Hello, Dumbledore

To Josh, Hogwarts was an enormous castle. Backed by mountains and a lake, it was surrounded by breathtaking scenery. Its design, however, reminded Josh of the churches he had encountered along the way. But that made sense. When Hogwarts had been built, churches were probably the most beautiful buildings around, so it was only natural to draw inspiration from them.

Hogwarts was quiet, especially at night, when it seemed exceptionally serene. Fireflies danced in the breeze, owls flew freely through the sky, and strange animal cries drifted from the distant forest, making the place all the more enchanting.

Floating candles lit the way ahead. Josh and the other two sat in a small boat and slowly rowed toward Hogwarts. Josh rather liked the environment here. He was even wondering whether he should get hold of the building blueprints—the design plans—and build one himself when he returned.

Money gave people the freedom to be willful. Besides, Josh had mines—just because his territory had no money did not mean he could not ask his father for some.

And he could do whatever he wanted in his own territory without anyone interfering. Naturally, he would arrange it however he found most comfortable. Garen liked this sort of setting as well. Though this was a magic academy, anyone would enjoy such a peaceful, tranquil environment.

"What do you think about building one myself after I go back?" Josh rubbed his chin and turned to Garen. "This place really does look nice. I think replacing my castle with something like this would turn out pretty well."

"I think it would turn out well too." Garen nodded as if it were only natural. Josh was a prince, after all. He did not think Josh lacked the ability to renovate his own castle. Even if Josh had no money, he could use his authority as a lord to gather serfs and make them work for free. Of course, that would not be a good thing to do.

"What are you two talking about?" Crouch nearly fell into the lake when he heard them talking as he rowed. What the hell was this? Building a castle modeled after Hogwarts? Just who were these two?

"Nothing. We were just considering some future plans. Say, Crouch, do you know any master architects? The kind who could design a building like Hogwarts. Or, well, do you know who usually keeps Hogwarts' blueprints?"

"How would I know something like that?" Crouch said weakly. "Maybe you could ask Professor Dumbledore and the others. They're the school administrators. I'm just a student!"

Crouch truly did not know what to say to Josh and Garen anymore. Could a castle really be built just because they felt like it? Did they not consider anything else? Such as the gold it would cost, or whether they had enough land? Fine, Crouch had completely run out of words.

Maybe this is the difference between great nobles and people like me? But did they run away from home? Otherwise, why did they come to Hogwarts to earn money as teachers? Crouch was full of questions, but he did not say anything else. He had already suffered enough blows.

Josh and Garen kept spouting nonsense while Crouch silently rowed. Before long, they reached the shore. They only needed to walk a little farther to see the gates of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. After getting ashore, Josh carefully sensed his surroundings. There was a powerful magnetic field everywhere here, so strong that Josh believed no modern means of communication could function within it.

The entire academy was also covered by spells. Josh guessed they were Muggle-Repelling Charms and Confundus Charms. That was the best way to prevent Muggles from wandering in by mistake. It had to be said that the magical world of this world was truly astonishing, as though they were terrified of being discovered.

But that was this world's problem. Josh could not do anything about it, nor did he intend to. To him, he was merely a passing visitor. Of course, if this world could become his backyard, he would not mind renovating it properly. That was assuming he could do it and had enough people to help him.

At Hogwarts' gates, Josh and Garen took a good look around. Complex runes were carved into the iron gates. The passage of time had not left them rusted; instead, they had become even brighter. Though Josh did not know what the runes meant, he understood that they were defensive in nature.

"Hogwarts has a school motto—Draco dormiens nunquam titillandus. It means never tickle a sleeping dragon."

At that moment, a voice came from behind the gates. Then the iron gates of Hogwarts slowly opened, and an old man with white hair, a white beard, and wizard's robes stepped out. Behind him followed a woman who also looked rather old, wearing glasses and a stern expression, dressed in a black gown.

Josh naturally recognized both of them. One was Hogwarts' headmaster, Dumbledore, while the other was Deputy Headmistress McGonagall. Josh found it somewhat strange that they were still at school during the holidays. Did they not need to go home? Still, he felt this was what a true headmaster should be like—someone who truly treated the school as home.

"Welcome, guests from afar. I am Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts. This is my dearest friend and also the school's deputy headmistress, Minerva McGonagall. It is a pleasure to meet you both. And thank you very much, Mr. Edward. Thank you for bringing our guests from afar to Hogwarts."

Dumbledore's words were quite skillful. He welcomed Josh and the others while also making a point of thanking Crouch. With so many students at Hogwarts, the fact that he could immediately recall Crouch's surname showed how much he had truly invested in this school.

Josh had often heard people say Dumbledore was scheming, and he agreed with that view. But that did not erase the old man's devotion to this school. He had spent his entire life contributing to it, right up until his death.

All right, Josh was getting ahead of himself. He quickly smiled and replied politely, "My name is Josh, and this is my companion, Garen. I'm very pleased that you could take time out of your busy schedule to meet us, Professor Dumbledore. And Professor McGonagall as well."

"Of course." Dumbledore blinked, waiting for Josh to continue introducing himself, while Josh merely smiled back, waiting for Dumbledore to continue.

"..."

"Idiot!" Garen covered his eyes with one hand. He could not bear to watch any longer, so he took over from Josh. "My name is Garen Crownguard, and his full name is Josh Augustus. It is a pleasure to meet you, Lord Dumbledore."

"..."

Josh awkwardly glanced at Garen, then at Dumbledore. Only then did he realize how badly he had handled things just now. But it was not entirely his fault. On the Muya Continent, he had never left the Augustus Empire. Or rather, he had always lived among people he knew. There had been no need for him to introduce himself. The one time he had mentioned his surname was when he had been threatening Garen.

"Crownguard? Augustus?" Dumbledore was somewhat baffled. The Crownguard family? It sounded like a royal guard unit. But Europe seemed to have no kings now, and even if there were any, they had no real power. As for Augustus, Dumbledore seemed to recall a Roman king named Augustus I. Were these two Italians?

"I'm sorry. Please forgive my ignorance, but I have never heard of either of these families. May I ask what brings you two to Hogwarts?"

Unable to make sense of it, Dumbledore smiled directly and apologized. What worried him most was whether these two were aligned with Voldemort. If they were, things would be troublesome. Pure-blood nobles and mixed-blood wizards had always been in conflict. If even foreign nobles became involved, it would truly give him a headache.

"Actually, we plan to stay at Hogwarts for a while. Or perhaps I could simply apply for a teaching position here." Josh stated his thoughts directly. But he immediately noticed Dumbledore's expression. Thinking it over alongside what he knew of the original story, he roughly guessed what Dumbledore was worried about.

Josh said disdainfully, "There's no need to think so much about it, Professor Dumbledore. You're worried about one of your students, the one now called Voldemort, aren't you? Don't worry. I have no favorable impression of him. Also, could you withdraw your mental power? It's very rude. If I accidentally counterattack, I don't think you'll feel very good afterward."

"..." Dumbledore smiled awkwardly and immediately withdrew his mental power.

Josh naturally knew what Dumbledore was worried about, so he did not react much to Dumbledore's attempt to use mental power to probe his mind. He merely gave him a warning. In any case, Dumbledore would not see anything, because Josh had already figured out Dumbledore's strength—third tier.

Like Garen, Dumbledore was at the third tier. That was good news for Josh. Josh was fourth tier, and his magic was extremely strange. Even if Dumbledore was vastly experienced, he could not overcome the difference in tiers, not to mention the gap in magical power.

One was old and frail, while the other was in his prime. Even without using magic, Josh could take Dumbledore down—he was simply bullying him.

"Forgive my presumption, Mr. Augustus. I was merely worried. You see, that man has been threatening the safety of the magical world in the United Kingdom, and the ideas he advocates can easily attract the support of pure-blood nobles. So I had to be cautious. If I have offended you, I sincerely hope to receive your forgiveness."

Dumbledore's apology was extremely sincere. The main reason, of course, was that he had realized he was no match for Josh! It was unbelievable. He was already considered one of the most powerful people in the magical world. Even though he was old and his energy had begun to decline, his magical power was still constantly growing. Yet this young man before him had utterly shattered his understanding.

Since when had someone so young reached such heights? It was terrifying and unbelievable. No wonder Mr. Ollivander had hurriedly written to warn me to be careful. His perception had been entirely correct.

Dumbledore had waited here for Josh and the others because Ollivander had informed him beforehand. At first, Dumbledore had not believed it. Magical power could only be built up gradually through time and talent—how could someone so young possess such profound magic?

But now, he had no choice but to believe that such a monster truly existed in this world. Dumbledore was deeply confused. However, Josh's next words left him even more confused. He even wondered whether his ears were broken or Josh had lost his mind.