Dumbledore was a little helpless; he knew Charlie must have come prepared.
"So, Mr. White, what do you want?"
Charlie blinked, his mind racing; he had already thought it through.
"I want permission to Apparate within the Hogwarts grounds."
Dumbledore paused, pushing up his glasses, a hint of confusion in his blue eyes.
"You... have learned Apparition?"
Charlie shook his head.
"Not yet, but it's good to be prepared."
Dumbledore was silent for a moment.
The right to Apparate within Hogwarts was exclusively the Principal's, though the Principal could, of course, share this right with others.
However, people generally didn't do this, and very few would make such a request.
Seeing Dumbledore's silence, Hermione suddenly started sobbing again.
"Professor..."
"We almost died. I can still recall the Basilisk charging at us."
She sobbed, tears falling.
"If it weren't for Charlie, we would all be dead..."
Charlie was mentally giving a huge thumbs-up; this acting deserved an Oscar.
Dumbledore didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
"Miss Granger, I didn't disagree."
Hermione paused.
She scratched her head awkwardly, her tears instantly stopping.
"Oh... is that so?"
Dumbledore stood up.
"Alright, Mr. White." His tone was serious.
"This is an exclusive right of past Principals; no student has ever possessed it."
He paused.
"But given your significant contribution to the school today, I hereby grant you permission to Apparate within Hogwarts."
With that, Dumbledore snapped his fingers.
Charlie blinked; he felt nothing special.
"That's it?"
Dumbledore nodded.
"That's it."
Charlie looked down at his hands.
"I don't feel anything."
Dumbledore couldn't help but laugh.
"What do you want to feel?"
"I thought there would be a golden light crowning me."
Just then, there was a knock on the office door.
"Come in," Dumbledore said.
Snape and Sprout walked in.
Lockhart was being supported between them, his face pale.
Charlie narrowed his eyes.
Lockhart's expression was blank, his eyes full of confusion.
Clearly, Tom had retreated back into the diary.
Dumbledore stood up.
"Professor Lockhart, please hand me the diary."
Lockhart paused.
He mechanically pulled the diary from his robes and handed it to Dumbledore.
Dumbledore took the diary and locked it again.
A silver light flashed across the box's surface, clearly protected by many charms.
Dumbledore turned around.
"Professor Sprout, Professor Snape, please go and reassure the students; they have experienced something too bizarre today."
He paused.
"Mr. White, please stay."
Sprout nodded. She glanced at Charlie, her eyes holding complex emotions.
Snape said nothing more and turned to leave.
Lockhart was led away by the two Professors.
Hermione glanced at Charlie, then wisely followed them out, closing the door behind her.
Only Charlie and Dumbledore remained in the office.
Charlie pointed at the metal box.
"Professor, aren't you going to destroy that diary?"
Dumbledore walked to the window, his back to Charlie, and did not answer directly.
"Do you know Tom's origin?"
Charlie paused; he really didn't know. The diary hadn't been in his possession for long; after a few interrogations, it said nothing, so Charlie handed it over to Dumbledore.
"No, who is it?"
Dumbledore turned around.
"Tom is Lord Voldemort's real name."
Charlie was a little surprised, but not shocked; the diary's Dark Arts mastery was extremely high, not something an ordinary person could create.
It made sense if it belonged to Lord Voldemort.
Dumbledore gently stroked the metal box that held the locked diary.
"If my judgment is correct," his voice was calm.
"This diary is one of Tom's Horcruxes."
Charlie paused.
"A Horcrux?"
Dumbledore nodded.
"An extremely evil Dark Arts creation. Through murder, one splits one's soul and seals the soul fragment within an object." He paused.
"It is because of the Horcruxes' existence that Tom has remained immortal."
Charlie raised an eyebrow; splitting one's soul would inevitably lead to severe consequences.
Although it was a form of immortality, the price paid was quite heavy; Lord Voldemort was quite resourceful.
Dumbledore continued.
"From what I know of Tom, he wouldn't have just this one Horcrux." He looked up, deep thought in his blue eyes.
"I want to use this Horcrux to find the locations of the other Horcruxes, but this will require some time for research."
Charlie stared at the metal box, his mind racing. Something was off; why was Dumbledore suddenly telling him all this?
After thinking for a while, he suddenly realized there was nothing to ponder; why not just ask directly?
"Principal, why are you telling me all this?"
Dumbledore smiled, that smile holding a certain profound meaning.
"In the Wizarding World, there are many ways to achieve immortality." He walked to the window, looking at the sky outside.
"Leme can do it, Tom can do it. If I wanted to, I could do it too."
Charlie nodded; he had no doubt about this. Not to mention distant examples, neither Horcruxes nor the Philosopher's Stone would be difficult for Dumbledore.
Dumbledore turned around.
"But truly powerful Wizards never fear death."
"It's merely another adventure, just as Leme ultimately chose to face it calmly. While Tom blindly pursued immortality, he overlooked the truly powerful force — love."
He looked at Charlie, his eyes holding a certain conviction.
"I believe you are not a short-sighted, ordinary Wizard."
Charlie didn't know what to say for a moment; he hadn't expected Dumbledore to have such a high opinion of him.
So what else was there to say? Yes, I am such a powerful Wizard.
Charlie understood that Dumbledore telling him all this was both an expectation and a warning.
But as for what power, what love, Charlie indicated he wasn't very interested; he was open, very open.
"Don't worry, Professor, I won't blindly pursue power."
Dumbledore nodded with satisfaction.
Just then, the office door burst open with a bang, and Professor McGonagall rushed in.
Her face was flushed, her breathing ragged, clearly having run all the way.
This was a rare moment of her losing her composure, her hurried manner even causing her to neglect knocking on the Principal's door.
Professor McGonagall stared at Charlie, completely ignoring Dumbledore who stood nearby.
"Charlie." Her voice was trembling.
"That Animagus, is it real?"
Charlie nodded.
"It's real, Professor."
Professor McGonagall trembled all over. She gripped the table, so excited she could barely stand steady.
As a Transfiguration master and an Animagus herself, she understood how incredible this was.
"A Dragon Animagus." Her voice grew louder.
"A Dragon Animagus! This has never happened in the Wizarding World!"
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