Chapter 208: Birth Without Nurture
The situation was urgent, involving the newly emerged Magi-Metal Wizards and the highly sensitive Statute of Secrecy.
Maxime didn't have time for pleasantries. She quickly outlined the events of the evening.
After Quirrell discovered that a group of students had skipped class without explanation, he immediately informed her.
The three of them began investigating. After mobilizing some resources, they found a clue: the location where Martin and the other absent students kept their shared Portkey had been raided by fully armed soldiers.
Following the trail, they arrived near the headquarters of the notorious intelligence agency. After casting a few detection spells, they roughly located several life forms with magical signatures inside.
Their minds went blank.
Clearly, these Magi-Metal Wizards had been rounded up and taken "home" by the authorities.
They wanted to extract them, but considering this was the French intelligence agency—and their conversations with the captured wizard had given them some concept of Muggle surveillance—they hesitated.
They worried that even if they used magic to destroy the surveillance equipment they could find, there might be hidden cameras they missed, capturing their actions and escalating the breach of secrecy.
In judicial practice, Magi-Metal Wizards still fell under the wizarding Statute of Secrecy. However, this was merely a convention; there was no written law explicitly stating so. Thus, Martin and the others' capture could be interpreted as a breach of secrecy, or not.
But if their presence was recorded by Muggle surveillance, the impact would be massive.
Perhaps the French Minister of Magic could communicate with the French President to settle the matter privately for the sake of stability. But the ensuing storm would only be beginning. The newly born Magi-Metal Wizards would be knocked into the dust, never to rise again.
Therefore, they rushed to Hogwarts, wanting to hear Dumbledore's opinion.
"What do you think?"
Dumbledore asked Ryan.
"Although I couldn't glean any useful information from Madame Maxime to determine if Martin and the others were caught due to carelessness or if someone was pushing things behind the scenes..."
Ryan didn't hesitate. "But, the people must be saved."
"Why? If we judge the actions of these Magi-Metal Wizards according to wizarding conventions, they have seriously violated the Statute of Secrecy," Dumbledore pressed.
His stern expression was so convincing that for a moment, Ryan almost believed Dumbledore truly cared more about the Statute of Secrecy and was genuinely considering abandoning Martin and the others.
Just for a moment.
At this moment, Hogwarts was quiet in the night.
The moon hid quietly behind the clouds, peeking down at the living beings below.
But the word "living" emphasized life.
Upward, vigorous, burning vitality.
Everyone's eyes were fixed on Ryan, curious how he would answer this question.
They hoped that facing this question, Ryan could provide a good answer.
Not even a breeze stirred.
Everything held its breath.
"Regardless of anything else, the Magi-Metal Wizards came into being because of me. 'To give birth but not nurture is unkind; to nurture but not teach is unjust.' I cannot be that person."
"Moreover, even if they violated wizarding law and deserve punishment, that is a matter for the Wizengamot. They are wizards; there is no reason for an ordinary intelligence agency to overstep its bounds and take action."
The wind began to flow.
Pushing the clouds, revealing the moon.
Moonlight spilled over the earth, full of life.
And these words, thrown to the ground, rang with the sound of gold and stone.
Ryan said this for himself as much as for everyone else.
He never doubted Dumbledore's support for him in doing the right thing. He only worried that his own biases might lead him astray.
Just as before Perenelle had enlightened him, he hadn't considered the Magi-Metal Wizards "his people," nor the Headmistress and professors of Beauxbatons.
He had forgotten the teaching from his previous life: Make many friends and few enemies.
His choice now might contradict the mainstream pure-blood attitude in the wizarding world, but it was absolutely what a wizard with a conscience and a bottom line should do.
"Bravo!"
Fleur cheered loudly. She had never heard such a statement, especially the meaning behind the last sentence: If a wizard violates the Statute of Secrecy, that is a wizard's business.
This sentence had a huge impact on a student wizard.
If it were Penelope, she might not have been so excited, because she knew Ryan better and knew what he would say and do.
But Fleur didn't. She hadn't known Ryan for long; she was still in the phase of getting to know him.
So the impact was greater.
Even the deeply shrewd Maxime was secretly astonished. She had thought the Ryan who came to apologize to her was the limit of her understanding of him.
But his words now...
She vaguely saw the epitome of an era—not condensed, but leading it.
Quirrell was shocked but not surprised. Ryan had been willing to help him and care for him, disregarding that he had been possessed by Voldemort and nearly caused a catastrophe.
How could such a noble character not look after the beings he had created? He applauded. Even if no one joined him, this was the expression of his heart.
Dumbledore nodded. No one could read anything from his expression; everyone thought his pressing question was merely to force Ryan to make up his mind.
But only he knew.
For a split second, he had truly hoped Ryan would waver, even just a little.
He was well-read and knew the sentiment behind Ryan's words: Birth without nurture can be repaid with a finger; birth with nurture can be repaid with a head; nurture without birth takes a hundred lifetimes to repay.
A hundred lifetimes to repay...
This wasn't just trust placed in Ryan by others; it wasn't one-sided. It was mutual. The weight of a collective's "hundred lifetimes of gratitude" placed on one person... that could crush a person completely.
Dumbledore should be happy.
He had finally molded Ryan into the kind of person he dreamed of.
Dumbledore should be afraid.
Ryan had finally become someone willing to treat all wizards as his own people.
The wind blew, small and light.
It couldn't even lift the robes of Dumbledore, Maxime, or Quirrell, for adult wizard robes were grander, heavier, and more substantial. Nor could it stir Fleur's dress, as she wore fitted clothes for ease of travel.
Only Ryan's robes fluttered, making his figure, which appeared tall and safe among his peers, seem somewhat slender.
For the first time, Dumbledore realized that Ryan was just a child. A child who had become willing to treat all wizards as his own.
"What is your name?" he asked.
This time, Ryan didn't understand what Dumbledore was asking. Faced with this question, he couldn't comprehend it, couldn't give the answer he felt certain of in his heart.
"What is your name?" Dumbledore asked again.
"Ryan Welles."
Facing Dumbledore's repeated question, Ryan didn't understand the intent, but he answered truthfully.
Just like the first time they faced each other in private.
Just like Dumbledore's inquiry then.
Ryan answered the same way.
Back then, the old man, with scrutinizing eyes, faced the high-spirited boy.
The old man wondered how to guide this child.
Now, the old man, suppressing a look of unbearable pity deep in his eyes, faced the boy who was still high-spirited but now carried responsibilities he shouldn't bear at his age.
The old man wished he could go back to that time and tell his past self: No need to rush. No need to manage. Let this child walk slowly.
Time is too fast; life is too short.
A familiar person changes from their original form without realizing it.
Leaving only vague traces to prove he is still the person in the memory.
Everything else has been worn away by time. The scars left behind are what people call growth.
~~~
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