What surprised Kate was that during her two days in bed at the Hospital Wing, besides Hermione and Cho Chang visiting every day, Harry and Ron also came once. Even Malfoy showed up.
Was the sun rising from the west?
When she asked this question with a confused look on her face, that already awkward Young Master flushed red and stormed off with a flick of his sleeves.
So, was this guy just here to laugh at her?
Unable to figure out exactly what Malfoy had come for, Kate simply decided not to think about it anymore.
It wasn't until she had lain in the hospital bed for two full days that Madam Pomfrey gave her permission to be discharged.
She thought that when she returned to the Slytherin Common Room, she would be met with hostility from the little snakes, or at the very least, mocked with a few sarcastic remarks. After all, when her magic overflowed back then, the ones she accidentally knocked over were all Slytherin students.
What she didn't expect was that when everyone in the Common Room saw her return, they simply glanced at her plainly before continuing with their own business. It was just like before—they ignored her.
Even that little boy whose telescope she had snatched, and who had borne the brunt of her blast, didn't say a single extra word.
Truly strange. That guy was usually quite sharp-tongued.
Kate silently glanced at them, then went into her dormitory alone. Since they weren't looking for trouble, she couldn't be bothered to look into it deeply, saving herself from any potential conflicts.
Back in the dormitory, Fluffball was much more energetic. Two months of intermittent sleep had made it grow visibly larger. It could now flap its wings to eat and drink on its own, which saved her a lot of worry.
After a simple check to confirm it was fine, Kate refilled its water and food, then went into the bathroom to take a shower.
Lying in the Hospital Wing for two days made her feel uncomfortable all over. But since even Dumbledore had to listen to Madam Pomfrey within the Hospital Wing's domain, how could she resist that broad-minded and stout Matron?
Cleaning herself up, Kate stepped out in her slippers only to see a note abruptly appearing on her desk.
"Headmaster's office password: Lemon Sherbet."
One look and she knew Old Man Dumbledore had asked a house-elf to place it there.
Kate's originally relieved mood sank again instantly.
During these two days of hospitalization, for the sake of her health, she had forced herself not to think about whether Dumbledore really knew that the "outsider" was related to her. But now that things had come to this, and he couldn't wait to have her come over voluntarily, she had to think about how to respond.
The best-case scenario was that Old Man Dumbledore knew nothing and was just calling her over to discuss the aftermath—thinking about it, that was impossible.
The ideal scenario, then, was that he knew everything but chose not to say it, or was intentionally concealing it from outsiders. Kate leaned more toward him choosing this method, which could be seen from the brief conversation he had when she woke up.
As for the worse scenarios... forget it. Thinking so much was useless; it was better to go chat with him personally.
Changing into a clean set of wizard robes, Kate didn't even have time to sit and rest before heading straight for the Headmaster's office.
This was Kate's second time visiting the Headmaster's office, and compared to the first time, she was much more familiar with the way.
She spoke the password to the stone gargoyle at the entrance, smoothly entered the spiral staircase, passed through the oak door, and arrived inside the office.
This time, she didn't see Fawkes, but she did see Dumbledore already leisurely drinking afternoon tea at his desk.
"Sit, child." Upon seeing her, Dumbledore revealed a slight smile. "Would you like some?"
Kate nodded somewhat reservedly, watching him wave his wand to fill the teacup in front of her. She hesitated for a moment, then held the cup and took a small sip.
Hmm... sure enough, milk and sugar were added. Doesn't this just make it milk tea?
Thinking about how people decades later would be inextricably addicted to milk tea, it turned out that the legendary Wizard Dumbledore also loved this stuff decades ago.
Cough... her thoughts had wandered a bit.
Kate hurriedly put down the milk tea. As soon as she raised her head, she saw Dumbledore's azure eyes scrutinizing her through his half-moon spectacles.
Her heart jumped, and she subconsciously straightened her back.
She didn't detect any signs of Legilimency being used...
After a long period of frantic grinding, her Occlumency had already reached Level 4. Reasonably speaking, unless it was Legilimency above Level 8, she should at least be able to sense it.
Old Man Dumbledore's Legilimency... shouldn't be that strong, right?
She stared nervously at Dumbledore, her fingers unconsciously gripping her knees tightly.
After quite a while, she saw Dumbledore reveal a smiling face: "You seem to be very afraid of me."
Kate's heart skipped a beat. She wanted to explain, but facing those wise eyes that seemed capable of seeing through everything, the words at the tip of her tongue were swallowed back down.
Don't be afraid!
Aside from the two secrets of being a transmigrator and the System, she had done nothing with a guilty conscience that required her to fear Dumbledore!
Cheering herself on in her heart, she managed to muster the courage to say, "Because I heard... you are a very formidable Wizard."
Dumbledore raised an eyebrow. "Since a long time ago, there have indeed been many people who feared me, because they were all dark wizards."
"It's not a question of black and white, Professor!" Kate shook her head, her voice trembling slightly. "My respect for you, Professor, is greater than my fear."
"Respect, because you are the most formidable Wizard. Fear, because you are the most powerful person."
Starting from when Dumbledore defeated Grindelwald, it proved that his vision was extraordinary. The plot of the seven Harry Potter books that followed further proved his wisdom and strategy.
Two generations of Dark Lords were actually defeated at Dumbledore's hands. Even if he died himself, he could still calculate Voldemort to death relying on the layout he set up while alive. As for Harry Potter, who was called the Savior, he was merely one of the executors of his massive plan.
A Wizard, if judging solely by strength, was not particularly worth fearing. But a person whose vision is above everyone else's—not just including wizards, but encompassing all of humanity. Such an existence was worthy of her respect and awe.
Dumbledore looked at her thoughtfully. For a split second, that gaze didn't seem to be looking at a junior, but rather looking at an opponent who could rival him.
However, very quickly, he voluntarily shifted his eyes away, looking up at the portraits of past Headmasters on the wall who were still fast asleep.
"Regarding the disturbance at the Quidditch pitch a few days ago, I believe your friend should have relayed the explanation announced to the public to you."
Hearing this, Kate scratched her face with some embarrassment.
When she was discharged, Hermione had told her the result Dumbledore announced to the public. Sure enough, it was exactly as she had thought.
Old Man Dumbledore had pushed all the blame onto that "outsider."
"Have you ever thought about who this outsider might be?" Dumbledore suddenly turned around to look at her.
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