Chapter 289: The False Mother

"No, no, Sirius promised not to tell anyone." Harry spoke incoherently, utterly baffled as to how the Death Eaters could have known this conclusion.

"That Rita—she's a Lestrange too," Ron comforted him. "She must've said something."

"The key evidence was buried with the shipwreck, and the only witness is Rita. No matter the truth, the public will believe the Lestranges," Hermione sighed beside them. "This isn't about whether we know or not anymore…"

"Harry, have you read the paper?" Zhang Qiu, in her blue uniform, rushed over. "The Death Eaters are far more cunning than we thought—they never intended to smear Albus. From the start, they planned to target Albus Dumbledore!"

Harry was still dazed. His first words were: "But I still can't figure out how they knew this conclusion."

"The Death Eaters aren't all fools," Zhang Qiu said seriously. "Once they set the tone to crush Albus Dumbledore, it was natural for them to fabricate such rumors! Their real weapon is using Albus Dumbledore's tarnished reputation to argue that 'the Order has corrupted'—and the odds of success are high!"

"You must be careful. If you use Order resources to defend or debunk Albus Dumbledore, you'll easily fall into their trap," Zhang Qiu analyzed. "You must tell everyone that Albus Dumbledore's personal life has nothing to do with his determination to defeat Voldemort!"

"But people won't wholeheartedly follow a leader accused of sibling incest—you must deny it," Hermione shook her head. "Harry said the Death Eaters smeared Dumbledore to infiltrate the Order. We must debunk this quickly, or the Order will fracture."

"But how do we debunk it? The key witness is in the Lestrange family—Rita. If she remembers even a little about the neighbor's identity, we're even more vulnerable," Ron said.

"Rita is dead. She was killed during the resistance against Grindelwald," Zhang Qiu said. "It's probably just Bellatrix stretching the surname to make a connection."

"And don't forget—there's another person who truly knows the truth, and so far has said nothing," Hermione said. "What does Albus Dumbledore himself say?"

"Appearing to defend himself over this would only make it worse," Zhang Qiu objected. "It's better if Albus Dumbledore stays silent."

The two girls' disagreement reflected the current dilemma: the Death Eaters had dragged the Order into an unprecedented battlefield by attacking Albus Dumbledore's private life, leaving them severely on the back foot. Unless they found a flawless rebuttal and ironclad evidence, Albus Dumbledore—unable to prove his innocence—would lose his hold over the Order, and some members already dissatisfied with him might be swayed by money and status to betray them.

At that moment, an owl fluttered in, delivering a note from Sirius.

"You don't have class this morning, right? Meet me at the Three Broomsticks. Emergency Order meeting."

Harry sighed helplessly, explained briefly to his classmates, pulled on his Invisibility Cloak, and hurried toward the secret passage.

"You finally made it—we need to figure something out," Sirius grabbed Harry's hand and, without taking more than a few steps, Apparated away.

When Harry regained his bearings, he found himself in Dumbledore's old house. The only others present were Lupin, Diggle, and Albus Dumbledore.

"Our new story must address every single point of doubt," Lupin said gravely. "We also need solid evidence. This won't be easy."

"But what's the truth, Albus Dumbledore?" Diggle asked. "I've always believed that telling the truth is easier than fabricating lies."

"Make up whatever you like," Albus Dumbledore grumbled. "I'm going back to sleep."

"You don't understand how serious this is, Albus Dumbledore," Sirius frowned. "If your reputation is stained and the Order's cohesion can't resist the Death Eaters' corrosion, we'll spend years hunting moles and watching our own backs!"

"The truth is, Ariana rushed out. I dodged a curse aimed at me—it struck her instead. Who knew they could invent so much? 'Hastily,' 'took the blade for someone.'" Albus Dumbledore's tone was bitter. "Reality doesn't need logic. Even if I told the truth, how many would believe me?"

"So the child's mother really was just an ordinary Muggle girl who died in the shipwreck?" Diggle asked cautiously.

"I won't repeat it again. Make up your own story," Albus Dumbledore sighed wearily, then climbed the stairs, gripping the banister.

"Instead of explaining doubts, I think what matters more is we must immediately prove Albus Dumbledore and Ariana had no incest," Harry slowly regained his focus. "And we need evidence stronger than Rita Lestrange's."

"Whose child was it?" Diggle asked. "Or rather—who should we say it was?"

"Follow Albus Dumbledore's wishes—say it's his," Lupin suggested.

"If we're going to fight lies with lies," Sirius hesitated, "we all know living witnesses are more powerful than dead ones, right?"

"How so?" Diggle looked at him with hopeful eyes.

"What if the child's mother was a witch who saved Rita's brother, and they lived elsewhere all along?" Sirius's voice trembled slightly. "Now that she sees the rumors spreading, she decides to come forward and debunk them—doesn't that make sense?"

"Does such a person even exist? Do you know her?" Lupin asked, puzzled.

"Nymphadora Tonks," Sirius sighed.

"Don't joke—Tonks's age doesn't fit—oh, you mean," Lupin's eyes widened, "have Tonks impersonate the 'mother'? That could work—she's an Animagus, hard to spot the disguise…"

"A desperate measure," Harry sighed too. "Shall we refine the details now?"

"First, she's English. After discovering her pregnancy, she went to Albus Dumbledore—but he was still reeling from his sister's death. They quarreled over trivial things. The girl left in a huff, planning to stay with her aunt in America," Sirius began weaving the tale; perhaps due to his experience with the Hoof, he spoke with practiced ease. "Before boarding, she gave birth. Then, after the shipwreck, she Apparated away with the child. Due to the Statute of Secrecy, the crew didn't know the two passengers had escaped—they only claimed they perished."

Harry nodded. Sirius's story sounded plausible.

"Then, she was stunned to discover the child she rescued wasn't Aurelius. She realized her and Albus Dumbledore's love child had been lost. Out of guilt, she never returned to him, raising Caus Lestrange alone in seclusion," Sirius added an arbitrary ending.

"That's not good—guilt alone won't convince anyone," Lupin added. "Say she didn't know Caus. She gave him to some orphanage, then started a new life, built her own family, and Albus Dumbledore's youthful folly became a past she refused to mention."

"That's better—the more immoral the mother seems, the more people will believe Albus Dumbledore wasn't to blame," Harry said.

"Now this widowed old woman, seeing her first love slandered so viciously, speaks out—it's perfectly natural," Sirius nodded. "And we must ensure no one can trace her family tree. She should've married a foreigner."

"Blame it on China. While staying with her aunt in New York, she met a Chinese man," Harry said. "If anyone insists on digging, have Zhang Qiu write a letter to Xuan Jun. I hear he and Dumbledore were close—he wouldn't mind this small favor."

"I'll speak to Tonks later," Lupin sighed in relief.

"I think I need to find Sirius again—I'm starting to suspect he told someone about our conversation," Sirius said, face grim.

"Maybe we were overheard," Harry rubbed his chin. "The Daily Prophet eavesdropping on the Quibbler sounds absurd, but when we visited him that day, if I were Rita Skeeter, I'd have tried to listen in too."

"Besides, his earlier setup was clear enough—even if Rita didn't hear the conclusion, she could've figured it out herself. After all, she's a bold, unscrupulous reporter," Harry shook his head lightly.

"Then we need to alter his article before the Quibbler publishes," Sirius said. "Tell him about the child's mother."

"I'll bring Tonks along later," Lupin said. "Let her change her appearance and pick a false name—then we can leave behind photos and such, making it more convincing."

"We can forge evidence," Diggle suddenly said. "Have Albus Dumbledore copy some letters."

"Then we need to move," Sirius said. "Harry, I'll take you back to school first—you have class this afternoon, right?"

"I've already missed half of History of Magic," Harry glanced at his watch. "Thank goodness it's History of Magic."