Chapter 142: The Headmaster's Office

Harry, Ron, and Hermione moved toward Edward as soon as he entered. Hermione stopped short of touching the fresh dressing around his side.

"Are you all right?" she asked.

"Madam Pomfrey says the cuts are clean," Edward replied. "Professor Lupin?"

"In the hospital wing," Harry said. "He changed back after sunrise. He hasn't woken yet, but she says he is stable."

Dumbledore invited Edward to sit. Snape occupied the armchair beside the desk, pale and furious at having required rescue. Professor McGonagall remained standing with a roll of parchment beneath one arm.

"We have taken separate statements from Mr. Potter, Mr. Weasley, and Miss Granger," Dumbledore said. "Before we discuss private matters, is there anything in Edward's account that one of you disputes?"

Hermione looked at Edward. "He told us to keep Lupin restrained and take both professors back. He saw the trail after we started toward the castle. I told him not to go alone."

Harry nodded. "He sent warning sparks before he transformed."

"And he marked the route before leaving," Ron added. His forearm was bandaged where Scabbers had bitten him. "Professor Flitwick had already told him not to go."

Dumbledore thanked them and asked them to wait in the antechamber. Harry hesitated, then went with the others. The door closed.

Professor McGonagall unrolled her parchment. "The scene in the valley has been preserved. Fenrir Greyback's blood trail begins well before the confrontation. Mr. Black's footprints show repeated retreat toward the stream. We found residue from Stunning Spells, binding ropes, fire barriers, and three distress flares. His wand lay where he said it fell."

"The bloodied branch remained beside the body," Snape said. "An unusual scene for someone trying to conceal a planned killing."

Edward accepted the observation without mistaking it for forgiveness.

"There is also purple curse residue on the upper slope," McGonagall continued. "It may come from prepared traps. The Aurors have not established whether another person was present."

Dumbledore folded his hands. "The physical evidence presently supports your statement that Greyback attacked and that you used the broken branch when disarmed and pinned. The inquiry is not complete. You will make yourself available for further questions, and you will not discuss uncertain findings as established fact."

"I understand."

"Self-defense does not erase the decisions that placed you there," Snape said. "You followed Dolohov's group after being ordered to remain in the village. Later, you scouted the forest alone despite knowing Greyback was nearby."

"I thought I could mark their route and return before help arrived."

"You thought being capable made the boundary negotiable."

The words landed because Edward had made the same mistake twice. "Yes, Professor."

Dumbledore's expression remained kind, which made the disappointment harder to avoid. "For the next month, you will not leave the castle grounds except for supervised classes. All independent field practice is suspended. The Basilisk fang and locket evidence will remain under joint Hogwarts and Black family custody. Professor McGonagall will arrange detention focused on documenting emergency procedures."

The restriction would be reviewed after two weeks rather than extended automatically. Edward could submit a written objection, ask Sirius to attend as guardian, and see the nonconfidential evidence supporting any school penalty. Accountability, Dumbledore said, did not require surrendering the right to be heard.

Edward nodded. "Those conditions are fair."

"Now we must understand the fire the witnesses described," Dumbledore said. "Professor Snape detected magic unlike an ordinary Incendio. You are entitled to keep personal memories private, but not to conceal a danger that may affect other students."

Edward removed his mother's letter from the inner pocket of his robe. "I can explain without anyone entering my mind. This was meant for me when I turned eighteen, but Gringotts released it early after the attack on my vault. I also viewed my mother's preserved memory in a Ministry Pensieve."

He handed the letter to Dumbledore. "You may read it. Professors McGonagall and Snape may read it as well, but I do not consent to copies."

Dumbledore acknowledged the limit before opening the pages. Isabella's writing described Edward's childhood Obscurus, her attempt to anchor it through an old Egyptian working, and the sacrifice that transformed its destructive pressure into the fire now bound to his own magic. It was not a separate soul and not an external creature. It was Edward's magic, shaped by survival, fear, anger, and his mother's final protective imprint.

Professor McGonagall read next. Her eyes shone, but her voice remained steady. "Isabella was among the strongest students I taught. She also took risks no school should ask a parent to take alone."

Snape held the letter last. His gaze stopped on the passage where Isabella chose her child's life over her own. His fingers tightened once.

"This explains the signature of the flame," he said. "It does not guarantee control."

"No," Edward agreed. "That is why I study it."

Snape handed the letter back rather than offering comfort. "Then study should include knowing when not to cast."

Dumbledore asked Edward to demonstrate only a spark. Edward raised one empty palm. A small orange flame appeared, warmed the room, and vanished when he closed his hand. Snape used three diagnostic charms. None found an independent presence, possession, or curse attached to the magic.

"The power is integrated with him," Snape said. "Stable at rest. Exhaustion and strong emotion may still alter it."

"We will establish supervised tests after the present restrictions end," Dumbledore decided. "No experimentation with Fiendfyre, Protego Diabolica, or unknown sacrificial spells."

"I have never cast Fiendfyre," Edward said. "And I agree to the rest."

McGonagall added the condition to her parchment. "Professor Lupin will also be questioned when he is well enough. His transformation and Greyback's presence are separate matters, and neither should be hidden to protect the school's reputation."

Edward felt some of the tension leave his shoulders. The adults were not accepting a letter in place of investigation. They were reading evidence, naming uncertainty, and preserving the parts that remained uncomfortable.

Dumbledore offered him a lemon sherbet. Edward declined.

"One final matter," the Headmaster said. "Mr. Pettigrew escaped during the confusion. Sirius honored the Vow and did not attack him, but the pursuit exposed his dog form to three students. We will revise the plan before anyone moves again."

"Is Sirius safe?"

"He returned from the Shrieking Shack under authorisation and gave his statement through the mirror. Kreacher has taken him home. He is angry with himself and, I suspect, with everyone else."

"That sounds like him," Edward said.

Dumbledore's mouth almost curved into a smile. "Go to the hospital wing. Madam Pomfrey expects to keep you until evening. After that, your detention schedule begins."

Edward rose, reclaimed his mother's letter, and thanked the professors. McGonagall did not restore the points she had deducted earlier, because there were no invented points to forgive. Snape did not praise him. Dumbledore did not call the inquiry closed.

The absence of easy absolution felt honest.

When Edward left the office, Harry, Ron, and Hermione were waiting on the turning staircase. He could not tell them everything, but he could tell them Lupin was stable, Sirius had survived, and Fenrir's death would be examined rather than buried.

For that morning, truth with limits was enough.