Harry potter:Dark lord

I'm so sorry. I promise, next time, I'll let you know before I take them out."

Dumbledore spoke earnestly to Mrs. Cole.

"Well... since they're back, let's just forget it. But you don't know how worried I was! It's dangerous out there… Human traffickers are everywhere!"

Mrs. Cole glared at Tom and Robert, who were hiding behind Dumbledore.

"You two are not allowed to eat tonight. That's your punishment!"

"Yes… Mrs. Cole." Robert and Tom responded weakly.

After Mrs. Cole left, Dumbledore turned to the boys. "Alright, now it's your turn to tell me what happened today."

"Okay… let's go to Tom's room and sit down to talk—"

"Let's go to your room instead," Tom quickly interrupted. "The environment there is better."

He didn't want Dumbledore in his room again… Who knew if he'd accidentally set something on fire this time?

"Alright, then come to my room."

A moment later, the three of them gathered in Robert's room.

Robert pulled up a chair for Dumbledore and then sat down beside Tom on the bed.

"I imagine you both must be hungry. However, Mrs. Cole has punished you by forbidding dinner, and I can't allow you to break her rules," Dumbledore said. "But at least, we can have a drink."

As he spoke, he placed an old umbrella on the ground.

"Whoosh!"

In an instant, the umbrella transformed into a coffee table.

Robert and Tom's eyes lit up in amazement.

With a wave of his hand, Dumbledore conjured three drinks onto the table. No one knew where he'd been keeping them.

"I'm sure you can guess that I didn't just happen to be here, taking the blame for you," Dumbledore said.

Robert and Tom nodded.

Dumbledore slid two glasses of pumpkin juice toward them.

"This morning, in an alley two kilometers away from the Leaky Cauldron, Muggle police discovered two men who had been tightly bound."

Robert nodded. "That was us."

Dumbledore hesitated for a moment. He hadn't expected Robert to admit it so openly.

"Can you tell me why? I believe I told you before that wizards are never allowed to use magic on Muggles," Dumbledore said, his tone turning stern.

Tom spoke up anxiously. "They were human traffickers! They tried to abduct us! Were we supposed to just do nothing?"

Robert placed a hand on Tom's shoulder, signaling him to calm down.

"According to Article 3, Chapter 1 of the Revised Regulations for the Protection of Underage Wizards (1928), underage wizards are permitted to use magic in self-defense when in danger," Robert explained.

"Furthermore, Article 1 of Chapter 1 defines 'underage wizards' as those under eighteen years old."

"Since Tom and I are both around eleven, we are protected under this law. That means that when we resisted the traffickers using magic, we acted within the boundaries of Article 3 and did not violate any Ministry of Magic regulations."

"So, Professor Dumbledore, we shouldn't be held accountable for this."

Dumbledore was momentarily stunned by Robert's words.

Tom, wide-eyed, stared at Robert in disbelief. How did he know so much about wizarding laws?

"How… do you know all this?" Dumbledore finally asked.

Robert shrugged. "We went to Diagon Alley today. I spent over two hours in Flourish and Blotts."

Tom gawked at him. "Wait… you actually memorized all the books that interested you? You weren't just bragging?"

"Not all of them. Time was limited, so I couldn't read everything I wanted to," Robert said regretfully. "I'll just have to go back next time."

"So… you can memorize everything after just flipping through it once? You… you…"

Tom was so shocked he couldn't finish his sentence.

Dumbledore, too, was astonished. If Robert had really memorized these regulations today, that was incredible. Of course, there was also the possibility that he had anticipated getting in trouble and deliberately memorized the laws for his defense.

"Your talent is truly extraordinary, Robert… You're right. I can't hold you accountable for this. In fact, your actions were an act of self-defense, and you didn't do anything wrong."

"But—" Dumbledore's expression darkened. "Did you go to 39 The Strand after that?"

"Yes. That was us too," Robert admitted without hesitation.

Since Dumbledore had come to them directly, it meant their actions had been exposed.

Trying to hide the truth would be pointless. Dumbledore wouldn't have confronted them without solid evidence.

"Why did you do it?" Dumbledore asked, frowning.

"We all know how horrible it is to fall into the hands of human traffickers," Robert said calmly. "They sell good-looking children to wealthy perverts, while others are trained as pickpockets. Those who aren't useful… get their limbs broken and are forced to beg on the streets."

"So when we learned there were still children in the hands of traffickers, Tom and I decided to rescue them."

Tom was slightly surprised that Robert had taken full responsibility this time.

Dumbledore opened his mouth but didn't immediately respond.

After a long silence, he finally said, "Your intentions were noble… But you shouldn't have gone about it this way. It's not that I doubt your abilities, but wizards must never expose magic to Muggles carelessly. That is a serious violation of the International Statute of Secrecy."

Dumbledore met Robert's gaze. "Since you've memorized so much, I assume I don't need to explain that to you?"

"Yes, Professor… but we hadn't visited Diagon Alley yet at that point. We didn't know that our actions violated the Statute of Secrecy."

Robert looked down and said softly, "But I don't regret what I did. If someone needs help and I have the ability to help, I can't just stand by and do nothing. I believe that with great power comes great responsibility."

Dumbledore raised an eyebrow. "With great power… comes great responsibility…"

After a moment, he spoke again.

"Fortunately, the traffickers you captured were so terrified that they couldn't expose anything about magic. So, you got lucky this time—it won't count as a violation of the Statute of Secrecy."

"Alright. Now tell me everything that happened."

So, Robert and Tom recounted the events of the rescue, including the gold bars, Tom's Parseltongue ability, and Nagini's unexpected appearance.

Hiding the truth was impossible, so it was better to be upfront.

After hearing everything, Dumbledore sighed. "You two were incredibly lucky today… I knew Nagini before. She was an unfortunate soul, trapped between humanity and her cursed form. It's hard to imagine the suffering she endured."

Tom's curiosity piqued. "What happened to her?"

Dumbledore explained, "She's a Maledictus—a person afflicted with a blood curse. But we'll talk about her later. For now, let's discuss the gold bars you found."

Robert remained composed, but Tom's eyes widened in panic, fearing Dumbledore would confiscate them.

Dumbledore chuckled. "I'm not going to take your gold. But… have you considered something? Would an ordinary human trafficking ring really have that much gold? After you exchanged it today, you must realize how vast that fortune is."

Robert immediately understood. "Professor… are you saying we've gotten ourselves into bigger trouble?"

(End of Chapter)

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