bookbashuk Chapter 33 Compromise Faction, you've disappointed me!
Chapter 33 Compromise Faction, you've disappointed me!
The prelude to August is Leo.
On the evening of August 1, 1991, the day after Harry celebrated his eleventh birthday.
An elderly lion was invited to visit the Dursleys' house.
Unlike ten years ago, this time, the old lion can no longer rely on a letter to deal with the families of his fallen comrades.
Dumbledore knocked on the wooden door of No. 4 Privet Drive with his aged fingers.
In the living room, the Dursleys greeted him. After an awkward and unnatural exchange of pleasantries, following the reception procedure that Dudley had set up earlier, Petunia led Dumbledore to Dudley's bedroom on the second floor and then closed the bedroom door behind her.
"You're getting old, your legs aren't as nimble as they used to be, and you only arrived in the evening."
In the bedroom, Dudley and Harry were sitting in chairs reading and studying. When they saw Dumbledore arrive, Dudley made a sarcastic remark without any politeness, stood up, waved Dumbledore's wand, and moved a chair out for Dumbledore.
Dumbledore seemed much better than yesterday. He smiled and showed no anger at Dudley's words. He obediently sat down in his chair, defending himself as follows:
"Dali, please forgive an old man who has been self-righteous for so long. I need more time to reflect and sort out my emotions."
Dudley carefully observed Dumbledore's facial expression and body language, then chuckled softly:
"You're a guest from afar, would you like coffee, black tea, or orange soda?"
"Orange soda? Is that a Muggle drink? If it's sweet, I'd love to try it."
Dumbledore smiled too, feeling that Dudley might be easier to get along with today than yesterday.
"Orange soda is sweet and sour, and it wouldn't be wrong to say it's sweet."
As Dudley spoke, he walked to the corner, took out a can of orange soda from his refrigerator, and then said with feigned annoyance, "Sorry, I've finished my orange soda!"
Dumbledore's eye twitched. Without Legilimency, he couldn't possibly understand Dudley's thought process, but he didn't want to pry into the thoughts of a child he felt guilty about any longer, so he could only remind him, "Dudley, what you're holding in your hand..."
"Oh, this is the last can, Harry wants some!"
Dudley grinned and tossed the orange soda in his hand to Harry, who had just put down his book.
Without saying a word, Harry opened the can and drank heartily.
“That black tea is actually quite good too,” Dumbledore said, settling for second best.
“We’ve run out of tea,” Dali said with a mischievous grin.
"Then coffee will do, but could you add some sugar?" Dumbledore conceded another step.
“I don’t drink coffee, so I didn’t prepare any,” Dudley said honestly; he generally doesn’t lie.
Dumbledore was utterly speechless.
After a long pause, he finally spoke: "Actually, I'm not that thirsty. We can have a frank chat."
"No, you're a guest, you have to drink!"
Dudley's smile gradually turned wicked. He wouldn't allow Dumbledore to refuse, and took out several colorful containers filled with liquid and an empty cup from the refrigerator. He then placed them on the desk directly opposite Dumbledore and began mixing the liquids on his own.
"Add some lychee juice, some honey, and some whiskey..."
Dudley muttered to himself, intently fiddling with the mixed drink, a red glow gradually emanating from his hands. "One last touch of dazzling magic, and I'm done!"
"Please use it!"
As the strangely colored, freshly made mixed drink, seemingly imbued with some unknown magic by Dudley, floated in front of him, Dumbledore paused, glancing up at Dudley and Harry.
Without saying anything, he reached out, took the cup, and drank it all in one gulp.
"Crunch~ Not bad, it tastes a bit like fruit wine, it's delicious!"
After finishing the drink, Dumbledore gave a heartfelt exclamation, looking thoroughly satisfied.
On the other side, Dudley's expression turned cold: "It seems that Mr. Dumbledore wasted a precious day and did not come up with anything of value. He is still a compromiser."
“You…this…” Dumbledore was truly stunned this time.
"Your hesitation, indecisiveness, passive responses, and constant retreats have disappointed me greatly."
Dudley said calmly, his eyes like a bottomless pool of icy water, "If what I just cast wasn't the Elixir of Immortality, but poison or a curse, I wonder if Mr. Dumbledore would still be laughing now."
"Your assessment of me is very accurate, Dudley. I will learn to make changes."
Dumbledore understood Dudley's intentions and was deeply moved, but at the same time, he also offered his own opinion: "However, I firmly believe that you would not harm me without a reason."
I've been through a lot, and my eyes don't misjudge people. Dudley, although you have many audacious ideas, you are not evil; your essence is kind..."
Whether Dali is kind or not, he knows it himself; he doesn't need others to tell him.
He didn't take Dumbledore's sincere praise to heart, but instead waved his wand, put the bottles and jars on the table back in the refrigerator, and plopped back into his original chair.
“Mr. Dumbledore, you didn’t use Legilimency on me like you did yesterday, and you were very sincere. You’re a good guest.”
Therefore, in today's conversation, I allow you to ask me questions first, and I promise to answer them truthfully.
Similarly, when Harry and I ask you questions later, please tell us everything you know.
Dumbledore hadn't expected that in less than fifteen minutes, Dudley would have stirred his emotions again. He felt that he couldn't hide anything from Dudley at all!
His mind-reading ability has reached its pinnacle; it can be said that apart from natural-born mind-reading masters, no one is better at reading minds than him.
It's unbelievable that Kydali, a young wizard who hasn't even attended magic school, could perceive his Legilimency so clearly.
However, since things had already come to this point, Dumbledore had no choice but to seize the opportunity.
"I came here precisely for the purpose of frank and open communication."
Dumbledore laid the groundwork by indicating his agreement with Dudley's earlier suggestion, and then formally began asking the questions, starting with the one he was most concerned about:
"Dudley, how did you become a wizard from a Muggle? And how did you acquire abilities similar to the Philosopher's Stone?"
"This is a gift I was born with. By experiencing certain things, things that make tragedy beautiful, I can gain a special kind of power from them."
This power allows me to fuse with magical items, thereby gaining the abilities of those magical items.
However, this power is difficult to obtain, and its use is subject to many limitations.
Dali used a different approach, explaining his system cheat in a very rough way.
He wasn't afraid to let Dumbledore know about his special status. If he could persuade the old lion today, he would have a powerful ally when dealing with regrettable events in the future.
If it didn't make sense, Dumbledore, given his personality, wouldn't have revealed his secret.
Moreover, after today's conversation, regardless of the outcome, he would have Dumbledore swear an unbreakable oath of secrecy to him.