At dinner, Hermione finally found Fel after searching for him all afternoon.
Fel, however, looked absolutely miserable.
He was filthy from head to toe, his face was covered in bruises, and sweat and dust had turned it into a patchwork of dirt.
“My goodness, Fel, you got into another fight!”
Hermione sprang to her feet and rushed over like a frightened rabbit.
Her eyes were filled with panic.
Getting into a fight was one thing, but she had never seen Fel beaten up this badly before.
The last time he fought Malfoy, only the corner of his robe had gotten a little dirty.
Harry, Ron, and Neville all stared at him in shock.
Ron angrily clenched his fist.
“I was wondering why we couldn’t find you this afternoon. Did Malfoy bring Crabbe and Goyle to ambush you?”
Fel rubbed his aching elbow and shook his head.
“No, Ron, you’re giving Malfoy too much credit. I could beat the three of them with one hand.”
“I was training.”
Before he had even finished speaking, Fel had already sat down at the long table, picked up a glass of orange juice, and taken a drink.
He was incredibly thirsty.
“Training for what?”
Hermione let out a sigh of relief, took out a handkerchief, and gently wiped the dirt from Fel’s face.
“I… Ow… I came up with a way to train my reaction speed using an out of control Bludger.”
Hermione accidentally touched one of his bruises, making him grimace in pain.
“Damn, that Bludger is way too fast and hits way too hard. Maybe I should wrap a few layers of sponge around it.”
Harry thought for a moment.
“You mean… something like dodgeball?”
“What’s dodgeball?”
Ron looked confused.
“It’s a Muggle game where people throw balls or beanbags at each other. You have to dodge them so you don’t get hit. We used to play it all the time.”
Hermione explained.
Harry nodded.
“Dudley used to play that game with me.”
Well, in reality, Dudley chased Harry around with a baseball, trying to hit him, but Harry was too embarrassed to say that.
“So you’re saying you use a game like that to train your reflexes?”
Ron understood quickly, but he still couldn’t understand why.
“Merlin’s beard, why would you do something like that?”
“I heard George say that one time a Bludger went out of control and smashed a player’s arm so badly it broke!”
Fel replied, “Don’t you think it’s a great way to improve a wizard’s combat ability?”
“Spells can be dodged. Training your body’s reflexes is very important.”
“But…”
“Why would anyone want to improve their combat ability? I mean, we just need to pass our exams.”
Ron still didn’t understand.
He had never known anyone who seriously trained to become stronger in combat.
It was actually easy to understand.
It was just like Muggles at school.
Everyone thought about getting good grades, earning good qualifications, and finding a good job.
Hardly anyone spent every day thinking about becoming stronger in combat.
What were they trying to do, become a legendary hero?
In some ways, wizards and Muggles were exactly the same.
Who still relied on personal strength in this day and age?
Connections and influence were what really mattered!
Fel came up with a clearer explanation.
“I want to become an Auror in the future. You know Aurors have to pass practical combat tests.”
“Just imagine it. Me standing alone against a whole group of Dark Wizards before defeating every one of them and sending them all to Azkaban!”
“That’s awesome! Just like Mad Eye Moody!”
Now Ron understood.
He looked at Fel with admiration, already imagining himself becoming an Auror too.
“What’s an Auror?”
Harry asked.
Hermione replied impatiently.
“They’re basically the police of the wizarding world. They deal with dangerous people.”
“But if you really want to become an Auror, you’d better study hard.”
“I’ve heard that to become an Auror, you need Outstanding or Exceeds Expectations in many subjects on your N.E.W.T. exams, the advanced wizarding exams taken in seventh year!”
Fel smiled.
Of course, that was only an excuse.
Becoming an Auror required passing exams, but becoming someone truly powerful only required a powerful enough wand.
After all, a certain noseless monster would one day take control of the entire Ministry of Magic without passing any exams.
For the truly strong, chaos was a ladder to rise higher.
And Fel wanted to become one of the strong.
…
Over the following days, Fel became completely obsessed with the Bludger named Friday.
He refused to believe he couldn’t dodge it.
Ron had been inspired by Fel’s dream of becoming an Auror and wanted to train alongside him.
However, Fel simply took him to an empty training field and let him try it once before Ron immediately gave up on the idea.
Ron didn’t even catch a glimpse of Friday before the Bludger smashed him in the face, giving him a nosebleed.
He ended up running to Madam Pomfrey in tears.
Fel even spent less time practicing spells.
Hermione wanted to do homework with him, but Fel always finished it in a hurry before running off to the Room of Requirement to train.
Recently, Hermione’s lips had been drooping so much that it looked as though two bottles were hanging from the corners of her mouth, and neither Harry nor Ron dared to ask her to help with their homework.
“Whoosh… Thud.”
Inside the Room of Requirement, Fel panted heavily as he looked at Friday in confusion.
The Bludger had suddenly lost all motivation and was lying motionless on the floor like a salted fish.
Did it break already?
Just then, an elderly voice came from behind him.
“Miss Granger said I might find you here, Fel.”
Fel jumped in surprise and turned around abruptly.
Standing there was the smiling old man whose beard was still as long and white as ever.
“Hello, Headmaster Dumbledore. It seems that anywhere in Hogwarts, you can always find people.”
With a casual wave of his hand, Dumbledore transformed the Bludger into a long wooden bench.
“Have a seat, Fel.”
“But I must say, no one knows every secret of Hogwarts.”
“Over the course of a thousand years, this castle has hidden far too many secrets.”
Fel sat down somewhat stiffly.
“Headmaster, I never had the chance to thank you.”
“Thank you for saving my life, and thank Professor McGonagall as well.”
Dumbledore’s smile grew warmer, and Fel noticed a trace of relief in the old wizard’s eyes.
Dumbledore spoke slowly.
“You’re in too much of a hurry, Fel.”
“You want to become stronger far too badly. I can see it.”
Fel was silent for a moment before answering.
“Yes, Headmaster, I admit it.”
“You know the wizarding world isn’t safe.”
“I… I want to protect myself.”
“I want to protect Hermione, and many other people as well.”
“Yes, Fel, I understand.”
“Do you know, there was once a child who was just like you, someone who desperately sought power.”
“But in pursuing power, he walked down the wrong path.”
“There was another child as well.”
“He was the same, though fortunately he returned to the light in the end, but only after losing something precious.”
Fel knew exactly who Dumbledore was talking about.
He wanted to explain that he wasn’t like them.
Before he could speak, Dumbledore gently patted him on the shoulder.
“I know, my child.”
“You’re different from them.”
“What you seek isn’t power itself, or at least that isn’t your only reason.”
“You’re seeking power to protect something.”
Dumbledore paused.
“But don’t you think you’ve begun to lose sight of what’s truly important?”
“The things you should treasure are already beside you, yet you’ve ignored how they feel.”
“Many great wizards began pursuing power for good reasons.”
“But somewhere along the way, they forgot why they started.”
It felt as though a bucket of cold water had been poured over Fel’s head.
He suddenly woke up.
He remembered the sadness on Hermione’s face that morning.
But at the time…
He truly hadn’t noticed.