Harry Potter: From Muggle Cousin to Conceptual Wizard

Chapter 37 Dumbledore's Self-Analysis!

"Veritable serum is inhumane and illegal..." Dumbledore instinctively tried to defend himself, hoping to salvage his image in Harry and Dudley's eyes.

But as soon as he said it, he regretted it and quickly shut up.

He's not someone who strictly follows the rules; using rules as a shield only backfires, proving to Harry and Dudley that he's still narrow-minded and unreflective.

"I was wrong! Utterly wrong, wrong from the very beginning!"

Dumbledore spoke heavily, but after saying those words, he seemed to have unloaded a heavy burden and felt relieved.

"Dudley, Harry! Perhaps I have never been a person who can make the right arrangements; mistakes have accompanied me throughout my life."

In my youth, blinded by love, I hurt my family, helped the wrong people, and ultimately became the first Dark Lord.

As I grew older, I inappropriately brought Voldemort into the magical world, allowing a villain who disregarded life and could never understand love to learn powerful magic and become the second Dark Lord.

I personally imprisoned the first Dark Lord, which earned me some unnecessary fame and adulation, making me more arrogant and shackled my beliefs.

I want to make up for the mistakes I made, I want to destroy the second Dark Lord Voldemort, and I want to restore peace to the wizarding world.

This thought drove me mad, made me ignore details, made me make sacrifices lightly, caused me to suffer setbacks, made me retreat into a corner, made me doubt myself, and turned to believe in the prophecy, wanting to shift the responsibility to Harry.

I've become someone I don't recognize anymore, or perhaps I've never truly found myself!

Under Dudley's persistent questioning and provocation, Dumbledore completely let down his guard and analyzed most of his life from an extreme perspective, delivering a heartfelt monologue.

Harry's eyes were burning with emotion, deeply moved.

Dali also showed genuine appreciation, nodding repeatedly.

"When people reach a certain age, their cognition and thinking become fixed, making it difficult for them to accept new ideas and things. I must admit, Mr. Dumbledore, you are a remarkable person."

At over a hundred years old, he still had the courage to overturn his past and transform into a new self.

For that alone, you are a great person. This is the first time I've ever used the word to describe you in its truest sense!

Dudley's approval slightly calmed the intense emotional turmoil that Dumbledore was almost unable to suppress after his self-analysis.

"Harry, Dudley, have you forgiven me?" Dumbledore asked, his eyes brimming with tears.

"The truth is pretty much clear now. To be fair, you can't be blamed for Aunt Lily and Uncle James's murder."

They joined your camp based on their own beliefs and understanding, standing on the opposite side of Voldemort.

After the protection of the Red Heart Curse was in place, they refused your offer to be their confidant based on their own ideas, entrusting the lives of their entire family to Sirius.

Whether Sirius Black truly sided with Voldemort and leaked the secret, or he cleverly handed over the secret-keeping role to Peter Pettigrew, indirectly leaking the secret, it proves that they trusted the wrong person.

Aunt Lily and Uncle James are adults and should bear the consequences of their decisions.

Therefore, I believe that Mr. Dumbledore was not at fault in this matter. At most, it was due to an accident that you failed to fulfill your promise to Snape, the undercover agent. It has nothing to do with whether Harry and I forgive you.

Dudley offered his honest opinion, then turned to Harry, who nodded in agreement.

Kind-hearted Harry is certainly not an unreasonable person.

“It’s great that you think that way…” Dumbledore felt some psychological comfort, but Dudley surprised him with another attempt to start by praising him.

Dudley interrupted Dumbledore once again as Dumbledore was slightly pleased:

"What you really want our forgiveness for is what happened after the tragedy that occurred back then, Mr. Dumbledore!"

Aunt Lily and Uncle James volunteered to follow you in the fight against Voldemort; that was their own business while they were alive, and there's nothing more to say about it.

But after their sacrifice, as their leader, you should give Harry, my mother Petunia, and even me, and all of us family members, a proper explanation and compensation.

But after the incident, you neither investigated the full truth of the matter nor spoke to my parents in person to clarify things and express your feelings.

You made Harry, still an infant, experience the devastating loss of his parents, and then had him fly through the air for most of the night on a flying motorcycle by Hagrid, leaving him to stand on our front door steps in the cold wind for hours, leaving behind only a thin letter explaining the situation.

You weren't even willing to knock on our door to get my parents' attention before leaving. You should be thankful that Privet Road is relatively safe at night, and you should also be thankful that my mother has the habit of getting up early to pick up the milk from the door.

I can't imagine what a human tragedy it would have been if Harry had been abducted by human traffickers back then.

Returning to the letter you left, I've read it. There's very little apology expressed between the lines. You emphasized the necessity for my parents to adopt Harry, and your wording even carried a hint of threat. This is absolutely not a proper explanation to the victim's family.

My parents treated me very well, but undeniably, they weren't kind people. My mother, Petunia, and Aunt Lily had conflicts since childhood over magical talent, and my father, Vernon, was a Muggle who extremely disliked wizards.

You should know this, Mr. Dumbledore!

“I know, but…” Dumbledore looked embarrassed.

"But what? But you still dumped Harry on them knowing all this, without any foreshadowing or understanding."

Because the protective magic of maternal love on Harry can only remain effective indefinitely in a place where he has blood relatives and can call home.

Because the mindless wizards in the magical world worship Harry as their savior, you don't want Harry's childhood to be filled with praise, which could lead to personality problems.

Is that what you wanted to say?

Dudley's resentment had almost dissipated because of Dumbledore's sincere self-analysis, but when he talked about his parents and Harry's childhood, he couldn't help but feel resentment rise again.

“That is indeed what I was thinking, but I failed to consider the details. I will sincerely apologize to the Dursleys later.” Dumbledore quickly admitted his mistake, as he could see that Dudley’s anger was brewing again.

"Didn't you consider the details?" Dudley sneered. "Mr. Dumbledore, I believe you may not have considered other things thoroughly, but you have definitely considered this matter very clearly!"

You knew my parents' personalities and ways of doing things, yet you still made them raise Harry.

Wasn't the idea to let Harry experience a childhood of exclusion and oppression, and then, when Harry was eleven years old, which is this year, at this point in time, to bring Harry into Hogwarts?

"Would you then appear before Harry as a gentle and mysterious elder, easily winning the favor of an orphan who has lacked love since childhood? This would allow you to more smoothly plan Harry's future development, ultimately making him a powerful weapon against Voldemort, just as the prophecy foretold?"