Wood Orphanage
In the corridor, Dumbledore looked around. His eyes held complex memories—the decor here seemed unchanged over the years.
"Ms. Elena, I'm here for Ian Prince."
Under the matron's reception, Dumbledore stepped into the office; his arrival seemed to dispel any lingering chill in the room.
"He needs to complete a course of study."
Sunlight streamed through the stained-glass window, spilling onto Dumbledore's silver hair and beard, coating the aged wizard in a soft, mysterious glow.
"Oh! That's wonderful!"
The matron, named Elena, was a fifty-year-old woman with graying hair and a very kind smile.
She warmly invited Dumbledore to sit down and brewed him a cup of black tea—the cheap kind, with a stale taste.
"Ian Prince, he's a good child, and a very precocious one at that. He doesn't play well with the other children in the orphanage, always doing his own thing."
Faced with Elena's introduction, Dumbledore seemed thoughtful.
He put down the black tea Elena had poured for him.
"Ms. Elena, are you saying that Ian Prince is a very withdrawn child?"
Dumbledore's gaze made the orphanage director, Elena, pause for a moment.
Immediately after, she quickly shook her head and explained.
"No, no, you misunderstand me. Perhaps I should explain it this way: Ian is just a very precocious child. The other children want to play with him, but Ian simply doesn't like playing with them."
Elena paused and said, "Ian once said that the children's make-believe games were too boring and childish. He'd rather play with birds than waste his time on that."
"Play with birds? A fine hobby. It seems Mr. Ian Prince is the kind of child who is close to animals."
Dumbledore seemed relieved.
He joked with a smile.
"It seems he will raise an owl in the future."
Hearing this, Elena was stunned for a moment.
However, she still kept smiling and spoke well of Ian.
"Although Ian thinks the other children are childish, he still takes good care of his younger siblings."
"He's only eleven years old, but he's already secretly going out to earn money, then buying flour and vegetables to stuff into the kitchen… He remembers every child's birthday."
"He also buys candy for his younger siblings."
Elena said with great satisfaction, but then seemed a little sad, sighing with self-blame.
"It's just that the social environment isn't good right now, and it's difficult for orphanages to get donations. Of course, that's also because I'm not capable enough, and I need a child to go out and earn money…"
Elena looked very upset.
"You don't need to blame yourself. You've done well enough. The changes here are significant, I can feel it." Dumbledore even used honorifics when addressing Elena, who was probably half a century younger than him.
He sincerely comforted her.
"Have you been here before?"
Elena was a little surprised.
"This isn't my first visit."
Dumbledore smiled slightly.
Elena didn't ask further.
She was more concerned about the adoption issue.
"Old gentleman, if you want to take Ian away from the orphanage, please believe me, he must be a wonderful child." Elena sincerely hoped that such a sensible child would have a good home.
"Then, may I see him?"
Dumbledore said with a smile.
Under the influence of the Confundus Charm, some of Elena's perceptions would deviate from reality. There was no need to correct it.
"Of course! Of course! Old gentleman!" Ms. Elena was overjoyed. She stood up and said to Dumbledore, "Please wait a moment."
As soon as Elena walked out, she saw Ian, who had just returned to the yard.
An eager smile immediately appeared on her face, waving at him as she called out.
"Ian, come here for a moment!"
Ian was pushing a small cart.
A child ran up beside him and hugged him. "Ian, it seems like your big event is coming! Go quickly, don't keep Ms. Elena waiting."
In the orphanage, everyone called being adopted a "big event."
After all, for these homeless children, nothing was more important than being adopted.
Of course, Ian was different.
He knew this wasn't an adoption.
With a nervous mood, Ian was pulled to the office.
"As expected, it's him!"
He had peeked at him secretly before, and now he was sure, the person in the office was Dumbledore, the headmaster of Hogwarts, the greatest wizard of this century.
"Don't be nervous."
Before Ian could speak, he saw Dumbledore observing him.
"Child, I need to tell you a fact: you are a wizard."
Under Ian's feigned surprise, Dumbledore's eyes were deep.
"Presumably, you must have discovered the differences between yourself and others long ago." His eyes did not seem cloudy but had a childlike purity.
"Uh."
Ian didn't answer immediately. He first looked up at Ms. Elena and found that Elena's expression remained unchanged, as if she didn't hear what the old man was saying.
This is… a Confundus Charm?
Forcing himself to calm down, he avoided Dumbledore's gaze.
"That's indeed the case. I discovered this a long time ago. Sometimes when I stare at a water glass, I can make the water in the glass shake a few times. So, is this the power of a wizard?"
Ian didn't dare to pretend to be ignorant.
His answer made Dumbledore nod with a smile.
"Yes, this is your own magic working. Sometimes, when you are angry with someone, the fluctuation of this magic will be more intense."
Dumbledore's tone was gentle.
But to Ian, these words sounded too much like fishing. What does it mean that the fluctuations are more intense when you are angry? I'm not that Tom Riddle!
"Sir, I almost never get angry with others, because being controlled by emotions doesn't solve problems," Ian replied, his tone still calm and gentle on the surface.
Dumbledore seemed very pleased with his answer.
Dumbledore smiled.
As he nodded, his beard trembled.
"You are a very clever child. Ms. Elena was right, you are indeed very precocious." As he spoke, Dumbledore's aged eyes looked at Ian as he slowly began to speak.
"Hogwarts is a magical academy that wizards all over the world want to join. There, you can learn all the witchcraft in the world, as well as all kinds of magical creatures…"
"Don't be nervous, Mr. Ian Prince. As the Headmaster of Hogwarts, I formally extend an invitation to you, hoping you can enter Hogwarts to study."
Here it comes!
It's finally here!
Ian Prince was very nervous. Although in his previous life, he had only watched a few Hogwarts movies and a few Hermione fanfics, he had also heard of Hogwarts' Professor X.
Ian was really worried that Dumbledore would be as unscrupulous as in those conspiracy theory fanfics.
"Is there any concern?"
Dumbledore saw Ian's emotions. He thought he was concerned about Hogwarts and couldn't help but softly ease his worries, "In Hogwarts, there are flying hippogriffs, trees that hit people, and most importantly, a group of children the same age as you. You will learn magic together."
"Don't worry about the process of learning magic... Ian, in fact, a very remarkable wizard once came out of this orphanage."
Dumbledore suddenly seemed to fall into memories, his tone filled with regret.
As soon as he heard this, Ian became even more nervous.
Why was he nervous?
Wasn't it because he clearly knew how "remarkable" the man who came out of this orphanage was!
"Is that wizard still at Hogwarts?"
Ian braced himself and pretended to be curious.
Interrupted by Ian's voice, Dumbledore snapped out of his memories. He shook his head.
"In fact, he has left Hogwarts for a very, very long time and has gone astray."
Dumbledore said earnestly.
Ian thought he was going to say some critical words next, but unexpectedly, the old man simply changed the subject and slowly said with regret and a hint of remorse: "However, this does not affect his extraordinary achievements. It's just that he could have gone further."
Ian looked at Dumbledore with a seemingly blank expression, but various thoughts emerged in his mind.
Dumbledore's seemingly sighing words—was it a warning? Or a test?
Damn it! This damned persecution complex of mine is all because of those Harry Potter fanfics—Ian restrained his overthinking, trying not to speculate wildly.
"Child, have you made a decision?"
Dumbledore's voice rang in his ears.
"Um… then let's give it a try?"
Ian had been waiting for this day; of course, he wouldn't choose to refuse.
"A wise choice. In half a month, Hogwarts will send you a letter of acceptance. At that time, someone will take you to purchase the things you need for school."
Dumbledore smiled at Ian.
Ian shrugged, politely refusing, "Sorry, old sir, even if I want to go to school, it's useless, because I don't have money. I can't afford the tuition."
Dumbledore had already stood up and picked up his hat from the hat rack.
At this time, Elena suddenly stood up and said to Dumbledore: "Thank you, Ian will definitely go in half a month."
Ian was stunned, and then reacted.
This was the power of the Confundus Charm. He just didn't know what scene Elena saw, but it was obvious that she couldn't see the real conversation between Ian and Dumbledore.
Dumbledore did not speak to Elena but smiled and said to Ian.
"You don't need to worry about money. First of all, the school has a scholarship fund. Secondly, the person who comes to pick you up will not let you pay. He… feels very indebted to you."
Saying that, Dumbledore started walking.
Ian was stunned again and couldn't help but stand up and look at Dumbledore, who was walking toward the door.
"Who? My parents?"
Am I still a pure-blood?
This made Ian a little unexpected.
"This is not an answer that should be revealed by me." Dumbledore just blinked, made a goodbye gesture to Ian, and said with a meaningful tone.
"Child, you will know then."
After saying that, he left without looking back.
Elena happily saw him off at the door.
Ian opened his mouth, said nothing, turned around, and left, returning to his room.
It was night.
Ian lay in bed thinking: Did Dumbledore come to his door in advance because of the Wood's Orphanage, or because his original surname should have been Ian Riddle?
Or was it because of his Prince?
Does the original work have this pure-blood surname?
Thinking and thinking, Ian felt a heaviness in his eyes.
The next moment, he slowly turned from drowsiness to wakefulness, as if crossing some kind of boundary—in the sky, a ray of rosy light was as soft as a silk ribbon, entwined in the gradually changing blue curtain. The distant forest was like a fairy tale wonderland, the trees were verdant, and a bird skimmed across the treetops, its song clear and sweet.
Under this picturesque sky, everything was rendered into a dreamlike color, making people feel as if they were in an exquisite painting, and their hearts were unprecedentedly calm and cleansed.
Ian opened his eyes, looking at the beautiful scenery in front of him.
"You're here again."
A gentle voice rang in his ears.
"I almost forgot, today is Saturday."
Ian turned to look at the girl walking out of the woods.
She was wearing a blue dress, with long golden hair draped over her shoulders, looking at Ian with a pure expression.
"Ariana, I met a scary old man today. I forgot to bring you candy."
He said to the girl.