Without a doubt.
It's impossible for Dumbledore to have been this powerful in his youth.
"No! No! No! Don't come any closer! Don't come any closer!" The Death Eater staggered, barely managing to steady himself. His face was drained of color, leaving only a desperate pallor and incredulous horror. He looked up at Ian, his eyes filled with the madness of a trapped beast and the deepest fear.
"You... who are you?!" The man's voice was hoarse and trembling, completely devoid of its previous arrogance and coldness, leaving only a blustering but cowardly question. "Do you know what you're doing? You're interfering with the Dark Lord's affairs! Attacking his servants! He will never let you get away with this!" He tried to invoke Voldemort's name, his greatest asset in the Wizarding World, and the nightmare that struck fear into the hearts of countless Wizard.
The Death Eater, whose cerebellum may not be well-developed, hoped that this name would instill even the slightest fear in the other party.
Well, how should I put it?
Ian, of course, just found it funny.
"Tsk tsk tsk, the Dark Lord will definitely not let me go? Should I say I'm so scared?" Ian finally turned around and faced the Death Eater. His eyes remained calm, like a bottomless pool of ice, without the slightest ripple. He didn't even blink at the name " Voldemort ".
" Voldemort?" Ian's tone was flat, as if discussing the weather. "Never heard of him."
These four seemingly casual words carried more weight than any mockery or contempt. In the United Kingdom Wizarding World of 1979, to dare to call out the name of "that person whose name cannot even be mentioned," and to do so so casually, even with a hint of "Who is this? Does it matter?", was itself the greatest provocation and disregard.
The Death Eater's face flushed instantly—from humiliation and anger—but quickly turned ashen with fear. The other party didn't even respect their master's name!
"Arrogance!" he hissed, trying to mask his fear with anger. "You will pay for your ignorance! The Dark Lord's power is beyond your imagination! He is the greatest Wizard of our time! His wrath will burn you and everyone connected to you to ashes! Let me go now, and perhaps you can still..."
Well, how should I put it?
Although reason told the Death Eater the person before him was stronger than Voldemort, he could only fight his fear by clinging to his loyalty and faith in Voldemort.
This is similar to the mentality of many people who are prone to despair, because if they don't grasp the only thing they can hold onto, they will have to face a cruel and hopeless truth.
Human nature is to escape.
"I'll tell you! The great Demon King..."
The Death Eater wanted to bolster their courage.
"Noisy."
Ian interrupted him, his brow furrowing almost imperceptibly. The boy made no further complicated movements, simply raising his right hand, palm facing the Death Eater, and then gently clenching it.
There was no magical light.
However, there were some Magic Power Fluctuation.
The next moment.
"Aaaaaah!"
The Death Eater felt an irresistible and incomprehensible force descend upon them in an instant! It wasn't a physical compression, but rather a kind of... constraint and stripping away of their very "existence"!
The Protective Magic surrounding him shattered like paper, and the Magic Power within him froze like a river, completely ceasing to flow. He tried to struggle, tried to shout, but found he couldn't even utter a sound, as if he had been deprived of the right to speak. The Death Eater was completely rooted to the spot! He couldn't even move a finger, only his eyes could still move in terror.
This is one of the most rudimentary applications of the [ Foundation of Order ] authority—defining "Within this area, the target individual's Magic Power is frozen and their movements are impaired." "This guy's power..."
Jorkins watched in utter disbelief. He simply couldn't comprehend how Ian had done it.
Without waving a wand, chanting a spell, or even a noticeable Magic Power Fluctuation, with just a raised hand and a clenched fist, a vicious Death Eater had just been fighting him to a standstill was transformed into a puppet that could only blink! What incredible power this was! Ian ignored Jorkins's shock and strode slowly toward the imprisoned Death Eater. His footsteps were exceptionally clear in the silence. He stopped in front of the Death Eater, the two of them almost touching.
The Death Eater could clearly see Ian's calm, unwavering eyes, which seemed to contain the birth and death of stars and the trajectory of laws. There was no hatred or anger in his gaze, only a pure scrutiny, like examining a laboratory specimen, and a trace of... extremely subtle indifference that showed impatience with some kind of "trouble".
"Threatening me with Voldemort?" Ian spoke, his voice low but clear, like ice beads falling onto a jade plate. "Unfortunately, I have no interest in the internal strife of your Wizarding World for the time being."
He paused, his gaze sweeping over an inconspicuous emblem on the Death Eater's black robe, resembling a small snake coiled around a skull— Voldemort's mark. It was cleverly concealed, but it didn't escape his notice.
"However, since you actively attacked others in front of me, affecting innocents, and even tried to intimidate me with the so-called ' Dark Lord '..." Ian's tone remained calm, but the Death Eater felt the surrounding air temperature drop a few degrees. "Well then, you should leave some 'souvenirs,' and... send a message back with you."
The Death Eater's eyes flashed with extreme terror. He wanted to shake his head, to plead, but he couldn't even twitch an eyebrow.
Ian extended his right index finger, a faint, yet chillingly dark green light swirling around its Death Eater —a wisp of highly concentrated and tamed [ Fire of the Old Ones ]. Though weak, it possessed a powerful "corrosive" and "high-ranking" quality. For a dark Wizard with keen senses, it was tantamount to facing an abyss.
All I saw was...
Ian gently touched the Death Eater's forehead with his fingertip.
There was no pain, only an icy chill that penetrated to the bone, as if freezing the very essence of the soul, instantly invaded! The Death Eater felt as if his brain had been forcibly cleaved open, and fragmented images and information were brutally extracted—mainly memories related to the mission to hunt down Jorkins, as well as vague information about the locations where several Death Eater met and communicated.
At the same time, a cold, undeniable "mark" was branded onto the outermost layer of his soul. That mark was not Dark Mark, but an extremely abstract and minimalist silhouette of Raven.
It exudes an awe-inspiring, cold sense of order, a quality shared with Ian.
"Remember this aura," Ian withdrew his finger, the dark green light vanishing, his tone remaining calm, "And remember this mark. Go back and tell your master, and your cowardly accomplices."
His voice was slightly lowered, yet it carried a clarity and weight that pierced the soul:
" The Street of my London are not a hunting ground for you to run rampant. If I ever see you so brazen in front of Muggle again..." Ian's gaze suddenly sharpened like an unsheathed ice blade, Death Eater felt as if their souls had been pierced by that gaze:
I wouldn't mind personally paying a visit to this "greatest Wizard ".
The moment the words left his mouth, the power binding the Death Eater vanished.
The Death Eater collapsed to the ground, as if all his bones had been removed, gasping for breath, cold sweat instantly soaking through his inner shirt. He felt his Magic Power flow return, but the cold Raven Mark deep within his soul, and the lingering chill on his forehead that seemed to freeze his thoughts, constantly reminded him that what he had just experienced was not a nightmare.
"You..."
His gaze toward Ian was filled with the deepest fear and awe, devoid of any ferocity or resentment, only the absolute obedience and trembling of a small animal facing its natural enemy.
"I understand." The Death Eater didn't dare utter another harsh word or polite remark. He scrambled to his feet, not even bothering to pick up his fallen wand.
Without looking back, he didn't even dare to use Apparition again. He staggered and scrambled towards the nearest alley, his hasty retreat leaving him looking utterly disheveled.
It quickly disappeared into the shadows.
The warm sunlight shone on the gleaming Street, Muggle continued their normal lives, oblivious to what had just transpired. Only a faint, lingering trace of Magic Power in the air and Jorkins's heavy, terrified breathing testified to the unimaginable events that had occurred here.
Ian turned to look at Jorkins. His expression had returned to its initial calm and indifference, as if he had merely shooed away a noisy fly.
"Well," he began, his voice softening slightly, yet sending a shiver down Jorkins' spine, " Mr. Jorkins, one of Mr. Barty Mr. Crouch's men... I think we need to talk."
Jorkins shuddered, his face turning even paler. The other party not only knew his name, but also his superior, Barty Crouch, the Head of the Department of International Magical Cooperation!
Who exactly is the other party?!
Slumped in the middle of a London street that had been restored to its former glory, basking in the warm sun, Mr. Jorkins—was her full name Bertha Jorkins? No, that was another less fortunate witch. This was a wizard, his full name Cedric Jorkins, and he was not related to the future Hogwarts hero, Cedric Diggory.
It was just a coincidence.
He felt like his brain was still in a state of shutdown, unable to process everything that had just happened.
"What... what do you want to talk about?"
Cedric Jorkins, a Level 4 staff member in the Office of Magical Item Registration and Anomalous Energy Monitoring under the Department of International Magical Cooperation. In his early forties, his hair was prematurely gray, and his face bore the weariness and caution of long hours spent working on paper and studying obscure reports. He was of medium build, somewhat thin, and wore a dark green robe that looked quite worn, with barely perceptible signs of wear and repair on the cuffs and collar. He was not a battle Wizard; rather, his combat talent had been unremarkable even during his time at Hogwarts. He graduated from Ravenclaw House with an interest in Ancient Runes and the taxonomy of Fantastic Beasts.
The fact that he was able to hold out for a moment in the brief exchange with a vicious Death Eater was already an extraordinary performance. This was mainly due to his years of work in the monitoring office, which gave him some knowledge of identifying and responding to various Dark Magic items, curses, and abnormal energy fluctuations, as well as... a little bit of his desperate instincts when cornered.
He wasn't a key figure in the Ministry of Magic, but he was by no means an insignificant nobody.
"I can tell you anything you want to know."
Jorkins was respectful.
His part of the job involved tracking and recording the movement of certain transnational magical items, especially those that might carry Dark Magic or unknown dangers.
This job exposed him to a lot of information in the gray areas, and it also honed his cautious and trouble-avoiding style of dealing with things. After all, in this era where Voldemort's influence is rampant and everyone is in danger, knowing too much or standing too conspicuously can bring disaster.
This is why he was being hunted by the Death Eater —while inadvertently compiling a list of "antiques" that had flowed in from Eastern Europe, he discovered an item that was cleverly disguised, but whose energy characteristics closely matched those of a Dark Magic artifact he had recorded years ago, related to early Death Eater activities. He intended to quietly report it to his superior, Barty Crouch, the Head of the Department of International Magical Cooperation —a director known for his strictness, efficiency, and deep-seated hatred of Dark Magic. However, whether it was a leak at some point or the Death Eater were inherently highly vigilant about this kind of "registration and monitoring," he was quickly targeted.
This morning, he had just left the Ministry of Magic and was heading to Diagon Alley to buy some protective materials to strengthen his home's defenses when he was blocked in a quiet back alley.
The other party clearly wanted to capture him alive and force him to reveal what he knew and the whereabouts of the list. Jorkins barely escaped the first roundup thanks to his familiarity with the surrounding terrain and a few emergency gadgets, but the Death Eater pursued him relentlessly. The two chased and fought all the way until he was finally forced to reveal himself on this Muggle Street.
Then, the scene just now unfolded.
At this moment, Jorkins ' heart was still pounding wildly from surviving the ordeal and facing Ian's terrifying power. He looked at the black-haired youth—no, now in his eyes, this was an unfathomable being, like an ancient Legend walking among men—slowly walking towards him. The other's young face held a chilling calmness.
This made Jorkins very uneasy and fearful.
The other party even directly exposed his identity and superior! The immense pressure almost suffocated him. He struggled to stand up to show respect, but his legs were too weak to obey him.
"Your Majesty..."
Jorkins ' voice was dry and trembling, filled with heartfelt awe, "Th-thank you for saving me... As you said, I... I do work for the Department of International Magical Cooperation..."
He tried to assert his official status, perhaps to gain some sense of security.
"Don't be so nervous." Ian stopped in front of him and looked down at him slightly. Sunlight shone from behind Ian, making his face slightly backlit.
It adds to the sense of mystery and oppression.
" Mr. Jorkins, I only despise dark Wizard," Ian said, his voice still calm and emotionless. "So, let's skip the formalities."
I have a question that I need your answer.
He looked at the other person and spoke again.
It's clear that there's a genuine problem that needs to be asked.
And that is indeed the case.
Ian may not have been fully aware of the situation before, but after reading the Death Eater ' memories, he discovered some more noteworthy anomalies.
This incident.
It seems there were some human factors involved.