen the exact details yet.”

He lied.

He knew precisely how they got in.

The Vanishing Cabinet.

The Slytherin Brotherhood’s reserve group would discover it and use it to bring in a large number of Death Eaters.

With Umbridge inside the school coordinating, the Aurors at the Ministry would never receive any warning that Hogwarts had been breached. Then, after the slaughter, the Ministry would simply pin the blame on the Order and drag its name through the mud for good.

Some might protest that with so many students at Hogwarts, surely they would speak the truth.

But when things reached that point… would the truth really matter?

Dumbledore sat in silence for a long time after hearing Sean’s prophecy. Then he rose and took his leave without further word.

He needed to adjust his plans.

When the door had closed behind him, Sean turned to Kreacher.

“Kreacher,” he said, “there is something I need you to do. If it works, we can finally complete what Regulus wanted to do, but could not.”

He held Kreacher’s gaze.

“We can kill Voldemort.”

Kreacher’s breathing immediately turned rough and loud.

He stared at Sean, then drew in a long breath and forced himself to be calm.

“This will fulfil young master Regulus’s last wish,” he said hoarsely. “So Kreacher will be following young master Regulus’s final command. Kreacher can obey young master Sean’s orders.

“Kreacher is willing to do this.”