The Old Ones of Hogwarts

Chapter 243, Section 242: Absolutely Unbelievable

Inside the principal's office.

Under the dim yellow light.

Fox, the magnificent phoenix, was curled up on its perch by the window, dozing gently. Its dazzling tail feathers occasionally trembled slightly, radiating a warm and mysterious light.

White steam rose from the fireplace, spiraling slowly in the air, adding a touch of dreaminess to this ancient and solemn room.

Ian stood in front of the desk, staring down at a book that Dumbledore had handed him. The gold lettering on the dark brown leather cover shimmered faintly.

Dark Forces: Spell Conversion

—Tom Riddle

This was an unexpected turn of events for Ian.

Say something.

The moment Ian received the book, a surge of intense curiosity welled up within him. His mind raced with countless guesses: who was the author of this book about dark powers and spellcasting?

He had guessed it might be Grindelwald, the powerful and mysterious dark wizard whose research on dark magic was unparalleled. He had also wondered if it could be Merlin, the ancient and highly capable legendary wizard who might have left behind such a forbidden and unconventional magical work. The young wizard even wondered if it might be his teacher, Morgan.

after all.

A strange twist of fate always manages to link his destiny with Morgan's through various coincidences—both of them are likely to study and achieve cutting-edge results in the field of dark forces.

Of course, the meticulous Ian didn't even overlook the old headmaster in front of him. The great white wizard Dumbledore's mastery of dark powers was also not to be underestimated and ranked among the top in history.

however.

Even if Ian were given a hundred more chances, he would never have imagined that he would see the name of Voldemort, which should have been taboo, in the book given by Dumbledore.

"this……"

Ian's voice caught in his throat. He looked up at Dumbledore in disbelief. "Professor, are you serious? You're not going to use your own writings to credit Riddle, are you?"

This is certainly an unreasonable suspicion, but if you put it in the context of Dumbledore collecting Voldemort's works, such an absurd possibility suddenly becomes much more reasonable.

"An interesting idea, but April Fool's Day hasn't arrived yet." Dumbledore smiled slightly, his blue eyes behind his half-moon spectacles gleaming with cunning.

"..."

Ian's mood was clearly the opposite of Dumbledore's; he was still immersed in such an absurd reality. "So, Riddle was doing quite well in the past?"

Ian wasn't sure if Dumbledore had taken the time to go back in time. He remembered Dumbledore saying that he would deal with Riddle, who was stuck in the past.

In the morning and at noon.

Because he had taken a moment to sense the connection he had established with Riddle and found that Riddle was still alive in this world, he assumed that Dumbledore had killed Riddle or imprisoned Riddle in the past and let him slowly die of old age. He was still thinking of sensing it again when he went to the Mystic Realm.

Who would have thought?

Riddle is even able to write books and create works in the past!

"I think he has finally accepted the name he once despised. Of course, he still hasn't written his middle name on it. Perhaps his views on pureblood and honor have changed."

Dumbledore did not respond directly, but instead looked down at the book in the young wizard's hands, his somewhat enigmatic eyes fixed on the author's name.

"So Riddle has finally realized that honor must be earned through one's own efforts?" Ian hadn't expected that his earlier words would actually be taken to heart by the young Dark Lord.

His gaze returned to the book, carefully examining the texture of the paper and the degree of oxidation of the ink—the book had clearly been through a very long period of time.

These are definitely not items brought directly from the past.

"Perhaps."

Dumbledore's tone was ambiguous.

He spoke in a calm voice as always.

"I took some time to go back and found that he was hiding very well and keeping a low profile... It seems that during his trip with you, he experienced something that caused his personality to change."

"I observed his condition for a while, and after returning to our time, I found this book, which had been gathering dust, in the Hogwarts warehouse."

"I suppose... each time we travel through time, it causes the effects of the past to arrive at us more quickly," Dumbledore said, recounting what he had done that morning and at noon.

And the information summarized.

of course.

This is not something Ian cares about.

"You didn't catch him, or... you know what he is?" Ian made a throat-slitting gesture with his hand, accompanied by a slightly exaggerated expression.

Seeing the little wizard's attitude.

Dumbledore shook his head, unable to suppress a smile.

"Unfortunately, I didn't do that."

His answer was very straightforward.

Then.

She then looked at the little wizard with a slightly complicated and apologetic gaze.

"My child, please forgive my slight selfishness, Riddle's situation is too special... As long as the impact is still within a controllable range, I hope to take the risk of conducting some observations."

Dumbledore didn't dare to meet the young wizard's gaze.

It was truly rare to see such evasive glances in this old principal's eyes.

And every time this happens.

Ian knew perfectly well why—for Dumbledore, there was only one situation that would lead this great leader to make such an unjust choice.

"Well, I don't think it will affect me much." As the master of the paradoxical servants, Ian certainly didn't need to worry about Riddle setting up traps for him in the past.

As a paradoxical servant.

Riddle simply cannot bring himself to do anything that would be detrimental to his master.

He couldn't even think about it in his mind.

After all, he was a servant.

It cannot be considered a complete individual.

"Let Riddle fly over there for a while." Ian didn't ask any more questions. He knew very well that Dumbledore's attempt was for the common ground between the two of them.

Ariana

Without even needing to think about it carefully, one can realize how similar Ariana's situation is to Riddle's. Riddle's unexpected resurrection would be the perfect experimental subject for Dumbledore.

The old headmaster had never given up on a certain idea that defied the laws of nature, and Ian had long since discerned this, but he and the old headmaster did not have any disagreement on this matter.

if it is possible.

How could Ariana not deserve a full life?

The rules of nature are meant to be broken, and human development is about resisting nature, whether through magic or science—this is something Ian has always firmly believed.

"Thank you, Ian."

Seeing that Ian did not refute, Dumbledore visibly breathed a sigh of relief. His eyes were filled with gratitude as he turned his attention back to the unexpected situation that had occurred to Ian.

"Right now, our most important task is to figure out your magic and determine whether the anomaly is good or bad." Dumbledore's eyes revealed his deep concern for Ian's health and safety.

after all.

Ian was not only a student at Hogwarts, but also the only person who could communicate with Ariana. Both publicly and privately, Ian held a very important place in Dumbledore's heart.

If that conflict had happened decades ago, it would probably have been something like Grindelwald grabbing Ian by the neck and asking him hundreds of questions like, "Would Dumbledore mourn for you?"

"I feel quite well personally, no need to worry, Professor." Ian also felt no discomfort or hidden dangers, and he knew some information about his condition that was difficult to tell Dumbledore.

"That's all for now. Don't let your guard down. Anything related to those vanished gods is no small matter." Dumbledore remained sufficiently cautious.

He gestured with his eyes for Ian to look through Riddle's work. Ian nodded and continued flipping through the book. As he turned the pages, his brow gradually relaxed, and a look of surprise appeared in his eyes—Ian had to admit that Riddle had indeed impressed him.

"This is simply unbelievable," Ian murmured, his finger lingering on a complex magic circle diagram. "Riddle actually managed to write something so profound?"

The book's contents far exceeded his expectations. Riddle—or rather, Voldemort—systematically analyzed dozens of magical expressions in this work, from ancient European runes like Nirnal to African bone charms, from Eastern Five Elements magic to American totem magic. The structure of each spell was dissected in great detail.

There were also detailed annotations and suggestions for improvement. Such erudition and detail naturally surprised Ian, given that his stereotypical image of Voldemort consisted of only two things.

One is a strange laugh that goes "ga ga ga ga".

The other one is that all he does is eat melons.

Voldemort's achievements can be seen in his modifications of human wizards' magic—of course, if we have to be specific, the fact that the magic he deciphered in this book is mostly dark still seems to reflect Riddle's taste.

"Riddle's research is enough to shake the world and make his mark on history."

Ian read on, marveling at the sight.

Who would have thought that the younger version of Voldemort, who was obsessed with the power of dark magic and wanted to rule the world, could actually write such a valuable work?

"Talent and morality are not always proportional, Ian," Dumbledore said softly. "No one can deny his talent; what I have always denied is his wicked heart."

That is indeed the case.

In Dumbledore's assessment of Riddle, there was indeed no criticism of Riddle's talent; he only consistently mocked Riddle's narrow-mindedness, which prevented him from seeing a broader future.

"Riddle is quite talented."

Ian was engrossed in the book, sometimes frowning in thought, sometimes nodding slightly. Dumbledore stood beside him, watching quietly with anticipation in his eyes. After a while, Dumbledore spoke, "Ian, why don't you learn about the magical spell system related to the gods right here and now?"

"I believe this will not be difficult for you."

Dumbledore knew that Ian's speed of learning dark magic was astonishing.

And indeed, that was the case. Ian only glanced at it a few times, and he had already completely mastered the content. After becoming a legend, his learning speed in this area became even more impressive.

In fact, he was already considered exceptionally gifted in the past. Whenever it came to knowledge related to black magic, Ian was like a child prodigy, able to quickly understand and master it.

"It's all good knowledge! There's no bad knowledge! Only bad wizards!"

Ian's frantic studying, which he was trying to conceal.

Ian turned to the chapter on "Divine Magic" and his eyes lit up. This chapter detailed rituals for communicating with the gods, as well as magic related to mythology.

It even included a section on how to steal the structure of divine power in incantations. Of course, there was a reason for such methods; Riddle made a small note in red ink in the margin.

"The god who controls me doesn't respond to me at all, so I can only try to secretly steal His divine power to verify these things." This guy even wants to state in his own writings that he did not steal the divine power of other gods.

That's being overly cautious.

When the young wizard saw this line, his eyes twitched a few times—he didn't feel any kidney deficiency or anything, but that didn't stop him from adding another debt to Riddle's little notebook!

Misappropriation?

nonexistent!

Nine out, two hundred and sixty back!

"I've learned it." Ian pondered as he studied, still able to learn in a flash—he closed the book, and it wasn't difficult for him to figure out how to integrate this E-era magic into other spell systems.

Ultimately, spells are just a framework, and magic is the result of filling the framework with magical power. As long as you use other frameworks to lock the same result, you can naturally use other spells to create magic with the same effect.

Only the framework has changed.

It's the kind of thing where Dumbledore suspects something involving gods, and Ian experiences a magical transformation.

"Very well, then we should move on to the next step." Dumbledore's expression was slightly strange, but he didn't make any judgments. He simply stepped forward and put his hand on Ian's shoulder again.

A familiar feeling of pressure washed over them, and when their vision cleared again, they found themselves standing on the edge of a steep canyon. A biting mountain wind howled past, whipping Ian's hair.

"Godric Valley".

Ian recognized this very special place, a place that kept recurring in his life. In the distance, the setting sun dyed the rugged rocks blood red.

Dumbledore was also gazing at the distant scenery.

"Actually, our family didn't live here at first."

He seemed to be reminiscing about the past.

"At first, my family lived in a small village. I remember the flowers there always withered very quickly. Because my father was imprisoned in Azkaban, my mother moved my siblings and me to Godric Valley—the place where our ancestors once lived."

The old headmaster's words reminded the young wizard of Dumbledore, whom he had encountered in the past. Just as the young wizard was wondering whether Dumbledore had mentioned him in the family tree later on...

Dumbledore spoke slowly again.

His tone was somewhat intriguing.

"The Dumbledore family is burdened with suffering."

"I think my mother brought us here because our ancestors said that as long as we live here, the curse of the Dumbledore family will be redeemed."

How familiar those words are.

In the past, Ian had also heard Dumbledore say something similar.

however.

Hearing the old headmaster repeat it now, Ian's feelings were completely different. He was somewhat surprised and uncertain, and his gaze swept over Dumbledore's calm face.

"professor……"

The young wizard finally understood why, upon his return, Dumbledore was full of energy and even willing to use the Oblivion Charm on himself to keep Merlin's secret.

perhaps.

In Dumbledore's view

As long as things don't change, he's certain he'll achieve his goal. And studying Riddle is a crucial step in completing that path to his objective.

after all.

These words came from the earliest family tree, and in that family tree was a name as incomprehensible as an ouroboros, a name that Albus Dumbledore could never ignore.

"Let's begin."

Just as the little wizard seemed to want to say something but hesitated.

The old principal spoke with a smile.

So Ian could only put his doubts aside for the time being and began to use the spell framework of ancient Greek mythology to cast the illumination spell, which was nothing more than ordinary for wizards.

next moment.

All I saw was...

The setting sun in the sky suddenly seemed to have been injected with adrenaline.

A beam of light descended like the collapse of the heavens.

"The Sun God..."

Ian sensed a familiar presence.

(End of this chapter)