King of Lightning [HP FANFIC]

Dumbledore raised his eyebrows and said, "Please, speak, Mr. Wilson. For today's hero, I don't believe I have any reason to refuse."

Hearing Dumbledore praise him so warmly, Anduin couldn't help but smile with some shyness and replied, "It's like this, I just heard Minister Bagnold say she wants to award me. I was wondering if it could be kept private. After all, I don't really like being in the spotlight, and it wouldn't be good to attract too much attention."

Upon hearing this, Dumbledore understood what Anduin meant. At the same time, recalling that Anduin was a member of Slytherin House, he grasped his reservations. Then Dumbledore said to Anduin, "I understand your position. I will ask Minister Bagnold not to make any public announcement or involve the media. Perhaps I can also suggest she change your award into more material rewards. What do you think of that idea?"

As soon as Anduin heard this, he laughed happily and answered, "Thank you, Headmaster Dumbledore."

Immediately afterward, Dumbledore left accompanied by Sirius Black and Peter Pettigrew. Before leaving, Sirius instructed James to take good care of his precious motorcycle. Seeing that this man, despite being seriously injured, was still concerned about his broken motorcycle, Anduin couldn't help but roll his eyes, barely able to hide a look of disbelief.

Then, after a while, the Aurors finished the restoration and memory removal work in Godric's Hollow. The damaged parts of Lily's house were repaired by everyone using the Restoration Charm. The Aurors and members of the Order of the Phoenix said their goodbyes. The Longbottom couple and the elderly Mrs. Longbottom, who had endured the battle in the basement together, also said goodbye one by one to Lily and Anduin. Augusta even invited Anduin to visit her when he had time, an invitation Anduin gladly accepted.

Soon, only the Potter couple, little Harry, and Anduin remained in the Potter house.

"Anduin, you've worked hard today. Thank you for everything you've done. I'll take you to the guest room so you can rest well tonight," James said with a kind smile.

After all that had happened that day, James had come to see this young wizard as a valuable friend. At first, he had been hesitant about Sirius's invitation for Anduin to attend Christmas dinner. After all, they weren't relatives and Anduin was from Slytherin. But Lily seemed to have a good impression of this Muggle-born boy, so James said nothing. However, after that night, he admired and appreciated Anduin's courage and intelligence in the face of danger.

Anduin looked around the slowly emptying house and nodded to James, saying, "Alright, then I'll be a bother."

"Don't say that, you're our friend. After tonight, you're also our comrade and benefactor. Rest easy here. Our doors will always be open to you," James replied with a hearty laugh. Lily, holding little Harry, smiled and nodded toward Anduin as well.

In this way, Anduin spent the rest of the Christmas holiday peacefully at the Potter's home.

Meanwhile, after Dumbledore sent Sirius Black to St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries, he did not return directly to Hogwarts. Instead, he went alone to a deep hill in the Forbidden Forest next to Hogwarts, seemingly waiting for someone.

Dumbledore didn't wait long. Soon, a figure appeared before him through Apparition. It was a Death Eater. The man slowly removed his mask, revealing a somber face.

"It seems Tom believed in that prophecy," Dumbledore said coldly as he looked at the man before him. He continued, "Their attack on the Order of the Phoenix members tonight was just a facade. Several Death Eaters who infiltrated nearly killed Lily and her child. Was that what you wanted to see, Snape?"

Dumbledore's words caused Snape, who had been expressionless until then, to twist his face in struggle, shouting, "The Dark Lord didn't tell anyone about the infiltrators, not even me! If I had known something like this would happen, I would have stopped it!"

"Stop it? How would you have stopped it? Do you still have the courage to stand before the Dark Lord? The moment you leaked the prophecy to the Dark Lord, everything became like a runaway steam train, no one could stop it. His target is Lily and her child, you know that!" Dumbledore stared at Snape seriously, his tone stiff and forceful, without a trace of sympathy.

Hearing this, Snape slumped like a gambler who had lost everything, stubbornly replying, "The Longbottom's child could also be the child of the prophecy. No, it must be the Longbottom's child. I will try to convince the Dark Lord to believe it. As long as I convince him to cause trouble for the Longbottoms . . ."

"Severus!" Dumbledore, who until then had only looked at Snape coldly, couldn't hide an angry expression upon hearing those cold words. For a moment, powerful magical fluctuations burst from his body, startling Snape into silence.

Dumbledore stared fiercely at Snape, calming his emotions slightly, and said coldly again, "Don't be naive. Do you know what your good companion Evan Rosier did today? Not only did he infiltrate the Potter house, but he also drank the Blood-Boiling Potion at the cost of becoming mad forever. He wanted to kill Lily and her child before he died. If it hadn't been for Anduin, that boy who escaped from you reacted quickly, you might have had to say goodbye to Lily today. And his actions made one thing clear to me: Tom's goal has always been very precise."

In fact, Anduin had saved himself on the scene —or rather, saved himself and little Harry— but Dumbledore felt no psychological burden in revealing that part of the truth.

"No!" Hearing Dumbledore's words, Snape couldn't hold on any longer. He covered his face with his hands and fell to his knees, tears streaming down his cheeks. He had faithfully followed Voldemort without hesitation, but when Voldemort aimed his butcher's knife at the woman he loved, his heart could no longer remain steady.

"I know. I always knew. Following him, I could feel it, but I never could face that reality," Snape said painfully, as if releasing everything.

"The prophecy doesn't say it's a woman, but a boy born at the end of July. But I think Tom wouldn't mind eliminating the mother as well." Dumbledore's words only deepened Snape's torment.

"I know. I know the Dark Lord has long believed it was her child. He has been searching for their whereabouts and trying to kill them, and only now do I realize today's target was never the Order of the Phoenix, but them. The Dark Lord was certain they would appear there," Snape said with pain and desperation. Before, he had tried to deceive himself with lies. He had always known the truth in his heart, but had never wanted to face it.

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