"Potter, Mr. Weasley."

Dumbledore looked at the two boys with an unusually serious expression.

"Remember this: under no circumstances are you to mention anything related to the Fool to anyone. Once this information gets out, Harry's situation will become extremely dangerous."

"Professor, I don't quite understand," Ron said in confusion. "Is it really that dangerous?"

"If Harry were merely the Boy Who Lived, then the only people targeting him would be Voldemort and the Death Eaters. But if he is the Fool..."

Dumbledore paused.

"Then the Saints, the Ministry of Magic, the Dark world, the Muggle world, and even hidden forces that I know nothing about could all set their sights on him."

"I'm not trying to frighten you. Two years ago, a prophet told me about the existence of the Fool. According to the prophecy, the Fool will surpass Merlin and influence the operation of the entire magical world—and even the entire world."

"Although very few people know about this prophecy, those who do are all searching for the Fool, myself included."

"You're looking for him too?"

Harry was stunned.

"I can't exactly ignore it."

Dumbledore gave a bitter smile.

"The Fool will one day establish the rules that govern the world. And it won't just affect Muggles and wizards. Every race will be affected."

"Once the prophecy is exposed, countless people will develop their own intentions toward him. They may try to control him, eliminate him, exploit him, curse him..."

Harry's face turned deathly pale, and he nearly lost his balance.

He was only a thirteen-year-old second-year wizard. He hadn't even graduated from Hogwarts yet.

There was no way he could bear such an enormous burden.

"Harry..."

Ron opened his mouth, wanting to comfort his best friend, but he had no idea what to say.

His own mind was blank as well.

Even confronting the sixteen-year-old Voldemort hadn't made him feel this terrified.

"Things aren't quite that serious yet. I told you that very few people know about the prophecy, and even fewer know that Harry is the Fool. As long as you don't go around telling people..."

"We definitely won't say anything."

Ron hurriedly promised, almost stumbling over his words.

"We won't tell anyone even if they beat it out of us."

"Thank you, Ron."

Harry looked relieved.

But then something occurred to him, and his heart sank.

"Professor, Enzo and Lockhart know too. They..."

"Don't worry."

Dumbledore calmly waved his hand.

"I can guarantee that Enzo won't tell anyone. As for Lockhart... he'll probably spend the rest of his life in Azkaban. Besides, very few people would believe anything a fraud says."

Harry finally relaxed a little.

After a moment of silence, he spoke again.

"Professor, there are some things I'd like to understand."

"What things?"

"Can you... can you really be certain that I'm the Fool?"

"Yes."

Ron still held onto a sliver of hope.

"Could you have identified the wrong person?"

Dumbledore looked at him. His gentle voice carried a hint of gravity.

"Last year, I went to Nicolas Flamel and asked him to perform a divination for me."

"I knew he couldn't directly divine the identity of the Fool, but he could give me some valuable clues."

"The result contained two things: the Philosopher's Stone and the Gryffindor crest."

Harry and Ron exchanged glances, both completely bewildered.

Last year, only three people could possibly have been connected to the Philosopher's Stone and the Gryffindor crest.

Apart from the two of them, there was only Hermione.

"Harry, you know that I placed a spell on the Mirror of Erised. Only someone who didn't actually want the Philosopher's Stone could retrieve it from the mirror."

"But that wasn't the only spell I placed. I can't tell you what I saw, but the second spell allowed me to rule out Mr. Weasley and Miss Granger."

"So you decided that it was me?"

Harry's expression was complicated.

"No. Not at all."

Dumbledore slowly shook his head.

"You were undoubtedly the most likely possibility, but the prophecy carries too much weight. I couldn't make such a rash decision."

"But today, Enzo appeared and entered the Chamber of Secrets beneath Hogwarts in an unexpected manner, breaking through Hogwarts' protective enchantments."

"He came to help the Fool deal with his troubles. And, as it happened, he possessed a clue that I knew nothing about—the Sword of Gryffindor's recognition."

A bitter smile appeared on Harry's face.

He couldn't find a single argument to refute Dumbledore.

He could only accept this incredibly troublesome fact.

Yet for some reason, he felt an immense weight pressing down on him, as though someone had thrown an enormous burden onto his back that had never belonged to him in the first place.

"Professor, who else knows the identity of the Fool?"

Harry asked weakly.

Dumbledore was silent for a moment.

"You'll find out in time."

"Professor, I'm going to have to face it sooner or later. You can't leave me completely unprepared."

"Ah..."

Dumbledore let out a long sigh.

"Professor McGonagall and Professor Snape know. Voldemort knows..."

"Wait!"

Ron suddenly became nervous.

"Y-You-Know-Who knows too?"

"If nothing unexpected has happened, he has already begun to suspect Harry."

"But there's no need to worry about him for now. According to the information I've received, he's currently hiding in the forests of Albania, barely clinging to life."

"But when he returns, he'll still come after me..."

"Harry, look at it from another angle."

Ron tried to comfort him.

"Even if you're not the Fool, You-Know-Who still won't let you off."

Harry froze.

He turned to look at his best friend.

"Thanks for the comfort, Ron."

"There's also Grindelwald."

"Who's Grindelwald?"

Harry asked curiously.

"I feel like I've heard that name somewhere before."

"Professor..."

Ron spoke with a trembling voice.

"You're joking, right?"

"Unfortunately, Mr. Weasley."

Dumbledore shook his head.

"He is the prophet who first foresaw the existence of the Fool."

"Ha... haha."

Ron gave a dry laugh.

"Harry, being targeted by two generations of Dark Lords... I suppose you can say you've really made something of your life."

"Two generations of Dark Lords?"

"Grindelwald was the first Dark Lord. Dumbledore defeated him. He's probably in prison now, right?"

"That's good."

Harry breathed a sigh of relief.

At this point, he could only comfort himself with what little good news he had.

Snape and McGonagall were on his side.

Voldemort was barely surviving.

And Grindelwald was locked away in prison.

Maybe things weren't quite as bad as they seemed.

"If Grindelwald wanted to leave, no one could stop him."

Dumbledore poured another bucket of cold water over Harry's momentary relief.

"And his interest in the Fool is greater than anyone else's."

Harry swallowed hard.

His chest felt unbearably tight.

Despair surged over him like a tidal wave, making his vision go dark and leaving him with an overwhelming urge to pass out.

Yet he stubbornly remained standing.

Now he understood why Dumbledore had been reluctant to tell him everything in the first place.

This kind of pressure was beyond what an ordinary person could endure.

"The one comforting thing is that Grindelwald still doesn't know who the Fool is."

"Until he confirms the Fool's identity, he won't leave his prison, and the Saints won't act recklessly either."

"What are the Saints?"

Harry asked nervously.

"Voldemort created the Death Eaters, while Grindelwald created the Saints."

"The difference is that the vast majority of the Death Eaters are currently locked away in prison, while the Saints..."

Dumbledore paused.

He looked at Harry with an expression of sympathy.

"The Saints were never truly brought to justice. They have remained hidden for half a century, and after all these years, their power can only be greater than it was fifty years ago."

"They aren't limited to Britain, either. The Saints have a presence throughout the world."

"Their influence is on an entirely different level from Voldemort's Death Eaters."

Harry Potter: "......"