After the banquet ended, the young wizards gradually returned to their respective houses.
Aiden distributed the gifts he had brought back from Egypt to his friends, claiming these were magical items with mystical properties from the ancient land.
Outside the Gryffindor common room, the Fat Lady insisted on showing off her singing voice to everyone, causing a massive traffic jam in the corridor.
"Hey, what are you all blocking the way for?" Ethan called out from behind the crowd.
Ernie, a Gryffindor in the front row, turned around to explain, "It's the Fat Lady—she insists on singing for everyone."
"Oh, these people are really unreliable," Ethan said with exasperation.
"Perhaps we don't need to take the stairs. After all, when Lady Rowena designed this castle, she left us other pathways," Aiden suddenly spoke up.
"Other pathways?" Edmund asked in confusion.
"Want to come along?" Aiden's staff had already materialized in his hand.
"Let's go!" his roommates chorused.
Then magical power lifted the two of them high into the air.
"Ahhhh!" they screamed in unison.
The young wizards who arrived later looked up at the flying trio with amazement. Some members of the Dueling Club reacted quickly, pulling out their special rings and taking flight as well.
On the fifth floor, Aiden brought his two roommates to a steady landing in the corridor.
"My god, you could at least give us time to react," Edmund complained, steadying himself against the wall.
"It's clearly because you two don't know how to adapt. Didn't I already teach you this magic last semester?" Aiden shrugged.
Without further banter with his roommates, Aiden approached the bronze eagle knocker to answer its riddle, while Edmund and Ethan made faces behind him.
Opening the door, they returned to their long-missed dormitory. The other two didn't notice that what was originally a four-person room was now missing one occupant.
Edmund and Ethan seemed exhausted and went to sleep after washing up.
But Aiden obviously had other plans. He took off his robes, put on a thin white shirt, and began his nocturnal wandering.
Nighttime Hogwarts was as dark and mysterious as ever. The dragon of the mind wandered through the corridors, and not a single professor could detect his presence.
Aiden passed through the spiral staircase and emerged onto the top of the tower. Outside the castle, torrential rain cast a gloomy shadow over the surrounding landscape.
Looking into the distance, he could see a group of black phantoms floating outside Hogwarts' grounds.
Aiden emerged from invisibility, his dragon's might spreading across the entire rooftop.
"May I ask if this lovely young wizard intends to demolish the top of Hogwarts' tower?" A gentle voice soothed the violent draconic aura.
"Professor Dumbledore," Aiden greeted the newcomer.
"It seems my excellent student has some troubles. I wonder if this old man has the honor of being a listener?"
Dumbledore lightly tapped his wand, and the vines on the wall danced over to them, transforming into an elegant table and two comfortable sofas.
He clapped his hands again, and refreshments, a cup of hot chocolate, and a cup of lemon juice appeared on the table.
Dumbledore casually sat down and began sampling the treats.
"Eating such sweet things late at night—be careful of getting diabetes," Aiden said, taking a seat and sipping his lemon juice.
"I vaguely remember when we first met, you were only six years old. So small, not even reaching the height of this sofa." Dumbledore gestured with his hand, as if little Aiden was standing beneath his palm.
"But now you've grown up, and your magical achievements are probably on par with this old man, aren't they?" Dumbledore winked at Aiden.
"No, I'm still far behind," Aiden said modestly.
"Oh, then it's not a magical problem. Have you met a girl you fancy? This is the age when spring feelings awaken. Back in my day, I was—"
Dumbledore looked certain, like a kind elder preparing to share wisdom with a junior.
"No, and your 'lover' back then wasn't a girl either," Aiden teased.
"Cough, spare this old man," Dumbledore said with embarrassment. "Tell me about you. You've had many moments of losing composure since arriving at school this afternoon."
His blue eyes sparkled with wisdom and concern.
"It's the Dementors, Professor," Aiden said, shaking his head.
"You're afraid of those things?" Dumbledore feigned shock.
"Could you please be serious?" Aiden held his forehead helplessly. "I can sense that they are remnants left by tortured souls."
"Remnants left by dead souls... interesting. No wonder the Director told me you could already be called the foremost person in Britain on the path of the mind. So you can indeed sense things we cannot."
Dumbledore stroked his beard thoughtfully.
"Do you still have contact with that man? Ah, this sounds familiar."
Aiden was about to complain, but past memories began assaulting him, so he decided to continue the previous topic.
"Professor, you should have heard the saying that the greatest sorrow is when the heart dies. But I really can't stand it. These remnants surround me, crying out to me constantly."
Aiden's last sentence carried multiple voice lines, as if he were speaking to Dumbledore from a very distant place.
"Crying out about what?" Dumbledore asked gently.
"Crying out about their tortured past," Aiden's voice returned to normal.
"Oh, that's truly terrible."
Dumbledore thought for a while before making a suggestion.
"Child, we cannot feel these voices, but I can only give you one piece of advice: try to refuse external interference. Focusing on your inner self is the path forward in magic."
"But Professor, what if one's mastery of the inner self has reached its peak and one begins to explore outward?" Aiden spoke with hidden meaning.
"Then this old man cannot give you advice—you should be giving this old man advice."
Dumbledore became cryptic, then stood up, preparing to leave.
"It's already very late. Young wizards should rest early, or they won't grow tall."
Dumbledore gestured at his own considerable height, and Aiden's fists clenched.
The mischievous old headmaster immediately made himself scarce and disappeared.
Only Aiden remained on the tower, watching the distant scenery through the rain.
After staying for a while longer, Aiden restrained his perception, left the tower, and prepared to return to his dormitory.
Passing through the sixth floor, he discovered a large black dog chasing an orange cat.
Aiden paused. "..."
Crookshanks saw Aiden like a drowning man seeing salvation. The cat sped up and ran to Aiden, hissing defiantly at the black dog.
The large black dog, seeing the suddenly appearing young wizard, was momentarily stunned.
Aiden pretended not to understand what was happening. "Hmm, someone actually keeps a large black dog in the school."
He scooped Crookshanks into his arms and addressed the dog. "Go on, shoo. This is my friend's pet. You go back and find your owner."
The black dog looked at Aiden's height—clearly not a first-year—and no longer bothered with Crookshanks. It quickly ran away into the shadows.
Aiden carried Crookshanks back toward the Gryffindor common room, watching the cat climb in through a nearby skylight.
Afterward, Aiden quickly returned to the Ravenclaw dormitory. After all, a rather remarkable character had just entered the castle.
(TL NOTE: Unfortunately, my LOTR: Playing Minecraft in Middle-earth book was mistakenly flagged as spam on Webnovel and removed. I'll re-upload it under a different title by tomorrow at the latest. Thank you for your patience!)