Where did it all go wrong, and where should I begin to unravel it? When I first met Bom? Or when I first met Ga-eul? Or when I relayed the prophecy to the Dark Lord? Not me, not Professor Dumbledore, not the Dark Lord. No one knows. All I know is... my life is falling apart.
“···Spring,”
I miss you, I'm so sorry. Did I end up like this because I never listened to you? If I had listened to you even once and reflected on what you said, you wouldn't have died. You would have raised Dae-hwi well, happily with that damned Lee Ga-eul. Dae-hwi wouldn't have been hurt by not having parents.
If magic existed to change the past, I wouldn't have associated with those children who would become the dead, and would have simply lived a quiet life. I regret my past actions so much. Why on earth did I do that?
Tears began to well up in my eyes. Then Professor Dumbledore came in.
"Oh, I'm sorry. I'll be back later..."
I quickly wiped away the tears that were flowing down my face and grabbed the professor.
“No, Professor. You may come in.”
“Oh, then come in.”
“What’s going on? Could it be that the Dark Lord has returned…?”
“Don’t get excited, that’s not it. I just came to ask about the plan.”
Ah. I was startled again, thinking it was the Dark Lord's return, or the suspicious movements of the Death Eaters. If that were true, I should have known about it first and told the professor, but pathetically, I was surprised.
But, I haven't thought of a plan yet. So... what should I do to keep Daehwi safe from the Dark Lord? What should I do so that the Death Eaters don't realize I'm helping Daehwi?
All I could think about was making sure Lee Dae-hwi himself didn't realize I was helping him. If he couldn't even notice, wouldn't a third party notice, too?
My head started to spin. How on earth could I protect Dae-hwi without him even knowing?
“Woojin, I believe in you. Of course it will be difficult, but I know you’ll do well.”
“···Thank you for trusting me.”
“When your name is called, please come forward and sit down.”
Professor McGonagall called out to the incoming Hogwarts students. They were choosing which houses they would reside in from the time they entered Hogwarts until graduation. Hogwarts has four houses: Slytherin, of which I am the head, Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, and Hufflepuff. The Sorting Hat determines them all. Slytherin values ambition, Gryffindor values courage, Ravenclaw values wisdom, and Hufflepuff values honesty.
Anyway, since I knew that Daehwi was 100% Gryffindor, I was incredibly curious to know what kind of child he was. There were so many of them, and I didn't even know what Daehwi looked like, so it seemed impossible to find him. I hoped the professor would quickly call Daehwi's name.
After a few dozen minutes, more than half of the incoming students had been called, and I was starting to get tired of waiting. Then, Professor McGonagall shouted loudly.
“Lee Dae-hwi!”
Finally, it was Dae-hwi's turn. He sat on his chair, his lips tightly clenched. I couldn't see his eyes, so I couldn't tell for sure, but even a cursory glance revealed his true self. Seriously, what did I expect?
I was so taken aback by the anticipation I'd had for even a moment, that a "ha," escaped my lips. Professor Quirrell, sitting next to me, must have heard it. He glanced at me and glared. My whole body ached. I cleared my throat softly and prayed for it to end quickly.
“No Slytherin, please no Slytherin…”
I just blankly stared at where Daehwi was, and Daehwi was whispering that Slytherin wasn't an option. "Huh, this is just like Igaeul. Igaeul also likes Gryffindor and looks down on Slytherin." It's annoying. Does she resemble Bom in some way?
"You can't go to Slytherin? Why, you'll do well in Slytherin. Well... well, then, Gryffindor!"
Daehwi ran towards the Gryffindor students with a smile. The Gryffindor students greeted him with bright faces. Well, if Daehwi, the surviving child, was in the same house, there was no reason not to be excited.
The more I think about it, the more annoyed I get that I have to protect Lee Ga-eul's son just because he's Bomi's son... but like an idiot, I just chuckle whenever I see Dae-hwi.
Looking closely at Daehwi now, I see he has Bomi's blue eyes. I don't know about anything else, but looking at those blue eyes makes me feel good. Maybe it's that Bomi and Daehwi seem to overlap a bit.
"Professor. Are you looking at Dae-hwi? Because he's Kim Bom's son, because he survived?"
“You could say both.”
“Please eat some. It looks like you haven’t eaten anything today...”
“I’m not hungry.”
Professor Quirrell is the one in charge of Defense Against the Dark Arts. Just last year, he was in charge of Muggle Studies... If it weren't for him, I might have become the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher.
Be that as it may, this professor kind of annoys me. He knows my school days, and... something just feels off. Of course, my hunches are often wrong... but that's just how it is.
“Well... still, please try this. It’s delicious.”
“Oh, yes.”
I pulled out the can because I felt like I was going to throw up the moment I put it in my mouth. Damn it, what the hell is so delicious about this? I felt bad for vomiting right in front of you when you said it was delicious, but this... is so tasteless. This was seriously... a peculiar, unpleasant taste, like something out of a jelly that tastes like something out of a jelly.
After eating it, I felt a little dizzy and drowsy. What the heck was this... I shouted loudly, "Don't sleep, wake up!" But the more I did, the more exhausted I became, and I felt like I was going to collapse. I don't remember what happened after that. Professor Dumbledore said I was carried back to my room by Professor Quirrell.
What on earth was that food? Why did I collapse over that one thing? Whatever it was, how could it possibly taste good? No, more than that... why did Professor Quirrell feed me that? There were more than a few questions.