"Aberforth," Dumbledore's voice was clear, cutting through the tense atmosphere, "this is Amy."
Just as Aberforth was about to say sothing, Dumbledore leaned close to his ear and moved his lips, whispering sothing that no one else in the room could hear.
Aberforth's blue eyes suddenly widened, and the deep wrinkles across his face seed to freeze completely, as if soone had cast a Petrificus Totalus on his expression.
He spun around sharply, his whole body spinning with startling speed for soone his age. His intense gaze was fixed intently on Amy with focus, filled with shock and disbelief. His mouth had fallen slightly open.
This was a perfectly normal reaction, though.
Anyone who learned they were standing re feet away from an Obscurial, one of the most dangerous magical phenona known to wizardkind, would look the sa, perhaps even worse.
After a mont of silence, Aberforth finally managed to squeeze out a single sentence through gritted teeth, his voice was rough and hoarse with emotion, "You... you are absolutely certain about this?"
His eyes hadn't left Amy for even a second.
Amy instinctively shrank closer to Tonks, pressing herself against her side and partially hiding behind her robes like a frightened rabbit seeking shelter.
Perhaps in her understanding, Aberforth was just a frightening strange old man.
His burning, intense gaze made her feel even more afraid now.
"I don't know how I could prove this to you definitively without causing catastrophe," Dumbledore said with grave seriousness. "But you should be able to tell from my tone, that I'm not joking or exaggerating. You know well enough for that, at least."
Indeed, as Aberforth was surely aware, Obscurials appeared no different at all from ordinary people when they hadn't erupted.
Moreover, the Obscurus was almost always beyond the host's conscious control in most circumstances, acting on emotion and trauma rather than will.
If they were to sohow verify it on the spot through forcing an eruption, the entire Hog's Head, possibly several surrounding buildings as well might be completely destroyed within seconds, reduced to rubble and ash.
It wasn't a power that could be safely wielded or demonstrated at will, not like a simple charm or hex.
Aberforth's unkempt beard twitched nervously as he finally withdrew his gaze from Amy. He took a deep, steadying breath and slowly spoke, "So? What exactly do you want to do about this situation?"
His tone sounded sowhat impatient, almost aggressive.
And it was deliberately so.
"I rember you used to research Obscurials quite," Dumbledore said carefully, watching his brother's face for reaction. "Years ago, you were quite dedicated to understanding them."
At these words, Aberforth visibly stiffened. He ca out from behind the barrier of the bar with jerky movents.
He leaned heavily against a nearby wooden table, his hands gripping the edge, his eyes were what looked like anger. "You've been investigating ?"
"Not at all," Dumbledore shook his head gently. "A mutual friend rely ntioned your research in passing conversation a few tis over the years. Wizards who research such dangerous, tragic things are quite rare, almost unheard of, actually. It stuck in my mory."
Aberforth fell silent for a mont, his jaw was working as if chewing over bitter words. Then he sighed with a sound full of old exhaustion and resignation. "You think that research was recent? I gave all that up long ago. Decades ago."
He straightened slightly, his voice becoming more bitter and self-deprecating.
"And... don't think for a mont that I'm anything remotely like you. You're Albus Dumbledore—Headmaster of Hogwarts, holder of the Order of rlin First Class, the greatest wizard of our age, perhaps of any age. You can easily research complex and dangerous subjects, publish papers, gain acclaim, make discoveries. anwhile, I can't even run a proper, respectable pub that attracts decent custors."
He gestured around at the dingy tavern with self-loathing.
"Faced with sothing as terrible and powerful as an Obscurus, I can do nothing of value. Whatever knowledge I once had is outdated, useless. I'm no expert."
Adrian stood quietly to the side, listening carefully to this exchange and understanding the situation.
Dumbledore clearly believed his estranged brother could sohow help with Amy's problem.
But from the look of things, from Aberforth's body language, his defensive hostility, his self-deprecating words that hope seed rather unrealistic, perhaps even naive.
Setting aside the question of whether Aberforth truly had the ability to help Amy survive and recover, his resistant attitude alone didn't remotely suggest he was willing to assist or take on such responsibility.
Adrian looked down at Amy standing quietly beside him.
Even without anyone else's help or expertise, he realized, he could temporarily control and suppress the Obscurus within Amy using his modified binding magic. He'd proven that already.
It would just be troubleso—extrely troubleso, actually. Ti-consuming and requiring constant vigilance.
Moreover, even with powerful potions to artificially prolong her life and restore her depleted vitality, as long as the Obscurus itself wasn't completely removed from her body sohow, how long Amy could realistically survive remained an unknown variable.
Years or Months? There was simply no precedent.
Perhaps sensing Adrian's troubled thoughts, Amy lifted her pale face and looked at him. She gently shook her head, saying in a small, clear voice: "It's alright..."
Adrian was genuinely sowhat surprised. This seed to be the very first ti he'd actually heard Amy speak aloud beyond whimpers and frightened sounds.
It appeared the young child before him wasn't completely ignorant of everything happening around her, wasn't as lost in trauma as he'd assud.
She probably understood just how difficult it would be for her to survive in long-term.
"Regarding the Obscurus itself," Dumbledore's voice lowered, becoming heavier with admission and regret, "I truly have no solution to offer. You know as well as I do, Aberforth. If I possessed such knowledge, I would have used it long ago."
Aberforth shrugged, though the gesture seed forced. "How long can this particular child realistically live? Give an honest assessnt."
The question was blunt to the point of seeming cruel, lacking any softening or gentle phrasing.
But it was also practical.
Adrian stepped forward half a step, deciding to take over this part of the conversation and spare Dumbledore from having to deliver such grim news. He spoke calmly and unemotionally: "Very few Obscurials live past the age of ten years old. That's the recognized pattern based on historical records. But with my help, she might live a few more years beyond that limit. At the very least, I can forcibly suppress and contain the Obscurus when it erupts, prevent it from destroying everything around her."
"What?"
This confident statent made Aberforth's eyes widen as he suddenly grew agitated, pushing off from the table. "You can actually suppress an Obscurus? Successfully? That's... that shouldn't be possible. No one can do that."
"Yes, I can." Adrian responded lightly but with certainty, then added an important caution: "At least, as long as the Obscurus's power doesn't continue to grow significantly stronger over ti, which it might."
He was quite confident about this particular capability.
Or rather, achieving that degree of control and suppression would be relatively easy for him now that he understood the chanism.
It was just that suppression was all he could realistically do.
He couldn't prevent the Obscurus from erupting in the first place when triggered by emotion, and once it did erupt and manifest, it would inevitably consu more of Amy's life force—this fundantal problem couldn't be stopped or reversed.
"Adrian isn't lying or exaggerating his abilities," Dumbledore confird quietly, adding his authority to the claim.
Only then did Aberforth truly turn his full attention to Adrian with new interest, as if properly noticing for the first ti this younger man who had been standing quietly to the side all along.
This lack of earlier attention was hardly surprising, as the two n had no prior personal connection or relationship.
At most, they'd seen each other a few tis in passing when Adrian had visited the tavern, nothing more than that.
"I am Adrian Westeros," Adrian calmly t Aberforth's newly appraising gaze without flinching and said with composed formality, "A professor at Hogwarts, teaching Care of Magical Creatures. Just call Adrian—I prefer people to use my given na directly."
Aberforth narrowed his eyes slightly, scrutinizing this man who claid so confidently that he could suppress an Obscurus, sothing that should be impossible.
Adrian stood there before him with a relaxed, almost casual posture, yet sohow exuded a confidence and self-assurance that seed sowhat inappropriate with his relatively young age.
"In that case," Aberforth's voice carried a tone of genuine confusion, his face was showing puzzlent, "what exactly do you need for? Why co here at all? Since this... Professor Westeros already has the ability to suppress the Obscurus, why involve ?"
"That's ultimately just a stopgap asure, a temporary solution," Dumbledore's tone was quite certain. "Aberforth, I know you have experience and ways to properly care for an Obscurial child. I hope that you can look after Amy for a ti. Give her a safe place."
"You must be mad!" Aberforth practically blurted out, his voice rose sharply. "Have you actually looked around this place? There isn't even a single decent bed—everything's broken down or filthy! The whole building is falling apart! How is this possibly an appropriate place to care for a traumatized child?"
He gestured around at the grimy, deteriorating tavern.
Honestly, Adrian found himself agreeing with Aberforth's assessnt completely.
From his perspective, entrusting the delicate, crucial task of caring for Amy to Aberforth in this environnt, with his temperant wasn't a particularly good choice at all.
Moreover, realistically speaking, no one was truly obligated to care for such a dangerous, damaged child, Aberforth was certainly no exception to that.
If anyone had to ultimately bear this heavy responsibility, Adrian accepted privately, it could only be him. He was the one who had saved her, after all. That also created so obligation at last with no options.
"Hogsade can't withstand the destruction of an Obscurus," Aberforth continued. "If she erupts here, the whole village could be destroyed. Hundreds could die. Have you thought about that?"
"That's not a serious concern," Dumbledore replied with surprising calmness.
"You won't be caring for the child entirely alone, bearing all the burden. I have several reliable, trustworthy acquaintances here in Hogsade who will handle Amy's daily needs—feeding, clothing, comfort, education.
But considering both safety and secrecy, the need to keep her existence quiet, she needs to stay here temporarily. You only need to provide a room for her to live in and basic supervision."
"At the Hog's Head?" Aberforth's voice was incredulous. "You want her living in this tavern?"
Dumbledore nodded seriously.
Aberforth fell into troubled thought, his wrinkled face was working through complex emotions.
He'd truly been profoundly shocked today by this revelation.
A wild Obscurial—he knew exactly what that ant.
Anywhere in the wizarding world, this would be considered a potential disaster, a walking catastrophe.
He understood his brother's thinking: have trustworthy people protect and monitor the Obscurial carefully to prevent that terrible power from being discovered and exploited by those with ill intent, by dark wizards or ambitious fools.
He'd already paid that price once, long ago.
Still, he didn't entirely understand why Dumbledore would give him this particular task specifically, why burden him with this rather than soone more qualified, though he was more or less an unofficial mber of the Order of the Phoenix and could be trusted.
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