"Newt Scamander, the world's most famous expert on magical creatures, author of 'Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them'." Professor Flitwick mentioned to me that the Scamander family is very skilled in applications of Undetectable Extension Charms."
Dumbledore smiled as he stroked his beard: "Yes, that's the Newt. I thought you'd be quite surprised hearing this name."
A hint of amusement appeared in Leo's calm eyes: "The greatest wizard of our time—I wouldn't find it strange no matter who you know or correspond with."
This made Dumbledore laugh heartily as he handed the letter to Leo.
Leo opened and read the letter. The beginning was blank—probably old friends' greetings hidden by Dumbledore—so he looked directly at the main content:
"Using Undetectable Extension to contain living creatures isn't just a matter of simple spell work, but also involves Transfiguration and even Alchemy... If that junior student also has knowledge of Transfiguration and Alchemy, he can read the following basic magic books for some inspiration..."
Indeed, Undetectable Extension Charm creations that could contain living creatures were extremely complex. He should have no problem with Transfiguration. As for Alchemy, analysing that transformation pocket watch could help him master some alchemical knowledge, but it might not be specifically relevant—he'd still need to find some Alchemy books in the library.
Well, Newt's letter only mentioned how to construct a single space. Building multiple diverse environments would probably belong to the Scamander family's secret inheritance.
Was Dumbledore really this enthusiastic? Writing to an old friend to enquire about a new student's question? Truly worthy of being called Hogwarts' greatest headmaster.
"Thank you, Headmaster. I can't believe you went to the trouble of specifically asking about this for me."
Dumbledore waved his hand, his bright blue eyes crinkling with laughter: "Don't mention it. Helping students pursue knowledge is also a professor's duty. Are you settling in well at Hogwarts?"
Leo nodded, saying he got along very well with classmates and the professors had helped him a lot.
"Oh, I also made an appointment with Professor Quirrell to tutor me once a week, learning practical combat techniques in Defence Against the Dark Arts."
Hearing this, Dumbledore set down his honey water, a flash of light in his eyes, but without much hesitation he said: "He's also a Ravenclaw graduate—your senior. Quirrell's theoretical foundation is very solid, though he may not be good at communicating with students. But this doesn't affect his teaching. Tutoring is certainly no problem."
Getting Dumbledore's response, a relaxed smile appeared on Leo's face, but his heart sank. Wait, this reaction wasn't quite right.
Hadn't Dumbledore noticed the problems with Quirrell? Was he really so at ease with him—or rather, with Tom's character?
He'd brought this up proactively for safety considerations, but why was Dumbledore's attitude so indifferent?
"Leo, I remember you're from a Muggle family. You must be full of curiosity about the magical world?"
"Yes, so I bought many magic books from Flourish and Blotts earlier, and borrowed some from the library..."
The two chatted casually, the atmosphere quite harmonious.
"Leo, have you seen introductions to a certain type of magic in books?"
"What magic?"
"Dark Magic".
As he spoke, Dumbledore popped a sherbet lemon into his mouth, as if he'd just mentioned the most ordinary word.
But Leo's mind began racing. Dark Magic?
Had Dumbledore misspoken? Would the dignified Headmaster of Hogwarts ask a new student if he'd heard of Dark Magic?
He wasn't some pure-blood heir who would have early exposure to Dark Magic.
Wait, surely Dumbledore didn't think he wanted to learn Dark Magic from Quirrell rather than Defence Against the Dark Arts?
No, from an outsider's perspective, even knowing Quirrell had problems, a student seeking tutoring from a professor was perfectly normal—how could anyone associate it with Dark Magic?
And why was Dumbledore asking so directly? Shouldn't he observe secretly first?
Where exactly had things gone wrong...?
Leo quickly reviewed his entire conversation with Dumbledore, even recalling every detail from entering the headmaster's office.
The phoenix, the Sorting Hat... The Sorting Hat!
A phrase suddenly flashed in Leo's mind: "...truly the most talented young wizard I've seen in all these years."
Talent? Could the Sorting Hat detect wizards' talents?
His strongest talent was Transfiguration, reaching extraordinary levels. If Dumbledore had learnt this from the Sorting Hat, then some things made sense. Like writing to an old friend to help a new student with enquiries.
A simply outstanding new student probably wasn't worth such effort, but what about a young wizard the Sorting Hat acknowledged as "the most talented it had seen"?
If this hypothesis held, and the Sorting Hat could perceive his Transfiguration talent, what about other talents?
What was his second-strongest talent after Transfiguration? Dark Magic!
Of course Leo hadn't displayed Dark Magic talent in front of Hogwarts professors and students. In fact, he hadn't learnt a single Dark Magic spell.
But what if Dumbledore already knew about his frighteningly high Dark Magic talent from the Sorting Hat?
So after he mentioned wanting tutoring from Quirrell, Dumbledore had remained so calm and seemingly inexplicably brought up Dark Magic.
Leo glanced at Dumbledore and found him leisurely sipping honey water. So this was where he was waiting.
Newt's letter was just a pretext. What Dumbledore really wanted to understand was his attitude toward Dark Magic.
Was he worried? Worried about another Voldemort appearing in the world, or even another Grindelwald?
The reason for asking so directly was probably because he thought Leo was still a child and it would be easier to tell if he was lying.
Fine, so it was about attitudes toward Dark Magic. What he'd say next would all be truth.
Leo quickly settled on his wording. This thinking process was very brief—just long enough for Dumbledore to blow on the steam from his cup.
"I've seen some fragments in books describing Dark Magic—basically calling it terrifying, powerful, evil, and such."
Dumbledore nodded noncommittally: "What's your view on Dark Magic?"
Leo's tone was flat as he uttered a single word: "Control."
This answer somewhat surprised Dumbledore. He set down his cup and looked at Leo with interest: "Control? How to control?"
Leo looked directly into Dumbledore's eyes without any evasion: "As you know, I'm Muggle-born. In the Muggle world, people master knowledge and use knowledge."
"But after encountering the magical world, I felt those rules might not necessarily apply. In the magical world, knowledge can equal power—real, tangible power!"
"Dark Magic is powerful but easily becomes uncontrollable. More crucially, Dark Magic affects people's nature."
"So is it people controlling Dark Magic, or Dark Magic controlling people?"
He paused, his gaze toward Dumbledore becoming more profound: "Headmaster Dumbledore, as the greatest wizard of our time, if you used Dark Magic, could you control it one hundred percent?"
After Leo finished this question, the headmaster's office fell into long silence.
The old man lowered his head, looking at the ripples in his cup.
Yes, control—could it really be controlled...?
How many years ago was it, in Godric's Hollow? Three angry young men arguing, finally drawing wands in fierce combat. In the chaos, a curse killed Dumbledore's sister, Ariana Dumbledore.
None of those present knew clearly who had cast that Dark Magic.
Those three young men then, Dumbledore then—were they controlling Dark Magic...?
The ancient pain could now only become silence.