Dumbledore's smile froze, and the grave look returned to his bright blue eyes. Yet his tone remained gentle.
"Wizards have their own set of laws, which people obey to live in peace. Just as Hogwarts has its own school rules—such as respecting professors, refraining from casually casting charms on others, and fulfilling a student's duties. The Ministry of Magic's Statute of Secrecy applies to all British wizards. I certainly wouldn't want you to be punished for violating them."
After Dumbledore finished, Iblis's attitude seemed much more earnest. She pointed outward. "So that Ministry of Magic punishes wizards who break the rules? Just like here, by stripping students of all their rest time?"
"Yes, just like here... hmm?"
Dumbledore was stunned for a moment. Following Professor McGonagall's gaze, he looked over at the scowling Professor Snape beside them. With a resigned, helpless smile, he waved a hand.
"Ah, well, Hogwarts doesn't truly punish students. Detentions simply involve helping professors with some simple tasks or rewriting essays. They don't actually strip students of all their free time—they usually just run from after dinner until curfew for a few days. Unless you've committed a serious offense, right, Professor Snape?"
Snape crossed his arms, glared at the girl beside him, and gave a curt reply. "I think the reason everyone is gathered here right now is precisely because of the serious offense she has committed."
As Snape dragged the conversation back on track, Dumbledore pondered how best to explain all this to the girl.
Seeing Snape thwarted, the corners of Iblis's mouth lifted. "Roughly understood. I broke the rules, and you, as the headmaster here, need to administer my punishment."
"No, Miss Grimm. I have no authority to do that; your Head of House will handle these..." Seeing the problem tossed back to him, Snape let out a soft sound of disgust and prepared to stand and leave.
Iblis let out a long sigh, growing somewhat irritable. "I don't hate rules. If anything, having rules lets me know what I should do. Since I need to stay here from now on, I will accept the way things work here."
The girl glanced at Professor Snape, who had just sat back down. Speaking at a rapid pace—and while ostensibly offering an apology, there was not the slightest hint of regret in her tone—she said, "Let's settle the matters here first. I've roughly gathered what I did wrong from this child. I apologize for that hat and the ghost. As for disrespecting the two professors, I can't think of any improper actions that violated them."
The girl's immediate seizure of the initiative left Professor McGonagall inwardly astonished, while Snape recalled some unpleasant memory, making his expression even worse.
Faced with the girl's sudden shift in attitude and the bizarre terms she used, Dumbledore paused to collect his thoughts before taking over the conversation.
"Thank you for your understanding, Miss Grimm. As for your disrespect toward the two professors, I actually wasn't aware of it, though it's not entirely without a clue. You see, as a student younger than them, one generally does not address them as 'this child' or use their given names. We have always addressed you as Miss Grimm out of respect. While it is not strictly forbidden, I hope you will switch to using titles like Professor Snape and Professor McGonagall."
It was only upon hearing Dumbledore use the word "younger" that Iblis experienced a sudden realization, which seemed to mingle with a trace of dissatisfaction. She remained silent for a long moment before speaking. "I did overlook that point. Am I to be expelled just because of how I addressed you?"
Seeing that none of them answered, the girl let out a cold hum from deep in her chest. The moment Dumbledore opened his mouth to speak again, her expression instantly transformed. Wearing a smile laden with apology, she turned to Professor McGonagall beside her. "I apologize, Professor McGonagall, for using your full name directly. May Merlin watch over you always."
Without noticing the helplessness on Professor McGonagall's face, Iblis turned her gaze to Snape, who promptly cut her off. "I do not need an apology. Detention will make you clearly and thoroughly understand your mistakes."
Iblis nodded nonchalantly and turned her attention back to Dumbledore. "As for Officer Jack and the others, I assume the train station is not part of Hogwarts, nor does it hold any authority to put me on trial. Regardless of whether I did those things or not, it is not grounds for you to probe or accuse me. It would seem, then, that I am owed an apology by you."
The girl's expression was detached, yet her calm tone carried a faint, regal authority. The silent waiting hung like a scythe at Dumbledore's neck, brooking no resistance.
Clearly, Dumbledore had not anticipated the turn of events. While internally surprised, a look of guilt surfaced on his face. "I am sorry, Miss Grimm. I was in the wrong, and I hope I can earn your forgiveness."
Iblis reached out a hand and pointed straight at the glass cabinet behind Dumbledore. "I want to see that."
Dumbledore nodded in understanding. With a flick of his palm, the glass cabinet swung open automatically. Among the rows of medals, a gorgeous, exquisite medallion lifted into the air, the green ribbon attached to it fluttering slightly. Finely carved upon it were the words "Order of Merlin."
Iblis opened both hands, and the medal gently settled into her palm. The girl quietly examined the medal in her hand, her silver eyes taking on a sweet smile as they drifted over the engraved words. It seemed this medal was more suited to her genuine inner nature than anything else in the world.
She flipped the medal over.
"Defeated the dark wizard Grindelwald in 1945. Hereby awarded the Order of Merlin, First Class."
The girl raised her gaze once more to look more closely at Dumbledore, a smile still lingering in those bright blue eyes. She stroked the medal in her hand like a child with a beloved toy she couldn't bear to put down.
"The gods never forgive those who commit transgressions for the sake of a void love. Never."
The eyes behind Dumbledore's half-moon spectacles contracted slightly. After a long silence, he looked calmly at the girl. "...To be honest, I don't really care much for this medal. If you don't mind, you may take it as my compensation."
Iblis didn't stand on ceremony. After pocketing the medal, she let out a huge yawn and rubbed her eyes. "Is there anything else? I'm tired."
"There is one final matter." Dumbledore spread his hands, dropping all pretense of beating around the bush. "I am curious as to why the Sorting Hat and the Baron are so terrified of you. Might I conduct a simple probe? It will not harm you."
Finally, the main event had arrived. Even Snape straightened up in his seat, all three of them turning their gaze in unison toward the girl.
Instead of answering directly, Iblis posed a question of her own. "Are you the greatest wizard of this century?"
"I am not great."
"Of course. I must admit, the two of you do share certain similarities."
The girl nodded in agreement and casually extended her hand toward Dumbledore, showing no hidden motives. "The magic possessed by that hat is far older and more powerful."
A halo of magical light radiated from Dumbledore's palm, creeping up the girl's hands and enveloping her entire body. The waiting felt agonizingly long to Snape and the others, even though less than a minute had passed.
Dumbledore withdrew his gaze from the young girl's eyes and pulled back his hands. The expression on his face was intriguing. After a brief silence, he said, "It seems the Sorting Hat has existed for too long; it is simply a bit tired. As for the Baron, his personality has always been erratic and volatile—we merely misunderstood. Hogwarts welcomes your arrival, Miss Grimm. I hope you will happily study magic here from now on."
"Severus, Minerva, thank you for your hard work tonight. You should head back and rest."
Seeing that Dumbledore had no further concerns, the two professors stood up to leave. Just as Professor McGonagall was about to take the initiative and lead Iblis away, the girl remained seated, locked in a gaze with Dumbledore.
"You two go ahead. I will be responsible for seeing Miss Grimm back."
Dumbledore waved a hand at them, the dismissal plain to see. McGonagall cast a worried look toward Dumbledore, but the old man only smiled silently. Snape frowned deeply, glanced at the white-haired girl who showed not the slightest intention of leaving, and swept his wizard's robes around as he strode down the steps.
Not until the sound of McGonagall's footsteps had vanished did Dumbledore speak again.
"Miss Grimm, why are you so fanatical about Merlin?"
The girl's answer was just as he expected—like a devout believer hoisting Merlin onto a divine altar. Yet the results of the probe he had just conducted were entirely beyond Dumbledore's understanding. The girl was astonishingly normal. There were no physical abnormalities, and her magical power matched that of any young wizard her age. Thus, the suspicion that the girl had cast some kind of spell on those police officers fell apart.
Yet during Legilimency, Dumbledore could only see the imagery of the girl appearing at the train station, followed immediately by McGonagall bringing her to Hogwarts. It was as if she had only been born at that exact moment, leaving no trace of any life lived prior. Just what had the Sorting Hat seen to make it so terrified, and why was he unable to peer into any experiences outside of her present self? Was it truly because the magic inherent in the Sorting Hat was older and deeper than his own, or how else could she have known...
The Sorting Hat looked as though it would take a very long time to recover; perhaps he should go question the Baron.
Dumbledore couldn't help but size up the girl once more. Her unique hair color and eyes, her angelic face contrasted with a sharply discordant, flamboyant, and unruly personality. Regarding her confusion over the wizarding world—she didn't even know what Azkaban symbolized—yet she seemed remarkably well-versed in legendary figures like Merlin. She was a witch, but she bore no resemblance to the witches and wizards of this era.
"Miss Grimm, why did you choose to enter Slytherin? Professor McGonagall seems quite fond of your cheerful nature, whereas Professor Snape... the two of you seem somewhat at odds. Slytherin students are generally filled with ambition. Is your ambition to champion Merlin?"
Iblis explained dismissively, "I had no need to base my choice of house on them. In truth, I feel nothing for any of the four houses here. As for ambition... it was merely a passing whim. Perhaps it was to make you ignorant lot remember the great Merlin once again, though from the looks of it, even that seems rather unlikely. Still, trying it out is always worthwhile. That ignorant expression of yours is both laughable and detestable."
Dumbledore took in Iblis's reaction. Why such an obsession with Merlin? And whence came that inexplicable, hidden disgust toward himself and everyone else? She did not resemble a typical Slytherin, nor did she possess the traits of students from the other three houses. She felt more like an existence utterly out of place with everything here.
"Can you tell me why you hate the people here? Have we inadvertently offended you?"
Continually fighting off yawns, Iblis lazily leaned back against her chair. Hearing Dumbledore's words, she arched a brow slightly. "How could I hate you? I adore you all far too much... After all, you're one of my few remaining sources of amusement."
Seeming to recall something, Iblis scratched her head with a hint of awkwardness and began talking to herself. "I've never acted as a student before... The restrictions are truly numerous, even having to care about useless titles. Back then, I never received this sort of attention..."