translating_wizard
patreon
Chapter 1154: New Plan
🕑 Added 2024-06-27 19:19:54 +0000 UTCThis was indeed an open conversation, and Dumbledore's expectations for Evan were exceptionally high.
Of course, if it weren't for the content of his entire mental change process, Evan might have felt better.
Dumbledore's desire for control was too strong. Everything he did in the second half of his life was to serve this so-called plan.
The ultimate goal of this plan was to get rid of Voldemort. All people and things that affected the plan should be eliminated.
"All in all, many things have changed because of Evan's arrival. At that time, perhaps none of us, including myself, truly realized the magnitude of these impacts and changes. That year, everything still developed as I expected. However, Harry, you did not ask me again why Voldemort left that mark on you. We discussed your scar, oh yes... We came very, very close to the subject. Why did I not tell you everything?
“Well, it seemed to me that twelve was, after all, hardly better than eleven to receive such information. I allowed you to leave my presence, bloodstained, exhausted but exhilarated. You and Evan defeated the Basilisk and Riddle and rescued Ron, and if I felt a twinge of unease that I ought, perhaps, have told you then, it was swiftly silenced. You were still so young, you see, and I could not find it in me to spoil that night of triumph.
"Besides, I still had a lot of things to do. But do you see, Harry? Do you see the flaw in my brilliant plan now? Setting aside the changes Evan brought by altering history, even in facing Voldemort alone, I had fallen into the trap I had foreseen, that I had told myself I could avoid, that I must avoid."
“I still don’t understand,” said Harry.
“I cared about you too much,” said Dumbledore simply. “I cared more for your happiness than your knowing the truth, more for your peace of mind than my plan, more for your life than the lives that might be lost if the plan failed. In other words, I acted exactly as Voldemort expects we fools who love to act, and my approach happens to be completely in line with his wishes.
“Is there a defense? I defy anyone who has watched you as I have — and I have watched you more closely than you can have imagined — not to want to save you more pain than you had already suffered. What did I care if numbers of nameless and faceless people and creatures were slaughtered in the vague future, if in the here and now you were alive, and well, and happy? I never dreamed that I would have such a person on my hands.
"Because of my excessive concern, it was easy to make mistakes, but I quickly realized that Evan could indeed replace me perfectly, helping you without drawing too much attention. Of course, he needed time to grow, and I needed time to verify my thoughts.
"Thus, we entered your third year. In fact, I watched from afar as you found Sirius, learned what he was and rescued him, as you struggled to repel Dementors, as you supported Remus despite his lycanthropy, as you chased Peter.
"These were my tests for you. There were many things, for instance, I might have already noticed Ron's rat, Scabbers, behaving unusually and known what that implied, but I chose to observe instead of taking action. Your performances were satisfactory to me, confirming my thoughts that Evan was trustworthy."
That explained a lot. Dumbledore's explanation explained a lot of things and solved the doubts in Evan’s mind.
There were many unreasonable things at that time, but now they could be explained because this was originally a test from Dumbledore.
He hadn't overlooked Peter Pettigrew; he deliberately left him as a test for Evan and Harry...
Especially for Evan, whose actions were closely monitored by Dumbledore in that year.
The Basilisk incident of the previous year and the events from a thousand years ago had already caught Dumbledore’s attention.
With an unexpected variable, Dumbledore had to be cautious.
He had to decide whether to include Evan in his plan or to resolve this variable in advance.
"I was very satisfied with your performance, but the changes were getting bigger. The relics left by Gryffindor and Slytherin, the appearance of the ancient evil gods, and Voldemort's curse have disrupted my plan," said Dumbledore. "I gradually realized that compared with the Four Founders, my plan was insignificant. It was just a part of their huge and complex design. All people and things have been given new meaning. A new plan was born, and we must complete it, because only in this way can we protect Hogwarts, protect the people and things we care about, and even the entire Wizarding World."
"There were more and more changes, but many things remained the same. Evan would not replace me to promote my original plan. He was to complete the mission left by the Four Founders of Hogwarts, to find and unlock the Secret Treasures and defeat the evil god; as for you, Harry, Voldemort was still your adversary, from beginning to end..."
"I still don't quite understand why Voldemort must be my adversary?"
"That is the prophecy," said Dumbledore, holding the orb in his hand. “Voldemort tried to kill you when you were a child because of a prophecy made shortly before your birth. He knew the prophecy had been made, though he did not know its full contents. He set out to kill you when you were still a baby, believing he was fulfilling the terms of the prophecy. He discovered, to his cost, that he was mistaken, when the curse intended to kill you backfired. And so, since his return to his body, he has been determined to hear that prophecy in its entirety. This is the weapon he has been seeking so assiduously since his return: the knowledge of how to destroy you."
The sun had risen fully now. Dumbledore’s office was bathed in it. The glass case, in which the sword of Godric Gryffindor resided, gleamed white and opaque; and behind them the baby Fawkes made soft chirruping noises in his nest of ashes.
"What is this prophecy?"
"I will tell you, compared to using the prophecy orb, we can have a more intuitive way to reproduce this prophecy," said Dumbledore, sighing softly. "The prophecy in this orb is what I heard, and kept in the Department of Mysteries."
Harry looked at him in astonishment, hardly believing what he heard. Dumbledore had made the prophecy orb!
Evan was also thinking about what Dumbledore had said before. Compared to the prophecy, he was more curious about the new plan Dumbledore had mentioned.
