Everyday Life of a Top Student at Hogwarts

Chapter 38 Dumbledore's Invitation

As Cullen followed Dumbledore through the arcades of the castle's west wing, sunlight streamed through the stained-glass windows, casting dappled patterns on the floor. He expected the headmaster to ask about Castor directly, but to his surprise, Dumbledore pulled a handful of rainbow-colored candies from his sleeve and handed them to Cullen.

"Would you like to come to my office for afternoon tea, Karen?" Dumbledore said, flicking a patterned candy into his mouth.

Karen popped a candy with a crying imp design into her mouth: "Of course, Professor Dumbledore, why not?"

The two encountered Peeves on the road, who was causing trouble for Filch.

"Did you often encounter Peeves' pranks when you were in school?" Karen asked tentatively. They continued walking, and as they passed a tapestry, a unicorn on it suddenly winked at Karen.

"Oh, of course." Dumbledore's voice suddenly sounded much younger. "But I was more afraid of Mr. Apollon Pringle, the castle caretaker, than Peeves." He then lowered his voice and said, "Once, when Ephias and I were out for a night, he chased us up seven floors, and we finally hid inside this armor."

Dumbledore stroked his beard and chuckled, then tapped on the knight's armor in the corridor. A muffled echo immediately came from inside the armor: "You farted that time, Albus!"

Karen's shoulders trembled as she tried to suppress a laugh: "And then what happened?"

"It was because of what it said that I was squeezed out, and as a result, we were all caught by Mr. Pringle." He winked slyly. "For this, we got a month of toilet cleaning work. Of course, after we learned the Disillusionment Charm, we were never caught again."

Karen nearly choked on her own saliva. Was this some kind of Versailles? She'd learned the Disillusionment Charm just to avoid getting caught while out at night.

Karen walked toward the headmaster's office, listening to Dumbledore share anecdotes from his youth.

Finally, they reached the eighth floor. The stone beast with the dripping spout was squatting in front of the spiral staircase, idly scratching at the cracks in the wall with its paws. Hearing footsteps, it raised its head, its stone eyes darting around.

"Pineapple preserves," said Dumbledore. The stone beast suddenly grinned, revealing an exaggerated smile, and leaped to the side, the wall behind it cracking open to reveal a staircase.

The spiral staircase slowly ascended, leading to the destination: the principal's office.

Before Dumbledore could even reach out, the door opened automatically, and a melodious chirping sound rang out. Fawkes stood on the perch, his fiery red tail feathers glowing like burning flames in the twilight.

"Ah, it seems Fawkes likes you quite a bit." Dumbledore gestured for Cullen to enter. "He's usually quite reserved with new visitors."

The headmaster's office was much more spacious than Karen had imagined. The walls were covered with portraits of former headmasters, each of them gently snoring in their respective frames. The most striking feature was a huge desk, upon which sat dozens of oddly shaped silver objects, which spun on shelves, puffing out puffs of smoke. Behind the desk, on a shelf, sat the Sorting Hat, which, for some reason, suddenly sneezed.

"Please sit, Cullen." Dumbledore waved his wand, and an armchair embroidered with stars slid to Cullen's side. "Would you like some Lemon Olaf? Or perhaps another cup of black tea?"

"Either is fine, thank you." Karen took the candy, and a cup of steaming black tea appeared in front of her.

Dumbledore sat down opposite him, his gaze behind his half-moon spectacles suddenly becoming profound. "You know, the first time I met Castor, he was in Nurmengard breaking down the protective magic there in order to find Gellert."

Karen's fingers, which were holding the candy, froze; he hadn't expected the conversation to suddenly turn directly to Professor Castor.

"That was in 1972," Dumbledore said softly, his fingertips touching to form a tower. "He was only sixteen, yet he could already decipher the magic circle that Nicholas left behind in Nurmengard." The old man waved his wand, and a scene from his memory appeared in the air: a blond boy standing in front of a dark tower, with intricate alchemical circles already drawn on the ground.

"Does he hate Gellert?" Karen couldn't help but ask.

Dumbledore was silent for a moment. Suddenly, the portraits of all the headmasters on the wall opened their eyes.

"Hate? No, it's a complex emotion." Dumbledore's voice was as light as a feather falling. "He hates the shackles that surname brings, yet he's also obsessed with the magical wisdom it contains." The old man pointed to a gilded book on the bookshelf. "Just like how we both yearn for light and cannot completely escape the shadows."

Fox suddenly let out a clear cry, flew down from the perch, and landed on Karen's shoulder.

"Nico Flamel also discovered his talent that year," Dumbledore continued, taking a yellowed letter from a drawer.

Karen took the letter, which was written in elegant cursive script: "I see the burning thirst for knowledge in this young man's eyes. He needs guidance, Albus, not the shackles of bloodline and lineage. —NF"

“Casto has never enjoyed any benefits from the Grindelwald name,” Dumbledore suddenly became serious, “but has paid a heavy price. When he entered Durmstrang at the age of eleven, he was targeted by Durmstrang students; when he was eighteen, the Alchemists’ Guild of Bulgaria rejected his application for membership simply because of his surname.”

Cullen noticed Dumbledore's fingers unconsciously stroking the Elder Wand: "It was Nico who later gave him protection, and I publicly affirmed his paper at the International Alchemy Congress." A flicker of pain crossed the old man's eyes. "Ironically, it was precisely this support that made some people even more convinced that he had a close connection with Gellert."

The office fell silent suddenly, broken only by the soft tinkling of silverware. Fox gently pecked Karen's ear, reminding him of something to say.

"The blood pact he showed me today..."

"Ah, that." Dumbledore's gaze drifted to the window, "In the summer of 1899, I also..." He stopped abruptly, then took a music box from a drawer. "Listen to this, the Billy Weasley's signature song."

When the music box was opened, a swarm of miniature Billywes insects flew out and began singing "A Pot of Hot Love" in a high-pitched voice. Karen suppressed a laugh and suddenly noticed the words "GG to AD 1899" engraved on the bottom of the music box.

As the last note faded, twilight had completely enveloped the castle. Dumbledore stood up. "It's time for dinner. I imagine you must be quite hungry. Thank you for keeping this old man company all afternoon."

As the spiral staircase slowly descended, Karen heard whispers behind her from past headmasters: "Yet another child targeted by the Grindelwald family..."

"...This time is different; Albus seems quite at ease..."