Struggling to survive at Hogwarts

After a while, Thea still didn't look up, so Dumbledore continued to guide her, "Is it because of this ability that you have been treated unfairly?"

Sure enough, when Thea heard the question, she raised her head, looked directly at Dumbledore, and slowly said, "I only discovered this ability a few months ago."

Dumbledore already remembered everything Thea had suffered at the orphanage, but he still asked, "Did you tell anyone about it?"

"No, but I accidentally let John discover this ability. He treated me like a monster. Before today, I also thought I was a monster..."

Dumbledore was completely stunned.

He thought of someone, his sister: Ariana Dumbledore.

His sister was about the same age as Thea, and her magical talent was also discovered by a few Muggle boys...

Thinking of this, Dumbledore's heart softened instantly: "So how did you do it?"

“I gave John a good beating when he called me a little monster again.”

Dumbledore could hear a hint of pride in the girl's voice, a pride in having defeated a boy older than herself.

This instantly turned his earlier melancholy into amusement.

But he still remembered that he was a teacher, and he could only admonish her: "Thea, you need to know that using violence to solve problems is not always effective."

But Thea's answer shocked him even more: "I know you can't always solve problems with force, but it was the most effective method I had at the time."

"Because I know that even if I explain to everyone that I am not a monster, they will not believe me. People are more likely to believe slander than praise. Besides, I have the ability to talk to snakes."

"So I chose violent means to make John realize the cost of breaking the contract, to prove to everyone that I am not a pushover, and to make them dare not continue to call me a little monster."

"He bullied me first, I was just getting revenge."

This is the longest sentence Thea has spoken since Dumbledore came in.

Dumbledore now discovered another of Thea's strengths: maturity, at least more mature than any other young wizard of the same age that Dumbledore had ever seen before.

Seeing that Dumbledore remained silent, Thea spoke again, "I've answered your question, so could you also answer my question?"

"of course can."

"Do you know who my parents are?"

Dumbledore hadn't expected Thea to ask this question so quickly, but thinking about it, it made sense. Children who grew up in orphanages probably all imagined what their parents would be like, and Thea was no exception.

"Rodolphus Lestrange and Bellatrix Lestrange."

Dumbledore said calmly that if Thea didn't know her origins, she might have really been kept in the dark.

"What happened to them? Why didn't they come to pick me up from the orphanage?"

"Another death question," Dumbledore thought for a moment and continued, "They've run into a little trouble and can't come to pick you up."

"An accident? What kind of accident could prevent them from coming to pick me up for almost ten years? Don't I have any other relatives?" Thea once again keenly noticed Dumbledore's choice of words and seized on this point, wanting to get further explanation from Dumbledore.

As Dumbledore hesitated, Thea seemed to recall a rather ominous suspicion, and her face turned deathly pale.

Seeing that Thea's expression was not good, Dumbledore explained, "...They did some not-so-good things..."

"Did they do something wrong? Are they in jail?" Thea suddenly thought of this possibility.

Seeing that Dumbledore did not refute her, Thea froze.

Seeing Thea's pale face, Dumbledore said apologetically, "I'm sorry, Thea, to tell you such unfortunate news on our first meeting."

“…No, Professor, you shouldn’t apologize. You were just telling the truth…” Thea’s face was pale. “I was just a little surprised…I didn’t expect this…”

A short while after Dumbledore returned to the headmaster's office, the door opened again, and Professor Snape and Professor McGonagall walked in.

The portraits, which had been dozing off, were startled awake. They looked at Dumbledore and then closed their eyes again.

Dumbledore sat down in the chair behind his desk and then conjured two more soft, cushioned chairs for McGonagall and Snape to sit in.

“You’ve had a hard time these past few days, Minerva.” He waved his wand, and two steaming cups of honey tea appeared beside McGonagall and Snape. “Have something hot to drink.”

Professor McGonagall instinctively picked up the cup of honey tea and took a sip, her already furrowed brows appearing even more furrowed.

Snape completely ignored the honey tea. Even a troll would know that the honey tea in the headmaster's office was so sweet that no one but this old bee could possibly accept it.

Snape's lips moved, and he asked directly, "Whose child is that?"

Dumbledore put down the sugar cube in his hand and replied, "That child can talk to snakes."

Upon hearing Dumbledore's answer, Snape froze, a strange light flashing in his eyes.

Even the usually rational Professor McGonagall was surprised: "That child...does she...know anything about it...?"

“She doesn’t know about her origins yet, but I think it won’t be a secret for long. At the very least, Malfoy should know that I went to St. Mungo today.”

"And today, that child also reminded me of something: the issue of her custody."

McGonagall was initially puzzled as to why Albus mentioned the Malfoy family, but it wasn't until the word "custody" appeared that she suddenly realized what was going on:

"If the Malfoy family hadn't found the child, could that child have remained in the Muggle world, just like Harry?" Professor McGonagall asked worriedly.

“Minerva, even if the Malfoy family hadn’t discovered her true parentage, her magical erratic behavior wouldn’t allow her to remain in the Muggle world,” Dumbledore corrected.

McGonagall's eyes betrayed her deep sympathy: "Is that child destined to return to the Malfoys? Albus, you know that family..."

“The Malfoys won’t give up on this child, and neither will the pure-blood families.” Snape met McGonagall’s gaze and continued, “The Lestrange family is unlikely to accept this child; they’ve always known how to protect themselves. And that stupid dog from the Black family is still in Azkaban.”

Mentioning the Black family, Snape's face showed deep disgust, but he continued, "Narcissa Malfoy is Bellatrix's sister, and given the power of the Malfoy family, there is a very high chance that custody of that child will fall into their hands."

“No, Snape, besides the Malfoys, there is another person who has the right to raise that child.”

"You mean, Andromeda?"