Life Is Also an Adventure

You have to hand it to a bookstore manager to know how to keep their job.

Even Isaac himself was caught off guard by Dumbledore's remarks, but the nearby bookstore manager reacted instantly.

He immediately repeated respectfully, "Understood, Professor Dumbledore, I completely understand.

For the next seven years, all bills incurred by Mr. Isaac Waldore at this establishment will be mailed to the Headmaster's Office at Hogwarts."

"Very good, sorry to trouble you." Dumbledore nodded benevolently at the bookstore manager.

Afterward, Dumbledore led Isaac away from Flourish and Blotts.

Hardly had they left the bookstore when Dumbledore stopped in his tracks, then looked at Isaac in bewilderment.

As we mentioned before, truly very few secrets in the Wizarding World could be kept from Dumbledore.

Right now, Isaac had actually managed to leave Dumbledore feeling curious.

Perhaps owing to the fact that Isaac was a Seer, his behavior all along belonged to the precocious sort.

Isaac had by no means been a child when he time-traveled, even though his behavior turned somewhat adolescent under the influence of bodily hormones.

Yet he remained a mature youth.

Had Dumbledore considered that Isaac might refuse his gift out of a sense of pride?

Yet the Isaac before him wore an expression full of expectation, looking around as if searching for something.

"Isaac, what are you looking for?" Dumbledore finally couldn't help asking out loud.

"I'm looking for a phoenix, Professor," Isaac answered earnestly.

Dumbledore: "???"

This time, he was truly stumped; young people's train of thought turned so fast that he, an old man, really couldn't keep up.

He hadn't brought a phoenix with him when he went out; just where was Isaac supposed to find one?

"I'm looking for my own phoenix," Isaac told Dumbledore deadpan.

"Wasn't it said that when members of the Dumbledore family are in need of help, a phoenix will appear to assist them?

I feel like I'm quite in need of help right now.

Besides, I think the name Isaac Dumbledore sounds pretty great, too."

Dumbledore had already lost count of how many times he had been amused to laughter by Isaac today.

Come to think of it, him coming to fetch Isaac for school was practically the complete opposite of fetching Tom back then.

How serious he had been when picking up Tom back then, and how joyful he was when picking up Isaac now.

Was it because there was a fundamental difference between Tom and Isaac?

Possibly; as the greatest wizard of modern times, Dumbledore certainly wouldn't be so superficial as to judge solely by appearances.

Yet on Isaac, those three elements definitely accounted for a very heavy proportion.

To reiterate, Tom Riddle, if you had even a pair of heterochromatic eyes or platinum-blond hair, you wouldn't even needed both.

You only needed one of the two, and back then Dumbledore might not have held that attitude.

People, after all, inevitably had their own emotional leanings, and even Dumbledore, the greatest wizard of modern times, was no exception.

"No, Isaac. Compared to Dumbledore, I think Gr..." Dumbledore had just intended to say that surname with a smile.

As a result, the moment a single syllable came out, he cut himself off.

Then he looked at Isaac seriously: "Child, don't become the next Grindelwald, nor the next Dumbledore.

Follow your own heart; life is inherently a great adventure, and the unknown is forever the greatest challenge."

Next, Dumbledore took Isaac to Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions, Potage's Cauldron Shop, and a potion shop to purchase the items needed for school respectively.

He also stated that all of Isaac Waldore's bills for the next seven years would be paid entirely by him, Dumbledore.

Following that, they also visited Eeylops Owl Emporium to purchase a strong, enduring, and docile owl for Isaac.

This owl was named "Cuckoo" by Isaac.

How did that name come about?

Mentioning Harry Potter meant one couldn't help thinking of Harry Potter, and mentioning Harry himself would make one think of Voldemort-without-a-nose.

Mentioning Voldemort brought to mind his given name, Tom, and since Tom had been brought up, Jerry naturally popped out in logical succession.

Cuckoo was the name of that little yellow bird from Tom and Jerry, which Isaac happened to still remember.

Thus his owl was named Cuckoo, and in Tom and Jerry Cuckoo was likewise a presence capable of toying with Tom.

Was a magical Tom not still a Tom?

When Isaac and Dumbledore were laden down with large and small packages, they finally reached the last stop of their trip.

Ollivanders.

The sign above the entrance of Ollivanders read: Ollivanders: Makers of Fine Wards Since 382 BC.

Well... comparing the bookstore to an arms dealer just now truly hadn't been very appropriate; this right here was the most authentic arms dealer in the Wizarding World.

Did the bookstore count as selling ammunition?

Come to think of it, the Wizarding World handled the separation of guns and bullets quite thoroughly.

Stepping into the wand shop, Isaac noticed that the shop interior was narrow and crowded, with tens of thousands of paper boxes piled all the way up to the ceiling.

The air was permeated with the scent of dust and ancient magic.

To be honest, among all the shops in Diagon Alley, Isaac felt Ollivanders looked the most magical.

Accompanied by the jingle of the door chimes as they entered, Ollivander appeared from behind the counter and greeted Isaac and Dumbledore softly.

"Good evening."

"How unusual, Dumbledore, are you actually escorting a young wizard to school again?"

Powerful wizards could all live for a very long time, yet the wizarding community was extraordinarily insular.

Added to the fact that Dumbledore was an unmitigated celebrity.

This resulted in Dumbledore himself being the biggest source of gossip in the Wizarding World.

Yet Dumbledore, "self-imprisoned" at Hogwarts, possessed a temper on ordinary days that was truly beyond good.

Some fabricated gossip columns ascended to the newspapers so blatantly that he remarkably didn't react at all.

This crowd wouldn't think this showed Dumbledore's magnanimity; they would only think this old wizard was simply "easy to bully."

One and all carried rather the air of bullying a gentle person.

This caused small talk concerning Dumbledore to fly all over the sky, though certain individuals could distinguish which ones were true and which ones were false.

Ollivander possessed precisely this ability; he was well aware that during the holidays, Dumbledore spent the majority of his time hiding in the Headmaster's Office loafing and slacking off.

Only Professor McGonagall could accommodate him to this extent.

Seeing Dumbledore appear in his shop out of the blue like this, Ollivander's very first reaction turned out to be: Someone had actually used Polyjuice Potion to disguise themselves as Dumbledore!

"This time is rather special~" Dumbledore answered Ollivander cheerfully.

Everyone was old friends anyway, and being able to chat for a couple of sentences during their leisure time was also a rarity.

Come to think of it, today should be the most relaxed day Dumbledore had experienced in quite some time.

"Very well, reminiscing can wait for later; let me serve our little guest first.

This gentleman..."

The instant he caught sight of Isaac, the words on Ollivander's lips stopped abruptly, the man himself resembling a goose whose neck had been squeezed.

Instantly muted.