Chapter 802: New Identity

"You are worried, Sev."

Dumbledore was wearing purple robes, with stars embroidered on the hem.

Professor Sineipu glanced at him coldly without speaking.

"You shouldn't be teaching him these things."

Dumbledore said slowly again.

"This matter is not for you to command me, Dumbledore."

Professor Sineipu sneered.

"I know, but you should trust me."

Dumbledore seemed to have compromised.

"Trust you? Dumbledore, when have you ever trusted me?"

Professor Sineipu cast aside his anger coldly.

"At any time."

Dumbledore seemed not to need to think.

"At any time? Hah... but I know nothing... The Dark Lord's power has weakened; he will notice. When he notices all this, do you know what kind of means he has? That idiot doesn't have any marks or magic on him—are you planning to get him killed?!"

Professor Sineipu questioned angrily, staring at Dumbledore as if staring at a thief or a robber.

"He will return; I never deny that. But Hogwarts will always be the safest place."

Dumbledore's words carried a calm confidence.

"Hah..."

Professor Sineipu scoffed.

"You still don't trust me, don't trust anyone, but I trust you; we all trust you, Sev."

Dumbledore sighed.

"You refuse to tell me anything, yet you expect me to trust you, Dumbledore. Don't take everything for granted."

Professor Sineipu said viciously.

"The point of the matter is not that I don't trust you, Sev; we all have things we should know, and things we don't need to—or even cannot—know."

Dumbledore said.

"You think you should know everything? Or that he should know everything? If you think so, then you should agree with what I am doing now."

Professor Sineipu said contemptuously.

"No, I have never thought I knew everything; most of the time, I know nothing and am good for nothing.

But you have crossed the line, Sev; that is not something he should be in contact with."

Dumbledore lowered his eyelids.

"You want him to be in contact with the most dangerous things, you want him to deal with the most dangerous people, yet you don't teach him, you don't even tell him...

Do you want me to watch him die! Dumbledore!"

Professor Sineipu roared in anger.

"He is only twelve years old—Dumbledore—must your plan include his life—"

Dumbledore fell silent; he was powerless to refute.

The cold wind of the dungeon blew incessantly; outside the window, the sky was changing rapidly, from velvet deep blue to cold gray.

It was raining in Scotland.

It was always raining here.

"Severus... this is not something decided by me."

Dumbledore spoke slowly.

"Then it will be decided by me. I will teach him all the knowledge, I will keep him at Hogwarts as much as possible, and when he must face something, I want him to resist as much as possible."

Professor Sineipu said with a hoarse throat.

"Resist... that is our task, Sev. Not his. Do you still not understand?

Our expectations, the mission we must complete, have nothing to do with him."

Dumbledore spoke as if admonishing.

"What do you mean?"

"You shouldn't teach him that knowledge; he doesn't need that kind of power."

"You think he is the next Dumbledore?"

"No, he is the only Sean Green; he will be stronger than me, stronger than all of us... He does not need anyone to guide him; he will find the path himself, and all we need to do is wait. If we can, we should impart knowledge to him so he can save some time, rather than vainly attempting to walk for him."

Severus, you have crossed the line; your child doesn't need you to lead the way."

Dumbledore fell silent again after speaking; he gazed at the window, where water droplets were condensing into a trail.

"Your expectations for him are too high."

Professor Sineipu suddenly understood.

But that word "child" was like a whisper too low, making it seem as if a painful mist separated his vision; Dumbledore's words seemed to reach his ears only after a long time.

"On the contrary, I am thinking every moment whether I have underestimated that child."

Dumbledore sighed.

"You mean..."

Professor Sineipu realized.

"Let him choose for himself; if he wants to learn something, let him learn it.

Most wizards are taught what magic to learn, but he needs to choose for himself, because his path is longer than ours. No one can help."

When Dumbledore spoke, the fireplace had gone out at some point.

The scent of the last firewood could be smelled in the air, lingering along with the dampness of the dungeon.

"I have one last question..."

Professor Sineipu was persuaded after all; he was eager for "him" to have the power to protect himself, yet in Dumbledore's eyes, these powers were actually not worth mentioning.

"If that is what you think, why have you always kept him by your side?"

Professor Sineipu stared coldly at Dumbledore, as if trying to find any trace of lying in the wrinkles at the corners of the old wizard's eyes.

But to his immense surprise, there were no lies there, only a kind of embarrassment that was being concealed.

"I never thought of doing this; if I could, I would hope as much as you that these things would not involve him in the slightest.

Sev, tell me, if time could solve all our problems, would we still need to take risks?"

Dumbledore confessed with a rare trace of embarrassment. ===== CHAPTER 803 =====