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"Renshaw," Snape called after the Potions lesson ended. "A word."
Blake stayed behind after the rest of the class departed.
"The Headmaster wishes to see you. Follow me."
I've been expecting this, Blake thought, calming himself down as they made their way to the office.
"Lemon drop!" Snape said, and they were soon let in. They stood before the door for a second, before Snape opened it and nodded at Blake.
The boy stepped in.
"Hello, Blake," the Headmaster greeted him, eyes twinkling as always.
"Good afternoon, Professor," Blake responded politely.
"You've managed to impress me again, Blake. You could've done everything by yourself, but you didn't. You involved Harry, and his friends, recognising the importance of doing so, and you succeeded, despite the setbacks you faced."
Setbacks? Is he saying Connor and Hermione's petrifications were just setbacks? Blake seethed silently, but didn't dare show his anger.
"Thank you, Professor. You didn't tell my mother about Connor's petrification, either. I appreciate that. D'you know if there's anything I can do to speed up the cure process?"
Dumbledore sighed heavily. "I'm afraid not, Blake. The Mandrake Restorative Draught will certainly work, but it takes time to prepare. End of May, I'm told."
"I see. Thanks anyway, Professor. Could I ask what happened to the diary?"
Dumbledore laughed.
"Not to worry, dear boy. I had a lovely conversation with dear Tom - I was the one who brought him to Hogwarts, did you know? Of course, he was highly suspicious after your little acting performance, so I didn't get much out of him, other than some offensive language and much self-egocentric rhetoric, but I did destroy it, rest assured."
"Thank Merlin," Blake sighed.
"But I do wonder, Blake - isn't it a curious thing?"
"What is, Professor?" he asked, confused, but having a feeling of knowing what this was about.
"When I took Harry to investigate the Chamber, the Basilisk was found missing its fangs. Isn't that curious?"
Ah, sh*t.
Blake frowned.
"I didn't notice that when I mangled its eyes - maybe Riddle got Ginny to remove the fangs and hide them somewhere as a weapon?"
Dumbledore laughed.
"Perhaps, perhaps, although poor Ginny seems to have no recollection of such an event occurring. Did you know that Basilisk fangs are extremely rare, Blake? Just one of them goes for around 5,000 Galleons on the black market."
"Really? I didn't know that," Blake said, astonished. "So you think someone stole it? Who could it have been?"
Dumbledore smiled gently, and although Blake knew that the old man was certainly aware that he had been the one responsible, he couldn't help but wonder whether or not Dumbledore could prove it.
Technically, he should be able to use Legilimency on me discreetly. But he tried to stop Greengrass from getting the Elixir last year - I doubt he'd let her have possession of a Basilisk fang if he knew about it. Does that mean he can no longer use Legilimency on me? Is my Occlumency that good?"
No - that's not it. It's probably poor compared to his, but just about enough so that he can't use it without me knowing. If he really wanted to, he could force his way in - he just doesn't want to because he doesn't want to risk me not cooperating in the future.
"I suppose we'll never know," Dumbledore said finally. "But, you see, Blake, the real reason why I wanted to speak to you was about another matter completely separate from recent events."
Sh*t, does he know about the Quill?
"What is it, sir?"
"It's about your father."
Huh?
"What - what about my father?" Blake said, trying to keep his voice steady. If Dumbledore was trying to pose as the sympathetic teacher, did he really think Blake would fall for it?
"Tell me, Blake. How much did you really know about your father?"
"I knew him very well, sir," he responded immediately. "He was a coal miner, a good man, and an even better father and husband."
"What of his family?"
Blake frowned, suspicion growing.
"Apart from me, my brother, and my mother, he had no immediate family still alive - his parents passed when he was 15 in a train accident, and he had no siblings or first cousins - he had second cousins though."
"I'm afraid that's not what I meant," Dumbledore said with a small smile. "I've no doubt your father was excellent in all ways a man can be, Blake. But what I am truly referring to, is your father's name - Renshaw. What do you know of your bloodline?"
Blake's eyes widened in surprise.
"My - I'm a muggleborn, sir. My father wasn't a wizard, and neither were his parents, and probably their parents."
"I know, dear boy. But you see, as Headmaster of Hogwarts, I'm privy to rather sensitive information - information that no one else, not even the Minister, knows about."
"And… this is related to my father's bloodline?"
Dumbledore got up, and began pacing his room.
"You see, Blake, when students are selected for Hogwarts, there's a certain way we recruit students. We take in most magical children, you see, not all of them. The order of priority goes to the children of magical folk, and then children of Muggles. One area that is not covered, however, is what happens to the children of Squibs."
The Headmaster had strode over to Fawkes, and began to stroke the gorgeous bird.
"You will have noticed that the population of Hogwarts is rather small right now. Can you think of why?"
"The war," Blake immediately responded. "People had far fewer children, Light and Dark wizards alike."
"Precisely, Blake. Marriage rates increased significantly, due to uncertainty of the future, but birth rates were lower - after all, many did not want to bring children into the world, knowing their future was uncertain. I suspect that from the coming year, the population of Hogwarts will skyrocket. But that is besides the point."
Dumbledore sighed.
"Within the current population of Hogwarts is the greatest proportion of muggleborn students in all of history. Did you know that?"
Blake shook his head.
"But even despite that, Blake, I was torn on whether or not to accept you." At Blake's gaping expression, he continued hastily.
"You see, when I said we accept most magical children, there is a reason we don't accept all of them. There are many factors we consider - parents, siblings, family attitudes towards magic, their support of their child, general beliefs, as well as the child's personality. If we believe they'll be particularly disruptive, we don't admit them - for their sake, and the sake of others. It is a hard decision for me to make."
"So, what happens to those children?" Blake asked. "And why did you not want to admit me?"
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