"Spoilers in the Headmaster’s Office"

"Spoilers in the Headmaster's Office"

"I wonder what the headmaster wants," Harry said as he followed Stephen toward Dumbledore's office.

"Who knows," Stephen replied. Both fell silent, staring at the gargoyle at the entrance.

They stood there for a few seconds in silence until Harry broke it.

"Don't you have to say the password?" he asked, looking at Stephen.

"Do you know the password?" Stephen shot back.

"How would I know? I thought you did, since you were walking so confidently."

"You're the one always getting into trouble. You should be a regular customer here."

As they argued in front of the gargoyle, it suddenly began to move, revealing a staircase behind it.

"Look, the passage opened," Harry said quickly.

"Maybe it's automatic," Stephen commented with interest as he walked ahead.

When they reached the office door, it suddenly swung open.

The one who stormed out in fury was none other than Lucius Malfoy, accompanied by Dobby. Upon seeing the people outside, he nearly had a heart attack but held himself back, maintaining his pride and ignoring them as he quickly exited, eager to escape that cursed school.

"See you later, noble sir," Stephen greeted with a malicious smile, sending a chill down Malfoy's spine.

"I will have my revenge," Malfoy muttered, but Stephen heard him clearly and smiled, curious to see what scheme that pest would come up with. He hoped it would be enough to justify the Dark Lord having one less pawn.

"Come in, boys," Dumbledore said, watching Stephen's expression, knowing he was planning something devious but choosing not to comment.

Stephen snapped out of his thoughts and quickly entered with Harry. Both sat on one of the sofas.

"Sir, Tom Riddle was him, wasn't he? Voldemort?" Harry asked, breaking the silence.

"That's right, Harry. When he was a student, that was his name. After leaving Hogwarts, he changed it to the one we now know," Dumbledore answered calmly.

Hearing that response, Harry fell silent, though he seemed to want to ask something.

"S-Sir... when the Sorting Hat was choosing my house, it said I could also go to Slytherin and achieve great things there," Harry confessed, hesitating before asking.

"Ugh, this is such a hassle. So much beating around the bush!" Stephen interrupted, standing up under the watchful eyes of both. He grabbed the Sorting Hat, which was sitting in a corner of the office.

"Here, stick your hand in while thinking about whether you deserve to be a Gryffindor," Stephen said, tossing the hat to Harry, who caught it instinctively.

"What?" Harry asked, confused.

"Just do it already," Stephen said impatiently, while Dumbledore watched with intrigue but remained silent.

"Well..." Harry did as Stephen instructed, sticking his hand inside the hat. Although the hat said nothing, Harry kept repeating to himself whether he truly deserved to be a Gryffindor.

Suddenly, Harry's eyes widened in surprise—he felt himself grabbing something. Excited, he quickly pulled it out and discovered a gleaming, ornate sword. It looked ancient, with intricate lettering adorning its blade.

"Looks like you are worthy," Stephen commented with a smile as he approached Dumbledore's desk, searching through the headmaster's hidden stash.

Dumbledore wanted to say something, but at that moment, Harry was more important than his sweets.

"That is the Sword of Gryffindor, Harry. Only a true Gryffindor can pull it from the hat," Dumbledore explained before Harry could ask.

Seeing that Harry had relaxed a bit after hearing that, but still seemed bothered by something, Dumbledore continued.

"It seems something is still troubling you, Harry."

Before Harry could respond, Stephen—who had found Dumbledore's hidden sweets—interrupted.

"He's worried about speaking Parseltongue," he said while eating the headmaster's favorite lemon drops under the latter's disappointed gaze.

"I see," Dumbledore replied calmly.

Harry was surprised by how nonchalantly they handled it. He remembered that Stephen had told him it was better if no one knew he could speak Parseltongue, so he shot him an inquisitive look.

"Idiot, obviously the headmaster of a magical school would know everything that happens in his school. Especially if it produced a Dark Lord," Stephen said bluntly. He knew that all the ghosts and portraits were Dumbledore's eyes.

The only way to truly hide something in Hogwarts was to go somewhere without them, like the Room of Requirement or the student dormitories. Obviously, bathrooms too.

Dumbledore sighed and decided to clarify,

"There is a magical contract in place that only allows me to hear things that could affect the school. Students' secrets are safe."

Stephen shot him a mocking look.

Ignoring Stephen's expression and the fact that he had just watched him pocket all of his hidden sweets, Dumbledore turned to Harry.

"Harry, that night when the Dark Lord failed and left you that scar, he unintentionally transferred part of his power to you. That's why you can speak Parseltongue," Dumbledore explained, trying to reassure him.

"I see. Thank you, Headmaster," Harry said, feeling more at ease.

"I'm glad you're feeling better, Harry. If you don't have any more questions, you may go. I need to speak with Mr. Flamel," Dumbledore said, resigned to the fact that Stephen had emptied all of his candy stashes.

"Sir, the book—can I keep it?" Harry asked quickly, pointing at the stabbed book on Dumbledore's desk.

Dumbledore looked at the book for a second before answering, "Of course, Harry. I'm done with it. You may take it."

Harry grabbed the book and rushed out of the office.

"Such impatience. Anyway, there are thousands of ways to help his friend," Stephen commented as he sat back down on the sofa.

Dumbledore only sighed and took a seat on the couch across from Stephen, preparing for a serious conversation about what exactly the boy was planning for the future.

"Steph..." But before Dumbledore could finish saying Stephen's name, he noticed his expression change. His face turned serious—almost angry—as he shifted his gaze toward the desk.

Dumbledore followed Stephen's line of sight but saw nothing. He was about to ask what was wrong when he suddenly fell silent.

A small group of children materialized around a Time-Turner.

Dumbledore and Stephen remained quiet, observing the four children who had appeared. They seemed to be around eight or nine years old.

What caught Stephen's attention the most was one of the two girls in the group. She felt oddly familiar, but what truly surprised him was how magic seemed to swirl around her as if delighted by her mere presence. Even some of the enchanted objects in the office began to glow brighter, as if trying to attract her attention.

His intrigue deepened when he noticed a seal on her magic. Despite the restriction, the small traces that leaked from it were enough to cause such an unusual reaction.

"If this girl grows up peacefully, she could rule the world like a god," Stephen thought.

His musings were interrupted by the children's conversation.

"What do we do? If Uncle finds out, we're doomed," said one of the red-haired boys. Strangely, there was another boy beside him who looked nearly identical, with only a few minor differences. Anyone would assume they were twins if not for those small distinctions.

"I don't want Mom to smack my butt," the other redhead said, clutching his head in fear.

"Relax. Why can't you be as brave as your parents? They catch dragons for fun," said the blonde girl—the one who had caught Stephen's attention.

"Look at Lily. She's calmer than you two, and she's just a little girl. Right, Lily? ...Lily?"

The children turned toward the small red-haired girl standing a bit apart from them, her eyes closed as she muttered something under her breath. They moved closer to hear her.

"Uncle, it was Rosi's idea. She forced us. We just wanted to talk to the Sorting Hat, but she found a weird Time-Turner and wanted to try it… Please don't punish my dad," she mumbled quickly, as if rehearsing what she'd say when they inevitably got caught.

"Lily, you damn traitor! We haven't even been caught yet!" Rosi shouted, visibly enraged.

"'Yet'?" the two redheads asked in unison, beginning to tremble again.

"Idiots, it's just a figure of speech. Besides, Dad went to visit old Dumby. We just have to get back before he does," Rosi said, trying to calm down the boys, who were already on the verge of tears.

"Lily, your brothers James and Albus don't mind getting your dad in trouble. Why should you worry?" said Rosi, looking at her cousin, who was still rehearsing her excuses.

"But the last time Albus got in trouble, Uncle made Dad capture the ten most wanted dark wizards in two weeks, or he would be beaten," Lily said sadly, remembering how busy and worried her father had been.

"He caught them in a week anyway. And even though Dad says that, he never actually hits his brother... I think," Rosi replied, trying to reassure her.

"But Uncle gets really mad when it comes to anything related to time," Lily added, a little worried.

"It's fine. We just have to ask my mom to distract Dad while we escape," Rosi said with a mischievous smile, thinking she might even enjoy a light punishment.

"Okay," Lily replied, visibly calmer.

The two girls then turned to look at the two red-haired boys crouching behind them, clearly scared.

"Why are you so afraid? Even your parents would be proud!" Rosi said, looking at the boys with reproach.

"Yeah, but Mom will be furious. She gets mad every time Dad plays heavy pranks."

"And my mom will be mad too... Uncle G will mock me," the other redhead added.

"Sigh. Lily, you handle them. They're your direct cousins. I'm going to see what the school was like before Dad became headmaster. I don't believe what Mom said about it being 'cool'..." Rosi muttered, turning around.

As she did, she noticed for the first time the two people who had been sitting there the whole time: Dumbledore and Stephen, watching them with interest.

Lily also turned around when she saw that Rosi had gone silent.

"I-it was Rosie's fault! She forced us. She said breaking rules made her happy and that if we didn't go with her, she would eat us. Please, don't punish my dad!" Lily said quickly, betraying her friend without hesitation.

"Ahhh, Lily, traitor! You're supposed to be my cousin! You betrayed your family!" Rosi shouted, furious.

"Ahhh, the demon!" the two red-haired boys screamed in unison, standing up and running in circles, terrified.

Stephen started to feel a headache from all the commotion. Then, he sensed something and looked up at the ceiling.

Suddenly, a portal formed above them, and shining chains emerged, catching the children's attention.

"Ahhh, the real demon found us! Run!" Rosi shouted, trying to escape. But it was useless, as the chains quickly captured them all.

"Ahhh, help—!" one of the boys tried to scream, but the chains covered their mouths, preventing them from saying anything else.

After capturing them, the chains pulled them into the portal, which closed immediately.

"Such interesting kids," Dumbledore commented, looking at Stephen with an amused smile.

"Tsk, old man, if you have something to say, tell me later. I'm not in the mood right now. They just ruined part of my life," Stephen said, annoyed.

"Don't worry. That actually eased many of my concerns," Dumbledore replied cheerfully.

"See you later," Stephen said and left.

—-----------------------------

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