Hogwarts: Bloodline Chapter 2: Dumbledore

Chapter 2: Chapter 2: Dumbledore

Wu Orphanage.

In the corridor.

Dumbledore looked around.

His gaze carried complex mories—over the years, the decor here seed unchanged.

"Lady Yelena, I am here for Ian Prince," he said.

Dumbledore, under the guidance of the orphanage director, entered the office. His presence seed to dispel any remaining chill in the room.

"He needed to complete a course of study," he said.

Sunlight stread through the stained-glass windows, casting a gentle and mysterious glow on Dumbledore’s silver hair and beard, giving the aged wizard an ethereal appearance.

"Oh! That’s really good news!"

The director, nad Yelena, was a fifty-year-old woman with gray hair, and she had a very kind smile.

She warmly invited Dumbledore to sit and brewed him a cup of red tea—the kind with a very old and stale taste.

"Ian Prince, he’s a good kid, also quite mature. He doesn’t play with the other kids in the orphanage, always having his own ideas and going about his own business."

Faced with Yelena’s introduction,

Dumbledore seed thoughtful.

He put down the tea Yelena had poured for him.

"Lady Yelena, you an to say Ian Prince is a very solitary child?"

Dumbledore’s gaze

puzzled the orphanage director, Yelena, for a mont.

Soon after,

she quickly shook her head to clarify.

"No, no, you’ve misunderstood . Perhaps I should explain it this way: Ian is just a very mature child. The other kids want to play with him, but Ian simply doesn’t like to play with them."

Yelena paused, then added, "Ian once said that playing house was sowhat boring and too childish. At that ti, he’d rather be playing with birds."

"Playing with birds? A fine hobby. It seems Mr. Ian Prince is a child who naturally gets along with animals,"

Dumbledore seed to breathe a sigh of relief.

He smiled and joked,

"Looks like he’ll have an owl in the future."

Hearing this,

Yelena was taken aback for a mont.

However,

she continued smiling and praised Ian.

"This child, Ian, though he finds other children immature, he still takes good care of his younger brothers and sisters."

"At just eleven years old, he’s already sneaking out to work, buying flour and vegetables to stock the kitchen... He rembers every one of the children’s birthdays."

"He even buys candy for his younger siblings."

Yelena spoke with satisfaction, yet suddenly seed troubled and sighed, looking rather guilty.

"It’s just that the current societal environnt is tough, and the orphanage struggles to receive donations. Of course, it’s also my incompetence, relying on a child to make money outside..."

Yelena appeared quite remorseful.

"You shouldn’t bla yourself; you’ve done enough already. The changes here are significant, I can feel it," Dumbledore addressed Yelena, who was likely a good few decades younger than him, with respect.

He genuinely consoled her.

"Have you been here before?"

Yelena was a bit surprised.

"This is not my first visit,"

Dumbledore smiled slightly.

Yelena didn’t press further for an explanation.

She was more concerned about adoption matters.

"Sir, if you intend to take Ian from the orphanage, trust , he’s truly a wonderful child," Yelena sincerely hoped that such a well-behaved boy would find a good ho.

"Then may I see him?"

Dumbledore asked with a smile.

Under the influence of the Confundus Charm,

Yelena’s understanding might not align with reality.

This did not need correcting.

"Of course, of course, sir!" Lady Yelena was overjoyed. She first got up and said to Dumbledore, "Please wait a mont."

As Yelena stepped out, she saw Ian, who had just returned to the yard.

A hurried smile imdiately appeared on her face. She waved at him and called out,

"Ian, co here!"

Ian was pushing a small cart.

A child imdiately ran over and hugged him, saying, "Ian, it looks like sothing big is happening for you! Go quickly, don’t keep Lady Yelena waiting."

In the orphanage, everyone referred to being adopted as a big event.

After all, for this group of holess children, nothing was more important than being adopted.

However,

Ian was different.

He knew this wasn’t about adoption.

With a nervous heart,

Ian was led to the office.

"It’s him!"

He had sneaked a peek before and now it was confird—the person in the office was Dumbledore, the headmaster of Hogwarts, the greatest wizard of the century.

"Don’t worry,"

Ian hadn’t even spoken yet.

He saw Dumbledore observing him.

"Child, I need to tell you a fact: you are a wizard," he said.

Under Ian’s feigned surprised expression,

Dumbledore’s gaze was deep.

"I imagine you’ve long noticed how you differ from others," he said. His eyes did not look cloudy; rather, they were as pure as a child’s.

"Uh,"

Ian did not answer imdiately. He first glanced up at Lady Yelena and found her expression unchanged, as if she hadn’t heard what the old man was saying.

This is... the Confundus Charm?

He forced himself to calm down,

averting his gaze from Dumbledore’s eyes.

"It’s true, I’ve noticed it for a long ti. Sotis when I stare at a cup of water, I can make the water ripple a bit. So, this is the power of a wizard," he said.

Ian didn’t dare feign ignorance.

His response made Dumbledore smile and nod.

"Yes, that’s your own magic power at work. Sotis, when you’re angry with soone, that magic power fluctuation becos more intense."

Dumbledore’s tone was gentle.

But to Ian, this sounded too much like baiting. What does it an by fluctuating more intensely when you’re angry? I’m not that Tom Riddle!

"Sir, I hardly ever get angry at others, because being swayed by emotions doesn’t solve problems." Ian replied in a calm and gentle manner.

This answer seed to satisfy Dumbledore greatly.

Dumbledore smiled.

With his nod, his beard trembled.

"You’re a very clever child, Lady Yelena was right, you are indeed quite mature for your age." Speaking, Dumbledore’s aged eyes looked at Ian and slowly began to speak.

"Hogwarts is a magic academy that all the world’s wizards want to join. There, you can learn all sorts of witchcraft and encounter various magical creatures."

"Don’t be nervous, Mr. Ian Prince. As the headmaster of Hogwarts Academy, I formally invite you to attend Hogwarts and study."

It ca!

Finally, it ca!

Ian Prince was very nervous. Although in his past life, he had only seen a few Hogwarts movies and so Hermione fan fiction, he had heard of the reputation of Hogwarts’ professors.

Ian was truly worried that Dumbledore, like those conspiracy theory fan fictions, would have ulterior motives.

"Is there any concern?"

Dumbledore sensed Ian’s emotions, thinking he had concerns about Hogwarts, and gently reassured, "At Hogwarts, there are flying Hippogriffs, trees that hit back, and most importantly, there are a bunch of kids your age who you’ll learn magic with."

"Don’t worry about the process of learning magic, Ian. In fact, a remarkable wizard once erged from your orphanage."

Dumbledore suddenly seed to be lost in mory, his tone nostalgic.

The mont those words were spoken.

Ian beca even more nervous.

Why was he nervous?

Wasn’t it because he clearly knew how "remarkable" the man who ca out of this orphanage was?

"Is that wizard still at Hogwarts?"

Ian braced himself and pretended to be curious.

Ian’s voice interrupted his thoughts, and Dumbledore withdrew from his mory, shaking his head.

"In fact, he left Hogwarts a long, long ti ago and unfortunately strayed off the path."

Dumbledore finished with a heavy heart.

Ian expected him to say so critical words next, but unexpectedly, the old man simply changed his tone and, with a regretful and slightly remorseful tone, slowly said, "However, this doesn’t diminish his extraordinary achievents. It’s just that he could have gone even further."

Ian appeared confused while looking at Dumbledore, but inside, various thoughts were surfacing.

Dumbledore’s seemingly long-sighing words.

Was it a warning?

Or a probe?

Good grief! This darn persecution complex, all thanks to those Harry Potter fanfictions—Ian restrained his imagination, trying not to overthink.

"Child, have you made your decision?"

Dumbledore’s voice rang in his ears.

"Uh... why not give it a try?"

Ian had been waiting for this day and obviously wouldn’t choose to refuse.

"A wise choice. In half a month, Hogwarts will send you a notice. By then, soone will take you to purchase everything you need for your enrollnt."

Dumbledore smiled at Ian.

Ian, however, shrugged and politely declined, "Sorry, sir, even if I want to enroll, I can’t afford it. I can’t pay for the tuition."

Dumbledore was already standing, retrieving his hat from the stand.

At that mont, Yelena suddenly stood up and said to Dumbledore, "Thank you. In half a month, Ian will definitely go."

Ian was taken aback, then realized.

This was the power of the Confundus Charm. It was unclear what scene Yelena saw, but it was obvious she couldn’t see the real conversation between Ian and Dumbledore.

Dumbledore didn’t speak to Yelena but smiled and spoke to Ian.

"You don’t need to worry about money. First, the school has a scholarship fund, and second, the person coming to pick you up won’t require you to pay; he... feels he owes you a lot."

With those words.

Dumbledore took a step forward.

Ian was taken aback again, standing up and looking at Dumbledore, who was heading towards the door.

"Who? My parents?"

Was he still a pureblood?

This caught Ian by surprise.

"This isn’t an answer ant to be revealed by ." Dumbledore rely blinked, gesturing a farewell to Ian, his tone full of aning.

"Child, you’ll find out then."

With that said.

He left without looking back.

Yelena was overjoyed and followed him to the door.

Ian opened his mouth but said nothing, then turned around and left, returning to his room.

That night.

Ian lay in bed, contemplating whether Dumbledore’s early visit was because of Wu Orphanage or because he was originally intended to be Ian Riddle.

Or.

Was it because of his identity as Prince?

Did this pureblood surna exist in the original story?

As he pondered.

Ian felt his eyelids grow heavy.

In the next mont.

He slowly went from drowsiness to wakefulness, as if crossing so boundary—the sky was adorned with a beautiful glimr, like satin softly draping over the changing blue canvas. In the distance, the woods resembled a fairy-tale land, the trees lush and vibrant, and a small bird flew over the treetops, its song crisp and lodious.

Under such a picturesque sky, everything was rendered in dreamy colors, making one feel as if they were in an exquisite painting, experiencing unprecedented tranquility and cleansing of the soul.

Ian opened his eyes, looking at the stunning scenery before him.

"You’re here again."

A gentle voice sounded in his ear.

"Almost forgot, today is Saturday."

Ian turned his head toward the girl erging from the woods.

She wore a blue dress, her golden hair draped over her shoulders, and looked at Ian with an innocent face.

"Ariana, I t a scary old man today, and I forgot to bring you candy."

He said to the girl.