Inside the restroom, the worried voice of the woman echoed in from outside.
Hearing her call, Dumbledore wasted no more time and hurriedly resumed working on the child's hopelessly tangled drawstring.
Then, all at once—
The old headmaster's hands froze.
Looking at his own outstretched fingers, he finally understood exactly what Dawn had meant earlier.
"Dawn!!"
His face alternated between green and white.
Even with Dumbledore's remarkable self-control, he couldn't stop himself from cursing inwardly.
He shot a fierce glare toward the invisible Dawn.
He desperately wanted to retort that, as the headmaster of a school, there was no possibility whatsoever that he harbored such indecent thoughts.
But circumstances left him no room to argue.
Suppressing his embarrassment, he forced his trembling hands to continue undoing the knot.
Meanwhile, Dawn stood nearby with twitching cheeks.
His own mood wasn't any better.
Even though he knew everything was perfectly innocent, watching this unfold still made his teeth grind together.
Almost unconsciously, he reached toward his own waist.
Damn it...
This is so unbelievably weird!
He roared silently in his heart while glaring just as fiercely at Dumbledore.
Fortunately, once the knot was finally undone, the child let out a long sigh of relief and took care of his business.
When he left the restroom, both Dawn and the headmaster followed behind him with equally stiff expressions.
"Mr. Billy, nothing happened, did it?"
The waiting woman immediately pulled the child into her arms and anxiously checked him over.
Returning to himself, Dumbledore gave a slight bow.
"My apologies, Madam. The young master's drawstring had become tied into a dead knot. It took quite some time to undo it."
"I see."
The woman relaxed at once.
"Thank you for your trouble, Mr. Billy."
After chatting for a few moments, they continued their tour of the amusement park.
The woman led the child into the bumper car arena while Dumbledore remained outside.
The old headmaster glanced toward the empty space beside him.
Although there was apparently no one there, he knew Dawn was standing nearby.
"Child."
"How are things at Hogwarts now?"
This was the question weighing on him most after everything that had happened.
"Hmm? Hogwarts?"
Dawn had originally intended to tell him the truth just to watch his expression collapse.
But after thinking it over, he decided it would be far more entertaining for Dumbledore to discover reality with his own eyes later.
So instead he answered casually,
"Not bad."
"Everything's peaceful. Nothing's changed from before."
"Voldemort causes the occasional disturbance, but Nicolas Flamel has everything under control."
"I see..."
Hearing that, Dumbledore quietly exhaled.
The worry on his face eased.
Although he suspected Dawn might be lying, the mention of Flamel made him think the answer was probably genuine.
After all...
With his old friend watching over the castle...How bad could things possibly become?
Bang!
A loud collision interrupted his thoughts as one of the bumper cars slammed into the safety barrier.
The noise instinctively drew his attention toward the arena as he searched for the woman and child.
Then, for some inexplicable reason, Dumbledore became curious.
If seeing his younger self had awakened murderous intent within Dawn... Then what did he feel when looking at his own mother?
The headmaster turned slightly toward the empty space beside him.
Unfortunately, Dawn's expression remained concealed beneath magic. He couldn't see it at all.
About twenty minutes later, the woman and child emerged.
Following the crowd, they headed toward the next attraction.
As they passed a cotton candy stand, Dawn casually reached through the display, grabbed one, and began eating it.
Watching the cotton candy mysteriously float into the air before instantly disappearing, Dumbledore sighed helplessly.
He reached into his pocket, took out several coins, and tossed them onto the counter.
A quiet snort of laughter sounded beside him.
It seemed to mock him for insisting on proper payment even inside a dream.
Dumbledore ignored it.
Some principles were worth keeping.
After the woman led the child onto a giant pendulum ride, the headmaster waited outside again.
Since there was nothing else to do, he asked,
"Dawn."
"What exactly was the dream world of your childhood like? Could you describe it to me?"
He had been curious for a very long time.
Dawn bit off another mouthful of sugar.
"There isn't much to describe. It wasn't much different from reality."
"It was simply... a later era."
Dumbledore raised an eyebrow. "So it truly was some form of prophecy?"
"Who knows?" Dawn shrugged.
"I still haven't figured it out myself."
Licking syrup from the corner of his lips, he added casually, "Maybe it has something to do with the world of thought."
Thunk.
He tossed away the stick after finishing the cotton candy, aiming for a nearby trash can.
Instead, it struck the lid and spun onto the pavement.
Clicking his tongue in annoyance, he asked,
"Headmaster."
"You've lived here for several days now. Can you tell the difference between this place and reality?"
He gestured toward the lively amusement park surrounding them.
Hearing the question, Dumbledore rubbed the rough surface of the bench beneath him.
For the first time...
He understood.
If, from childhood onward, every time he fell asleep he became the Richter family's butler...
Eventually... Perhaps even he would no longer know which life was truly his.
Still...
There was another reason he had brought up the subject.
"Dawn."
"The Harry Potter book from your dream. Do you believe it can truly be trusted?"
Hidden beneath the Disillusionment Charm, Dawn glanced at him.
Considering that Dumbledore already knew quite a bit—and that he planned to erase those memories before leaving anyway—he answered honestly.
"I haven't found any contradictions."
"I see..."
That answer visibly encouraged Dumbledore.
Recalling the objects the child had listed earlier, he murmured, "So Voldemort truly possesses seven Horcruxes."
He immediately began wondering whether he could somehow discover their locations as well.
Dawn interrupted.
"A friendly reminder."
"Nagini hasn't become a Horcrux yet. So technically there are only six at the moment."
Nagini...
Hearing the name, Dumbledore immediately thought of the woman burdened by the Blood Curse.
The one who had been forced to watch herself descend helplessly toward becoming a snake forever.
He sighed softly.
After collecting himself, he prepared to ask how the fragment of Voldemort's soul inside Harry had ultimately been destroyed.
Before he could speak—
Dawn beat him to it.
"Headmaster."
"Where did Amir go? I haven't seen him in the library for quite a while."
Mentioning Nagini had reminded Dawn of Blood Curses. Which in turn made him think of William.
And finally...
Of the mysteriously vanished Amir.
Dumbledore hesitated briefly.
With genuine regret in his eyes, he answered naturally, "Amir's Blood Curse progressed beyond recovery."
"For the safety of the other students... I had no choice but to send him away."
Really?
One of Dawn's eyebrows rose. He didn't believe a word of it.
Meeting Dumbledore's eyes, he silently cast Legilimency.
Immediately—
A memory burst into view.
It was late afternoon. The sun hovered close to the horizon. Snow still lingered upon the ground.
Amir carried a suitcase as he slowly walked toward the gates of Hogwarts.
Judging from the elevated viewpoint...
Dumbledore had been standing at the window of the headmaster's office, silently watching him leave.
Just as I thought. Something's wrong.
Dawn curled his lips slightly.
By now he was long accustomed to Dumbledore's habit of concealing the truth.
He pushed deeper into the memory.
But the next instant—
The image shattered like glass.
In its place appeared a classroom from Dumbledore's youth.
Dawn clicked his tongue and released the spell.
He understood immediately. Dumbledore had deliberately sealed away memories he didn't wish others to see.
It wasn't something that should have been possible.
Yet somehow...
It felt perfectly natural for Dumbledore.
He had originally hoped to dig through the vast knowledge accumulated across the old wizard's long life.
Apparently... He had been far too optimistic.
"Dawn."
Dumbledore pinched the bridge of his nose with a weary expression. He wanted to tell him that such behavior was inappropriate.
Then he remembered he himself had just been tricking information out of a child.
In the end, he let the criticism die before it reached his lips.
Instead he asked, "How was the Horcrux inside Harry destroyed? What method did the book use?"
"Oh."
"Very simple. You killed him."
Dawn answered without the slightest fluctuation in his voice.
"..."
Dumbledore looked utterly helpless.
"I recall that your younger self described the story as the classic tale of the Chosen One defeating the Dark Lord."
"How could Harry possibly die?"
"No idea."
Dawn answered bluntly. Then his interest visibly faded.
"You know, Headmaster?"
"The moment I remember you're not Flamel... My desire to talk drops by more than half."
Resting both hands behind his head, he stared lazily at the drifting clouds.
Deliberately, he added, "If only...he had always been the headmaster of Hogwarts."
Dawn had never particularly liked Dumbledore. Especially not after spending time with Flamel.
The alchemist could be cryptic.
But unlike the headmaster, he wasn't constantly trying to pry answers from others while refusing to reveal anything himself.
"..."
Dumbledore genuinely didn't know how to respond. Instead, he found himself wondering what had happened recently.
How had Dawn's opinion of Flamel improved so dramatically?
He tried asking.
No answer came.
Left with no alternative, he simply waited for the woman and child to emerge once again.
Nearby, Dawn was equally bored.
He simply had no desire to continue talking with Dumbledore.
Instead, his thoughts wandered back to childhood. Which naturally reminded him of the butler Dumbledore had connected with.
That butler...
Had been the very same man Mr. Richter had assigned to accompany and care for Dawn during his stay in Kent.
Later, after discovering the wizarding world and becoming determined to study magic without restraint...
Dawn had deliberately engineered an accident that left the poor butler with a broken leg.
Once he recovered, the man returned to serve Mr. Richter again. But only worked another two or three years before eventually dying of illness.
Lost in idle thoughts...
The woman finally exited the pendulum ride.
Dumbledore glanced at the blazing sun overhead and rubbed his aching lower back.
"Child. Do you remember when this trip to the amusement park ends?"
"Tch."
"Not anytime soon." Dawn answered readily. "Every time she brought me here...she insisted on riding the Ferris wheel at sunset."
"We've still got several hours before dusk."
"The Ferris wheel at sunset?" Dumbledore looked puzzled. "Is there some special meaning behind it?"
"No."
"Nothing like that."
Dawn's voice drifted lazily through the air.
"If I have to explain... It was simply something she loved. So she always dragged me along to enjoy it with her."
"She sounds like a wonderful mother." Dumbledore murmured softly.
His gaze settled upon the woman's profile as she held the child close while excitedly talking about something.
Then he asked quietly, "Child... Are you alright?"
"Hm?"
A puzzled sound escaped Dawn.
"What are you talking about, Headmaster? What could possibly be wrong with me?"
Dumbledore looked toward the empty air beside him.
His voice was remarkably gentle.
"I was just thinking...you must miss her very much."
"...What gave you that idea?"
Dawn paused.
Then chuckled softly, clearly amused.
But Dumbledore's expression remained unchanged.
Only after the laughter faded did he quietly answer, "Because... She loved you very much."
Silence.
The air itself seemed to fall silent. Not another word was spoken.
A very long time passed.
Only after the woman had visited several more attractions did a faint voice finally drift through the empty air.
"So what, Headmaster?"
"Under the World's Correction... talking about love or longing feels far too false."
False?
Dumbledore disagreed.
But after a slight shake of his head, he chose not to argue.
Time continued passing.
The sun slipped behind gathering clouds, leaving streaks of molten gold across the heavens.
The aroma of food drifting through the park somehow became even richer.
A trace of exhaustion appeared at the corners of the woman's eyes.
Leading the child away from the roller coaster, she followed a winding path toward the edge of the amusement park.
There—
A towering Ferris wheel stood against the horizon.
"So it's finally ending."
Remembering what Dawn had said earlier, Dumbledore gently pounded his sore back.
Even though they had spent the entire day in only one amusement park...
For a century-old man deprived of his magic... The amount of walking had been excessive.
At that moment, from the empty space beside him, he heard the faint sound of footsteps moving toward the Ferris wheel.
He paused for only an instant. Then he understood.
Smiling faintly, he simply shook his head.
Dawn paid him no attention. As if guided by instinct, he slipped unnoticed into the Ferris wheel.
Avoiding the cabin occupied by the woman, he entered another compartment and stood by the window.
Beyond the glass...
The horizon slowly rose.
Past the trees. Past the buildings. Until the Ferris wheel reached its highest point.
Then...
The shimmering sea came into view.
Bathed in the golden glow of sunset, the ocean was striped with alternating bands of gold and shadow.
The waves glittered like flowing sand as they merged seamlessly with drifting clouds.
Dawn stood there in a daze.
Whether from memory... Or from the neighboring cabin... He thought he heard an incredibly familiar conversation.
"Look, sweetheart. Don't those clouds look just like the puppy I bought you?"
"...Your imagination's running wild. They're just random clouds."
"And besides... What's so special about scenery like this?"
The woman laughed softly.
Without arguing, she pulled the small boy gently into her embrace. "What would you like for dinner tonight?"
"Anything."
The child struggled halfheartedly before settling into a more comfortable position.
"If I have to choose... How about steak?"
"Anything is fine."
Resting her chin atop the boy's soft hair, she spoke quietly.
"As long as you like it..."
"...I like it too."
Click.
The city lights came alive.
Buildings glowed brilliantly.
Like strings of jewels scattered along winding streets, their reflections shimmered across the sea.
"It's really beautiful."
Looking toward the cloud that resembled a puppy lifting its leg, Dawn smiled softly.
Alone inside his cabin...
He whispered, "It really is."
By the time they finally left the amusement park, it was already close to eight in the evening.
Instead of taking the child home for dinner, the woman led him into a nearby commercial district and chose a steakhouse that looked rather upscale.
Still concealed by magic, Dawn followed behind. But the moment he saw the sign— Flat Iron Steak.
A vague memory surfaced.
The corner of his mouth twitched.
If he remembered correctly... This place's atmosphere was far better than its food.
Despite the expensive prices, the steaks weren't even as good as those prepared by the Hogwarts house-elves.
Clicking his tongue, Dawn decided not to follow them inside.
He already knew what would happen.
Before long...
The woman would emerge from the restaurant, dragging his younger self behind her in visible irritation.
Leaning casually against a wall, Dawn watched the brightly lit storefronts and the steaming dishes carried past by countless customers.
Even knowing this was only a dream...
He suddenly found himself wanting something to eat.
___________
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