LGHTNOVELBOOK Chapter 10: Chapter 10: In the End, It Was Still Harry Who Bore Everything
"The little one, it was you who used magic to attack me, wasn't it?"
Snape slowly crouched down.
Expressionlessly, he gazed at Harry.
"Heh."
Charlie put on an innocent, harmless expression.
His chubby cheeks trembled slightly.
As if he completely didn't understand what was being said.
Play dumb first
The more you do, the more mistakes you make.
If Snape were to lose control again and end up smashing both brothers to death, that would be a real problem.
Snape stared intently at Charlie.
Something felt off.
Could this child have attacked him purely on instinct?
Just because he had lost control and almost harmed Harry?
Maybe.
Snape tried to reassure himself.
But he still couldn't calm down.
Just now...
He had been struck by a baby.
With Lily's wand, no less.
How could a baby possibly perform magic?
Could he be possessed by Voldemort?
That didn't seem right.
If Voldemort had possessed him, there'd be no need to attack and expose himself.
The most likely explanation was that this child could indeed use magic.
Damn it.
How could a baby have such powerful magic?
Snape sensed the magical fluctuations around Charlie.
He was now convinced.
Everything that had just happened was this child's doing.
This child was a magical prodigy.
No, he was a born wizard.
This was something only found in ancient texts.
Even Albus Dumbledore had never exhibited such a phenomenon.
"Yes… yes. This is too important. I need to think about it."
Snape muttered to himself.
His emotions were a tangled mess.
Lily's death had devastated him.
Now, facing the two children she and James left behind, he felt a strange discomfort.
Especially since he had nearly lost control just moments ago.
And, more bizarrely, the other child had effortlessly cast magic and knocked him back.
Unbelievable.
Just then
Urgent footsteps echoed through the corridor.
A sigh followed.
Dumbledore had arrived.
His gaze swept across the room.
His eyes dimmed slightly.
His gaze met Snape's.
Snape's expression was complex
Cold.
Resentful.
Sorrowful.
"My condolences."
Dumbledore sighed softly.
Another figure followed closely behind
Professor Minerva McGonagall.
McGonagall looked around.
A deep sadness surfaced on her face.
She clutched her head, unwilling to accept what she was seeing.
"No… It can't end like this."
She whimpered.
Snape snorted coldly, then pushed past Dumbledore and McGonagall.
Without looking back, he strode away.
"Snape, Lily's two children… Don't you have anything to say about them?"
Dumbledore suddenly spoke.
Snape's steps faltered.
But only for a few seconds.
Then, he left without another word.
Only Dumbledore's sigh and McGonagall's quiet sobs remained in the room.
"Professor McGonagall, what's done is done. We must take care of these children."
"Yes… the children. We must take them to Hogwarts first and make arrangements."
At the mention of the children, McGonagall's composure returned slightly.
They were James and Lily's only surviving bloodline.
"Oh, Albus. This child has a wound on his forehead."
McGonagall cradled Harry in her arms.
Dumbledore stepped closer and gently touched Harry's forehead.
A strange surge of magic flickered across the lightning-shaped scar.
Dumbledore seemed to understand its origin.
He sighed softly.
Then, he turned toward Charlie.
"Albus, I keep wondering… how did these two children survive?"
"And Voldemort, there are only Death Eater corpses here. Where is Voldemort's body?"
McGonagall murmured, full of unanswered questions.
Charlie's eyes remained shut.
He sighed internally.
Body?
Voldemort turned to dust!
"I suspect a fierce battle took place here. We must reflect on our failure to intervene."
Dumbledore spoke as he picked up Charlie.
His expression darkened.
James and Lily's deaths were a heavy blow to him as well.
"I'm sorry, little one. But I need to know what happened here."
Dumbledore seemed to make a difficult decision.
He slowly drew his wand
Moving it toward Charlie's temple.
Charlie's eyes shot open.
He saw what Dumbledore was doing and immediately panicked.
No way.
He knew exactly what Dumbledore was trying to do
Legilimency!
Dumbledore clearly wanted to extract memories from the only two survivors to uncover the truth.
Charlie resisted the thought.
He had too many secrets.
If Dumbledore discovered that he had fought against the Death Eaters and Voldemort, so be it.
But everything else?
Absolutely not.
Fine.
He had to be shameless about this.
With that thought
Charlie burst into loud, wailing cries.
Since birth, he had barely cried at all.
But today, to protect his secrets, he had no choice.
"Waaahhh!"
"Oh, oh, little one, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done that."
Dumbledore was startled by Charlie's cries.
He immediately stopped and apologized.
Professor McGonagall understood what Dumbledore had intended.
"Albus, you wanted to know what really happened here? Who stood against Voldemort? And where did Voldemort go?"
"Yes… though my approach may have been inappropriate."
McGonagall fell silent.
She also wanted to know the whole truth.
"Could it be that a powerful wizard intervened to help?" McGonagall suddenly suggested.
"That seems to be the only possibility."
Dumbledore agreed with her reasoning.
Otherwise, why would there be so many Death Eater corpses here?
And why had Voldemort failed?
After all, Lily was already dead.
Voldemort's goal had been Lily's child
To eliminate the prophesied threat.
"But he is very resistant."
Dumbledore shrugged, implying that Charlie refused to let him proceed.
"Perhaps I could use my Time-Turner to find out, but I didn't bring it today."
Professor McGonagall thought of her magical artifact.
"There's no need for that right now. My magic wouldn't cause any harm to the body."
Dumbledore shook his head.
Suddenly
Dumbledore and McGonagall seemed to have the same realization.
Their eyes simultaneously turned toward Harry.
Charlie refused
But wasn't Harry still there?
Charlie finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Good brother, in the end, it was you who bore everything.