The names on Ian’s self-made Marauder’s Map were clearly visible.
Aberforth Dumbledore.
This was, of course, still a Dumbledore, but it was not the Dumbledore that everyone recognized and knew; it was simply the only person in the headmaster’s office.
“My damn insight is so charming.” Staring at the black dot in the headmaster’s office, Ian smirked, but his expression did not change at all.
He had long since noticed something was off about Dumbledore, sensing it from the very beginning in the Forbidden Forest, and that sense of unease became even more pronounced after arriving at the headmaster’s office.
Perhaps Albus Dumbledore would temporarily allow Voldemort to operate in secret for certain reasons, but as the headmaster, Dumbledore would not find a hundred excuses to avoid searching for Voldemort just to go back to the office for a cup of tea. Ian clearly felt a sense of fear when he was in the Forbidden Forest.
Could Dumbledore feel fear towards Voldemort?
Of course, that was unlikely!
Moreover, the fact that Ian could sense such emotions so easily was already extremely abnormal; under normal circumstances, this would never happen before Albus Dumbledore lost control of his emotions.
Ian’s observational skills were quite sharp; he realized that Dumbledore had been acting as if he wanted to wait a while before addressing anything since the beginning in the Forbidden Forest. It looked very much like the attitude of a summer worker who was just going through the motions, as long as the problem did not erupt while he was “working,” it was considered a win.
Such behavior was too strange, too unlike the headmaster Ian was familiar with!
Furthermore, they had clearly agreed to discuss Voldemort’s issues in the headmaster’s office, yet upon arriving, Dumbledore, who was busy drinking tea, showed no concern for Voldemort. Not only did he not ask any questions about Voldemort, but he also inquired about the Resurrection Stone, which should have been well-hidden by Grindelwald.
This was also a very suspicious point. It wasn’t that Ian thought Dumbledore would not be tempted by the Resurrection Stone, but rather that Albus Dumbledore would never show such eagerness.
How could someone referred to as the White Wizard be so naive? After all, Dumbledore’s temptation by the Resurrection Stone and his eagerness to wear the ring was based on the fact that he did not know that his younger sister was doing well in the Twilight Zone, nor had he established a “peaceful end” agreement with his younger sister through Ian’s connection.
Their father died in Azkaban, their mother died due to uncontrolled magic, and their younger sister died in an accident… it was the intertwining of these events that drove Dumbledore to abandon his rationality.
The current situation was clearly different; when Dumbledore obtained the Resurrection Stone, he did not even hesitate to seek Ian’s permission to consult Ariana, nor did he consider discussing and exploring the secrets of the Resurrection Stone using Ian’s special talents. It was as if he did not remember the information Ian had previously revealed to him.
For this reason.
At this moment, Ian was almost certain that the Dumbledore he was facing was an imposter. The way he seemed determined to use the Resurrection Stone without wanting Ian to know was the most suspicious.
It was only after sensing the other party’s psychological emotions that he realized who the imposter might be. Sure enough, after glancing at the Marauder’s Map, Ian immediately confirmed his suspicions.
Aberforth clearly had been careless and did not realize that an item like the Marauder’s Map existed.
Of course.
He might also have limited magical prowess, unlike the current Defense Against the Dark Arts professor in the underground classroom, who had many tricks and could truly impersonate someone. Based on Ian’s brief interactions, he felt that Aberforth’s situation likely involved both factors.
“I just wonder how Aberforth Dumbledore guessed that the Resurrection Stone is with me…” Ian stroked his chin, feeling like Hogwarts’ Sherlock Holmes.
Being able to use the headmaster’s office indicated that Aberforth’s impersonation likely received Albus Dumbledore’s permission, and it was even possible that this was part of Albus Dumbledore’s arrangement.
Given the letter sent from the Twilight Zone, the relationship between the two brothers, even if not fully repaired, was certainly much better than being completely estranged. It was entirely possible that Dumbledore had requested his younger brother to make appearances in his name while he was away.
In fact.
Even if something happened, Aberforth could serve as a combat force. Aberforth’s strength was unquestionable; after all, the Dumbledore house had never produced weaklings.
Whether it was Ariana or the young man Ian had encountered in the Twilight Zone, who could be considered a kind-hearted reminder that saved all of Hogwarts, he had lived much longer than other Obscurus users, which was undoubtedly due to the powerful bloodline of the Dumbledore house.
Even Aberforth, who seemed ordinary to many, was actually one of the top wizards in the wizarding world. In the Order of the Phoenix, which had lost Albus, he could be considered a unique combat force.
“The Dumbledore house has never had mediocre individuals…” Ian turns back to look at the headmaster’s office again. He might be one of the people who understood the Dumbledore house the most in Hogwarts. For this reason, he was very clear that while Aberforth might not be as invincible as his brother, he was still a rare strong figure.
Moreover.
Aberforth’s talent, in their era, was likely second only to the two leading figures of the time, after all, this guy had almost wasted his entire life yet was still stronger than most wizards, which already spoke volumes about his talent. Aberforth Dumbledore’s greatest shortcoming was likely his limited understanding of magic.
This was evident from the fact that Aberforth Dumbledore’s name appeared on Ian’s Marauder’s Map, and that Ian had stood outside the headmaster’s office for so long, contemplating so many things, while Aberforth remained steadily seated at his desk, completely unaware that Ian had handed over a fake Resurrection Stone.
Aberforth’s in-depth exploration of magic likely only stopped in his youth… Ian could even imagine a scene where Aberforth was probably still studying the fake Resurrection Stone ring with reading glasses, muttering to himself about “how to use this thing.”
“The only trouble is if the real headmaster discovers that the Resurrection Stone ring is with me, the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor will definitely make my life difficult.”
“Our professor has warned me not to let Dumbledore know,” Ian confirmed once again that Aberforth had not chased him out before he raised his foot and walked toward the stairs.
He quickly thought of a counter-strategy. To be honest, by ignoring the timeline, he could easily tell Albus Dumbledore that he had given the real Resurrection Stone ring to Lady Ravenclaw.
The dear headmaster couldn’t possibly go to that volcano to verify with Lady Ravenclaw, could he? Even if the truth were to be exposed one day, Ian would simply say that he has simply omitted the part where the Rowena Ravenclaw returned the ring to him.
“This is the art of language!” Ian looked down from the moving staircase, already seeing many little wizards heading to the Great Hall, as it was just the right time for Hogwarts to serve dinner.
He had originally planned to avoid the spotlight and take a detour to the elves’ kitchen for a hot pot, but unexpectedly, sharp-eyed Ravenclaw wizards directly blocked him at the end of the staircase.
The gleam in their eyes was frightening, and they did not ask anything, just surrounded Ian. It looked like they were crowding around him, but Ian felt like he was being swept into the Great Hall.
The aroma of food filled the entire space of the Great Hall.
Students who had arrived at the long tables of the four Houses were already seated, but everyone seemed to be eating without much enthusiasm, all huddled in pairs, whispering and discussing.
The Prefects tried to maintain order during mealtime, but it was utterly futile. Ian vaguely heard students of all grades discussing what had happened in the Forbidden Forest.
He vaguely caught the word “dragon” being mentioned repeatedly. And when Ian was swept into the Great Hall, many students’ gazes immediately shifted to him.
There were looks of disbelief, shock, incredulity, and even fear and terror— Ian finally lost his composure and grabbed a familiar little wizard who was surrounding him to ask.
“What is going on with you guys? Why do they all look at me so strangely?” Ian was quite speechless; he even noticed that a little witch had been so frightened by his glance that she started crying.
“We’re waiting for you, little professor, to tell us what happened. We bet you would take the initiative to brag about it; Michael opened a betting pool in Ravenclaw House.”
The person he grabbed was the Chocolate Frog boy, who quickly answered Ian’s confusion, “As for the other House people… it seems Miss Greengrass has been telling everyone she met after class about her fabricated story, and now it seems to have been glorified by Gryffindor.”
The Chocolate Frog boy’s words made Ian pause for a moment.
“What story?” Ian had a bad premonition.
“Miss Greengrass said you had a great fight with three hundred adult wizards in the Forbidden Forest and killed them all…” The Chocolate Frog boy clearly did not fully believe this claim.
The other Ravenclaw wizards felt the same.
How could their little professor kill someone? This little professor was the one who repeatedly reminded them not to hurt others when teaching them some not-so-dangerous Jinxes, after all!
“Not all people in Slytherin are bad, just a majority of them!”
“I heard the version that you fought against Grindelwald… and chased him away like a dog with his tail between his legs. I think since Grindelwald has a tail, he might be a male Succubus.”
“Eh? How did I hear that the little professor was chased by Grindelwald riding You-Know-Who? They said You-Know-Who was reborn as an ostrich in the Forbidden Forest!”
“The Gryffindor twins even said they saw you sneaking out at night, saying that when you were unhappy at night, you would go to the Forbidden Forest to catch a few Centaurs or Unicorns to eat.”
…
With the Chocolate Frog boy speaking, the other Ravenclaw wizards could no longer hold back, chattering and adding some things they knew.
Ian was becoming increasingly bewildered, his eyes nearly bulging out like E.T. the extraterrestrial.
One could only say, good heavens!
‘How long has it been since the events in the Forbidden Forest occurred?:
Rumors had already taken on so many bizarre versions!? What the hell was this about Grindelwald riding You-Know-Who? The Gryffindor twins had even spread more outrageous versions?!
“Nonsense! It’s all nonsense!” Ian felt overwhelmed. And seeing him loudly refute, the Ravenclaw wizards all showed expressions of “as expected.”
“Don’t worry, little professor, we all believe you; the evil Slytherin students are just slandering you.”
“Yeah, yeah, William said he saw the truth, and we believe William’s words.”
“You definitely didn’t get involved with the dark wizards; we understand; you were just raising dozens of dragons in the Forbidden Forest. Once the dragons grow up, can you sell some meat for me to eat?”
…
The little wizards’ comfort did not make Ian feel any better. He looked around and did not find William’s figure. Looking ahead, he discovered that William had run to the Hufflepuff long table.
The green-haired boy even held a microphone he had found from who knows where.
“You all know, our House’s Ian Prince, he is simply a legend; the dozens of dragons he raised are as big as houses.”
“Perhaps they will grow even larger than our school’s castle; those dragons are breathing fire, and Ian is riding these mutated dragons chasing the dark wizard Grindelwald!” William seemed completely unaware that Ian had entered the Great Hall; he was vividly fabricating a stitched-together version of rumors to the badgers.
“But there shouldn’t be any dragons in Hogwarts’ Forbidden Forest?” A little badger still maintained some intelligence, but this bit of intelligence was ruthlessly taken away by William’s response.
“Exactly because there aren’t any. That’s why Ian must be raising them. I think he must be doing it so that we can live in a diverse environment where we can see live western dragons.” William’s tone was serious, and his voice was firm, causing several little wizards who were about to question him to lose their confidence.
“I saw it with my own eyes; how could I be wrong?” William even patted his chest to guarantee it, not realizing that Ian had already stood behind him.
“Should I call you Eagle-eyed William?” Ian’s voice carried a hint of gritted teeth, and he saw William’s whole body suddenly shudder as if startled.
“You scared me to death!”
When the green-haired boy turned around, his face was filled with excitement. “Ian! Quick! Tell us about the dragons you raised! Can you take me out tonight to touch their butts?”
He still loved dragons so much.
And had a unique hobby.
Ian wondered if his obsession with wanting to transform into a Western dragon in Transfiguration was also due to this.
“Hogwarts has no dragons! I don’t raise any dragons! That was transfiguration! You utter Idiot!” Ian snatched the microphone from William’s hand as he spoke.
“So, was it really you? The one who caused such a commotion in the Forbidden Forest?” William only paused for a second, then his eyes widened as if he had grasped the main point.
“…”
From the emotional feedback he sensed from William, Ian realized that this guy was not actually all-seeing; he was just fabricating stories. Perhaps from the beginning, this guy had seen nothing at all.
“Didn’t you say you saw it?!”
Ian felt like he was about to bite his own teeth off.
“It’s not my fault! It was Professor Lockhart! Our Defense Against the Dark Arts professor said that if I publicized your achievements, he would give Ravenclaw ten points!”
William immediately caved, directly revealing the truth.
“?????”
Ian was stunned again.
“I actually think this is a story that Professor Lockhart made up on the spot; it might have been improvised?” William chuckled awkwardly, trying to brush off the nonexistent dust from Ian’s robes.
“What the hell!”
Ian was one of the two wizards who knew the true identity of the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, and he found it absurd that this man, once referred to as the First Dark Lord, had become addicted to role-playing.
“Where’s Greengrass?”
Ian thought of another rumor-monger the little wizards had mentioned. He looked towards the Slytherin long table, but not only was Greengrass absent from the Great Hall, but Aurora was also nowhere to be found.
“She’s at the castle entrance.” A little wizard pointed the way for Ian.
Ian immediately grabbed three chicken legs from the Hufflepuff long table and, before the badgers could react, he quickly dashed out of the Great Hall while munching on the chicken legs.
…
“Did you all know? Ian discovered the founders’ treasure in the Forbidden Forest and released dozens of dragons that guarded the treasure.”
“This student, you might want to know about the commotion this afternoon; it was actually Ravenclaw’s Ian Prince who broke an ancient seal in the Forbidden Forest.”
“Please stop for a moment, fellow students; I want to praise our other student, Ian Prince, who successfully scared off the Centaur coalition in the Forbidden Forest with his western dragons.”
…
As soon as he approached the castle entrance.
Ian heard Daphne Greengrass’s weak voice; she was indeed promoting various fabricated stories to every passing student wizard.
She looked somewhat parched and hoarse, yet she still firmly stopped every passerby with stories spilling out of her mouth that were all different.
“I really want to know… what are you doing… Miss Greengrass…” Ian noticed that as he passed by, the dazed Daphne Greengrass even wanted to grab him and promote the “gospel” story about Ian Prince.
“Sorry! Sorry! This… this really isn’t what I wanted to do!” After realizing that the person she had grabbed was Ian, Daphne Greengrass was like a startled deer.
She stumbled back a few steps and then suddenly bowed deeply to Ian, apologizing profusely, her relatively pretty little face filled with panic and fear.
“Let me guess, it was Professor Lockhart?” Ian’s gaze lingered on the red book in Daphne Greengrass’s hand. The stories this Slytherin Witch was telling likely all came from this book; after all, Daphne Greengrass had been looking down at the book while stopping others, and her tone sounded like she was reading words.
“That’s him, that detestable… terrifying professor.” Daphne Greengrass’s voice carried a hint of tears as she mentioned Grindelwald, only daring to use a voice as tiny as a mosquito’s, her pale face darting around cautiously, as if afraid Grindelwald would suddenly appear from somewhere.
“He said that before tonight, I must tell at least five hundred people about the contents described in this book, or else he would make me kiss a Dementor in the next class.” After confirming that Grindelwald would not suddenly attack, Daphne Greengrass finally spoke about her ordeal in a terrified and fearful tone.
“…”
Ian had never thought that Grindelwald would have such a twisted sense of humor. He looked again at the red book tightly clutched in Daphne’s hands, and the open pages seemed to be automatically weaving different stories.
This was clearly an Alchemical Artifact.
It could freely create numerous stories featuring Ian Prince as the protagonist. However, likely due to the creator’s lack of care, the stories produced could be said to be increasingly outrageous in quality.
“No professor would dare to do anything that would harm little wizards; Dumbledore would not agree.” Ian was quite certain that Grindelwald would only be scaring the little children in front of him.
This Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, due to Dumbledore’s “constraints,” would not even dare to kill a malicious Muggle blocking the road, so how could he possibly lay hands on the little wizards in the school?
Ian felt that his judgment was unlikely to be wrong.
However.
Daphne Greengrass clearly did not share his thoughts.
“No, I… I have discovered that our Defense Against the Dark Arts professor is a world-renowned author, and he is likely a deeply hidden madman!”
“You haven’t attended his class on Dementors? Although he told everyone that it was just an illusion created by mental magic, I clearly saw before his class that…”
“He really raised Dementors in the school!”
At this point.
Daphne Greengrass’s tears were already flowing freely.
This once proud Slytherin pureblood descendant now looked as pale as a ghost, and even her voice carried an uncontrollable fear and tremor.
“I want to tell you about this…” Perhaps growing more fearful, Daphne Greengrass began to stop another student in front of Ian.
Although the red book in her hand was indeed somewhat simply made, it was unexpected that the content generated could even sense that Ian was right next to the person responsible for telling the stories.
“Just like this, this classmate of mine, he defeated the desire demon in the Forbidden Forest, slaying three hundred Succubi in the Forbidden Forest, and then pretended as if nothing had happened to return to us.”
To be fair.
Watching Daphne Greengrass stop others and ramble on about her fabricated stories, even Ian, with his thick skin, felt a bit embarrassed.
He attempted to persuade Daphne Greengrass to stop, but the degree of her fear of him clearly did not surpass the psychological shadow left by the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor.
Daphne Greengrass seemed determined to complete the “quest” assigned by the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, apologizing to Ian while continuously stopping passing wizards.
Like someone with a split personality, she would tell one story and then apologize to Ian, only to stop another person and continue telling. Moreover, whenever she mentioned Ian, she would bow to him.
Her dedication to bowing was even more thorough than Ian’s.
“…”
Ian was genuinely struggling; those little wizards who were stopped by Daphne Greengrass looked at him as if he were coercing her into doing this.
“I need to find…!” Ian truly does not understand Grindelwald’s confusing behavior. Had Grindelwald predicted that he would give the Resurrection Stone to Aberforth?
But he had given a fake!
Could he really be heavily punished by old Lockhart?
It couldn’t be that Daphne Greengrass had offended Grindelwald, could it?
Just as Ian pulled out the Marauder’s Map to confirm that Grindelwald was still near the basement and had not left, preparing to ask Grindelwald what was going on.
“Mm?”
Ian saw the figure of the Muggle Studies professor at the corner ahead; his nose twitched a couple of times, and he instinctively reached for the wand under his robes.
“How about we go catch some little bugs tonight?”
“Sure, sure, but we need to catch two; once they grow up, we can let them have babies, and we will definitely get rich from it!”
Some little wizards’ voices rang in his ears, and as little wizards came and went around him, Ian’s gaze flickered slightly, and he ultimately did not pull out his wand.
“Dumbledore wouldn’t want him to come into contact with the Resurrection Stone, would he?” Ian’s pupils reflected Quirrell’s figure; this traitor professor had transformed from a clean-cut young man into a disheveled mess.
Even before getting close.
He could already smell a foul garlic odor.
This was completely consistent with Ian’s cognition of Voldemort’s possessed state.
However.
There seemed to be some discrepancies in the details.
“I remember it should be hanging from the top of the head?”
Ian’s expression showed slight confusion as he furrowed his brows.
Quirrell gradually disappeared around the corner, and the large circle of garlic wrapped around his waist, even trailing a tail behind him, was very conspicuous.
The swinging garlic tail looked like a long string of fuses.
“Swish~”
Ian finally couldn’t hold back any longer.
He secretly set fire to Quirrell’s butt.
With the sudden flames rising, Quirrell immediately jumped up in a panic, and the surrounding little wizards were also startled.
“Fire! Fire! The professor’s butt is on fire!”
“Use the freezing spell!”
“No! Use the Aguamenti spell!”
“I haven’t learned it! But I can use a broom to put out the fire! Broomstick Accio!”
…
In the chaos.
The little wizards enthusiastically displayed their talents. Some sprayed water on Quirrell’s butt, some attempted to freeze Quirrell’s butt into ice lumps, and even a Study Loser took a broom and started wildly swinging it.
“Don’t! Don’t do that!”
“Ah!!!”
“Quick, stop!”
Amidst the chaos.
Ian seems to hear two people’s screams.
…
Number 4 Privet Drive.
As dusk fell, the street was slowly embraced by a layer of soft and mysterious twilight.
The afterglow of the sunset resembled diluted gold paint, gently brushed across every inch of space, but this brightness was gradually fading, making way for the approaching night.
The leaves on the trees lining the street appeared a deep green in the dim light; occasionally, a few fluttered down, gently drifting to the ground with an almost inaudible rustle.
As night deepened, the streetlights began to illuminate one by one, casting a warm, slightly nostalgic glow that draped a thin veil over the ordinary street. The light intertwined with the fading daylight, neither fully bright like day nor completely dark like night.
An old man sat on a bench in the street, watching the houses ahead as the lights turned on and shadows flickered. His gaze remained fixed on the smallest figure among them.
“Do you know how chaotic things have become at school?” A figure in a black robe sat down beside the old man, his face filled with displeasure and a tone of complaint.
“Severus, your insight is as sharp as ever.” The old man seemed somewhat surprised by Snape’s arrival, turning slightly to glance at him.
“The imposter you were looking for… his disguise is very poor,” Snape responded disdainfully, his gaze also complex as he looked at the house ahead.
They sat quietly on the bench like two lonely old men.
The surrounding pedestrians were sparse, with the occasional figure hurrying home, their footsteps echoing in the empty street, adding to the night’s tranquility.
“Forgive someone who never thought he would help me with such a task; he truly is not good at this. If he managed to fool the other professors, it must have taken his utmost effort.”
The old man defended his younger brother.
Snape did not want to continue discussing this issue with the old man.
“Albus! We found traces of that man- no monster in the Forbidden Forest!” Snape seemed very dissatisfied with the old man’s reaction and attitude, emphasizing the seriousness of the problem he encountered, “No matter what you are trying to do here, that monster has arrived a year earlier than we agreed!”
The appearance of Voldemort clearly did not surprise the old man.
In fact, he seemed somewhat pleased.
But Snape felt increasingly perplexed by this.
“You must return to the school! Ensure that… Ian does not attempt to pursue that monster again!” Snape felt a headache just thinking about what had happened in the Forbidden Forest that afternoon.
“Rest assured, I have made very thorough arrangements; no one can harm Mr. Prince, and this is equally important to me.”
Dumbledore seemed not to notice the implications in Snape’s words; his attention remained fixed on the house ahead, his mind troubled by other matters.
“You’re not planning to return to the school? At a time like this… that despicable father’s child won’t enroll until next year; what exactly are you trying to do here?”
Snape also noticed Dumbledore’s gaze.
He looked again at the house’s window, where shadows moved, and the small figure elicited a look of disdain mixed with something hard to articulate.
“I still need some time; this is also a very important matter.” Dumbledore’s gaze was complex, his hands crossed tightly in front of him.
“The important matter you refer to is staring blankly at Lily’s child here? I’ve been observing you for a long time; you’ve been sitting here for at least five hours!”
Snape felt as if he were being deceived by the headmaster beside him.
However.
Dumbledore let out a heavy sigh, his wrinkled face seeming to age even more, his voice carrying a weighty hoarseness and hesitation.
“Give me a little more time; I am thinking about some better choices. Trust me, Severus, the last thing you should do right now is push me to make a decision.” Dumbledore’s eyes gently swayed, and the unfamiliar expression on his face made Snape feel as if he were back in the moment when Dumbledore took that Slytherin student from his office not long ago.
“Why?”
Snape had a bad premonition.
The old man in front of him spoke softly, revealing no obvious emotions. Yet for some reason, Snape felt a tingling sensation on his scalp, and a chill ran down his spine.
“Because…”
Dumbledore lowered his head slightly, hiding his gaze.
“That would make you very sad.”
His voice carried a hint of heaviness and helplessness.
“Of course, that includes me.”
(End of Chapter)
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