Volume 3: A Tombstone Stained with Sin and Blood Chapter 146 Ambition
“This should be a matter of course.”
His voice was as cold as an Arctic glacier floating in the ocean.
"I think Professor Dumbledore, you made me a prefect because you recognized my excellence, and now I am also the head boy. But most of the other people in this carriage don't seem to think so."
"My stupid brothers never acknowledge that the best should have the right to speak. They even look down on those who make progress and deny that I am better than them. It's not just them. Many people in this school have similar ideas."
"They rejected leadership from the best. Even in such a pressing situation, they still put their personal feelings and emotions first. They showed great respect to a third-year student, but never took me, the soon-to-be-chairman, seriously!"
There was total silence in the principal's office.
The tension on McGonagall's face disappeared and she frowned; Lupin's face was still as calm as at the beginning; Flitwick shook his head and sighed silently when Percy said the first sentence in the fire; Lily's eyes were cold, and her expression seemed much colder than Percy's.
Molly had covered her face with her hands, tears streaming down her palms onto her arms; Arthur became serious, he looked at Percy's face, as if he was looking at his son for the first time as a stranger.
However, Dumbledore's expression did not change from beginning to end, even though the video left by Percy was clearly a conversation with him.
"I can't see any future, you know! There's no future for me in this carriage!"
Percy's voice grew louder, his emotions starting to build.
"I did better than anyone else, but I didn't get what I deserved! After getting the chairman's badge, I was smug at first, but after I calmed down, my reason told me that this badge couldn't bring any changes to me!"
"Even if I graduate from this carriage as the Chairman, what can I get? Can I enter the Ministry of Magic? Or join Gringotts? Nothing! Nothing! I am still a wanted criminal! No matter how well I study or how excellent my grades are, after I graduate, I will have only one way out, just like those poor students— "
"In an organization that has no future and no respect, and is against the entire magical government! Being a street rat who obviously has noble blood in the wizarding world!"
"Bang!"
There was a sound of a door closing in the principal's office.
When Percy said this in the flames, Lily pushed the door and walked out with an expressionless face, as if she didn't want to hear another word.
Molly had buried her face in Arthur's shoulder, her body still shaking with her sobs, as if she couldn't accept that her son had become like this.
"My parents, my brothers and sisters, are happy with this, but I have to think of a way for my own future, Professor Dumbledore."
Percy's voice suddenly calmed down, and the change in his tone expressed that what he was going to say next was not an impulsive decision, but was the result of careful consideration.
"I don't completely agree with the theory of blood superiority, but since that gentleman is fighting for the interests of pure-blood wizards, why should I, as the one who gets the benefits, oppose him so much? The world is always changing. That gentleman's rule over the wizarding world has become an inevitable trend. This cannot be changed by someone rescuing a few students from that castle."
"Rather than being crushed by the wheels of the times along with the conservatives, why should I continue to sit there and wait for death?"
"I know that Professor Slughorn is not dead at all. He, like me, sees things more clearly than any of you. He has joined the right side and has now gained a status and position second only to that gentleman. This is a good thing. When I pass away, we will all be the same, with pure blood, controversial experiences, and repentance."
He didn't say clearly what he was going to do, but even a first-year student would be able to understand what he meant.
"I will not forget the teachings I received in this school, and that is why I did not stay on the wagon to do more things that would be beneficial to my future."
Percy looked at everyone coldly.
"Pure-bloods are not necessarily all excellent, but I will prove to everyone how much respect my abilities would earn me if I were in another place! And what kind of power and status would such respect earn me!"
"We'll see later."
As he finished his last words, the human face made of green flames in the fireplace gradually died down and disappeared, and the principal's office once again fell into an inexplicable silence.
Molly almost fainted from crying in Arthur's arms. There was sadness on Arthur's face, but more of it was gloomy.
"It's unimaginable... unimaginable..."
Mag's face was livid. She was obviously very angry about Percy's last words. However, because Arthur and Molly were beside her, she couldn't say more.
Flitwick sighed again, his head bowed as he muttered in a low voice.
"When children grow up, they will have their own ideas..."
Lupin shook his head.
"But I think it's better not to have such thoughts."
Arthur patted Molly's back gently, and looked up at Dumbledore, who had remained calm and expressionless from beginning to end.
"I'm sorry about what happened with Percy... Dumbledore."
Dumbledore finally responded, he turned his gaze to Arthur and spoke.
"That's not necessary, Arthur. From a personal point of view, Percy is right. There is no future for him following us. We can't give him what he wants."
"But whether he actively sought for the things he wanted or whether they were generously given to him by others is another matter."
Arthur was stunned, and Molly looked up at Dumbledore with her eyes swollen from crying.
Dumbledore 's eyes were deep, and he spoke solemnly.
"Percy may have some ideas of his own, but they are definitely not so extreme and radical. The powder he used to record this video, the way he left the carriage silently, the information he learned that Horace was not dead, and the guarantee that he would get more benefits if he did more to the carriage before leaving..."
His voice grew heavy.
"Someone bewitched him and stirred up his emotions while he was still in the carriage, and gave him a guarantee of his future after he left us on behalf of the Ministry of Magic!"
