Chapter 53: Secret Discussions

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Dumbledore rarely found himself so mentally taxed.

He had lived many years and met all sorts of people, both those he should and shouldn't have met.

But students like Jane Yu—unpredictable and difficult to handle—were exactly the type he found most challenging.

He cradled the scorched Fawkes and placed him on the desk. The bird burst into flames again, turning to ash, but within seconds, a wrinkled chick poked its head out from the ashes, its black eyes gazing at Jane with attachment.

Jane watched this fascinating scene, finally realizing this was the phoenix's rebirth.

"You met Fawkes last year, though I'm sorry you had to see him on his Burning Day this time," Dumbledore said, his gaze seemingly penetrating. "He's a remarkable creature, an immortal bird that can carry immensely heavy loads, has healing tears that cure poison, and is extremely loyal."

He smiled and beckoned, "Fawkes, come here—"

His smile suddenly froze as the newly born "loyal" phoenix struggled to support itself on wobbly legs and wings, chirping clearly as it laboriously moved toward Jane.

If either of them could understand phoenix language, they would have heard it calling "Mama!"

"Um..."

Jane picked up Fawkes as he tumbled into her arms, trying to turn him to face his rightful master, Dumbledore.

But the phoenix chirped disapprovingly at Dumbledore and nestled its yellow beak in Jane's palm. As Jane stepped back, it kept trying to get closer to her, its calls becoming more urgent as it constantly turned its body in her direction.

"Perhaps... you've heard of imprinting? Filial imprinting behavior?"

The last two terms were said in Chinese.

"Imprinting what?" Dumbledore repeated confusedly in clumsy tones. "Is this your gift?"

His memory flashed back to last year in the Forbidden Forest, when unicorns and centaurs had shown such unusual affinity for her.

Some people were naturally beloved by magical creatures, like his favorite student Newt Scamander.

But that wasn't purely innate—rather, it was more like a reciprocal response to their love for magical creatures.

Yet with Jane, these magical creatures approached her actively, unilaterally...

—What an extraordinary gift!

If Jane knew his thoughts, she would certainly say:

No, this wasn't her gift—it was Fawkes's gift.

"In your previous Burning Days, were you always alone with him?"

Dumbledore thought back and nodded.

Jane fell into an odd silence before sincerely suggesting:

"In future Burning Days, you'd better stay alone with him, don't let him see anyone else."

Dumbledore pondered this for a moment, pressing his crooked nose before steering back to the main topic:

"Well... thank you for the advice, I'll write to a friend about this."

He interlaced his fingers, fingertips touching as he studied Jane:

"I still must ask you, Yu, if there's anything you'd like to tell me... anything at all."

Jane understood—he wanted to give the suspect a final chance to defend herself.

But with such overwhelming evidence, whatever the suspect said usually wouldn't change the outcome much.

Better to say nothing and let the headmaster proceed quickly with her expulsion!

"No," she shook her head firmly, "Nothing at all, sir."

Dumbledore sighed almost imperceptibly, but he wasn't ready to give up questioning:

"You should know that very few spells can harm ghosts... do you know anything about this?"

Jane understood again—because she could affect ghosts through burning incense, Nick's attack had made her suspicious.

"I don't know what kind of spell it was."

She maintained her ignorance, and Dumbledore's several follow-up questions yielded no answers.

He looked at her with tired, complex eyes—Jane couldn't quite read his expression.

Seemingly giving up on further questions, he began telling a story:

"Fifty years ago, the Chamber was opened before, and a student died, becoming a ghost—"

"The person believed to be the culprit was expelled..."

As he finished, Dumbledore's eyes held a hint of hope as he asked Jane:

"Having heard this story, do you have any thoughts?"

Jane had no thoughts, except that now she was the scapegoat and likely to be expelled!

"Very well... if you insist..."

The hope in Dumbledore's eyes faded as he turned to look at the fire-blackened Sorting Hat on the desk.

"I'm sorry, but I must make some important decisions, Yu."

That trembling sensation returned—excitement!

She could hardly wait to hear the final verdict!

Would it be suspension, withdrawal, or expulsion?

Please announce your decision quickly, Headmaster!

She looked at Dumbledore with almost eager eyes.

But the elderly headmaster turned his gaze toward the Sorting Hat, saying somewhat reluctantly:

"The Sorting Hat was used by Godric Gryffindor himself, containing the wisdom of all four founders, and has been used for sorting for a thousand years—it's an extremely precious magical artifact."

"Therefore, I must deduct 50 points from Slytherin for your damage to it."

Jane left his office utterly confused.

Wait, what did that mean?

Since when did making important decisions mean just deducting 50 points from Slytherin?

Shouldn't he have announced her expulsion and told her to pack her bags?

Now when all evidence pointed to her, why wouldn't they expel her?

Had she not played the scapegoat role well enough?

She thought dejectedly.

But this was the closest she'd ever come to being expelled, and she couldn't let this opportunity slip away!

She had to find the Heir of Slytherin and discuss this matter.

Since one wanted to frame a scapegoat and the other wanted to be the scapegoat and get expelled...

—They must be a match made in heaven!

...

Barely minutes after Jane left, Snape appeared in the headmaster's office.

"I assume you've realized she has nothing to do with this," he said coldly.

But Dumbledore stood by the window, his back turned, looking up at the dark sky where a full moon hung:

"Severus... in over a thousand years of school history, has anyone ever changed houses?"

Snape's face contorted as he immediately thought of that Parseltongue-speaking Potter brat, feeling his entire body twist in revulsion. He spoke quickly in a caustic tone:

"I imagine if you asked any Slytherin headmaster throughout history, none would think putting a Potter there would be a good idea—"

His venomous spitting was interrupted by Dumbledore:

"No, not Harry... his situation is different... I'm talking about someone else."

"Sometimes, I think the Sorting Hat's decisions are too hasty..."

Dumbledore turned around, but was startled to find Snape's face even more contorted, glaring at him fiercely and grinding out words through clenched teeth:

"I've spent so much time... and effort... nurturing her, and you want to simply take her away—"

The old headmaster hadn't yet understood why Snape's reaction was so intense, and unconsciously finished his thought:

"She pulled out the Sword of Gryffindor, Severus."

Snape's face looked as if it had been punched hard, cycling through various colors as his expression kept changing. He said through gritted teeth:

"That means nothing—she belongs in Slytherin, without question."

Dumbledore carefully observed the changing expressions on his face, then suddenly smiled:

"Don't worry, Severus, I won't override the Sorting Hat's decision."

"Let's discuss the current situation instead."

After several changes, Snape's face finally returned to its usual gloomy expression:

"Do you have any leads?"

Dumbledore shook his head, skillfully steering the conversation in another direction:

"Yu Jane... her appearances are always quite coincidental, aren't they?"

But Snape didn't agree with his implication, speaking quickly:

"You suspect her... if I may say, she just happens to be there."

But Dumbledore denied this, sitting down in his chair:

"Once is coincidence, twice is coincidence, but the third and fourth times are premeditated."

"She must know something, but for some reason refuses to tell us."

He placed the Sword of Gryffindor between them, gesturing for Snape to look at it:

"I didn't tell her that only those who truly possess Gryffindor's qualities can draw it out."

"I tried to use this to pressure her into revealing something, but she said nothing."

Snape hesitated, unsure of Dumbledore's meaning:

"You mean—you won't expel her?"

Dumbledore smiled, the gentle wisdom returning to his blue eyes:

"Expel her? Of course I won't."

He pulled open his drawer, revealing a stack of letters.

At his gesture, Snape looked through them one by one, finding signatures from Professor Flitwick, Professor Sprout, Professor McGonagall, Professor Binns, and more... almost all the professors had written letters.

"They all want me to keep her, and many Slytherin parents strongly demand the same."

"There are even some school governors..." Dumbledore mentioned this with a pained expression, muttering, "I really don't understand—they want to remove me from office yet write letters demanding I keep her."

"Remove you?" Snape caught the key word sharply.

"Yes, remove me," Dumbledore nodded. "Due to the threats to the school—I may have to leave here soon, Severus."

He suddenly leaned forward, his blue eyes full of seriousness as he stared directly at Snape:

"She's adventuring alone, doing something extremely dangerous, and someone must watch over her."

"During the days when I'm gone."