Chapter 21: Greater Power, Greater Responsibility

“I sincerely apologize. I promise that next time before taking them out, I will inform you in advance,” Dumbledore said earnestly to Mrs. Cole.

“Alright... since they’ve already come back, I’ll let it go this time. You have no idea how worried I was! It’s so dangerous out there... kidnappers everywhere!” Mrs. Cole said, casting a sharp glance at Tom and Livide, who were hiding behind Dumbledore.

“You’re not allowed to have dinner tonight. This is your punishment!”

“Yes... Mrs. Cole,” Livide and Tom responded weakly.

After Mrs. Cole left, Dumbledore turned to the two boys. “Alright, now it’s time for you to tell me exactly what happened today.”

“Okay... let’s go to Tom’s room and sit down to talk slowly...” Livide suggested.

“Better your room; it’s more comfortable,” Tom quickly objected.

He no longer wanted to see Dumbledore in his own room... Heaven knows what he might burn this time to scare him.

“Alright, then, we’ll go to my room.”

A moment later, the three arrived at Livide’s room. Livide pulled over a chair for Dumbledore to sit in, then he and Tom sat on the edge of the bed.

“You must be hungry. But since Mrs. Cole has punished you by forbidding dinner tonight, I can’t encourage you to break her rules. Let’s have something to drink instead,” Dumbledore said, picking up an old umbrella from the side and placing it on the floor.

“Whoosh!”

In the next instant, the umbrella transformed into a small tea table.

Livide and Tom’s eyes lit up at the sight.

Dumbledore waved his hand again, and three glasses of drinks appeared on the table. Where he had hidden them before was a mystery.

“I’m sure you can guess that I didn’t just happen to show up here and take the blame for you,” Dumbledore began.

Livide and Tom nodded.

He pushed two glasses of pumpkin juice toward Livide and Tom.

“This morning, about two kilometers from the Broken Cauldron pub, in an alleyway, Muggle police discovered two people tightly bound...”

Livide nodded. “That was us.”

Dumbledore paused slightly, surprised by Livide’s straightforward admission.

“Can you tell me why? I believe I told you before that we must never allow magic to be used on Muggles,” Dumbledore’s tone grew stern.

“They were kidnappers! Trying to abduct us! We couldn’t just stand by and do nothing,” Tom said urgently.

Livide patted Tom’s shoulder, signaling him to calm down.

“According to the newly revised ‘Protection of Underage Wizards Act’ from 1928, Chapter One, Article Three, underage wizards may use magic to protect themselves in times of crisis.”

“And Article One of Chapter One defines underage wizards as those under eighteen years of age.”

“Tom and I are both about eleven years old this year, so we fall under the protection of this act.”

“In other words, in the face of attempted abduction, our use of magic to resist was completely in accordance with Article Three of Chapter One and did not violate Ministry regulations...”

“So, Professor Dumbledore, we should not be reprimanded for this incident.”

Dumbledore was momentarily stunned by Livide’s explanation.

Tom, meanwhile, stared blankly at Livide, utterly bewildered by how well he knew these wizarding laws.

“How... do you know so much about these?” Dumbledore could not help but ask.

Livide shrugged. “We went to Diagon Alley today. I spent over two hours at Rivenwood’s Bookshop.”

Tom stared in disbelief. “So you really memorized every book you were interested in? You’re not just bragging?”

“Not all of them, of course. There wasn’t enough time to read every book I found interesting...” Livide said regretfully. “I’ll have to go back next time.”

“So, you just skimmed through all those books and memorized them? You... you...” Tom was so discouraged he was speechless.

Dumbledore was also impressed. So all the references Livide made were from books he had browsed today and committed to memory.

Of course, it was also possible that Livide knew he was in trouble and deliberately found and memorized that regulation.

“Your talent is truly astonishing, Livide... You’re right, I can’t hold you accountable for this. Besides, your actions were legitimate self-defense; you did nothing wrong...”

“However...” Dumbledore shifted his tone, “Did you go to 39 Strand Street afterward?”

“Yes, that was us too,” Livide admitted again without hesitation.

Since Dumbledore came to find them today, it meant their deeds had been exposed.

Any concealment would be futile; without sufficient evidence, Dumbledore wouldn’t have come.

It was better to confess straightforwardly.

“Why did you do that?” Dumbledore frowned.

“We all know how terrible it is to fall into the hands of kidnappers... They sell pretty children to wealthy perverts; clever ones become pickpockets; the less clever get their hands and feet broken and are forced to beg on the streets...” Livide said calmly.

“So when we learned there were still children held by kidnappers, I dragged Tom along. We wanted to rescue them.”

Tom was surprised that Livide took all the responsibility upon himself this time.

Dumbledore opened his mouth but could not find a word of reproach.

After a long pause, he finally spoke slowly: “Wanting to rescue people is right... but you shouldn’t have gone like that. It’s not that I doubt your or Tom’s abilities. Rather... wizards and magic must never be casually exposed to Muggles. This is a serious violation of the International Statute of Secrecy.”

Dumbledore looked up at Livide. “Since you’ve memorized these laws, I suppose I don’t need to repeat them to you?”

“Yes, Professor... but at that time, we hadn’t gone to Diagon Alley yet, so we didn’t know our actions violated the International Statute of Secrecy.”

Livide glanced at Dumbledore, then lowered his head and said softly, “But I don’t regret what I did. When people need help and I happen to have the ability to provide it... I cannot stand idly by. I always believe that with great power comes great responsibility.”

Dumbledore raised his eyebrows. “With great power... comes great responsibility...”

After some time, Dumbledore spoke again: “The kidnappers caught have been so terrified they cannot reveal anything about the wizarding world. So, you were lucky this time and did not break the Statute of Secrecy... Now, tell me the whole story of your operation.”

Thus, Livide and Tom recounted the raid on the kidnappers’ den from beginning to end, including the gold bars, Tom’s Parseltongue, and the arrival of Nagini summoned by it.

There was no point hiding anything; it was better to be honest.

After hearing the story, Dumbledore sighed. “I have to say, you were lucky today... I knew Nagini before. She was a very unfortunate person... trapped between beast and human, enduring unimaginable suffering.”

Tom hurriedly asked, “What exactly happened to her?”

Dumbledore said, “She was a blood curse werewolf... Well, we’ll talk about her another time. For now, let’s discuss the dozen or so gold bars you obtained.”

Livide remained calm at this, but Tom’s eyes widened in fear, worried Dumbledore might confiscate the gold.

Tom, not yet powerful, understood the importance of money very well.

After all, he was not yet the future Dark Lord Voldemort.

Dumbledore smiled. “I’m not here to seize your gold. I just want to remind you... Could an ordinary kidnappers’ den really have so much gold? You must know the magnitude of that sum you exchanged today.”

Livide immediately understood. “Professor, are you saying... we have gotten ourselves into big trouble?”