Hogwarts: A Chinese-Style Professor

Chapter 206 The Child Born Evil

"I didn't expect you to have already made a discovery? Principal, your efficiency is truly amazing."

Livy's praise was heartfelt—to find something hidden in a corner of a vast land when there was absolutely no clue was nothing short of a miracle.

"Stop laughing at me—"

Dumbledore waved his hand.

Li Wei discovered three. Even if he did discover one or two Horcruxes, what's so praiseworthy about that?

Dumbledore stood up, his weariness replaced by a deeper, almost tragic resolve.

That place was full of darkness and trials.

I think I need a witness, and even more so, someone who can make the right judgment when I'm not up to the task.

He didn't offer any further explanation, but simply extended his arm.

"I can't think of anything that could make things difficult for both of us."

Without hesitation, Li Wei stepped forward and grabbed Dumbledore's forearm.

The next moment, a familiar feeling, like being squeezed into a rubber tube, came over me, but this time, the surrounding colors were distorted more violently and lasted longer.

"Bang!" Accompanied by the sound of firecrackers exploding, the long illusionary teleportation ended.

Li Wei's feet touched solid ground again, and a cold, damp air, carrying a strong smell of the sea and decay, rushed towards him with the sea breeze.

They were standing on a desolate coastline.

A steep, black cliff loomed before me, with jagged rocks and murky, foamy seawater beneath my feet.

The surrounding area was barren and desolate, with no trees, grass, or beaches in sight except for the vast sea and rocks.

"This is it."

Dumbledore's voice rang in my ears.

Before Li Wei could ask, he began to explain as he led Li Wei forward:
Tom grew up in a small orphanage. He was arrogant and aloof and liked to control others with fear—a trait and talent he showed at a very young age.

When I first found him, his cupboard was piled high with trinkets he'd stolen from others—toys, dolls, even a dead dog.

“He doesn’t really like these things; he just enjoys the feeling of plundering other people’s beloved possessions and uses it to cure his fear.”

"What an inherently evil child—if I were you, I might have crippled him on the spot, depending on the situation, not to mention—was your brain cursed back then?"

Otherwise, how could they allow such a strange-looking child to enter a magic school, and even personally train him to become a beginner?
Is it because they value talent? Or have they been bewitched?
"Li Wei—your words are far too harsh for an old man."

Dumbledore touched his face with his hand, seemingly feeling quite ashamed.

"However—I did feel sorry for him at the time."

"Pitiful? What's pitiful about a child who takes pleasure in bullying others?"

Dumbledore continued walking with him, letting out a heavy sigh—considering what was about to happen, he felt he had to be more honest with Livy.

Because when faced with someone with this kind of personality, he doesn't know what else to do besides being sincere in return for sincerity—which is also what he feels is the most efficient way to gain trust.

Even if it means revealing some past wounds.
"I think he's a lot like me when I was young."

Dumbledore noticed that Levi was turning his head to look at him, but he didn't turn around and continued speaking:

“When I first graduated from Hogwarts, I felt like I had a bright future ahead of me—a vast magical world lay at my feet, waiting to be explored—I had already planned my graduation trip, ready to travel the world with my friends.” Dumbledore looked down at his feet, his face somewhat bitter.

"But in that year, fate played a cruel joke on me—my sister Ariana was an Obscurial—and she killed my mother during the magical upheaval."

As the eldest son, I had to abandon my original plans and shoulder the responsibility of caring for my younger sister and protecting the family—my younger brother, who was also attending magic school at the time—he was even planning to drop out of magic school, but I stopped him.

Dumbledore finally looked at Levi, staring directly into his eyes, and said:

"But I am not happy."

"In fact, as time went by, I became depressed because of this—the world described in my friends' letters seemed to be disconnected from my own, like a story from another world."

For a while afterward, I even began to shut myself off and stop reading their letters—I felt trapped.

Dumbledore stopped there, and what happened next was the only scar in his life that he could never show to anyone.

"I understand. So you feel that you and young Tom share the same fate?"

“Yes—” Talking to intelligent people gave Dumbledore some comfort. “His cruelty, in my opinion, is the result of being rejected.”

“I know what you’re trying to say—it’s true that he’s bullying others, but that’s only because he’s a wizard—I know very well what it’s like to live as an ‘outcast’ in the Muggle world.”

A hint of self-deprecation appeared on Dumbledore's face.

"So I thought that if I could take him back to where he truly belonged, and under the influence of others and with my careful guidance, he would definitely undergo a tremendous change—of course, his magical talent at the time was indeed very good, so good that it amazed me, just like yours."

Dumbledore said meaningfully:

“Even now, I feel guilty for not raising Tom well—if something like this happens again, I will do everything in my power, even my life.”

Li Wei knew he was hinting at something, so he pursed his lips and didn't reply.

Dumbledore didn't dwell on it, but pretended everything was normal, pointing to the rocks below the cliff and continuing:

“Muggles can’t possibly climb down the cliff and get onto these rocks, and the boat can’t get close to the cliff either. The surrounding waters are too dangerous—I can imagine how Tom climbed down. Magic must have been more effective than ropes.”

He also brought two small children, probably for the fun of scaring them—I think the journey itself is scary enough, don't you think?

Li Wei closed his eyes and shook his head, feeling disgusted by what Voldemort had done.

The two silently descended to the giant pebble closest to the front of the cliff.

"This is it."

Dumbledore pointed to a very hidden crack at the bottom of the cliff, half-submerged by the rising tide, which looked like an inconspicuous scar on the rock.

"The entrance is over there—I think we're probably going to get our clothes wet."

"It's ok."

Li Wei casually cast a water-based spell on himself—a transparent membrane of air enveloped his entire body, and then formed the shape of a bubble-head spell at his head.

"Oh—not bad magic."

Dumbledore remarked, not allowing Livy to release one for him as well.

He bent down first, put the wand in his mouth, and gently slid off the pebbles into the seawater, disappearing into the narrow crevice. Li Wei followed closely behind.

(End of this chapter)