From Azkaban to Hogwarts.

"Then, let's go, Professor William."

Dumbledore smiled.

-

When William recovered from Apparition, the surrounding scenery had already changed.

He and Dumbledore were on a country road, but because it was so ordinary, William couldn’t immediately tell where they were.

“There’s no need to be so nervous, Professor William—the area is already deserted, and I’m here.”

Dumbledore looked at the wand that William was already holding and said with a smile.

“I can’t help it, I’m used to it, Principal,” William smiled, then subconsciously began to observe his surroundings. “Where is this?”

"Little Hangleton, I don't know if you've heard of it."

Dumbledore calmly explained—he didn't seem to be in a hurry.

"Never heard of it... This place doesn't seem to have any special products."

"That's true. If they had special products, the Gaunt family wouldn't have fallen to this state back then..."

Dumbledore started walking, saying as he went, "I think you must be very familiar with the surname Gaunt, Professor William?"

"Of course, the descendants of Slytherin, a famous pure-blood family, have made outstanding contributions to the Dark Arts."

William was familiar with this kind of thing. "Is this the former territory of the Gaunt family before their decline?"

The Ministry of Magic actually owns quite a lot of land. If William wanted, he could apply for a plot of land and build his own room—this is a perk of being a professor.

However, this was learned from those wizarding families in the past, who could easily find a piece of land and then, through a few simple maneuvers, claim it as their own.

"You could say that the family has completely declined ever since their last descendant was indirectly killed by Tom Riddle."

"Dead? When I went there last time, Morfin Gaunt was still inside."

William exclaimed in surprise—Morfin Gunter was quite famous in Azkaban, and he had heard his story before. It was said that after his sister was cheated, he went to the other party's house that night and killed the entire family, and then lived in Azkaban ever since.

"He died; he didn't survive in Azkaban."

Dumbledore shook his head. "The Gaunt family is finished."

"Why would the Dark Lord frame him... Wait, Professor, do you mean—the Dark Lord killed that family?"

"That doesn't make sense..."

William muttered to himself quickly, "He couldn't possibly treat a pureblood like that... There's no question of him standing up for someone or framing them... He doesn't seem like the type to meddle in other people's business..."

"He just wanted to kill that family... If the Dark Lord wanted to kill that family..."

William's eyes lit up even more. "Could it be that—the Dark Lord's mother is the woman who was deceived by that Muggle family, Morfin Gaunt's sister?"

"That doesn't make sense... Why would he send his own uncle to Azkaban for no reason..."

“You’ve guessed halfway, Professor William,” Dumbledore chuckled, “but let’s stop here for now. I don’t want Minerva to think I’ve run off halfway through my work…”

...

Isn't it a bit too much for you to admit it like that...?

That makes sense—she walked straight from the principal's office, and if Professor McGonagall hadn't noticed, she could have gone back and pretended she'd worked all day…

The most convenient thing about Apparition is that unless you deliberately let others see you, no one will know you've left.

...

"This is it, the old residence of the Gaunt family."

Dumbledore suddenly stopped at a place William thought was impossible, pointing to the dilapidated area in front of him where no one would ever go.

This is a house that grows alongside the trees (William couldn't find a better adjective).

It was crooked and leaning, its walls covered in moss. Many roof tiles were missing, and rafters were leaking everywhere. Thick nettles grew around the house, reaching all the way to the small windows, which were filled with thick layers of old grime—was this a purebred house?

“I think even the worst cave I’ve ever stayed in is better than this… but I have to admit…” William squatted down and tapped the ground with his fingers, “the magic here was only recently broken… it was a banishing spell…”

“Ah, that’s right…” Dumbledore nodded with a smile. “To be honest, I took a shortcut and found the memories of the wizards who had visited this house, and then followed them here.”

"But that would take a long time. We might be able to talk about how I confirmed this location from a lot of information tomorrow, but I don't think we have that much time today."

“I would be more than happy to, Principal.”

William took another look at the surroundings and the house in front of him.

"It's really hard to imagine that this is the location of a Slytherin descendant... But I feel like I've heard that somewhere before... Didn't Evamon also claim that her family were Slytherin descendants?"

William finally remembered something, but was interrupted by Dumbledore.

"Those are for tomorrow, Professor. Now let's look this way. Although I've broken the outer concealment magic, I haven't breached the inner defenses yet—I hope you can see more of this kind of existence, Professor William."

'So it really is because of that cave incident? No… Dumbledore invited me before that… He is…'

William paused for a moment, then said, “It’s a great honor… I have a strong interest in killing the Dark Lord.”

"Me too, it just so happens..."

Dumbledore smiled and took the lead.

Chapter 507 New Soul Weapons

What's it like to solve a maze with Dumbledore?

William had never thought about this question before, but he knew it today.

It has to be said that this was the first time he had ever encountered a situation where he was completely carried by his teammates—just like Professor Machiavellian said, Dumbledore could conjure miracles with his wand.

If he could still barely understand about half of the magic, he would almost doubt whether what he was learning was actually magic.

"I previously told Lupin and the others that the existence of a wand actually imposes a certain constraint on wizards; for most wizards, once they get used to having a wand, they can't cast spells without it… That's a bit of an oversimplification."

After Dumbledore easily dismantled the hidden mechanism with a variation of a common spell, William finally couldn't help but ask, "Headmaster, was that... an Obstruction Charm?"

“That’s right,” Dumbledore said, turning back with a smile as he summoned a wisp of dust from the ground to examine it, “I just slightly altered the spell with a transmutation spell…”

"To perform a transformation on a spell? You mean—a secondary alteration after the spell is cast?"

"More or less..." Dumbledore stopped what he was doing. "If I had to say, it was a transfiguration spell that was completed before the spell was cast."

...

This answer almost overturned William's understanding—almost because William had envisioned such a spellcasting method before, but couldn't even get a clue about it.

Common spell variations involve altering the wand's trajectory and the spell itself. Dumbledore's method, however, skips this gradual refinement process entirely, making it almost a joke—a wave of the wand summons whatever you want, without even needing to shout…

Seeing William looking thoughtful behind him, Dumbledore slowed down his spellcasting, giving William more time to notice the similarities in the spells.

"No rush, Professor William."

Dumbledore even began to chant the spell in hushed tones—something William could never have imagined, but it made him watch even more intently.

...

"The final layer of the mechanism."

"at last?"

When Dumbledore stopped his magic, William realized what Dumbledore had said—the final layer of the mechanism?

Only then did he have the mind to observe his surroundings. The dilapidated hut was much larger inside than it appeared from the outside. They walked through seventeen remodeled rooms before reaching what Dumbledore called the final layer of mechanisms.

But these mechanisms were useless – while the Dark Lord stood at the top of the wizarding world, his specialization in dark magic did not make him adept at creating them, whereas Dumbledore was a top wizard whose foundation was transfiguration, making it incredibly easy for him to dismantle those mechanisms.

"Yes, in the end, Tom hid very carefully, but unfortunately, I found the things that were hidden."

Dumbledore spoke the most arrogant words in the most humble tone—but without a doubt, there was hardly anyone in the magical world more suited to say them than him.

"This is the last mechanism, Professor William. Look carefully."

Dumbledore casually tapped the last door with his wand, and the door opened as if it hadn't been locked at all.

'A variant of the unlocking charm, then amplified to an extreme degree using polymorphism, completely shattering the previous protective magic…'

Dumbledore entered the room first, followed by William, who was fully protected.

The innermost room looked perfectly normal—except that there wasn’t a speck of dust inside.

“A very ordinary living environment,” Dumbledore said, looking around. “It seems Tom hasn’t done much to improve this place.”

"What we're looking for is over here...it should be over there..."

Dumbledore's casual voice suddenly stopped, and then he strode towards the table. William was slightly stunned, and subconsciously tapped his waist. A glass tube flew out and exploded in mid-air, splashing the revealing potion inside directly at Dumbledore.

'Wait, what stupid thing am I doing!'

William only realized what he had done when the potion was applied.

However, something even more unexpected happened: before the potion even touched Dumbledore, it turned into pearls and fell to the ground.

Everything in the room seemed to start floating instantly, as if it would transform into something else in the next second. The stool next to the table flew up and stood between him and Dumbledore, like the strongest shield.

No—it's not just a guess, it is.

William felt that the two stools had become the most solid thing in the world, and even his most powerful spells could only barely destroy them...

If he hadn't sensed it directly, he would have thought it was a joke—he had studied magic for so long, and could only barely destroy a stool?

Dumbledore had already turned his head, his eyes filled with disbelief and astonishment. William almost instantly felt the floor around him trying to deform and control him. He tried to explain, but his hands moved much faster than his mouth.

With a snap of his fingers, a plume of smoke shot out and burst into flames. As the flames swept across, the surrounding floor fell still. William's foot spun almost half a circle in an instant, but thankfully he managed to shout before Apparition could activate, and his wand instantly cast the most obstructive protective spell.

"Principal, are you alright?"

As William shouted, he quickly set up a defensive barrier, not standing still and attacking in the slightest, but secretly using his body to block with his left hand, while a commonly used rope moved swiftly along the ground, ready to launch a surprise attack at any moment.

"I?"

Dumbledore was taken aback, glancing at the pearl-like object on the ground. His surprise turned into a smile. "A potion to reveal my form, Professor William. Do you think I'm being controlled?"

...

if not?

When someone suddenly does something they shouldn't during an adventure, isn't that a sign that they've been controlled?

Seeing the certainty in William's eyes, Dumbledore sighed. "Well, I admit, I did lose my composure a bit..."