"Headmaster Dumbledore," Hydrus said with a sincere face, "I am innocent."
Dumbledore was a little surprised. Based on his understanding of Hydrus, he thought her resistance would be more intense.
But then he remembered she had just used the Demiguise's ability to peek into the future, and he instantly understood.
'This child's ability is truly enviable!'
Since she wanted to talk properly, Dumbledore naturally had to put away his playfulness. In truth, his investigation into Hydrus had been ongoing for five years, and he believed he understood her well enough.
It was just that old men of his age always liked to tease young people. What a bad habit!
"I know, child. You were being hunted by the Gray family back then and had no choice but to kill Norson Gray."
The old man took a sip of tea. "Of course, you did kill four people when you robbed the carriage later."
"Given all the outrageous things Bode Gray did, if one were to interpret it as you trying to take back what was rightfully yours, and accidentally killing them while fighting robbers, it might seem justifiable, but..."
Dumbledore's profound eyes stared at Hydrus, making her unconsciously tense up.
"You must never easily take another's life again. It is not good for your soul."
"Moreover," the old Headmaster earnestly lectured, "not to mention that every life is precious. We do not have the right to arbitrarily take another's life."
Hydrus was silent for a long moment. She suddenly felt like crying.
Although she had seemed to live a glamorous life these past five years, becoming a famous singer in the Muggle world, in reality, she was just evading capture.
Yes, no matter how famous she was in the Muggle world, it couldn't hide the fact that she was a wanted criminal in the wizarding world.
Dumbledore's understanding of her instantly shattered her mental defenses, giving her the feeling that the most powerful white wizard was on her side.
And this kind of earnest guidance from an elder was something she had never experienced in this life!
"Child," Dumbledore saw her eyes turning slightly red and asked softly, "can you tell me why you are unwilling to go to Hogwarts?"
Hydrus looked like she wanted to speak but stopped, shaking her head slightly.
The old Headmaster smiled. "Let me guess, is it because of your parents?"
Seeing no reaction from Hydrus, he continued, "There are quite a few children of Death Eaters studying at Hogwarts. We do not discriminate against them..."
"No," Hydrus shook her head. "It's not that."
"Ah, I know," Dumbledore refilled his teacup. "Are you worried about your real father, Voldemort... Tom Riddle?"
This time, Hydrus was truly frightened.
"You, how did you..."
"How did I know?"
Dumbledore put on an inscrutable expression. "When you appeared at the Malfoy dragon reserve, you exposed your talent for Parseltongue—oh, you know, having taught at Hogwarts for so long, my students are everywhere. It's inevitable that my information channels are just a tiny bit better."
"Plus, you were able to freely enter and exit the Gaunt shack without being attacked by the magical traps inside. I've been there. It's full of magical traps, but without exception, they all have a bloodline recognition charm placed on them."
"So, isn't the truth already obvious?"
"You are the Dark Lord Voldemort's daughter."
Hydrus lowered her head, saying nothing.
Dumbledore continued, "I also know that you had a powerful magical outburst right after you were born, and Voldemort saw you as a weapon to use against me. I heard from your little elf, Momo, that from that moment on, you deliberately forced your magic out of your core and into your body. Is that correct?"
He looked at Hydrus with extreme admiration, making the girl feel embarrassed. "The vast majority of wizards go to their graves without ever knowing of the existence of a magical core, yet you knew more than them from the moment you were born..."
"Of course, that's not the main point..."
"I think you did this because you didn't want to be used by Voldemort, so you deliberately pretended to be a Squib, didn't you?"
Hydrus nodded. She didn't deny this. Although the ultimate goal was slightly different, the basic logic for pretending to be a Squib was similar.
Dumbledore threw up his hands. "You see? You are such a kind and good child. How could Hogwarts possibly refuse you?"
'Wait a minute, how did I become "kind"...'
'That's not it, chief! I just don't want to get involved in the fight between you and Voldemort. I purely want to lie flat and wait to enjoy life!'
...
Seeing Hydrus remain silent, Dumbledore didn't press her.
In his view, for this child to be sentient right after birth and to be able to judge right from wrong on her own was a sign of extreme precociousness. In history, only the legendary Merlin had possessed this ability.
And this precocious child, driven by her innate sense of justice, had chosen to stand on the opposite side of her biological father!
'This is a naturally good person!'
'She is probably worried that once she enters Hogwarts, when Voldemort makes his comeback (Dumbledore never doubted this; he firmly believed in that prophecy), she will be truly caught in a dilemma!'
He, Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, deeply understood this child's current struggle!
If it were him, forced to make a complete break between his father and justice, he couldn't guarantee he could do it either!
However... one prophecy made Hydrus hold back, while another prophecy forced Dumbledore to make this child do something she was unwilling to do.
And Dumbledore trusted the person who made that other prophecy even more than Professor Trelawney.
Not to mention, the Ministry of Magic was also paying extremely close attention to this matter.
Therefore, Hydrus must go to Hogwarts.
Seeing that Dumbledore's misunderstanding was already so deep, Hydrus didn't know how to explain it to him...
"I..." Hydrus finally spoke. "Can I take correspondence courses? And not go to Hogwarts?"
"I'm afraid not, child." Seeing Hydrus's reluctant expression, Dumbledore explained, "Your situation is special, only enrolling at the age of 16."
"This situation has only occurred three times in history. You are the fourth. The three before you, without exception, were entangled with ancient magic. That is an extremely powerful form of magic."
"Therefore, you—Audrey Astley—are already being highly monitored by the Ministry of Magic. After all, ancient magic hasn't been seen in nearly a hundred years."
Dumbledore took a sip of his black tea, felt it was too weak, and added two more sugar cubes. "In their eyes, your importance might even be greater than Harry Potter's. They will not allow you to remain at large."
"Ancient magic?"
Hydrus was very surprised. She certainly knew the term. As a veteran Potterhead, she had bought the game Hogwarts Legacy on the first day of its release.
The main plot of that game revolved around ancient magic.
She had assumed it was a non-canonical spin-off, but she hadn't expected it to actually exist in this world.
She had indeed received her acceptance letter at sixteen. Connecting this to the plot of Hogwarts Legacy, Hydrus felt terrible.
She didn't want this kind of special attention at all...
"If I go to school, do I also need to start from the first year? After all, I'm already sixteen..."
"No, child, it's not like that."
"There is precedent for enrolling at sixteen. We will follow the old custom and have you enroll directly as a fifth-year."
"This means that in your very first year at Hogwarts, you will have to face your O.W.L.s (Ordinary Wizarding Levels)."
Hydrus had grown up in the Lestrange family until she was eleven; she wasn't a Muggle-born witch. Therefore, Dumbledore didn't need to explain many of the terms.
"I don't want to, I'm not going!"
Hydrus immediately bristled.
When she heard that there were only three precedents for enrolling at sixteen, she had a bad feeling. Now, looking at it, it was just as she'd feared!
Mastering five academic years' worth of knowledge in one year meant it would be very, very tiring! She absolutely didn't want that!
This was a feat that even Hermione couldn't accomplish!
Just thinking about it was terrifying!
Dumbledore felt a headache coming on. This girl's resistance to Hogwarts seemed to have reached an almost pathological level.
'Is she afraid of confronting her father in the future?'
He, Dumbledore, wasn't that unreasonable a person... although he once had been.
Perhaps he would still do some heartless things in the fight against Voldemort.
But to make a daughter fight her own biological father!
He ultimately found it difficult to do something so monstrous.
Dumbledore got lost in his own assumptions, completely unaware that Hydrus was simply... lazy.
The two faced each other in silence.
Finally, Hydrus asked in a small voice:
"Do I really have to go?"
Dumbledore nodded. "Even I must show sufficient respect to the Ministry of Magic. It does, after all, represent order in the wizarding world."
Hydrus: "..."
Hydrus was not a capricious person; she was very clear about the situation.
After her momentary outburst, she quickly calmed down and thought it through.
If she refused to go to Hogwarts, the Ministry of Magic would undoubtedly harass her endlessly to achieve their goal of mastering ancient magic.
If she accidentally exposed her true identity, then she would be well and truly screwed.
If that happened, she would be forced to change her identity again.
She would lose her brother, lose her career, and lose her beloved "little monies"...
'Escape to America?'
'Don't be ridiculous. You're on the Ministry's radar, and you think you can run? No matter where you flee, there will be people coveting ancient magic. Do you really think America doesn't have a Ministry of Magic?'
In Britain, at least she had Dumbledore protecting her, and at worst, she had the deterrent of her "dear" dad. If she went to America, it would be like a sheep walking into a tiger's den...
"In that case, Headmaster Dumbledore, let's return to the issue we first discussed."
"For the money I will lose by going to Hogwarts, I hope you can compensate me by getting my wanted poster removed. What do you think?"
According to her original plan, after Hydrus recovered her identity after the final battle, she was prepared to use money to clear her wanted status.
But now that going to Hogwarts was a foregone conclusion, she naturally had to maximize her benefits.
Dumbledore agreed immediately. He could still help with this small favor, as long as he didn't have to compensate her for those tens of millions of Galleons.
"Of course. I can guarantee that."
Hydrus nodded. Going to Hogwarts, aside from the first year being a bit tough, wasn't actually a big deal.
Starting directly from the fifth year meant she only had to study for three years to graduate.
'The final battle?'
'Heh, as soon as I graduate, I'm going straight to America!'
'This rotten place, Britain... whoever loves it can stay!'
Having thought this through, Hydrus became happy again.
'It's just the huge academic pressure...'
'Alas, the good days are over. But having been through the crucible of the Heavenly Kingdom's gaokao hell, this reality isn't completely unacceptable.'
'Work hard for one year, enjoy life forever. Looked at this way, although it's not as good as the original plan, it's still a pretty good outcome.'
Seeing that Hydrus had finally agreed to go to Hogwarts, Dumbledore let out a sigh of relief. He added:
"It's just that the Ministry thinks you are a Muggle-born witch with insufficient knowledge of the wizarding world, and the O.W.L. subjects are a way for you to integrate quickly..."
"So they have one requirement for you. For your O.W.L.s, you must take all twelve exams, and only if you pass all of them can you advance to the sixth year."
The old Headmaster said with a chuckle, "I imagine that shouldn't be a problem for you, right?"
Hydrus rolled her eyes. 'Just passing all of them? Who are you looking down on?' [Key point, remember this, she has to be tested.]
[Reviews - Power St0nes - Comments are highly appreciated to keep me going.....(+50 chapters) patre0n.c0m/talecrafter]