A Conversation with Dumbledore

A magical object?

Scott looked down at the pile of debris on the ground.

The magic within many magical objects has little correlation with the magic of its user, which undoubtedly increased the difficulty of identifying the perpetrator.

Just then, a commotion erupted outside the Quidditch pitch.

Scott looked up to see Dumbledore and McGonagall walking over from the lawn outside the pitch, followed by a large crowd of students eager to see what was happening.

The disturbance just now had been quite significant, after all.

Not only had there been an explosion above the pitch, but Cho Chang had then violated the rules by flying her broomstick into the castle, and before anyone could react, she had rushed straight into Flitwick's office and flown out with him in tow.

By now, most of Hogwarts likely knew that something major had occurred at the Quidditch pitch.

"Filius." Dumbledore called out Flitwick's name from a distance. "What has happened?"

"Oh, you've arrived!" Flitwick turned back and waved repeatedly. "Albus, Minerva, come and see this."

Dumbledore and McGonagall walked over quickly, following Flitwick's gesture to look at the pile of fragments on the ground.

"This is?" McGonagall's eyes widened in surprise. "A Flying Broomstick?"

Flitwick nodded. "That's right. Davis's Flying Broomstick suddenly exploded just now. Fortunately, Trollope noticed something wrong with the broom beforehand."

He then took the opportunity to recount the sequence of events, praising Scott highly in the process.

"Amazing." Dumbledore winked at Scott. "May I call you Scott, Mr. Trollope?"

Scott gave him a polite smile. "Of course, Headmaster."

Dumbledore smiled as well. "Oh, my boy, I hope you will call me Professor Dumbledore."

His attitude toward Scott was very warm. "I must say, I have heard of you for a long time, Scott. Perhaps you don't know, but many professors have praised you in their daily conversations, especially Professor Flitwick and Professor McGonagall."

Scott didn't bother with false modesty, instead smiling confidently. "That is my honor."

Although this was his first time speaking with Dumbledore, he understood very well that pretending in front of this old man was a futile endeavor.

His intuition told him that the old man's bright blue eyes could easily see through the true nature of most people. It wasn't the magic of Legilimency, but rather experience, wisdom, and a keen perception of magic.

Especially the perception of magic; Scott himself had a deep understanding of this.

"You are indeed a very excellent student, and the actions you took when facing the accident are worthy of praise." Dumbledore sighed with emotion. "However, it is a pity that since Professor Flitwick has already awarded you fifty points, I cannot add any more."

He winked playfully at Scott again before crouching down to carefully examine the remains of the Flying Broomstick.

"Did you discover anything, Filius?" he asked Flitwick.

"It is a magical object!" Flitwick repeated his conclusion.

"You are quite right."

Dumbledore picked up a wood chip, ground it between his fingers, and then, to the astonishment of the students, put his fingers into his mouth.

"Hmm... the taste of Curses." He smacked his lips, evaluating it as if he were tasting a candy.

Scott watched this scene from the side, feeling surprised as well.

Dumbledore always did things that were unexpected; it was no wonder some people thought he was an old madman.

But Scott also understood that this greatest wizard of the age would not do things just to grandstand.

Some of his behaviors did indeed seem eccentric and incomprehensible, but that was only because ordinary wizards could not imagine the extent of his magical attainments.

However, Scott did not worry about his secrets being exposed while interacting face-to-face with Dumbledore.

Because magic is a subjective power.

He believed that what he had done to the three pure-blood witches earlier was, at most, a prank. As long as there were no flaws in his heart, Dumbledore would not be able to discern anything.

He even felt that Dark Magic was the same; a wizard with a strong mind would not be easily influenced by Dark Magic.

He didn't believe Dumbledore didn't know a few tricks of Dark Magic. It was just that he might not have studied it deeply.

As for whether Dumbledore or Voldemort was stronger in terms of pure magic, it was hard to say, but Scott felt that Dumbledore's mind was certainly much stronger than Voldemort's.

"To think something like this happened!"

Eddie squeezed in from outside the crowd at this moment.

"Roger, it looks like you'll have to buy a new Flying Broomstick!" he teased Roger on purpose.

"Perhaps this is a good thing?" Roger laughed as well. "It means I don't have to find an excuse to ask my dad for the Galleons to buy a broom."

"What kind of broom are you planning to get?" Eddie leaned in toward Roger. "How about a Nimbus 2001?"

"I don't think my dad will be that generous."

Roger and Eddie joked for a few moments, and their moods seemed to improve.

Just then, Dumbledore stood up.

"Mr. Davis." He asked Roger. "I would like to know, where was your Flying Broomstick kept before this?"

"In the dormitory, Professor," Roger replied.

Flitwick said, "I need to go and take a look at your dormitory, Davis."

"Go on, I have already gathered some information," Dumbledore said kindly, "though I believe your Professor Flitwick will handle this matter well."

He stretched his back and said comfortably, "As for me, my apologies, it is now my scheduled daily afternoon tea time."

Professor McGonagall looked at him disapprovingly, "Albus!"

"Oh, no need to worry, Minerva," Dumbledore smiled lightheartedly, "we just need to wait for the results."

"Very well, I hope you are right, Albus," Professor McGonagall conceded.

"Let's go, perhaps we can find some clues in your dormitory," Professor Flitwick said, leading his students away from the pitch.

By this time, most of the students who didn't have classes had likely gathered here. The liveliness of the pitch was almost catching up to an official Quidditch match.

What had happened earlier had already spread among the students, and they were all heatedly discussing the Flying Broomstick explosion incident.

Scott and the others followed behind Professor Flitwick as they walked through the crowd, as if they were being welcomed by a guard of honor.

"Hey! Roger!"

Fred and George squeezed to the front of the crowd.

Fred waved with a grin, "How lucky, that Flying Broomstick didn't blow your backside to pieces!"

"Hey!" Roger glared at them fiercely, "Don't tell me that was your prank!"

"Of course it wasn't us!" George widened his eyes, putting on an innocent expression.

"If it were us..." Fred rubbed his chin, his eyes lighting up.

"We wouldn't just make the broom smoke," George continued, "when the broom exploded, it would have just happened to blow your trousers off!"

"Exactly!" Fred gave a thumbs up, "That really is a great idea. Thank you, Roger!"

"You two gloating bastards!"

Roger didn't want to pay any more attention to them and stormed off ahead.