In the blink of an eye, accompanied by a burst of fire, the Earl found himself in a spacious circular room, the walls covered with portraits of headmasters and headmistresses.
He was sitting at a huge table, facing a smiling old man with a white beard.
The Earl saw a phoenix with bright red feathers perched on a bird stand nearby. It was a pity that he liked birds smaller than himself - how would the upright apes describe it - lolicon?
"You know, I don't accept bestiality -"
the Earl reminded the old man.
"Ah, when you get old, it's easy to not understand these new words from young people." Dumbledore was not offended by the Earl's offensive words, but instead laughed like Santa Claus.
"I'm sorry to interrupt your date."
"How sorry?" The Earl asked, tilting his head.
"..."
Even Dumbledore didn't know how to answer the Earl at first.
"Hurry up, ask if you have anything to say. That way, at least I'll have time to catch a field mouse—you wizards always procrastinate, so you never catch any."
"Even in the wizarding world, talking owls are rare," Dumbledore said, looking at the Earl through his half-moon glasses. "May I know your name? Perhaps I should introduce myself first. Albus Dumbledore."
"The Earl is very hungry for a field mouse," the Earl said dryly.
Dumbledore waved his wand, and a large, lively gray rat appeared on the table.
The Earl's eyes flashed, and he grabbed the rat by the neck, causing blood to splatter everywhere.
However, Dumbledore didn't care that his desk and the precious silverware were stained with the bright red rat's blood.
"Well - you are much better than those little wizards who can only say 'I love you' -" the Earl began to eat with relish, and said contentedly, "Since you are so sensible, I will grant you a wish. I can help you steal the underwear of that old man named Gellert Grindelwald -" "
In fact, my wish may be a little simpler than this." Dumbledore interrupted the Earl before he finished speaking.
A bird's eyes can't hide its expression, but the Earl is obviously not so good at observing people's words and expressions.
This owl knows a little too much.jpg
"Oh?" The Earl's head spun again, "You won't... Oh -"
The Earl showed an expression of sudden enlightenment.
"I want to ask you three questions." Dumbledore did not react excessively to the Earl's teasing.
"Ask, you still owe me two field mice."
"Where are you from?" Dumbledore asked calmly.
"Of course it came from a fucking bird's egg, dear. I wasn't even bigger than a field mouse then," the Earl replied. "Then the tree I lived in was cut down by an old man called John, so I stayed at his house - he's about the same age as you, but he's more suitable to be the protagonist than you - because he can't speak."
"Why did you go to Cohen?" Dumbledore continued.
"Are you the father of that kid?" The Earl's huge eyes were full of awe. "Cool - no, you have - cool - you..."
The Earl couldn't think of any adjectives, and finally said:
"People can't, at least shouldn't..."
"Ten years ago, some wizards and I found Cohen in a dark magic laboratory." Dumbledore leaned back in an armchair, his nightgown embroidered with stars and moons. Now he looked like an ordinary, tired old man. "The child was a w... experiment."
"You were going to say weapon, right? That kid is really a bad guy!"
The Earl was instantly alert.
"Everyone says you're a great wizard—will you cancel the Owl Purchase Contract? I'm leaving the Scottish Highlands—no—Britain—no—Europe right now!"
"I'm sorry, I don't know this spell." Dumbledore shook his head slightly, "but there's no need to be so pessimistic about a child."
"A person's origin is not important. What matters is what kind of person he grows up to be."
"The premise is that he is a human being." The Earl flapped his wings uneasily, and he didn't know when, the vole bones and dried blood on the table had been swept away, "You shouldn't have killed him when you just found him--"
The Earl made a gesture of wiping his neck with his wings.
"The Aurors of the Ministry of Magic tried." Dumbledore sighed. "It was a terrible decision, but the good news is that Cohen survived."
"Oh my God, I have to see if I can apply for the Owl Moon Landing Program." The Earl smacked his lips. "Dementors shouldn't go to outer space - there are no memories and souls there."
"Cohen is a good boy." Dumbledore said seriously. "I hope you can help him."
"Thank God, I will be able to teach him to catch voles soon." The Earl pecked his wings. "Once he learns to catch voles, I will teach him to deliver letters. He will definitely become an excellent owl - if he can grow wings and claws."
"Helping others does not require waving a wand or chanting a few spells." Dumbledore winked at the Earl. "Sometimes, help is just a companionship, or a few words of comfort between friends."
"Thank you for listening to an old man's nagging in the middle of the night."
Dumbledore waved his wand again, and the window of the headmaster's office opened.
"Wait a minute—"
The Earl was about to fly away when he suddenly turned back and landed on Dumbledore's window.
"You exchanged that field mouse for three questions, and you haven't asked one yet."
He had a feeling this person would use the third question to make a fuss—the Earl swore he would never eat a field mouse given by the smiling old man again.
"Oh, I forgot to ask the third question,"
Dumbledore said with a look of having just remembered.
"Would you like wool socks for Christmas?"
"…"
The Earl looked stiffly at the smiling Dumbledore.
"You'd better be serious."
The Earl stuck out his butt and flew off into the night sky.
—
"Dumbledore seems like a good man..."
Cohen, in spirit form, watched everything from outside the headmaster's office.
It's possible that Dumbledore knew Cohen was watching all this and was putting on a show for him—the old man was a bit boring.
Cohen didn't think he'd turn into some undead Dementor that slaughtered the world—wait...
didn't Dumbledore say...many Aurors had tried to kill Cohen, but failed?!
Or...
Cohen seemed to suddenly understand where his fragmented soul integrity came from.
No wonder Cohen, as a child, absorbed the souls of over 300 people, yet his soul integrity was still so low!
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(End of this chapter)