The Old Ones of Hogwarts

Chapter 121, Section 120: For the Greater Good! A Debate!

Night falls.

The twinkling stars in the sky resembled chess pieces scattered across a chessboard. As night deepened, Hogwarts Castle and its surrounding scenery gradually merged into the embrace of the night.

Every detail was gently smoothed by the night, leaving only peace and tranquility. All things were hidden, waiting for the new day to awaken their vitality and energy once more.

"Let's continue learning evil curses today!"

When Ian started his paid private classes that evening, the rumors about him had evolved into a whole new version, claiming that his battle with Grindelwald in the Forbidden Forest was all for the sake of Dumbledore.

The story of a centenarian and a ten-year-old child?

This is so English!

Daphne Greengrass must have played a crucial role in this, and Ian truly regretted not taking away the shoddy storybook that had been hastily made by someone else from Daphne's hands.

"Young Professor, are you the child of Dumbledore and Grindelwald?" This was probably the question that broke down Ian's defenses. Such increasingly outrageous fallacies and rumors truly struck him like a thunderbolt.

"Damn storybooks! If any of you spread these rumors again, don't blame me for being ruthless!" Ian was furious and gave a stern warning to the other young wizards in the Ravenclaw common room.

His threat to use old feces balls didn't work well at first, but everyone fell silent after he emphasized that his feces balls would actually contain old feces.

This is true power.

At least Ian no longer had to endure the increasingly bizarre rumors in the Ravenclaw common room. He stepped out of the common room immediately after finishing his tutoring of the young wizards.

"What will the junior professor do?"

"Is he going to go into the Forbidden Forest again?"

"Hey! This isn't something we should be curious about! Do you want to be attacked with feces by a little professor in the middle of the night? Real smart people, like me, will keep their mouths shut."

"If the professor could sneak into the girls' dormitory and feed me with his mouth—okay, I still couldn't accept it."

Seventeen or eighteen young wizards were cleaning up the mess left after their magical practice. They had learned a new legal evil spell that day, and there were many traces of the spell's deviation in the common room. This evening tutoring not only taught them some new spells, but also allowed the Ravenclaw wizards who liked to learn ahead to hone their [Repairing Charm].

Moreover, even for older wizards who don't need to participate in Ian's Little Class, it's a daily activity that can effectively improve their magical evasion abilities.

Judging from the upperclassmen and underclassmen in front of the fireplace tonight, who were reading books while remaining vigilant around their surroundings, and whose skillful ability to dodge spells that were often misfired, they had clearly benefited greatly from Ian's first and second-year wizarding classes over the past half-semester.

These senior Ravenclaw wizards will surely become the backbone of the Ministry of Magic after graduation, and among the Aurors, Ian can be said to have contributed to their success.

"Don't throw spells at the Founder's statue next time!" Senior Penelope, who was also helping with the cleaning, warned a few young wizards who had made some rather outrageous mistakes.

For the little wizard.

The upperclassmen at Ravenclaw seem quite tolerant.

of course.

They might actually be forced to suppress their anger. After all, compared to the rumors about Ian's lineage in Slytherin, Ravenclaw had an additional rumor about Merlin's bloodline due to the presence of the prefects, which was considered a secret by many upperclassmen who "shared" the rumor with the prefects.

can only say.

Ian might be considered the student with the most rumors surrounding him since the founding of Hogwarts, especially regarding the mysteries of his origins, which most creatures could not count on one hand.

"Why has little Ian been teaching you curses for several nights in a row?" Penelope asked Ian's two roommates curiously after helping to repair the lounge. Ravenclaw students are all very curious, and she always felt that Ian was doing this for some special reason.

"He wants us to become stronger, to become his right-hand men!" William's words carried a hint of ambiguity, but Senior Penelope didn't draw any further conclusions.

Michael scratched his head, a matter-of-fact expression on his face. "To be honest, I didn't ask either."

Ian must have his reasons for teaching this way.

Neither of their answers satisfied Penelope. She could clearly tell that they were just giving her a perfunctory answer; these two young wizards' acting skills were even inferior to their professor roommate.

"I actually asked Ian that question too."

Qiu Zhang had taken an extracurricular study book and was about to study at the desk in the lounge when she overheard Penelope and the two little boys talking.

Penelope turned to look at Qiu Zhang.

Did that guy tell you?

She knew that the girl and Ian had a good relationship.

"It felt like it was just a spur-of-the-moment thing, right? He just told me mysteriously that something dirty had gotten into Hogwarts, and then he stole my Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans while I was thinking about it."

Qiu Zhang's tone carried a hint of helplessness.

William and Michael immediately exclaimed that this was exactly the kind of thing Ian would do, and the three of them huddled together to start discussing the bad habits Ian had recently picked up from somewhere.

"Is that so—"

Penelope was clearly different from the other carefree young wizards. After hearing Cho Chang's words, she touched her lips with her index finger and looked thoughtful.

"It may be related to the unexpected incident that happened in the forbidden forest today."

The bright and intelligent Penelope only enjoys spreading gossip. She doesn't actually believe the rumors circulating at school; she only believes the inferences she concocts herself.

now.

This older girl had clearly connected the clues she knew.

"Let me think—Ian is suspected to be a descendant of the Ambrose family, which is why he would call someone 'dirty stuff'—."

Penelope found several books about the Merlin family and began to study them.

Less than ten minutes later.

This senior student immediately acted as if she had discovered the truth.

"I get it! There must be more than one descendant of a legendary family in the school! This year must be some kind of special year! A descendant of King Arthur or a descendant of Morgan der Leyen is also in the academy!"

"Love, hate, passion, and entanglement! Life and death!"

Penelope gave him a knowing look and realized that this Ravenclaw prefect might not be so exceptionally gifted as to deserve praise.

Well, how should I put it?

Are women who love reading novels and biographies truly possess terrifyingly vivid imaginations and associative abilities?

Outside the corridor window.

The first snow at Hogwarts arrived silently in the night. Snowflakes gently touched the ancient stone walls, swirling and intertwining in the night sky before finally settling softly. In the gentlest of gestures, they slowly covered every inch of land, every leaf, and even every spire and windowsill of the castle.

"I think Hogwarts should enact a rumor law; any young wizard who spreads rumors should at least go hungry for a few days."

"Well, the professor who sent the little wizard to spread rumors must have had at least ten thousand needles pricking the soles of his feet."

Ian stood in the hallway staring at the portrait of Ravenclaw for a long time, but the Ravenclaw lady in the dreamlike vision didn't seem to have any intention of "getting a look" or giving approval.

He certainly didn't go out to settle scores with Grindelwald; he knew his own limitations perfectly well. He simply went to the House of Requirement to adjust the potion he was brewing.

The reason why Ian was still wandering the corridors, even though there was frost on the windows and the chill had permeated the entire castle, was because he hadn't yet resolved his feud with the Bronze Eagle.

The vengeful Bronze Eagle simply wouldn't let him in. Now, even trying to stump him with questions was too much trouble, so no matter how long Ian stood in front of him, the Bronze Eagle would just pretend to be dead and remain silent.

This completely eliminated the possibility that Ian would return after completing his studies and be able to answer the questions.

To be fair, the door knocker of this gate may indeed be acquiring some kind of quality called "life," just as it claims; otherwise, it certainly wouldn't have arbitrarily violated the rules it was set up to.

Only living things know what it means to exploit loopholes in the rules. With no one to return to the lounge at the main gate, Ian had no choice but to prepare to spend the night at the Room of Requirement.

He happened to pass by Ravenclaw's portrait and, just then, remembered Ravenclaw's "cheating" methods, so he complained to Ravenclaw's portrait for five minutes.

"Tell me, what is that guy trying to achieve by having his students spread rumors about me everywhere?" Ian's frustration only grew stronger.

"This is a technique he learned from Muggles."

suddenly.

Ian heard Aurora's slightly cold voice behind him. He turned around abruptly and saw the Germanic girl using a levitation spell to move some long iron bars.

"What are you doing? Are you going to sell them for scrap metal?"

Ian stared at Aurora, somewhat bewildered. He recognized the iron fences that Aurora controlled; they were things taken from the owl shed and other inconspicuous places.

"My grandfather wants to reopen that underground classroom, and he's made me his laborer," Aurora replied helplessly, clearly quite unwilling.

"I'd like to restart one classroom. I don't think it'll mean we have to destroy the others." Ian's gaze lingered on the iron podium in the Charms classroom.

The German girl was taken away entirely.

"He only told me to find some iron railings and didn't give me any Galleons to buy," Aurora answered Ian's question honestly and earnestly.

She hesitated for a moment and then added, "Of course I can't use my money. I can't get into Snape's office. I need to keep my Galleons to buy potion ingredients."

I didn't expect him to be such a penny-pincher.

"The materials from last time should have been enough for you to make a lot of truth serum, right? Still not enough?" Ian's expression was rather complicated. He found Aurora's silence, which didn't respond, to be rather unsettling.

After a long while.

"I left IOUs for all those classrooms, in Professor Lockhart's name," Aurora explained abruptly, as if to say she wasn't a thief.

Ian was somewhat speechless. He felt that this way of handling things was a bit strange, but he couldn't find any fault with it.

"Do you want to help?"

Aurora then spoke.

Ian immediately shook his head like a rattle-drum.

"I just want to give our Defense Against the Dark Arts professor a gift." With that, Ian pulled out a bag of itching powder and sprinkled it all over the floating iron object.

Aurora watched him misbehave quietly without saying a word to stop him. Even after Ian put away the powder bag with satisfaction, the little girl gave him a suggestion.

"I think you should be more mature and inscribe some explosive runes on it so that it explodes immediately when touched. It would be quite good if it had the power of ten kilograms of explosives."

Good guy!

This is truly encountering a living Yama!

"??????"

Ian was shocked by Aurora's suggestion. He just wanted to make the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor suffer, but the Germanic girl in front of him clearly wanted Grindelwald blown to bits!

"I also think you should be aware of the risks. If you really do that, your grandfather might not have been killed in the bombing, but it would definitely be the two of us who die—no! I'm afraid only I will die!"

Ian rejected Aurora's offer without even thinking about it.

"I would say I put it there."

Aurora, true to her word, made a statement.

Ian still resolutely shook his head.

He was the kind of little wizard who knew how to keep things in check, so he simply took out a few more dung balls, made a small contraption, and installed it on the podium in the Charms classroom.

"I was just responding to his slander against me—by the way, you just said this was a tactic he learned from Muggles? What exactly is your grandfather trying to do?!"

After Ian fixed the mechanism, he immediately began washing his hands. He cast the Clear Water Charm and then the Levitation Charm on his wand, freeing his hands to vigorously wash them under the flowing water.

The way he released the magic left Aurora somewhat bewildered.

"The best way to suppress a scandal is to cover it up with more scandals. This method is also very effective at confusing the public and suppressing trending news," Aurora answered Ian's question, but her brows remained furrowed as she stared intently at Ian, who had washed his hands and taken back his wand.

She looked at her hand, which she had been holding up to maintain the levitation spell, and then at Ian's wand, completely baffled as to how Ian's magic was maintaining it.

"Dumbledore is a male succubus, and that morning news report about seducing him?"

Seeing Aurora nod, Ian finally understood what Grindelwald's actions that afternoon had all about!

The old devil actually knows about public relations.

"Ugh! He got soaked in the rain himself, and then he lets me soak in the river?!" Ian was utterly speechless. "Shouldn't he be punishing those who spread rumors?"

Face this problem.

Aurora simply blinked.

"Sixteen saints are in action." Although her answer was still straightforward, the information it revealed was something that Ian hadn't expected.

Will I still be able to see the Daily Prophet tomorrow?

Ian sensed a chilling undercurrent.

"Um, maybe?"

Aurora's tone also carried a hint of uncertainty.

After tilting his head slightly.

She then looked at the iron objects that were floating in mid-air.

"I need to hurry to the underground classroom. If my grandfather gets impatient, he'll probably think that you're the one who delayed his time to rebuild the underground classroom."

Aurora's words startled Ian slightly.

"Where are you?"

Ian had barely opened his mouth when he realized he had asked a stupid question.

as predicted.

"He is, after all, my grandfather. If there are others to blame, of course he will blame them." Aurora waved to Ian and then manipulated a large pile of things toward the stairs.

There was no one along the way.

Aurora quickly brought the items to the underground classroom.

at this time.

Gilderoy Lockhart stood in the middle of the classroom, stroking his chin, seemingly planning the layout of the famous classroom. The ghosts' tableware and long tables had all turned into a pile of black ash in the corner.

"Why did it take so long? Did you run into some little wizard wandering around at night?" Grindelwald looked at Aurora, who was carrying a bunch of iron objects into the classroom.

Aurora gave Grindelwald a deep look.

"I met Ian."

She knew lying was pointless—and sure enough, Grindelwald raised his wand and waved it gently, and all the itching powder that Ian had evenly distributed on the various iron objects gathered together.

There was absolutely no use for it. The Defense Against the Dark Arts professor even took out a small cloth bag and collected the itching powder, not knowing what he intended to do with it.

He did not deal with the podium where the mechanism had been placed.

"Later, put this podium back in its original place—just like it was." Grindelwald said with a smile, his composure clearly far exceeding the young wizard's imagination.

"Forehead--"

Aurora silently mourned for Ian in her heart.

And at that very moment.

"What did you talk about?"

Grindelwald then asked, seemingly out of curiosity.

"Didn't you see it?"

Aurora looked up at the man in front of her.

Grindelwald, with his youthful face, shook his head. "I didn't see anything, child. I just induced you, and then you voluntarily revealed everything to me."

Ian might believe this, but Aurora remained unmoved. She knew that her grandfather was hundreds or even thousands of times more cunning than she and Ian combined.

"He wanted to know why you were spreading rumors about him, so I told him my opinion—" Aurora carefully considered her words before recounting her conversation with Ian in a somewhat embellished manner.

"Covering up the morning news, is that really what you think?" Grindelwald's smile remained unchanged after hearing this, and he looked at his blood relative with deep eyes.

"Isn't that right?"

Aurora frowned slightly.

She felt that her analysis was correct.

"I once told your friend a lesson, and now perhaps I should tell it to you as well." Grindelwald waved his wand, reshaping the iron artifacts that Aurora had brought.

then.

One after another, horrifying instruments of torture began to appear in the underground classroom and were placed where Grindelwald wanted them to be.

When renovating the classroom.

Grindelwald, without forgetting to calmly and meaningfully offer Aurora a lecture.

"The future we prophets see is sometimes contradictory, and sometimes just a false illusion. As for those clear and decisive prophecies, which may seem like an inevitable outcome to countless mediocre people, they have the potential to be shaped in the desired direction by those who see them."

"Of course, it is extremely difficult to guide the development of prophecy based on one's own will, so it is inevitable to seek help from other wizards."

Grindelwald effortlessly rearranged the entire classroom, then put away his wand and looked at the increasingly puzzled students.

Aurora's brows were furrowed so much they looked like an old lady's.

"What do you mean?"

Aurora failed to understand Grindelwald's words.

However, Grindelwald did not show any disappointment.

He just kept smiling.

He spoke softly.

"Child, the magic of wizards far exceeds your imagination. Our thoughts, beliefs, and knowledge may all be involved in a grand scheme."

These words were spoken.

Aurora's eyes widened immediately.

"You want Ian to compete with you for Dumbledore? And to turn Dumbledore into a male succubus?" The German girl's tone was full of disbelief. She gasped three or four times, thankfully, because she was helping Grindelwald, she hadn't yet heard the latest absurd version of the rumor.

"What kind of horrible stories are these—" — Damn it! I should have put more effort into making that book! Grindelwald's smile was somewhat stiff, clearly not expecting the storybook to also include news about male succubi. The prophet seemed to have been mercilessly mocked by fate once again.

"Isn't that right?"

Aurora was probably using reverse psychology.

"Of course not!"

Grindelwald's eye changed color suddenly, and only he could see the image that appeared in it. His voice began to become low and meaningful.

"I just want to take this opportunity to plant a seed in the hearts of these young wizards. One day, it will sprout and contribute to a greater vision."

Grindelwald's expression was extremely serious.

"What kind of seed?"

Aurora suddenly looked up.

Grindelwald, his smile gone, offered a different answer.

"That brat will thank me for the seed."

After hesitating for a moment.

He added, somewhat helplessly.

"Of course, there were some minor mishaps, nothing serious, but—I still need to go to that little witch and reconstruct the book she has."

talking.

Grindelwald hurriedly walked out of the classroom—his hasty figure made Aurora thoughtful, realizing that her previous judgment was not entirely wrong.

What is a greater vision?

There's definitely an intention to cover up trending news!

As Grindelwald walked, he transformed into a little witch. Just as he smoothly slipped into the Slytherin common room and pulled out his wand, aiming it at the little witches' bedroom.

the other side.

Ian, who originally wanted to go to the owl's hut to take a look, was actually eavesdropping on an unusually heated and confrontational argument coming from inside the owl's hut.

"I told you! I didn't steal your things!!"

"Who else could it be but you?! Don't lie to me!! Someone told me you were the one who opened it!"

"How many times do I need to tell you! When I opened it, there was nothing there! If you don't believe me, go crawl into my head and look at my memories!"

Ian hid in a corner outside.

He couldn't see any figures inside the dimly lit owl hut, but he knew who two of the voices, which he couldn't quite make out, were by the names displayed on the Marauder's Map.

Albus Dumbledore.

Aberforth Dumbledore.