Hogwarts Raven

Chapter 317, Section 316: The Arrival of Dumbledore
Yes.

Albus Dumbledore.

Albus Dumbledore, who entered the Bronze Gate himself after Ian was swallowed up, in an attempt to find the missing Ian.

He had initially seemed to be caught in another trial by the Bronze Gate, but now, for some unknown reason, he found himself in this ancient era.

He may have broken free from some kind of cycle within the Bronze Gate, or he may have passed the test set up by the Bronze Gate; in any case, he did indeed appear here.

ancient times.

Above an island enveloped by a storm—for a wizard like Albus Dumbledore, crossing the outer layer of storm was not a difficult task.

It should be noted that, through his schemes with his former partner Grindelwald, he had already achieved a legendary status by deceiving fate and time in the past.

With such power, Albus Dumbledore could not possibly be trapped by the storm; even among the legends, he was undoubtedly one of the best.

of course.

The storm and the things within it did cause Albus Dumbledore some trouble, but only some annoyance.

It's not dangerous at all.

There was nothing particularly thrilling about it. Albus Dumbledore's hair wasn't messed up, and his clothes weren't even wet from the rain.

This shows that Albus Dumbledore was always in control; Rayquaza in the storm was a legendary magical creature, but it was no match for the legendary wizard.

At the same level.

Humans have always been more powerful than animals. This can be seen from many historical examples, and according to the information Ian knows, this makes perfect sense. Of course, Ian is not here, so Albus Dumbledore has no way of knowing the earth-shattering fact that humans were created in the form of a Creator.

but.

This did not prevent Albus Dumbledore from traversing the storm, not to mention that Albus Dumbledore has always been a standout among humans.

The azure sea was as calm as a mirror.

The aurora borealis, flowing across the sky, is reflected in the water.

"It's a truly amazing enclosed environment."

Albus Dumbledore hovered three feet above the sea, the hem of his deep blue robe swaying gently in the breeze, with the endless deep blue waves beneath his feet.

A gentle breeze ruffled his long robe, and the sea, like a giant mirror, reflected the clouds in the sky, as well as his flowing silver-white hair and beard. Fox had somehow landed on his shoulder, its golden-red tail feathers occasionally brushing against the old man's cheek.

“Looks like we’ve come to the right place, old friend,” Albus Dumbledore said softly, his blue eyes behind his half-moon spectacles fixed on the distant island shrouded in mist.

Fox perched quietly on his shoulder, his feathers gleaming with a soft golden-red sheen, seemingly wary of this unfamiliar land.

It is clear.

The phoenix that somehow flew out of Hogwarts and managed to find Dumbledore entering through the Bronze Gate looked rather uneasy.

“Ian is here.”

Albus Dumbledore's tone sounded very confident.

His gaze remained fixed on the island.

Under the sunlight, it resembled a jewel embedded in the ocean, its outline clearly defined, yet faintly exuding an aura of strangeness that seemed to belong to another world. The air was filled with the scent of plants and seawater, and occasionally, strange bird calls and deep animal roars echoed from within the island.

"Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!"

The phoenix felt a strange restlessness in this unfamiliar environment. Fox let out a clear cry and flapped its wings uneasily twice.

Bridal reached out and stroked its feathers, feeling a slightly warm sensation on his fingertips.

"It's just another adventure for us." Albus Dumbledore gently stroked its head, reassuring his companion in a calm and gentle voice.

Of course, the wand still slid from the sleeve into the palm. This Albus Dumbledore was no stranger to time travel at this point.

Only God knows how many times he and his former partners traveled through time, and how many time travel experiments he conducted alone to verify some of his conjectures.

Therefore.

Even after discovering that this era was not one that wizards were familiar with, Albus Dumbledore did not feel much tension.

On the contrary, I am still looking forward to it.

after all.

Well known.

Albus Dumbledore was a true Gryffindor, and no Gryffindor student could resist the allure of an unknown adventure.

"Gam~ gan~ gan~ gan~" Fox seemed to understand him, chirped a few more times and then stopped chirping, nuzzling Dumbledore's cheek with his head.

"Let's go find that child."

next moment.

The old man's figure twisted and distorted like mist blown away by the wind, only to instantly reappear on the island's silver sands.

Then, Fox took flight, as if surveying and reconnaissance of the environment, circling once in the air before landing back on his shoulder.

The fine sand on the beach shimmered like pearls in the sunlight.

Each step leaves a glowing footprint.

"A man-made world, or rather, a world created by God, the alchemy used here is truly breathtaking." Dumbledore observed his surroundings with great interest.

He discovered that the laws of physics here were clearly different from those elsewhere—several floating rocks were suspended ten feet off the ground, defying gravity.

Glowing ferns also grow on it.

In the distance lay a lush forest, the trees incredibly tall, their trunks entwined with glowing vines. Several small creatures, resembling lizards but with transparent wings, peered at him from the cracks in the rocks, their eyes gleaming with curiosity and wariness.

“Interesting,” Dumbledore murmured to himself.

He also did a little survey of the environment.

Various strange and wondrous creatures strolled leisurely on the beach, among the rocks, and in the grass. They had vibrant colors and peculiar shapes, and were species that Dumbledore had never seen before. A small blue lizard with wings lazily basked in the sun, a furry, ball-like creature rolled on the sand, and some fish with tentacles frolicked in the shallow water.

"Newt's Isle of Wonders." Albus Dumbledore smiled slightly, not at all nervous, and even had the leisure to chat with his old friend across the room.

of course.

Newt couldn't possibly hear that. Clearly, Albus Dumbledore, like Ian, immediately assumed Newt would love the island.

Fox flapped its wings, letting out a clear cry, and began to show some unease again. And rightly so; after all, phoenixes have incredibly keen senses. This island, though beautiful, seemed to tell a story that had been rewoven by every living creature.

That was life created by alchemy, and the phoenix, the symbol of life, would certainly feel uncomfortable—this might also be related to the giant phoenix that took Ian away before.

Unfortunately, Fawkes couldn't speak, nor could he foresee what had happened here before, so even if he tried to communicate with Dumbledore, he couldn't understand.

It was simply an expression of the lingering stirrings in one's heart.

“Don’t worry, I’m here… Yes, we can only go back if we find Ian—if we can even get back.”

Dumbledore gently stroked the phoenix's wings.

He took a wand from his robes, slowly raised it, closed his eyes, and silently chanted an ancient incantation. A pale blue halo appeared at the tip of the wand, spreading out like ripples on water—a detection spell attempting to detect any remaining magical traces of Ian.

There's no way around it. Tracking down Ian is still too difficult for Dumbledore—it would be much easier if Ian were simply acting as a human wizard.

But since Ian has been transforming into Animagus form very frequently since he came to this world, Albus Dumbledore is unable to track the Raven.

Ravens are not only immune to normal offensive magic, but also completely immune to divination magic, even to legendary-ranked headmasters.

He was able to track them all the way here because he was quick-witted. Knowing that tracking Ian was not an option, he switched to tracking the magical traces left by Ian.

Precisely.

It's a trace left by magic from later magical structures, directly bypassing Ian as the target. How to put it... it's definitely a brilliant method.

after all.

For this era, apart from Albus Dumbledore, only Ian would indeed use magic from later generations to achieve his goal.

Although this place also has many magical creatures, the magic of wizards is different from that of magical creatures, and it is also different from all other superhuman powers.

Extraordinarily conspicuous.

Just as Dumbledore was casting his spell.

Fawkes suddenly let out a warning screech. Dumbledore turned to look towards the jungle, his wand already slightly raised. Just then, a round stone ball rolled out of the bushes and came to rest right next to his boot; it was an object brimming with magical energy.

"It looks like someone lives here."

The old man bent down and picked up the smooth stone ball, discovering that its surface was covered with tiny runes. Just as he was about to examine it with his wand, a rustling sound came from the bushes.

"Ah! It missed!" A little girl with pigtails rushed out, her face flushed and a few leaves stuck to her forehead.

She wore simple clothes woven from some kind of luminous plant fiber, and several empty cloth bags hung from her waist. She looked somewhat embarrassed when she saw the stone ball in Dumbledore's hand.

Albus Dumbledore, of course, couldn't understand what the little girl was saying. However, he was a seasoned veteran, and his experience navigating different eras had honed his skills.

The mind-reading technique subtly read the girl's emotions and language structure.

This was an extremely sophisticated magical technique, almost imperceptible. In just a few seconds, he had grasped the basic linguistic context.

The little girl was completely unaware.

Albus Dumbledore was more skilled at this kind of magic than Ian.

"It seems to be a misunderstanding." After obtaining the language information, Albus Dumbledore understood what the little girl meant earlier.

He also skillfully began to use the other person's language.

The little girl felt increasingly ashamed.

“I originally wanted to catch them to be my companions.” This little girl was naturally the Sprout Ian had met, and she continued to search for companions even after Ian left.

of course.

Little Sprout wasn't trying to capture Dumbledore. Following the direction she was pointing, Albus Dumbledore could see several strange-looking creatures.

It looks like a hybrid of a Niffler and a Bowtruckle.

But looking at it from a time perspective...

They may also be their ancestors.

These little creatures had round bodies covered in silver scales, but their front paws were forked like tree branches. They were building a nest with some kind of luminous seaweed. Sensing Dumbledore's gaze, all the little creatures raised their heads in unison, their black bean-like eyes gleaming with wariness.

"Is that so?"

Albus Dumbledore didn't mind, nor was he hit. He returned the stone ball to the girl in front of him, and the magic on it wasn't something he necessarily needed to study.

"Thank you." Xiaoya quickly expressed her gratitude, then looked at the unfamiliar old man in front of her with a thoughtful expression: "Are you also a trainer from out of town?"

The girl remained polite.

Albus Dumbledore responded with a gentle nod.

“I am a wizard,” he replied gently.

"A wizard?" The girl blinked, but before she could say anything, a boy suddenly emerged from the bushes, his voice firm and excited:
"He's a wizard! He has one of those little sticks, just like his brother Ian!"

Dumbledore's gaze shifted and landed on the boy. The little boy was small and thin, dressed in simple clothes, but his eyes burned with intense curiosity and admiration.

"The Ian you're talking about..." Dumbledore smiled slightly, his tone calm, "is it this boy?"

As he spoke, he gently waved his wand, and a lifelike image of Ian appeared in the air—running, smiling, and releasing strange energy fluctuations as he waved his hand. The image was so vivid that it seemed as if Ian were truly standing in front of them.

The two children's eyes widened immediately, and their mouths formed an "O" shape.

"Oh, it's magic!" the boy exclaimed excitedly. "It's the kind of magic that Brother Ian was talking about!"

"That's amazing!" The little girl couldn't help but clap and cheer.

The boy immediately ran to Dumbledore, looking at him expectantly: "Can you teach me magic? I want to learn too!"

Dumbledore's expression was gentle, but he shook his head: "I'm sorry, child. The first thing you need to learn magic is talent—you need to have magic power."

He paused, then added, "Unfortunately, neither you nor your sister possess this power."

The boy's smile instantly faded, and he muttered, "It seems that wizards are more powerful when they are younger... Brother Ian clearly said that I could learn magic in the future."

"Perhaps." Dumbledore smiled slightly, a thoughtful glint in his eyes. "But Ian... he does always have some magical methods."

At this moment, the little girl tugged at her brother's hand and said with a smile, "Odin, your mother taught you not to lose your manners in front of others."

Xiaoya scolded her younger brother.

however.

This sentence caused Albus Dumbledore's pupils to dilate wildly; he heard a syllable that sounded very familiar to him.

Yes.

syllable.

"and many more."

Dumbledore suddenly spoke, his expression turning serious. He looked at the little girl and slowly asked, "What...what did you just call your brother?"

The little girl tilted her head, her face full of innocence.

"Odin."

She gave an answer.

"That's it~"

It is also unknown what Albus Dumbledore understood at that moment.

He looked up to the sky.

His gaze is profound.

(End of this chapter)