Dumbledore sighed, and the honey water in his cup had long since grown cold.
"How about this, Leo—would you be willing to come have afternoon tea with me once a week? Just to keep a lonely old man company for a chat?"
As he spoke, Dumbledore even winked at Leo, as if the previous silence had never existed.
Leo didn't hesitate and immediately agreed. "That would be my honour. How about I visit you each time after I finish tutoring with Professor Quirrell?"
Hearing Leo's words, Dumbledore nodded cheerfully. "That would be even better—we can discuss insights about Defence Against the Dark Arts."
Ah, this was the right reaction. Dumbledore's suggestion put Leo at ease. Having afternoon tea and chatting were secondary—the main purpose was probably to check whether he'd been influenced by Quirrell's Dark Magic.
If Voldemort, in his current barely surviving state, could still pull off tricks right under Dumbledore's nose, then why had he feared the old headmaster back in the day? He could have just arranged a duel and battled atop Hogwarts.
"Oh right, Newt also mentioned you could write to him directly to ask about Undetectable Extension Charm issues. Of course, please don't tell others the contact information, or my old friend will have to move house again. Well, he prefers quiet places with few people."
Leo assured him he would never reveal it. Newt was extremely socially anxious—he probably spoke more to magical creatures than to people.
Besides asking about Undetectable Extension Charms, he could also ask Newt about magical creature knowledge. No one could surpass his understanding of these magical beings. If Leo wanted to pioneer magical creature Transfiguration, he'd definitely need to study the creatures themselves first, and Newt was the expert and walking encyclopaedia in this field—who else would he consult?
"Well, Leo, is there anything else you'd like to ask?"
Leo said without hesitation: "Alchemy. I'm somewhat interested in Alchemy, but the course is only offered to senior students. And the library only has introductory books in this area, no actual theory and guidance. I heard from Madam Pince that in the Restricted Section..."
However, before Leo could finish, a sharp voice interrupted him: "Ha! This boy actually wants to go to the Restricted Section. A first-year student wanting to access such dangerous knowledge—truly naturally evil..."
"Phineas, can you shut up! Use that brain of yours to think—wasn't it your Slytherin that contributed the most fresh blood to the Dark wizards?"
Leo looked toward the source of the voices—dozens of portraits hung on one wall. Quickly reviewing the Hogwarts history he'd read, he matched the speaking headmaster portraits to their names.
Phineas Black, the most unpopular headmaster in Hogwarts history, bar none. Morgan Wiggins, Gryffindor alumnus and author of "Duelling is an Art".
All past headmasters of Hogwarts left portraits that could be spoken with and consulted. Phineas's unpopularity was indeed justified—he'd stood up to oppose and deny before Leo had even mentioned going to the Restricted Section.
One could imagine how miserable students were during his tenure—probably "you can't do this, you can't do that either." This type of headmaster leadership didn't care what you learnt at school or how you were doing, only whether you'd cause trouble for the school.
"Those degenerates who became Dark wizards were just mentally weak—what does that have to do with Slytherin? Albus, as headmaster, you must strictly control students..."
Leo watched this chattering, goateed man, catching a glimpse of a figure flashing in the portrait to his upper left.
Bang!
The annoying Phineas fell down and disappeared from his frame. In his place appeared a beautiful woman wearing silver-rimmed glasses.
If one ignored the heavy tome in her hands and the fact that she'd just used this book to knock out Phineas, Leo would definitely think she was an elegant, refined lady.
"I'm very pleased that Ravenclaw has gained a young wizard like you."
Leo stood and greeted her: "Good morning, Lady Wentrian. I'm also very glad to be in Ravenclaw."
Sharon Wentrian, Ravenclaw graduate, author of "Curses and Counter-Curses".
Sharon was very satisfied with Leo, her tone elegant and gentle: "Ravenclaw eagles should pursue wisdom and master knowledge. You're doing very well. What you said earlier was correct—in the magical world, knowledge and power can be equated."
"So when learning knowledge, encountering danger and the unknown is perfectly normal. Don't be afraid, don't always think about solving everything alone, and don't be stingy about asking Hogwarts professors for advice..."
Facing Headmistress Sharon's earnest teachings, Leo said sincerely: "Thank you for your guidance. May your wisdom continue to guide Ravenclaw."
Watching this scene, Dumbledore felt deeply gratified. He could see Leo's sincerity, his respect for professors, and his pure thirst for knowledge.
Dumbledore summoned a piece of paper on which book titles automatically appeared line by line, and he signed his name. "Take this, Leo. It has what you want."
Leo took the book list and found it contained many titles. The fields covered were diverse—Charms, Alchemy, Herbology, Transfiguration...
Among these book titles, one made Leo raise an eyebrow: "Identification of Dark Magic".
Why had Dumbledore approved this book? Was he telling him to be somewhat prepared and avoid Quirrell's tricks? Indeed, Hogwarts library's Restricted Section had valuable resources. That was Hogwarts' greatest treasure vault!
"Headmaster, this 'Identification of Dark Magic'?"
"Don't worry. This book teaches people how to identify Dark Magic—it doesn't contain specific Dark Magic spells. Simply understanding Dark Magic, or even mastering Dark Magic spells, won't have much impact on one's mind. Only long-term frequent use of Dark Magic and delving into Dark Magic will cause irreversible distortion."
Leo nodded and put away the book list. "This conversation has been very pleasant, and I've gained much."
After leaving the headmaster's office and going down the stairs, Leo prepared to visit the library first to borrow books. Other things could wait—he should borrow the Alchemy books first. Well, after borrowing books, he'd go to Hagrid's hut to start analysing the transformation pocket watch and attempt solidified transformation.
Passing a corner in the great hall, Leo saw Malfoy, who still had bandages on his hands, standing beside a middle-aged man with pale golden hair who looked very much like him.
The younger and older Malfoy.
Lucius looked at his son with slight confusion: "Draco, why are you still wearing bandages? Is the hospital wing's standard that poor?"
"Um, Father, I feel my arm still hurts a bit. It's probably not fully healed."
What Malfoy didn't say was that as long as he kept the bandages on, he could mention to anyone in conversation that Harry had cared for him in the hospital wing and apologised to him.
Just as Lucius was about to say something, he suddenly noticed a passing student glance at him. Those dark green eyes inexplicably made Lucius feel somewhat uneasy.
Though unable to understand where this feeling came from, the Malfoy family's characteristic intuition about people still stirred his interest.
"Draco, I've prepared precious healing potions for you that won't leave any hidden injuries or complications."
Malfoy was very happy and was about to thank his father when he heard him say: "That student who just passed by—do you know him? Tell me about him."