Yes, my mother, Viktorika Celestria, was originally an orphan.
She was an illegitimate child born from my grandfather's affair. Since the woman involved was also from a pure-blood noble family, they tried to pretend she did not exist for the sake of appearances. She was left at Robetta Orphanage and ignored for many years.
However, when my mother was eight years old, my grandfather suddenly took her in with the selfish excuse that his legitimate child had died of illness, so he would acknowledge her after all and make her his heir.
Thus, overnight, my mother went from being an orphan to the daughter of immense wealth. But two years later, a younger brother was born to my grandfather and his new wife. At that point, he shamelessly reversed his stance again and named the legitimate son as the heir instead. Because of this, it seems my mother had developed a mild distrust of people by the time she entered Hogwarts.
When I urged him to continue, Headmaster Dumbledore nodded.
"As you know, Voldemort vanished after the curse he cast on Harry rebounded upon him. During the reconstruction period that followed, the role Viktorika played cannot be overlooked. That many Death Eaters were acquitted and able to return to society is something that cannot be discussed without acknowledging her efforts."
"May I ask what you think about that, Headmaster?"
In response to my question, Headmaster Dumbledore replied, "Of course."
"To be honest, I myself do not find such political backroom dealings or so-called necessary evils particularly admirable."
Well, that figures. It runs completely counter to Gryffindor ideals like chivalry and fair play.
"However, it is also an unshakable fact that, because she shielded Lucius and the others, this country was able to recover swiftly from the chaos Voldemort caused."
That was a slightly unexpected remark.
Although Headmaster Dumbledore, as the leading figure of the anti–Dark Arts camp, emotionally detests such schemes, he simultaneously recognizes their effectiveness on a rational level. The fact that he conveyed this to me without concealment left an impression.
"Harry and the others are pure-hearted children. But you, at your age, already understand that things have many facets. Someone who appears good from one perspective may look evil from another, and the reverse can also be true."
I nodded at the Headmaster's words.
This was something my mother had often impressed upon me as well.
In other words, there are very few things in this world that are universally correct or simply good. Knowledge and experience rest upon what one considers common sense, and when that common sense differs, the way knowledge and experience appear also changes. Above all, there is no single answer about what is right or wrong that everyone can agree on.
"To be frank, when Viktorika was sorted into Slytherin, I was quite worried. At the time of her enrollment, she carried loneliness due to her complicated origins, yet she could captivate many people with her excellent grades and refined appearance."
Which is to say—
"Viktorika closely resembled Tom Riddle, the past self of Lord Voldemort."
However, Headmaster Dumbledore continued,
"Riddle and Viktorika differed greatly in one crucial respect."
"And what would that be?"
"Interest in those unlike oneself. In other words, concern for others."
The way one faces the simple fact that you and I are different was fundamentally different between them.
"Riddle was a brilliant seeker of arcane knowledge, but at the same time, he was terrifyingly indifferent and ignorant toward anything he deemed worthless or could not understand."
The foremost example of that, the Headmaster said, was love.
Because Lord Voldemort discarded as worthless the love he could not comprehend, he failed to anticipate the act of love in which Harry's mother sacrificed herself to save him, and that ultimately led to his defeat.
"But Viktorika was different. She always strove to understand what she could not comprehend and never forgot to learn the thoughts of others who were different from herself."
That was less the stereotypical Slytherin mindset shared by my mother and me, and more the Ravenclaw spirit of inquiry and learning that many of our ancestors possessed.
"Viktorika was astonishingly similar to you. She had friends in every house, and even while defining herself as a Slytherin, she never shut herself away within that shell. Likewise, she disciplined herself not to make easy assumptions about others."
I nodded again at Headmaster Dumbledore's words.
Establishing one's identity is certainly an important stage of growth. However, it is not a shackle that binds you to saying, "Because I'm a Slytherin…," nor is it something that lets you label others with, "You're a Gryffindor, so…."
"Come to think of it, you argued with the Sorting Hat when you were sorted, didn't you?"
Abruptly changing the subject, Headmaster Dumbledore looked at me with playful curiosity in his sparkling blue eyes.
Before I could retort with, "What's your problem, got a complaint?", he pointed toward a decorative shield hanging on the wall.
"Elaina, what do you see on that shield?"
"The Hogwarts crest. A lion, an eagle, a badger, and a snake…"
The four house symbols surrounded the letter "H," the initial of Hogwarts.
"Precisely."
Headmaster Dumbledore nodded slowly.
"The story of the four founders of Hogwarts is something you already know, is it not? Godric Gryffindor, Rowena Ravenclaw, Helga Hufflepuff, and Salazar Slytherin. They are also the founders of the four houses."
That is something every Hogwarts student knows. After all, the moment one enrolls at Hogwarts, the very first thing that happens is being sorted into one of the four houses.
"But have you ever thought about this?"
Why did the four founders deliberately create four houses within a single school?
Why not one house in one school, or four separate schools each with one house?
"Well…"
After thinking for a moment, I shared my thoughts.
"Perhaps it's because each of the four founders had different values, yet they tried to respect one another's values."
If they had built separate schools, then only brave people would gather under Gryffindor, only intelligent people under Ravenclaw, only diligent people under Hufflepuff, and only cunning people under Slytherin.
And growing up within such homogeneous groups, without ever encountering different ways of thinking or different values, would hardly be healthy.
On the other hand, if everyone were forcibly gathered into a single house, it is also impossible to deny the risk that the minority would be suppressed by the conformity pressure of the majority.
If Hogwarts had only one house, for example, Hufflepuff's serious, harmony-focused ideals, supported by nearly twice as many students as the other houses, might take priority. As a result, even capable but sharp-edged students who tend to disrupt harmony could have their individuality crushed. The reverse scenario would also be just as possible.
In other words, the four founders first gathered students with similar ways of thinking into organizations called houses, making them aware of the existence of "others who are like themselves." At the same time, through joint classes and communal living within a single school, they created a place where students could also interact with "others who are different from themselves." That place, I believe, is Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
When I answered like that, Headmaster Dumbledore nodded in satisfaction.
"I think so as well. In a sense, your wish to have aptitude for all the houses may have been the very attitude the founders hoped for. To know oneself, to know others, and to continue learning and growing at all times. That, I believe, is the true essence of a place of learning."
First, one establishes an identity within the house to which one is sorted. Then, by encountering different values, learning about others, and incorporating those perspectives into oneself, one connects that experience to further personal growth.
That, the Headmaster gently told me, is the true essence of learning.
"Unfortunately, in their later years, Godric Gryffindor and Salazar Slytherin came into conflict due to differences in ideology, and the latter left the school forever."
As he gazed at the portraits of the four founders hanging on the wall, Headmaster Dumbledore murmured softly.
"Even so, I believe the remaining three deliberately chose not to abolish Slytherin House because they still held respect for Salazar Slytherin, even after their paths had diverged."
After murmuring as if reminiscing about great figures of the distant past, Headmaster Dumbledore turned back to me once more.
"Now, let us return to your mother. Yes… Viktorika's way of being was much like the color of her hair. Gray. Neither white nor black, the same hair color as yours."
"..."
Neither white nor black, but gray in between. Seen from a cynical perspective, it might appear half-baked. An ambiguous, immature existence that cannot clearly be defined as white or black.
But precisely because one is not yet anything.
From here on, one can become anything.
As I listened to Headmaster Dumbledore's story, that was the feeling that naturally came to mind.
**
"…So, to summarize that long explanation for now, would it be acceptable to interpret it as 'please study lots of different things properly'?"
"When one has a quick-witted student, it truly makes things easy."
Saying that, Headmaster Dumbledore smiled gently and let out a soft, "Ho ho ho."
(End of chapter)
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