Chapter 216: Chapter 216: The Divination of Fate and the Diviner
12 Morrig Square
Regulus' remains were temporarily placed in the garden behind the old house.
The funeral was set for tomorrow by Sirius.
Sirius probably didn't want Regulus to be too lonely, so he wrote to many people, including Lupin, the Weasleys, and Regulus' two cousins...
...
In the living room of the Black family home.
Ino and Dumbledore sat opposite each other, with a delicate locket box placed between them.
The box, roughly the size of an egg, had an intricately carved letter 'S' on the front, surrounded by many green gemstones that shimmered faintly in the light.
"This is it. Young Master Regulus instructed Kreacher to destroy it by any means necessary..."
Kreacher's voice was still sharp, but it had lost some of its previous madness. It seemed that retrieving Regulus' remains had a significant impact on him.
"Professor! What do you plan to do?" Ino glanced at the locket, feeling the overwhelming malice emanating from it even without a lamp.
Dumbledore didn't answer directly. Instead, he gently tapped the locket with his Elder Wand, as if confirming something.
After a while, Dumbledore sighed with relief and said, "You handle it."
"Me?" Ino was a bit surprised.
"What? Don't tell me you haven't planned for this?" Dumbledore winked, his tone teasing. "If it weren't for Sirius' last-minute intervention, you might have already taken care of it. What would be left for me to do?"
"Alright then! Give me a minute!" Ino shrugged, then used his wand to pick up the locket and vanished.
He was back in less than ten seconds.
When he reappeared, he tossed the now-purified locket to Dumbledore.
"It's done! But I want to give it to Professor Snape... It's a Slytherin artifact, after all. It should go to the head of Slytherin."
After a moment of hesitation, Ino expressed his thoughts. For now, the locket shouldn't leave with Dumbledore. At least, not until the Christmas holidays were over, so he could study it thoroughly.
"I already said, it's up to you," Dumbledore said, glancing at the purified locket, his smile impossible to hide.
Ino remained silent for a moment.
"Do you trust me that much? You don't even ask how I knew about all this?"
"Why ask? Isn't a good result enough?" Dumbledore leaned back on the sofa, his tone calm.
"Once, a friend of mine told me that both divination and prophecy are incredibly powerful, so powerful that they almost surpass magic..."
Hearing this explanation, Ino became interested. Despite studying magic for so long, he had never truly understood the subject of divination.
Seeing the change in Ino's expression, Dumbledore didn't intend to hide anything further.
"My friend once said that there are two levels of divination and prophecy: one is genuine divination by those with the gift, and the other is fake divination by those without the gift..."
With Dumbledore's explanation, Ino began to understand the power of divination and prophecy, as well as why prophets were so revered throughout the vast history of magic.
A simple example: if an ordinary person predicts the direction of the London stock market tomorrow, whether they predict a rise or a fall, it won't affect the actual outcome.
The stock market will do what it does, unaffected by one person's prediction.
But if Warren Buffet makes a prediction, his reputation means his input already affects the output.
In essence, the moment he predicts, he influences the result of the London stock market tomorrow.
This is undeniably a powerful force.
And this power belongs only to those with the gift of divination.
As the elite among diviners, prophets in the magical world can use this power autonomously, which is the fundamental reason they are so highly esteemed.
However, every power comes with a price.
Diviners who cannot control their gift often meet unfortunate ends.
In layman's terms, they talk too much and make too many predictions.
Half-baked diviners' seemingly frivolous prophecies still impact outcomes due to their latent gifts.
And the price is paid the moment they speak.
...
About fifteen minutes passed.
Dumbledore finished explaining everything.
Likewise, Ino understood the old headmaster's intentions.
To Dumbledore, whether it was Peter Pettigrew before or the Horcrux now, it was all knowledge gained through divination.
Today, Dumbledore shared this to caution him that the power of divination shouldn't be used recklessly.
"I understand! Thank you, Professor!" Ino said solemnly.
Even though he never used divination, Dumbledore's words were enlightening. And the concern behind it all made it even more valuable.
"I'm glad you understand!" Dumbledore nodded gently. "Many talented diviners realized too late, and their ends were far from perfect."
"What about Professor Trelawney?" Ino thought of the mad professor from the original story, who also had a tragic end.
"Sybill? I told her, and I also promised she wouldn't need to do divination at Hogwarts."
At this point, Dumbledore seemed to recall something, his tone becoming somewhat hesitant.
"I brought her to Hogwarts originally to protect her..."
...
The village of Hogsmeade was peaceful and serene at dusk.
Ino sat quietly in his chair. After his conversation with Dumbledore, he returned to his small house.
After all, with Regulus' funeral the next day, he had no reason to stay at the Black family home.
Looking at the delicate locket on the table, he had no mind to study it further.
Today's conversation felt like an invisible hand unveiling a hidden curtain.
In any story, there always seemed to be the shadow of fate and divination.
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