Dumbledore might just have a special kind of charisma.
Of course, it's not the kind of charm a succubus would have, but when he appeared in the Forbidden Forest, the professors seemed to find a backbone and immediately felt much relieved.
The tense atmosphere seemed to ease up all at once. Ian even had the feeling, like when watching TV dramas, that when the county magistrate appeared, the sky cleared up.
Could this be the sense of security only Dumbledore can bring?
"Headmaster! Quickly! It's that... that evil Dark Wizard!" Ian also felt a sense of joy in his heart. When it comes to catching Tom, the old headmaster in front of him has the most experience.
Now that Dumbledore has returned, capturing Voldemort's remnant soul shouldn't be difficult. The only question is whether Dumbledore would agree to let him set Voldemort's remnant soul ablaze.
"No need to hurry, I've already set up some special magic that ensures no one can escape from the vicinity of Hogwarts. So we can take our time. I need to first understand the current situation." Dumbledore's eyes were quite profound, with a calmness between his brows.
But Ian was a bit puzzled.
There's such magic?
How come he didn't know?
Several professors also seemed to be touching on a blind spot of knowledge, but since it was Dumbledore who was guaranteeing it, they naturally chose to trust him out of habit.
"Who can clear this up for me?"
Dumbledore turned his gaze to Professor McGonagall.
"Actually, I, like the other professors, don't know much. We just arrived here, attracted by the commotion Mr. Prince stirred up."
Professor McGonagall looked at Ian, who was still suspended in mid-air by Professor Sprout's Wingardium Leviosa.
"Dumbledore, he... he showed us his memory; he encountered that Mysterious Man!" Professor Sprout still had an incredulous expression. Beside her, Professor Flitwick, riding a "custom small" flying broom, also wore a worried and startled expression.
Compared to Deputy Headmaster McGonagall, these two heads clearly didn't know enough about the historical truth. They, like others, always believed that Voldemort had died ten years ago that night.
"How could it be the Mysterious Man? How could he still be alive? He should have died, killed by a mysterious magic cast upon the Boy Who Lived..." Professor Flitwick subjectively didn't want to believe Ian would fake the memory, and he also hoped Ian's memory wasn't the true reality.
This extremely contradictory mindset left the small professor with a complex expression on his face.
That was Voldemort!
The Wizarding World had suffered greatly under Voldemort.
Finally, after ushering in a bright future, who would want to return to that era of constant terror? Even the professors at Hogwarts still had lingering fears from the past shrouded in terrorism.
This is the lingering impact of Voldemort.
Both Professor McGonagall and Professor Sprout had similar psychological shadows, which was why they all panicked after seeing Ian's memory.
"Yeah, Dumbledore, Harry has already killed Voldemort. That damned bastard definitely couldn't still be alive!" Hagrid was also someone who didn't want to believe the truth.
After expressing his conviction, he quickly explained to Ian, "Sorry, Little Ian, I'm not accusing you of deceiving us; it's just... you might have been mistaken, or maybe someone else is pretending to be the Mysterious Man to cause a stir."
Hagrid was attempting to find a reasonable explanation.
Snape stood silently beside him.
His expression was sullen and uncertain. He tried to speak several times, but it seemed he thought of something and ultimately refrained from making any comments on the matter.
"It's not entirely impossible, after all..." Dumbledore stroked his beard and seemed to ponder for a moment with a fake contemplative air.
"Our old friend has always feared death; it's unsurprising he'd find ways to avoid it. This isn't a particularly difficult issue to handle. Fortunately, at least our little wizard escaped with his life." Dumbledore looked up at Ian in mid-air.
"Mr. Prince... are you alright?" His voice was as steady and powerful as ever, carrying a magic that seemed capable of calming the heart.
"Of course."
Ian moved his body a bit to indicate he was unharmed.
He even performed a backflip in mid-air for Dumbledore's amusement— the professors nearby had peculiar expressions, while Professor McGonagall seemed like she wanted to say something but stopped.
"You should thank the professors for arriving in time." Even Dumbledore could barely watch Ian's performance. Hagrid couldn't help but chuckle.
The other three heads had embarrassed expressions, except for Snape, who looked even more displeased.
"Get down!"
Snape yelled at Ian through gritted teeth. The next moment, they saw Ian paddle through the air as if swimming, ending up behind the other professors.
"?????"
Professor Sprout, who maintained Ian's floating spell, widened her eyes. She really didn't understand how Ian was able to control the direction of her Wingardium Leviosa in mid-air.