"Riddle hates his name, you must have noticed. When I mentioned that the name of the owner of Leaky Cauldron is also 'Tom,' he was visibly annoyed... This shows his disdain for anything that makes him seem ordinary."
"Also, he is extremely confident, likes to do everything himself, and refused my company to Diagon Alley. As an adult, Voldemort was the same—he had no friends."
"Wait, Professor," Harry interrupted him, "but what about those Death Eaters..."
"They don't count as friends, Harry."
Dumbledore said, "To Voldemort, the Death Eaters are merely a tool to help him save some time, like a Speedwriting Quill that he can replace at any time.
Voldemort deceives them, making them believe they have gained his trust. In truth, Voldemort never had a friend, and I think he never needed one."
...
Dumbledore spoke at length until half an hour later, just before curfew time, he ended the topic under Harry's somewhat puzzled gaze.
Although Harry didn't understand why Dumbledore was saying these things to him, at his request, he tried hard to remember every word.
"Alright Harry, you really should be off to bed."
Harry stood up and walked towards the door, but stopped halfway.
"What's wrong, Harry?" Dumbledore asked.
"Professor." Harry hesitated and asked, "Is there really an Auror who can speak Parseltongue?"
"I understand what you mean, always need to see for yourself, right? But I need to correct you on one point—not all kind-hearted wizards are Aurors."
Dumbledore thought for a moment. "I know someone, he can understand the language of all Magical Creatures, including snakes, and can talk to them like friends."
"All Magical Creatures?" Harry asked in amazement, his mouth agape.
"Yes, all of them." Dumbledore glanced at Kael, deliberately or not.
Kael simply sat there calmly, as if he hadn't heard...
In fact, Kael really hadn't heard, because he had fallen asleep, as though he were in Magic History class, with Fawkes lying on his lap, its neck and wings drooping, also asleep soundly.
Dumbledore's eye twitched slightly; in all his years as a professor, this was the first time a student had been so audacious in front of him.
"Really amazing." Harry clicked his tongue. "I bet his Care of Magical Creatures grade must be great."
"To say it's the best in the school wouldn't be an exaggeration, including even the professors." Dumbledore said, taking a deep breath.
At this point, Harry also noticed Kael's odd behavior...
Sleeping so soundly, Harry couldn't help but think, while facing Dumbledore's increasingly peculiar gaze, he poked Kael's back with his hand.
"Well then, good night professor." After doing all this, Harry turned and walked towards the door.
After he left, Kael woke up too.
"Ah? Is it over?" Kael rubbed his eyes and looked at Dumbledore.
But faced with Kael's inquiry, Dumbledore merely asked in a flat tone, "Why are you still here?"
That tone was as though he was addressing an unwelcome guest.
"Huh?" Kael blinked, trying hard to wake up.
Strange, wasn't Dumbledore the one insisting that he stay? Why would he ask now?
If it wasn't because of Dumbledore's request, he would've already returned to the warm common room, rather than staying here listening to Dumbledore talking about Tom Riddle. After all, he'd heard these words once before... No, more than once.
Every time they talked about Voldemort, Dumbledore would mention it again, and Kael was almost tired of hearing it.
Kael stood up, ready to leave, but having just woken up, he forgot Fawkes was still on his lap...
Caught off guard, the Phoenix fell directly to the ground and angrily began pecking at Kael's calf.
"Oh, sorry Fawkes." Kael hurriedly apologized and spontaneously said, "It was Dumbledore who made me get up, you know, I was asleep just now."
Upon hearing this, the Phoenix unhesitatingly changed its target and flew over to start pecking at Dumbledore's beard.
The Headmaster's Office immediately became lively, with noises clattering so much that the portraits on the walls couldn't continue pretending to sleep anymore, and opened their eyes one after another.
Phineas Black watched as Dumbledore ran all over the place being pecked by the Phoenix, then looked again at Kael who nonchalantly walked out the door, couldn't help but open his mouth and said:
"Ha, is this the wizard with a kind heart that Dumbledore spoke about?"
"Um..." Someone next to him hesitated. "Maybe Albus meant his father. I recall it seems like his name was Chris, the Minister of Magic's Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures."
"I've seen him a few times in my paintings at the Ministry of Magic, a typical Hufflepuff."
...
On the other side, Kael, who had left the Headmaster's Office, was unaware that the portraits were gossiping about him; he stretched lazily and rubbed his calf, sore from Fawkes' pecking.
"Kael, how are you?" Harry's voice came from nearby; he'd been waiting here all along.
"I'm okay, just got pecked a few times by Fawkes." Kael lifted his robe, exposed his bruised calf, "Not to say anything, but being pecked by a Phoenix really hurts."
"What, Professor Dumbledore let the Phoenix peck you?" Harry said in surprise; he had thought Kael would at most lose some points, not that the headmaster would use such a method to punish a student."