Trust and Responsibility

Chapter 25 Trust and Responsibility

"Distrust".

The resolute answer startled Avada. He looked up in surprise and met Baron's determined gaze.

"It's not that I don't want to, but that I can't—after all, he's been my professor for half a year, and he did show genuine sincerity just now. Personally, I'm very willing to trust him."

Baron's tone was somewhat somber: "But choosing to trust him isn't just my decision, or even just the two of us... Who knows if Professor Baker was telling the truth? Who knows what his true nature is? Who knows if, if we agree to help him, he might secretly sabotage us and lead us to do something harmful to others?"

"There's nothing we can do. He's far more powerful than us, and he has countless ways to mislead and deceive us... Even his earlier suggestion to use a contract to bind himself might be because he actually has a way to counter the contract, which is why he dared to make such a offer!"

Avada smiled bitterly to himself. He could see clearly where Professor Baker hid his "mind," and thus could try to believe in this "thing capable of independent thought." But this was merely the effect of his unreasonable talent seeing through the essence of Professor Baker's mental power; he couldn't prove it to anyone.

As for the counter-contract he was worried about, Avada wasn't too concerned. He had signed contracts with the Ministry of Magic before and knew that such contracts affecting multiple people would directly imprint the contract mark into the mental energy of each person, creating a connection between them. In other words, if Professor Baker wanted to tamper with his mark, he could sense it immediately. And what if Professor Baker had a way to block this connection—did he think his magical senses were useless?

If you sense anything is wrong, just go find Dumbledore immediately.

But if Baron is unwilling to provide a contract, he wouldn't dare to help a mysterious wizard who is much stronger than him without any precautions—what if his family changes their minds halfway through?

"So you're planning to tell Professor Dumbledore about this?" he asked, somewhat helplessly.

To be honest, Avada Kedavra and Professor Baker share the same opinion on this point; they don't want to go to Dumbledore unless absolutely necessary.

Even though he knew that if Dumbledore could also confirm that Professor Baker had not done anything wrong, he would most likely help Professor Baker cover up the matter; even though this would help Dumbledore connect the Horcruxes to Voldemort's fate earlier, thus greatly accelerating Voldemort's demise; and even though he himself had once considered seeking help from Dumbledore before understanding Professor Baker's sincerity.

Firstly, Avada didn't want Dumbledore to interfere with the Horcruxes prematurely. Letting him know now that the Horcruxes could cause unpredictable changes in the timeline could completely disrupt Avada's carefully laid plans for Voldemort. Moreover, the Horcruxes contain the Resurrection Stone, a powerful weapon that could overwhelm Dumbledore. Therefore, Avada truly couldn't trust Dumbledore with complete confidence in this regard.

Secondly, they've developed a concept for magic specifically designed to target Horcruxes without damaging them, but they need more samples to aid their research. Following Professor Baker's lead might be an excellent opportunity to learn about Horcruxes, and he didn't want to miss it.

The third and most important point is that when Professor Baker said he "did not and would not do evil," he was telling the truth.

He's not a bad person, he needs help, and his needs are reasonable—these alone are enough for Avada to do his best to fulfill Professor Baker's wishes with limited risk, regardless of other interests.

Moreover, given that Legilimency and Veritaserum are ineffective against a powerful wizard and therefore cannot prove anything, it's highly likely that only he himself can truly confirm that Professor Baker did not commit evil. However, it is an undeniable fact that he created Horcruxes, and Horcruxes are considered by everyone, including Dumbledore, to be the most evil form of dark magic. If Professor Baker were to fall into the hands of other wizards... the consequences would likely be far more than just "disgrace and ruin."

This is not the fate that should befall someone who has not committed any evil.

"I won't tell anyone else."

At that moment, Baron suddenly spoke up, answering Avada's earlier question.

"Hmm?" Avada frowned in confusion.

"As I just said, I don't dare trust Professor Baker because I can't confirm whether what he said is true or not. But what if what he said is true? Wouldn't my actions cause an innocent person to suffer an undeserved disaster?" Baron said seriously.

"So what exactly do you plan to do?" Avada asked curiously.

"I will request temporary leave from the university from the professors," he said. "Once I'm home, I will try to confirm whether there is any possibility of the mental imprint contract being exploited. If there is, I will tell the professors the whole story; if not..."

"If not, I will have my house-elf cooperate with me to secretly draw up the most comprehensive contract that will completely restrain Professor Baker, and then return to school after Christmas to present it to Professor Baker."

"sounds good."

Avada nodded in agreement.

"But if Professor Baker really had some ulterior motive, originally just wanting to exploit a loophole in the contract, but realized his intentions were exposed after seeing that absolutely comprehensive contract, so he directly trapped me, forced me to make an unbreakable oath, or even used some hidden means to directly attack me..."

"After I return to school, I will leave a distress note in my dorm room in advance, which will record the whole incident in detail. If I do not return to deal with it within two days, it will automatically move to a conspicuous place and open."

Baron smiled confidently.

"Are you planning to take all the risks on yourself?" Avada frowned, noticing that Baron had used "I" instead of "we" earlier.

"This is my responsibility."

"What responsibility do you have? You're just a freshman!"

"I am still a pure-blood, still a Slytherin. Protecting the magical world, protecting wizards, protecting the innocent are my duties. Perhaps normally I could shift these responsibilities to those stronger than me, but if I do that now, an innocent person might suffer—this is the only option."

"If Professor Baker is truly innocent and his needs are entirely reasonable, then I should do everything in my power to help him. And this applies not only to him, but to everyone."

"This is the inherent responsibility of a pure-blood family, and the price we have to pay for enjoying wealth and honor beyond the reach of ordinary people."

"..."

Avada remained silent for a long time.

He desperately wanted to tell Baron that his greatest duty was to protect himself and put those who cared about him at ease, rather than putting others above himself, recklessly taking risks, and squandering his own safety and life.

However, the choice Baron made at this moment was exactly what Avada needed: to resolve the matter secretly on his own, without letting Dumbledore come into contact with the Horcruxes at this time.

Looking into Baron's clear and determined eyes, he suddenly felt a little guilty.

He essentially took advantage of Baron.

Moreover, Baron was not originally supposed to be involved in this matter—if he hadn't suddenly had the idea to tell Baron about the House of Requirement, this matter should have been handled by Avada alone.

"Then at least take me with you."

He said somewhat helplessly, "At least I'm a participant and someone who knows about this, so I have the right and the responsibility to share the risks with you. Besides, you can't just stand by and watch your friend put himself in danger while you do nothing."

"That's easy to say."

Baron finally nodded, though his face remained stern: "Let's go downstairs first. It's not good to keep arguing here."

"That's true."

Avada smiled and turned to walk towards the stairs.

"Forget everything, and all is emptiness!"

"Armor for protection!"

Almost immediately, in the blink of an eye, the two first-year students staged a magical attack and defense that would leave the professors speechless.

Avada gripped the wand that had appeared out of nowhere, raising a pale blue, transparent barrier in front of her. She looked at Baron's astonished expression through the barrier with amusement.

From Baron's sudden change in attitude to his surging mental power, how could Avada not know what he was planning?

However, Baron was somewhat surprised that he had actually mastered the Oblivion Spell in his first year.

"You should try to trust and accept others."

Avada looked into Baron's eyes and said calmly, "Not everyone needs your protection and help, and besides, you can't protect everyone. You're just being arrogant."

"You can't handle the risks of this alone; you need my help now."

"you……"

Baron looked at Avada, whose expression was serious but whose eyes held a hint of a smile, and at the thick, pale blue barrier in front of him, with a complicated expression, before finally slowly putting away his wand.

"All right."

Then, without saying a word, he simply walked past Avada and went down the stairs first.

Avada watched Baron's figure disappear around the corner, then turned back and took a deep look at the deepest part of the eighth-floor corridor before quickly following Baron's footsteps.

The headmaster's office at Hogwarts is on the eighth floor.

(End of this chapter)