Hello Hogwarts

Chapter 9 Hello Hogwarts

Since school hasn't started yet, Hogwarts is currently dominated by silence and solemnity.

Inside the majestic castle, only the dazzling staircases and the moving portraits that occasionally whispered among the crowd remained, but even so, Ian was still deeply attracted to it.

"Alright, stop looking at those portraits. You'll have plenty of time to chat with them in the future. Now follow me. The principal's office is on the eighth floor. Watch your step on the stairs."

Clearly, the decisive Professor McGonagall did not intend to waste too much time on this.

It's worth mentioning that the connection to the Floo Network is Professor McGonagall's office, located on the third floor of the castle, so it doesn't take too long to get to the eighth floor.

At this moment, Ian's brain was already working at high speed. As mentioned before, he hadn't thought too much about the issue of enrollment at first.

Today felt like being forced into this situation; I never expected to meet the White Demon King, who has been active for nearly 100 years and stands at the pinnacle of the magical world, so soon.

This was not someone Ian could easily deal with like Professor McGonagall. Meeting Dumbledore made Ian very cautious. But being a mature man, his current focus was more on how to benefit from Dumbledore's presence.

"I can't keep up this act any longer. Although Old Deng probably wouldn't use the 'Divine Thought Absorption' technique right away, trying to act in front of a centenarian with a wealth of experience is a very unwise choice."

Ian understood perfectly well that first impressions were crucial for the headmaster.

Have you not seen another Tom who, after simply stealing something from another child in an orphanage, set the child on fire, forcing them to return everything and apologize?

It was this initial encounter that led to Dumbledore's later observations and distrust of Voldemort at the school.

What Dumbledore didn't know was that Tom, who was an orphan in his youth, had already begun to regard the man who took him out of the orphanage as his father.

This is not hard to understand, because the children living in the orphanage all know that, apart from being kicked out after they grow up, only adopted children will leave.

A sensitive orphan, an unfamiliar environment, and no matter how hard he tried, even though he received praise from everyone in the castle, he could not gain the approval of Dumbledore, whom he regarded as his father.

Putting aside the magical world, children raised in such an environment in reality would most likely develop warped minds. Moreover, this is a magical world based on idealism; given all these factors, it would be strange if Tom didn't turn evil and become corrupted.

This is also why, later in the story, Dumbledore repeatedly expressed his regret that he had failed to properly teach Voldemort, leading him down this path of no return.

In Ian's view, it was perfectly normal for things like snatching other children's things to happen in British orphanages during World War II.

Reading Charles Dickens' "Oliver Twist" makes you realize that Voldemort's actions were nothing compared to the tragic fate of the orphans in the book, from their initial apprenticeship and struggle for survival to their eventual entrapment in a den of thieves and even more evil things.

So, in Ian's view, all of this stemmed from Dumbledore's speechless first impression.

Of course, it wasn't entirely Dumbledore's fault; there were many other reasons, such as children born from love potions being inherently unable to feel love. All these factors combined to create the twisted Voldemort we see today, but Dumbledore bears undeniable responsibility in any case.

Meanwhile, Dumbledore was sitting in the high-backed chair in the headmaster's office, holding a silver teaspoon in his left hand, unconsciously stirring the black tea in his cup while staring blankly out the window at the Forbidden Forest.

So much has happened this year: Harry's enrollment, Quirrell's strange behavior after returning from Albania, the Gringotts theft, and the Philosopher's Stone... There are just too many things for him to worry about.

So much so that he had to delegate all the headmaster's duties to Minerva. Just thinking about her helpless expression made Dumbledore chuckle, which drew eye-rolls from the portraits of the former headmasters.

This state of affairs didn't last long before it was interrupted by the turning of the stone beasts guarding the gate. Dumbledore looked at the figure approaching and said with a smile, "I remember we had already completed all the preparations before the start of the school year, Minerva. I wonder what brings you here now?"

Upon hearing this, Professor McGonagall's lips twitched: "That work was done by me and other professors, it has nothing to do with you. You just went back to Hogwarts before the start of the semester to continue eating your sweets."

However, I do have something to discuss with you this time, regarding Mr. Ian Titus's admission. His name isn't on the admission list, so I need you to use your authority as headmaster to add Mr. Titus's name to it.

As she spoke, she didn't forget to pull out Ian, who had been hiding behind her ever since she entered the room.

Without Professor McGonagall's "screen" to conceal him, Ian faced the legendary white wizard for the first time in this world.

Just as described in the original story, after passing through the spiral staircase behind the incredibly ugly stone, one arrives at a spacious and beautiful circular room. The walls are covered with portraits of the former male and female principals, who are now quietly dozing in their frames, occasionally snoring softly.

A huge, long rectangular table stood before him, and surprisingly, there wasn't a single book on it, only piles of various silver artifacts and other trinkets.

Ian's gaze swept across the table, where an elderly man with white hair and a long beard sat smiling at him. Words like loving, dignified, and wise flashed through his mind.

Under the flickering candlelight overhead, there was a pair of blue eyes that seemed to be able to examine the soul. Perhaps because the gaze was too sharp, its owner chose to hide it under a crescent-shaped pair of glasses. However, the sharp light that occasionally flashed on the glasses was so captivating that people overlooked the equally striking, crooked nose that had been broken at least twice.

"Of course, no problem. It's just adding a name, a job that can be done in a few minutes. Hogwarts has always been like this with transfer students. Minerva, if you don't mind, I'd like to talk to him alone. I feel like he has something to say to me. Don't underestimate an old man's intuition."

After Dumbledore finished speaking, he playfully winked at Ian.

Looking at Ian, who nodded in agreement, Professor McGonagall waved her hand speechlessly. Was she the only one who was superfluous at this moment? Thinking of this, she said somewhat impatiently, "Alright then, I'll hand over everything to you from now on. I still have my own work to do."

Watching Professor McGonagall leave in a flurry, only Ian and Dumbledore remained in the large headmaster's office, the old man and the young man sitting quietly facing each other.

New book, please add to your favorites! Please add to your favorites! Please add to your favorites! Thank you to all my dear readers!

(End of this chapter)