Harry Potter: Shadow Eminence

Chapter 28

As Brian's silhouette vanished behind the door, Dumbledore settled at his desk, his expression thoughtful.

The phoenix Fawkes landed on the table, producing a sweet chirp. Dumbledore tenderly caressed Fawkes' feathers.

The portraits on the wall stirred from their rest, beginning to chatter animatedly.

"Oh, this child resembles Tom Riddle so much back then…" the frail old headmaster in the frame sighed, "Equally inquisitive, ambitious, humble, courteous, and quite attractive… although he hasn't yet shown the remarkable talent that Riddle displayed publicly, he certainly possesses it; the occasional sparkle in his eyes is truly identical."

"You're wrong, Albus, this child is not merely handsome; he's beautiful." The witch Delilah DeVante, with long silver curls, countered from another frame.

"Oh, he is an outstanding student of our Slytherin house; don't underestimate him." The former headmaster of the Black family remarked sarcastically, "However, it's a great pity that he associates with mud… cough cough… it's a disgrace to Slytherin, a tremendous disgrace! Well, since he's a bad boy, why not just bury him…"

"Be quiet, Phineas." Delilah reached out from her frame and covered his mouth.

"Mmm, let me go…" Phineas removed Delilah's hand but was pushed down again by her.

"What are your thoughts, Albus?" Delilah inquired gently, and the old headmasters in the portraits ceased their noise, listening intently.

Dumbledore stroked Fawkes' feathers and replied, "You know, Delilah, at the Mirror of Erised, I perceived the darkness concealed within him."

"He's genuinely a clever boy, surprisingly mature, consciously concealing himself at this age…" Dumbledore commended, "At that moment, he reminded me of Tom Riddle and of my younger self alongside him."

"But what's reassuring is that while he shares similarities with Riddle, he is also distinctly different."

"He undoubtedly harbors more than just darkness in his heart. He is seeking love and longing to be rescued. He is simply lost."

"As a professor, I feel it's my duty to ensure he doesn't stray down the wrong path," Dumbledore lamented. "In the past, I observed Riddle grow up with a cold eye. That can't be deemed wrong, but it doesn't resolve any issues; it merely intensifies the resentment of the resentful and the indifference of the indifferent. So for this child, I wish to attempt a different approach."

"Perhaps he merely needs someone to reach out to him, to illuminate his soul and assist him in recognizing his choices, so he doesn't make decisions he will regret for a lifetime."

Dumbledore rested his chin on his crossed hands, his light blue eyes wise and weathered.

"He can be very wicked, but he can also be very remarkable."

"I believe I can still serve as a guide."

...

With only a week remaining until the exams, the atmosphere in the Slytherin common room quieted.

All the young wizards were preoccupied with reviewing or struggling under the mounting homework.

The library was also packed, with all the seats occupied early on.

Daphne had prominent dark circles under her eyes, having outlined an extensive review plan on parchment. She had been more irritable lately, transforming from a little girl into a queen-like figure.

She would glare fiercely at anyone who dared to interrupt her studies until they wisely retreated. If someone foolishly persisted, she would eject them from her territory like an enraged mother tiger.

Recently, even Pansy Parkinson didn't dare to engage her much.

Fortunately, Daphne remained relatively kind towards Brian, likely because he could assist her with her queries.

"And Brian, you were really off emotionally the other day; I'm so glad you've adjusted," Daphne remarked.

"I was genuinely worried that you were drifting away, but thankfully you're much more like yourself now." Daphne was always so observant.

"Thank you, Daphne. I just figured some things out," Brian said, looking at her with his gentle and melancholic eyes. "Thank you for always believing in and supporting me, Daphne."

"That's what friends do." Daphne's face turned slightly red, her voice small like a mosquito's buzz. "Um... could you show me how to release this spell? I can never get it right..." She then raised her flushed face and spoke shyly.

"Okay, you try releasing it and let me see..."

This was essentially how their interactions unfolded.

On the other side, Malfoy always acted as if he didn't care about the exams, casually playing wizard chess in the common room. But Brian clearly noticed him secretly studying notes and practicing spells behind the scenes.

Crabbe and Goyle were painfully cramming various subjects, having fallen too far behind in their studies. Even though Brian lent them his notes, they still spent the entire day scrunching their already unattractive faces, making Brian feel as if he were looking at a troll again.

But undoubtedly, if they didn't want to face a mixed doubles match at home, they needed to study diligently from now on.

As for Brian, he really didn't care much about the exams. He didn't think achieving first place among a group of twelve-year-olds was something to boast about.

His magical level was more than sufficient for various exams, but he was somewhat lacking in the history of magic and astronomy, though he certainly wasn't completely ignorant.

So he would also play a few rounds of wizard chess with Malfoy.

Brian actually enjoyed wizard chess; his skills improved rapidly while playing against Malfoy. Recently, Malfoy was reluctant to play with him anymore; he preferred to play with Crabbe or Goyle, as that showcased his intellectual superiority.

However, Malfoy had another concern: his detention was scheduled for tonight.

That morning, Malfoy received a note from Professor McGonagall:

"Your detention starts tonight at eleven o'clock. Find Mr. Filch in the entrance hall. — Professor McGonagall."

Malfoy tugged at his light blonde hair, looking unwilling; he felt it was humiliating.

"I am clearly a Slytherin student; why is this Gryffindor old woman punishing me?" Malfoy said, looking displeased, lowering his voice when he mentioned "old woman."

He had a frantic expression, indicating that he didn't want to be in detention with Potter and the others; the school should send Potter and his friends to clean the toilets or something, and he muttered negative things about Professor McGonagall.

Brian secretly chuckled. He knew that Malfoy had always been most afraid of Professor McGonagall.

For the past few nights, Brian had been following Quirrell into the Forbidden Forest.

Once the boundary was crossed, what remained was nothing but insatiable greed. The Dark Lord required more unicorn blood, which could restore more of his strength.

However, they hadn't spotted any unicorns in the past few days, and only last night did they find another unicorn, but Quirrell failed to capture it.

He injured the unicorn, but sensing Hagrid approaching, Quirrell, who had already expended a lot of energy, could only abandon the hunt.

Clearly, the death of the unicorn last week had made Hagrid vigilant; he had been patrolling the Forbidden Forest lately.

But Hagrid's actions were evidently very perilous, and Quirrell could no longer tolerate him. He had contemplated more than once about eliminating Hagrid but was dissuaded by Brian.

Because that would undoubtedly provoke Dumbledore.

At this moment, Dumbledore did not reveal Quirrell's intentions but was to some extent allowing events to unfold. It was unclear whether he was aware of Voldemort's presence in Quirrell.

But if he killed Hagrid, that would be a different matter; by then, even Brian might not escape his scrutiny.

"That will anger Dumbledore, Professor Quirrell," Brian said to him at the time, "Your current state cannot evade his careful observation, unless you wish to confront Dumbledore directly."

Quirrell took Brian's advice, but it was evident that his patience was wearing thin.

The Dark Lord's possession had made him quite irritable lately.

...

"I must tell my Dad about that woman; it would be best to have her expelled from Hogwarts," Malfoy was still gritting his teeth.

Brian helplessly shrugged and said, "So don't think about sneaking out at night anymore. If you want to join me to practice spells, you can just let me know."

He had been going out to search for unicorns at night recently, using practicing spells as an excuse.

"Who would go out at night to practice spells?" Malfoy looked at him as if he were a colorful snot worm.

"Alright then." Brian smiled..

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