Chapter 72: Captured (Part 2)
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On the wall, an antiquated orrery turned slowly, marking 8:30 PM on the evening of September 1, 1992.
All the students at Hogwarts had safely returned to their dormitories, settling into their first night of the new school year. Even Harry, Ron, and Hermione had been escorted away by Professor McGonagall not long ago, leaving the empty classroom with only Orli, Snape, and the newly arrived Dumbledore.
# Dumbledore
"Take a seat, Orli. I suspect you haven't had dinner yet, have you?"
Dumbledore waved his hand, and a plate of smoked ham sandwiches and a large goblet of pumpkin juice materialized on the table.
Orli was ravenous, but she glanced at Snape first. Seeing that he remained silent, she cautiously moved to the table and sat down, barely perching on the edge of the chair.
# Snape
"Perhaps Miss Waters would care to share her heroic escapades with us while she eats?"
Snape sneered, and Orli silently placed the sandwich she had just picked up back onto the plate.
# Dumbledore
"Severus."
Dumbledore smiled gently.
# Dumbledore
"You're being too harsh. From what I understand, Orli hasn't done anything wrong. On the contrary, she assisted Harry over the summer and just now prevented a panicked Thestral from causing harm."
# Snape
"Oh, indeed. And in the meantime, she squandered her summer at the Weasleys' and managed to form a life-threatening pact with a deranged house-elf."
Snape's voice dripped with sarcasm.
Orli's mind raced. During Snape's earlier Legilimency, he must have glimpsed something about Dobby, but he couldn't possibly know more than Harry did.
# Dumbledore
"Then perhaps Orli could start by explaining the matter of the house-elf."
Dumbledore glanced at Snape with a touch of exasperation.
## Orli
"Well, starting this summer, we completely lost contact with Harry..."
Orli began from the beginning, recounting the entire situation with Dobby. However, she feigned ignorance about the Chamber of Secrets, focusing solely on Dobby's warnings.
## Orli
"That's the gist of it. Dobby is convinced that something terrible will happen at Hogwarts this year, something that could endanger Harry's life. He's been trying everything to stop Harry from returning to school."
# Dumbledore
"And what do you think this danger at Hogwarts might be?"
Dumbledore pressed gently.
## Orli
"I don't know, Professor."
Orli stared at her hands.
## Orli
"After all, this castle has stood for thousands of years. Perhaps there's some hidden dark magical mechanism that no one has discovered yet."
# Snape
"And where, pray tell, does your confidence come from, thinking you can ensure the survival of the great Harry Potter this year?"
Snape asked mockingly.
## Orli
"Because of you, of course."
Orli blurted out, then quickly realized her mistake. She turned to Dumbledore, hastily adding:
## Orli
"...Because with both of you here at the school, nothing will happen to Harry."
The room fell into an awkward silence. After a few seconds, Dumbledore broke it with a warm chuckle.
# Dumbledore
"Of course, Harry will be fine. We'll keep a close eye on him. While your pact with Dobby was a bit reckless, there's no need to worry too much. Both of you are students at this school, and it's our duty to protect you."
## Orli
"Thank you, Professor. That's a relief."
Orli exaggeratedly patted her chest and flashed Dumbledore a sheepish grin, carefully avoiding Snape's gaze.
———
By the time Orli finally returned to the dormitory, it was very late. Hermione was still up, surrounded by a pile of thick, old books that looked hastily pulled from the library.
# Hermione
"I've gone through loads of books, but there's barely any information on temporary master-servant pacts, let alone how to break them."
Hermione said, frustrated, as she ran her fingers through her bushy hair.
## Orli
"It's okay, Hermione."
Orli said, yawning.
## Orli
"Harry will be fine, so I'll be fine too."
# Hermione
"That's not good enough! I can't just sit by and do nothing. This year, I'm going to keep a close eye on Harry and make sure he doesn't do anything dangerous!"
Hermione declared firmly.
Orli silently observed a moment of silence for Harry—for a full three minutes.