Dumbledore's Test

Hogwarts Castle's main tower, seventh floor, Headmaster's Office.

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry's Headmaster, Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot, President of the International Confederation of Wizards, recipient of the First Class Order of Merlin, and nominee for Minister for Magic had gathered in one place...

Ahem. The little office wasn't big enough to hold all those people.

In fact, all those titles belonged to one person: an old man with a flowing silver-white beard—the Headmaster of Hogwarts.

He was also widely regarded as the greatest wizard of the age: Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore.

His full name was rather long, so people generally preferred to call him by a shorter one—Albus Dumbledore.

"Good morning, Professor Dumbledore."

"Good morning, Mr. Howard," Dumbledore said cheerfully.

"The professors have all told me that an outstanding student has joined this year's Slytherin class. Of course, that's not to say the other students aren't outstanding; some students simply stand out more than others."

"You're too kind. I've only done what any student should," Glenn said politely.

"Oh, that's not a very kind thing to say about the other students," Dumbledore joked. "If you don't mind, I'll call you by your first name."

With that, he gave a gentle wave of the wand in his hand, and a comfortable chair appeared across the desk.

"Please, sit down, Glenn."

At his words, Glenn nodded and sat down opposite Dumbledore.

But more than the chair, he was interested in the wand in the Headmaster's hand.

If he wasn't mistaken, it was an Elder Wand.

Judging by its appearance, it had clearly been around for a long time. It was an old wand.

After taking a few discreet glances, Glenn withdrew his gaze and met Dumbledore's light blue eyes.

"Come to think of it, apart from seeing each other at the opening ceremony, this is our first time talking," Dumbledore said conversationally. He had none of the airs of a Headmaster, making him quite different from a certain unnamed Headmaster Black.

"How are you finding life at Hogwarts? Have you settled in?"

Some might not think it was anything special, but for a student coming from a Muggle orphanage into the wizarding world, it was a thoughtful question.

"It's all right," Glenn replied with a nod. "It's much like the orphanage, so I haven't really needed to adjust."

"Ah, good," Dumbledore said with a smile and a nod. "Students who come from the Muggle world generally have a hard time adjusting to life at Hogwarts, especially when they're in Slytherin."

As he spoke, his pupils reflected in his glasses, their blue showing faintly through the lenses.

"By the way, Glenn, do you know why I asked you to come here?"

Glenn paused to consider.

It wasn't that he couldn't think of a reason. There were simply too many possibilities to choose from right away.

But just before class had ended, he'd heard Professor McGonagall casually mention a few amusing things about the man reputed to be the greatest Headmaster in Hogwarts history—for instance, that he was especially fond of raspberry jam.

"Perhaps Professor Dumbledore wants me to have dessert with him."

Dumbledore nodded. "To be honest, no. But it's a good idea, so you're half right."

With that, he picked up the wand beside him and tapped the desktop once more.

Two plates of bright red cake appeared on the desk.

"Raspberry cake. It's one of my favorite flavors. I hope you won't mind it."

"Not at all. I never turn down dessert," Glenn said with a smile. But he didn't start eating right away. Instead, he asked, "So, Professor, what's the real reason you asked me here?"

At that, Dumbledore's smile grew broader.

"There's no real reason. Just a little pastoral care from the Headmaster."

With that, he cut off a piece of raspberry cake with his fork and put it in his mouth, then gestured for Glenn to eat while they talked.

"Relax, it's just a casual chat. If I had to say there was something I wanted to ask, it would be that the Flamels asked me whether you'd be going back to spend the Christmas holidays with them."

The couple in question were Nicolas Flamel and his wife. Officially, they were Glenn's adoptive parents.

At this, Glenn couldn't help thinking how quickly peaceful school life went by. Before he knew it, nearly half the year had passed.

Back when he'd transferred in, things had been different. He'd often been away from school—not to mention crossing from the Scottish Highlands, where Hogwarts was located, all the way to the other end of the continent.

According to Sebastian, in the eyes of his classmates back then, he'd rush out of Hogwarts before dawn and hurry off again after dark. Even at school, he was like a gust of wind.

Whenever anyone asked, he'd say, "Professor Figg arranged it."

It wasn't an exaggeration to say that Professor Weasley had even considered having a serious talk with Professor Figg to find out whether this amounted to bullying...

"Thank you for the invitation, but I plan to stay at Hogwarts over the Christmas holidays," Glenn replied, shaking his head. "I'll write to Mr. Flamel and let him know."

"Very well. It seems you'll be spending Christmas with us, then," Dumbledore said with a nod. "Still, I imagine it'll be a rather different experience."

"I heard Mr. Flamel say you only went to live with them a year ago. Is that right?"

"Yes." Glenn speared a piece of cake with his fork.

It wasn't a secret. It was clearly recorded in the student files at school.

"You see, I once had a student who troubled me. He came from a background not unlike yours, but he made a few mistakes. I think his childhood experiences may have distorted his understanding of things," Dumbledore said in a casual tone as he ate his cake.

"It may not be quite the same, but I have to admit that, now that I'm older, I've grown rather distant from the Muggle world. If you don't mind, could you tell me what life in a Muggle orphanage is like?"

To be honest, it was an ordinary enough question, but not an easy one to answer.

Especially for someone like Glenn, who had returned to Hogwarts as a student.

It had nothing to do with the strength of his magic.

As Headmaster of Hogwarts, Dumbledore was bound to encounter all sorts of new students.

If he hadn't had any experience with the subject and simply made things up, it would be easy to see through him—like a Dark wizard showing up in Revelio.

Fortunately, Glenn really had spent ten years in an orphanage.

With that in mind, the question was far too elementary.

Since he'd prepared for just such a situation, it would be a waste not to make full use of his preparations.

Before long, the casual chat Dumbledore had started had turned into a one-sided monologue from Glenn.

He listed every trivial little thing that had happened in the orphanage, leaving nothing out.

Dumbledore was a tough one, too. Even after enduring hours of verbal bombardment with useless details, he didn't so much as change expression. He even poured Glenn a cup of hot tea to soothe his throat.

"So life at the orphanage was fairly peaceful?"

"For me, yes," Glenn replied with a nod.

After all, times had changed. If it had been a Victorian-era orphanage, he probably wouldn't have wanted to experience it.

At most, he'd have found a Dark wizard who'd been through an orphanage, used Legilimency on him, and looked through his memories.

"Professor, where was I? Oh, right—I was six years old..."

"Dumbledore!"

Suddenly, an angry voice came from the portraits of past Headmasters hanging across from the Headmaster's desk.

Looking toward the sound, Glenn saw a thin, middle-aged man with black hair and a short, pointed black goatee step into one of the portraits.

Though his face was bruised and swollen like a pig's, he could hardly conceal his air of arrogance.

"Someone actually dared to sneak up on a Headmaster and knock him out! Dumbledore, you have to help me find that fellow..." A familiar voice rang out. It belonged to one of Hogwarts' former Headmasters—Phineas Black.

"Oh, Phineas, perfect timing..."

"What?!"

Dumbledore gave a light cough. "Glenn, as you can see, I'm afraid we'll have to set another time to continue our conversation."

Glenn nodded, indicating that he understood.

"How about during the Christmas feast?"

Dumbledore's expression remained warm, but it visibly stiffened for a moment.