Only a Fool Would Believe You

Fawkes, lazily preening his feathers, suddenly shivered inexplicably, his crimson eyes scanning for potential threats. Upon realizing that aside from a seemingly harmless young wizard with weak magical power, there was no danger present, he settled back into a restful state with closed eyes.

Evan, under the pretense of fostering a close relationship for future communication, reached out with his guilty right hand. His fingers paused briefly in the air; seeing that Fawkes continued to feign sleep, Evan cautiously began to stroke the phoenix's feathers with a single finger.

At the touch, the pretending phoenix swiftly opened its eyes. After a standoff, where Evan was met with a piercing gaze, Fawkes, despite having no ill intent, haughtily shooed away Evan's invasive hand with a flap of his wings, his eyes filled with a warning.

As a phoenix, Fawkes was not a creature to be touched by just anyone...

However, no matter how proud Fawkes was, it couldn't surpass Evan's shameless desire for closeness. As Dumbledore's pet and quite human in understanding, Fawkes naturally wouldn't harm Evan. After a few minutes of a hide-and-seek-like evasion, the phoenix resignedly gave in. This was partly because Evan never showed the slightest malice; otherwise, his fingers might have been long gone.

"I never thought I'd live to see the day I could pet a phoenix!" Evan happily ran his hands over Fawkes, applying his past life experience of petting parrots to the bird, hoping to curry enough favor that Fawkes would not resist even if blood were drawn.

Gradually, Fawkes shifted from initial impatience to indifference, and finally even seemed willing to raise his proud head, allowing Evan to stroke the feathers on his neck.

While enjoying the moment with Fawkes, Evan also took the opportunity to closely observe the legendary bird of Western mythology. Unlike the majestic phoenixes of his past life's imagination, Fawkes looked more like a large turkey with beautiful golden-red plumage. Despite his regal appearance, Evan couldn't help but wonder what he might taste like...

An idea struck Evan; he could fill his mind with thoughts of food to distract himself. As he started to conjure up images of fried, sautéed, barbecued, and various other delicious foods, a gentle voice suddenly interrupted his culinary daydreams.

"Fire is the cradle of a phoenix; perhaps you could consider another method of cooking..."

Evan turned to see Dumbledore's towering figure entering from the doorway. The centenarian's age seemed to pose no hindrance to the greatest wizard of the century, who appeared sprightly and even in a mood to jest with Evan.

Fawkes, having been stroked by Evan, took flight in a huff, pecking at Evan's head in anger before fluttering onto Dumbledore's hat, eyeing Evan with vigilance. The phoenix had never imagined that the harmless-looking young wizard would harbor thoughts of roasting him.

"Professor, I'm curious how you knew what I was thinking. Can you read my memories?" Evan asked innocently, rubbing his slightly sore head.

"Sometimes a person's actions and behavior can reveal their thoughts," Dumbledore neither confirmed nor denied, speaking with profound implication.

Evan feigned a look of sudden understanding, but internally he was furiously skeptical.

Only a fool would believe you.

Perhaps because the Scholar's Experience Card he had exchanged earlier was still in effect, Evan felt a force probing his brain the moment Dumbledore spoke. It wasn't until he voiced his question that the sensation vanished without a trace.

Evan could guess with his toes that this force was Dumbledore's Legilimency, but he couldn't understand why he was able to detect this silent, soul-related magical trace while under the influence of the experience card.

For some reason, after withdrawing the Legilimency, Dumbledore did not use it again. Instead, he settled into the headmaster's chair, dragging his long, blue-purple robes, and gestured for Evan to sit. He then took out some snacks from a drawer and placed them on the table.

"Would you care for some Cockroach Clusters? Or perhaps try the latest flavor of Fizzing Whizzbees?" Dumbledore offered a selection for Evan to sample.

Evan didn't even touch the infamous Cockroach Clusters, but he was somewhat interested in the Fizzing Whizzbees. He unwrapped one and tossed it into his mouth.

As he bit down, the sweetness of honey filled his mouth. The pieces of candy seemed to have a mind of their own, wildly bouncing around to avoid his teeth, reminiscent of the popping candy he had in his previous life, though these were even sweeter.

Dumbledore did not rush to inquire but instead prepared a chilled glass of lemonade for Evan, adopting the demeanor of a listener.

After indulging in some sweets and downing most of the lemonade, Evan's initial apprehension about meeting Dumbledore eased, and he began to recount the events.

Of course, Evan didn't stick to the story Hermione had fabricated while lying; after all, it was far too fictitious, unbelievable to Dumbledore and even to himself.

Moreover, Evan wasn't sure if Dumbledore would use Legilimency during his narrative or if he could read something from Evan's expression. Thus, Evan stuck to the truth, merely omitting some key details.

The story he told was that he had learned from Harry before the Halloween feast that Hermione was hiding alone in the bathroom. Concerned, he went to find her and encountered the troll on the way, taking refuge in a secret passage. Then, attracted by the noise, Hermione came along, and he stepped forward to ultimately slay the troll.

To make the story more credible, Evan even recounted the battle in detail.

The remaining questions were about the iron thorns, pre-transformed to restrict the troll's movement, and the potential traces of the sleeping potion on the troll's corpse.

The former, Evan could not explain. If Dumbledore asked, he would have to claim he was practicing Transfiguration and Shrinking Charms. Fortunately, Evan had started creating the thorns several days prior, and many young wizards could vouch for him, so Dumbledore's investigation would likely lead to the same conclusion.

The latter, Evan didn't mention at all, because even if it were detected, Dumbledore's suspect wouldn't just be him; Quirrell was the most likely candidate to take the blame.

Evan quickly reviewed his narrative for any loopholes or inconsistencies.

However, Dumbledore's response to Evan's retelling felt like punching cotton...

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