I, Hogwarts Second Time Around.

Chapter 457 International Wizarding Potions Masters Competition

The goddess Diana—Dumbledore was no stranger to this name.

In fact, he had heard of the name, whether from his extensive knowledge, understanding of Muggle mythology, or from the legends in the magical world that contained only snippets of information.

During the time he went mad with his friend who had once ignited a war across Europe, the magical world also revealed its own reality and madness to them.

Many ancient legends from hidden places, secrets passed down by a family or clan, opened their arms to them.

His friend, in particular, the Dark Lord who once swept across Europe, naturally attracted countless followers. In order to make the Dark Lord even more powerful, his followers told him many secrets.

Among them is the name of the goddess Diana.

Dumbledore peered at Diana from beneath his half-moon-shaped glasses, and once he saw that only bloodstains remained on the wound on the woman's neck, he already guessed what had happened.

"It's hard to believe that those elusive legends could actually be true," Dumbledore murmured.

Diana was startled by the sound. She curled up, hugged herself, and threw her coffee cup to the ground. Her sky-blue eyes were filled with unprecedented terror.

"Don't worry," Dumbledore said gently. "We won't hurt you. To be honest, there are many wonderful potions in the wizarding world. One of my professors is an expert in this area, and I think it's best to get help from him."

"—You, you know?" Diana said.

"Old people have little to show for it except for more experience," Dumbledore said casually. "Of course, I might be a little bit smarter than others."

"Ahem—" At this moment, Xia Ti coughed lightly. He looked at Dumbledore with the same eyes he would use to look at a student. "In my eyes, you are still a strong and fit young man."

"Haha—that's true." Dumbledore chuckled.

"So, you know about this girl's background," Xia Ti then asked.

The magic and legends of the Ming Dynasty are more numerous than the stars in the sky.

Therefore, Shati knew little about the world's other secrets. He had spent his entire life without even understanding his own country.

"I've heard some rumors," Dumbledore shook his head. "I think most of them are unreliable, but some do seem to make sense."

"But before we talk about these things, we need to deal with some visitors who have rushed over."

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Sigman Selwyn, draped in a black robe, and his thirteen companions gave chase.

They walked out of the city gate.

He spotted the woman under the shade of a tree not far away at a glance.

But when his gaze shifted to the people next to the woman, his expression instantly turned to terror, as if he had fallen into an ice cave.

Dumbledore?

Merlin.

He just wanted to escape, but the other man's eyes—the flames reflected in those deep blue eyes behind those crescent-shaped glasses—made him afraid to move—clearly, Dumbledore wouldn't let him go easily.

"Alright." Sigman Selwyn sighed heavily, a hint of madness flashing in his eyes.

At this moment, his feelings were extremely complicated. Anxiety, fear, and resentment were intertwined, almost tearing him apart.

He could only pray that Dumbledore didn't know much, or that the woman hadn't told him everything yet. That way, he would still have a chance to salvage the situation and retain his position and power.

Sigman silently devised a plan, pondering how to deal with the impending crisis.

"Professor Dumbledore." Sigman Selwyn forced a smile as he walked over at a leisurely pace.

The Selwyn family is a well-known pure-blood family.

It is also one of the so-called Twenty-Eight Holy Clans.

However, their family has always kept a low profile, and their main activities are concentrated in a few countries in Oceania. Apart from the UK, they have almost no branches in any European countries, which makes other pure-blood families wonder.

They wouldn't even have left a branch in England if it weren't for the purpose of giving their descendants a better education.

"Mr. Selwyn?" Dumbledore recognized the young man.

Few of Slytherin's students were not corrupted by Voldemort.

He was a rather low-key kid who disappeared from the public eye after graduating from school five years ago.

He didn't know what the young man did after that, since there were so many students at Hogwarts, he couldn't possibly keep an eye on everyone.

"What exactly happened to this Lady Diana? Can you tell me?" Dumbledore said calmly, but the undeniable authority in his tone made it impossible for anyone to refuse.

"She—" Mr. Selwyn began to brainstorm.

He quickly searched his mind for a suitable excuse.

Soon, a very suitable reason popped into his head.

"She's my cousin's wife, but she's a Muggle. You know, pure-blood families don't allow Muggles to taint their bloodline. I hid her in a suit of armor to protect her." Selwyn avoided looking into Dumbledore's eyes as he carefully crafted his excuse.

He understood his principal and knew what to say to align with his thoughts.

"The idea of ​​purebloods is deeply ingrained, Professor. You should be aware of that. What would happen if I left her with someone else?"

"Is that so?" Dumbledore said.

"Of course—look, I even have a photo of her with my cousin and niece." As he spoke, Selwyn pulled a photo frame out of his pocket.

This was something he had prepared long ago, something that belonged to that woman.

It was to prevent her from using this photo to track her down if she managed to break free of her armor.

The photograph bore traces of her blood, and using the ancient bloodline tracking spell, the Selwyn family could easily find her.

Dumbledore accepted the picture frame.

There was a family of three inside, or at least it looked like one.

Diana had long hair then and was thinner than she is now; you could vaguely see some bloodstains on her body.

She was holding a newborn baby in her arms.

A wizard stood beside her, and Dumbledore was unsure if the wizard was a member of the Selwyn family because he had a Far Eastern face.

Considering the sheer number of pure-blooded families in the Far East, and the fact that almost everyone in the Ming Dynasty could trace their lineage back a thousand years, it would be a reasonable choice for the Selwyn family to unite with a Far Eastern family.

However, Dumbledore certainly didn't believe Selwyn's story.

"Professor, I originally planned to send her back to the Muggle world after things calmed down, and cut off all contact with her thereafter, so that she could still live."

"Oh—in that case, I was clearly wrong about your guess," Dumbledore said expressionlessly.

"Of course, Professor, I have learned a great deal from your teachings." Selwyn smiled, carefully observing Dumbledore's expression, and continued, "Now that she has met you, it is up to you to decide where she goes. I have no objection."

"Um."

The professor's deep blue eyes shifted from the photograph to Diana.

His brow furrowed slightly.

He had never seen so many complex emotions in one person's eyes before.

What kind of eyes were those?

It is filled with despair, fear, helplessness and resentment, and the complex emotions are intertwined, like an unfinished oil painting, colorful but chaotic.

It is filled with a sense of brokenness, making it all the more pitiful.

"Ms. Diana," Dumbledore called softly, his voice deep and concerned, "Do you wish to take your child away?"

The old wizard knew all too well the filth in human nature.

After seeing the photo frame, Diana became silent and pale. In the photo, she and her husband stood together like puppets. Clearly, if there was anything she cared about, it was her children.

"Professor, that's Selwyn's bloodline, you can't—" Sigman Selwyn said urgently, his heart suddenly pounding.

"Shut up—" Xia Ti snapped. "You have no right to speak here. You'd better shut your mouth, or—I'll seal it up for you little by little with a needle and thread."

Sigman Selwyn was speechless for a moment.

He didn't recognize Xia Ti, but the old wizard's imposing aura overwhelmed him in an instant.

This is a legendary wizard who is no less powerful than Dumbledore.

The idea unconsciously popped into his head.

Immediately, Sigman Selwyn chose to shut up.

Dumbledore and Shatty refocused their attention on Diana.

But this person who had just been willing to do anything for freedom—now clutched her head in anguish, trembling all over, large tears dripping from her sky-blue eyes, wetting her cheeks and clothes.

Countless thoughts surfaced in her mind, like a spider's web. The more she pondered, the tighter the web became, slowly engulfing her.

Diana was on the verge of collapse.

"Professor Dumbledore—"

"professor--"

Suddenly, four young boys and girls ran towards the gates of this wizarding town.

This interrupted their conversation.

"Professor, we've been looking for you everywhere." The first one to run over was a girl with deep red hair. She had very light skin, dark green eyes, and three-dimensional yet harmonious features. She was the kind of stunning beauty that you would never forget after just one glance.

"I want to try this recipe."

"Lily—why use the snot extract formula? Just use your own."

"Don't say that, Sirius. Snape's formula is better than mine," Lily said calmly. "The International Potions Masters Tournament is only held once every four years, and contestants must use original formulas. You know, I may have some talent in potions, but that's only for making potions that have been made before. I'm not good at actually inventing potions."

James should be involved too. The three of us working together will guarantee one of us wins the championship. That's the right decision.

"Ha—what a joke! We can only win without him!" Sirius Black in his school days was tall and slender, with a handsome and elegant appearance, elegant black hair, gray eyes, and a nonchalant arrogance in every gesture. He was unrestrained, handsome and charming.

There were quite a few witches in the school who were infatuated with him; Lily herself knew several.

But all his energy was focused on his little circle with James, Lupin, and Peter Pettigrew, and he was completely oblivious to the girls' advances.

"We have three Gryffindors here, and he can't possibly win alone. He'll definitely try to sabotage us to prevent our victory. Lily—you should stay away from that kind of person." Sirius Black crossed his arms, arrogantly staring at Snape as he approached. "He might already be a Death Eater. Look at the people around him, almost all of them are Death Eaters. Do you really think he can stay out of it?"

"Shut up, Black!" Snape walked over with a gloomy expression.

The anger in his heart had never been extinguished since he learned that James was also involved in the game.

Last semester, he was humiliated by James and Sirius, and Lily stepped in to stop them.

At the time, I only felt ashamed and didn't think much about it; the words "Mudblood" just slipped out of my mouth.

This marked the complete end of his friendship with Lily.

She didn't contact him again for several months.

When Dumbledore told him during the summer that he hoped he and Lily could participate in the 146th International Potions Masters Tournament in New Zealand that July, he agreed without hesitation.

He just didn't expect that Dumbledore would also invite that nasty James Poot.

Okay, okay!

He admitted that the Potts family had some talent for potions, and he had heard that they had invented many potions that are still used by wizards today.

That damn Potter followed, and his loyal dog followed too.

This completely disrupted all his plans.

"I am not you," Snape said grimly, "I wouldn't be that despicable."

"That Lupin, I'll find out sooner or later why he disappears for a day or two every month. Don't let me catch Black." He stared coldly at Sirius, "because I'll definitely get all four of you kicked out of Hogwarts."

"Then you try it—Snotty." Sirius was clearly enraged as well, and he looked at Snape with a sneer. "Let's see if I can slap your snitching mouth to pieces."

"alright--"

Professor Dumbledore, who was standing in front of the four of them, finally couldn't stand it anymore.

He shook his head.

These kids—it's one thing to be noisy at Hogwarts, but this is New Zealand.

The vast majority of the world's magic schools are gathered here.

They can be shameful, but Hogwarts cannot.

"Sir," the old headmaster looked at Xia Ti, "Ms. Diana needs a safe place to recuperate. We can discuss the rest later."

"Hmm." Xia Ti nodded. The girl was on the verge of collapse, and she must be hiding a huge secret. It was obviously impossible for them to completely lower her guard when they first met her.

However, the International Potions Masters Tournament will last for more than half a month.

I believe things will come to an end in two weeks.

"Albus—" Shati said, "Come with us, along with your children."

Chang'an Imperial Academy has been disqualified from the competition; he must prove something.

Partnering with Hogwarts would be a good option.

Besides

If Dumbledore and his party were to travel with them, then he would have to take on the responsibility of receiving the foreign guests. As for the other tasks, Professor Zhang Qingqiu would be happy to help him share the burden.

Thinking this, a smile appeared on Xia Ti's old face.

(End of this chapter)