Magical Studies at Hogwarts...

Chapter 320: What Happened Before (Part 6)

"Oh, poor little fellow, what are you doing here? Is your name Ike Strayder? Poor little fellow..."

Julianne held the baby, her face full of tender affection. She gently poked the baby's cheek with her finger; it felt lovely, but it seemed to displease the little one. He frowned, opened his mouth, and let out a sound that sounded like a complaint.

Julianne chuckled at the sound of the baby's cry. She gently shook the baby, and as she was about to return to her car with the child in her arms, she suddenly realized that she was already at the entrance of the orphanage.

"Huh? When did we arrive?" she muttered, then looked around. Everything was dry; there wasn't a trace of rain. Looking up at the sky, the stars were dazzling.

"Did you see that, Harry?" As Dumbledore's voice rang out, the whole world seemed to be paused. Julianne, still holding the child and stepping to push open the door, was frozen in place.

"Sir, is this...is this really happening?" Harry frowned, looking at the starry sky as well, his tone full of disbelief.

"That's exactly what Ms. Julianne saw with her own eyes," Dumbledore nodded in reply.

"But there was heavy rain and lightning, so why isn't there any trace of rain on the car?" Harry's doubts deepened. "That long, eerie road, and more importantly, how did he even appear?"

"I have no idea."

"Don't know?" Harry looked at Dumbledore, but saw only calm on his face.

"Yes, that's what I find strange," Dumbledore said. "Everyone's origins are traceable, and for a wizard, tracing a person's past is not a difficult task."

"I once specifically asked an old friend of mine to inquire about Ike's past, but the answer he gave me was quite strange..."

"What's the answer, sir?" Harry asked.

"Incomplete".

"Incomplete?" Harry was completely bewildered. He had no idea what that meant, so he asked directly, "What does that mean?"

"It means exactly what it says... Okay, this memory isn't over yet, let's continue."

As Dumbledore spoke, he waved his wand, and everything around him began to change rapidly, as if on fast-forward. Harry was dazzled, with figures flashing past, until the seasons changed five times before finally stopping.

Harry took off his glasses, rubbed his slightly sore eyes, and put them back on. He found that the door in front of him had changed. The carvings were different, and the greenery on the walls on both sides was much more lush.

Following Dumbledore into the courtyard, I noticed many more trees on the lawn, which looked quite beautiful in the moonlight. There were fewer playground equipment, but a large slide had been added, something that hadn't been there before.

Following the newly paved garden path to the main gate, this time the wait wasn't long; a car drove in with its lights on. After the lights were turned off, Julianne got out.

She still had a faint, kind smile on her face, but it was obvious that there were many more wrinkles around her eyes.

"Kids, I'm home!" Julianne called out. The next second, the door opened, and a group of excited little ones ran out, with the words "Slow down, slow down" echoing behind them.

The excited little ones didn't care about any of that and surrounded Julianne.

"Mom Julianne, you're back!"

"Did Julianne bring back the bunny doll for Anna?"

"Mama Julianne..."

The children were making a lot of noise, but Julianne kept smiling as she patted the little heads of the children surrounding her.

"I brought them, I brought them all back. When have I ever let you down?" Julianne smiled and made way for the children, opening the trunk of the car amidst their expectant, clear eyes.

"Wow!"

The next second, excited exclamations rang out, and the children visibly became even more excited.

"Slow down, slow down, one at a time..." Julianne told the children to listen, and they lined up neatly. Then, Julianne took a notebook out of her bag and began calling out names. Each time she called a name, a child would come forward, take something she had brought back from her, and sweetly say, "Thank you, Mommy Julianne."

One by one, the children ran back into the house with their things. Just then, a plump woman who looked slightly younger than Julianne came over.

"You spoil them too much, Julianne."

"They are all good children, Lorna, good children deserve a reward," Julianne said, waving to the children as she spoke.

"But you can't always pay for it yourself... Honestly, haven't you spent all your salary on buying these things for them over the years?" Lorna said. "Actually, we don't have to do this. We receive plenty of donations..."

“Those are meant to be used properly, Lorna.” Julianne shook her head slightly. “The children need money for school, when they get sick, for meals, and for pocket money… There are so many things that require money. We can’t let them feel abandoned, and besides, I don’t really need any money myself.”

"Ugh, really... Look at Dean Lester, she just bought herself a Porsche, and look at you... I really don't know why I came here in the first place. If I had gone to Lester's place, I could have a better car by now."

"But you didn't go, did you, Lorna?" Julianne laughed and hugged Lorna. "Okay, okay, I promise you, I'll give you a raise next month so you can drive a Porsche too!"

"Forget it, I don't really need such a nice car..." Rona said, just as Julianne took three or four thick books out of the trunk and asked, "For little Ike?"

“That’s right, besides that child, who else would want this?” Julianne said. “By the way, where’s little Ike? I haven’t seen him.”

"I'm in my room," Lorna replied.

Upon hearing this, Julianne's face showed a hint of worry.

"Is it still not better? I got the medicine this morning. If I run into Dr. Bell again, I'm definitely going to have a good talk with him."

"I'm feeling much better. I just drank a big bowl of soup, but I'm still a bit dazed and don't seem very energetic," Lorna said. "Dr. Bell is still very reliable."

"That's good... I'll give these to him tomorrow... Oh, poor little guy..."

They went inside after saying this and parted ways at the top of the stairs. Lorna went to shoo the excited little ones back to their rooms to sleep, while Julianne went straight back to her office.

Julianne opened the door and entered the room, casually placing the book on the table. She sat down in a chair, poured herself a cup of tea, took a sip, picked up a thick stack of papers, and began to deal with the pile of tasks.

One document, two documents—she had just neatly placed the two processed documents aside and was about to pick up her cup for a sip when she noticed that everything on the table in front of her was floating up.

Pens, paper, ornaments, pen holders, teacups, teapots—at first they were small, but later even chairs, tables, and cabinets started to float.

Julianne's expression changed drastically, and she immediately opened the door and ran out. Along the way, everything in the house floated up, which made Julianne even more anxious. She ran resolutely towards a room without stopping, but gradually, she found herself also floating under the influence of some inexplicable force. Her feet couldn't even touch the ground; she could only move forward by gripping the wall with her hands.

After struggling downstairs and through a long corridor, Julianne finally opened the door to the room. The moment she opened it, she was stunned by what she saw.

Everything in the room started flying – shoes, cabinets, the bed, even the child lying on it – all floated in the air. Julianne instinctively covered her mouth with her hands, staring in horror at the culprit: a five-year-old boy.

The boy opened his eyes and calmly looked at the terrified Julianne. She clearly saw the complex emotions contained in those eyes.

And then a fleeting glimpse of light...

(End of this chapter)