Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor?

London, England, inside the Knowledge Society.

Li Wei and Dumbledore sat opposite each other, both having released their wands.

Around them lay ruins utterly destroyed by storms and frost.

Wild magical energy permeated the area, yet the two at the center of the storm were surprisingly calm.

"Lemon black tea, perhaps?"

"Yes—thank you."

Dumbledore thanked the house-elf beside him.

Barton exhaled forcefully through his nostrils, releasing two streams of air, and placed a cup of lemon black tea before Dumbledore, adding several large spoonfuls of sugar with a fierce expression, stirring it all with ice.

"Oh~~~"

Dumbledore watched him with a smile, not stopping the seemingly rash action.

Li Wei shook his head subtly and spoke first.

"Professor, it seems I have your approval? May I ask what the third choice is?"

Before their fight, Dumbledore had given Li Wei three choices.

1. Abandon Dark Arts, never to study or spread them again. Dumbledore would then communicate with the Ministry of Magic to lift the wanted notice on Li Wei. 2. Resist to the end, and be personally taken to Azkaban by Dumbledore. 3. Wait until after the duel, and the decision would be made based on Li Wei's performance.

Li Wei had rejected the first choice without a second thought; he would not stagnate on the path of magic.

He naturally did not want to choose the second option either—although he believed he could escape from Dumbledore, he was not confident he could protect his two assistants.

Moreover, even if he escaped this time, Dumbledore would likely consider him a dangerous target, and his activities would be greatly hindered in the future.

As for fighting to the death, he had not considered it—fighting Dumbledore was utterly meaningless, and risking his life would be even more foolish.

Therefore, only the third choice remained.

"Mm."

Dumbledore's attention finally shifted away from Barton. Under the young man's gaze, he smiled and drank half the cup of sickeningly sweet lemon black tea in one go.

"Drinking something cold occasionally is indeed quite nice, but I am getting on in years, after all. I must be careful."

Dumbledore appeared very relaxed on the surface, but his cerulean eyes hid a look of astonishment.

After their recent exchange, he realized the young man before him had reached an extremely critical stage, just a step away from legendary.

Such a genius had remained unknown in the magical world until recently entering the Ministry of Magic's view?

"Would you mind telling me about your two young assistants? And that unique spell you used earlier—was it called the Three Talents Formation?"

"Certainly."

"His name is Qiao Weili. He's 24 years old. I rescued him after busting up an underground auction. He was also my earliest disciple, and he has great talent."

As Li Wei introduced him, Qiao Weili stepped forward from behind him and greeted Dumbledore.

"Respected Master Dumbledore, it is a pleasure to meet you."

"Hello—good boy."

Dumbledore narrowed his eyes, as if seeing the scars hidden beneath Qiao Weili's clothes. His expression was gentle—he believed Li Wei could completely remove these scars, but this young man named Qiao Weili seemed to have his own stubbornness?

"Her name is Jiamer. She's 18 years old, her parents are unknown, and she carries a mysterious curse. She is currently studying with me, searching for a way to break it."

"May I see?"

Upon hearing 'curse,' Dumbledore picked up his wand again.

Jiamer looked hesitantly at Li Wei at the mention of it.

"It would be for the best if Professor Dumbledore could examine it."

Li Wei nodded gently at his disciple.

Hearing this, Jiamer slowly stepped forward and rolled up the cuff of her right sleeve—just above her wrist was a black crescent moon, which looked very mysterious.

"Professor?"

Dumbledore belatedly realized the unique way Li Wei addressed him, and his mood unconsciously became more peaceful—that low-key and polite student from many years ago, even after more than a decade, seemed unchanged from his past self.

At least, he still respected his former teachers.

With his thoughts in flux, Dumbledore raised his hand and waved his wand at Jiamer.

"Unfortunately, I cannot decipher the mystery of this curse either."

Dumbledore retracted his wand, let out a soft breath, his eyes full of curiosity about the curse on Jiamer.

"However, I can confirm that this curse will not harm her."

"Mm, currently, apart from clearing her emotions once a month, I haven't discovered any other negative effects from this curse."

"Clearing emotions?" Dumbledore sounded somewhat puzzled.

"Hmm, every month her impression of the past is cleared—her memories still exist, but in her senses, those events become very distant, and she no longer feels anything from them."

"That doesn't change anything. Even if my emotions are wiped away each month, I will still genuinely admire my teacher in the new month."

Jiamer stated expressionlessly and retreated behind Li Wei.

Dumbledore sensed something and shot Li Wei a teasing glance.

Li Wei kept his eyes on his nose, his nose on his heart, and showed no reaction to the jest.

Seeing that Li Wei wasn't engaging, Dumbledore thought of the house Li Wei had belonged to and realized belatedly—the other party probably didn't like this kind of 'waste of time' idle chatter.

Thus, he finally deigned to get to the point.

"Regardless, you have taught these two students very well. I can feel the stable and powerful magic within them."

"Mm, I did put a lot of thought into them, but it's also a form of mutual learning."

Li Wei calmly accepted Dumbledore's praise, but his face showed no happiness, as if it were merely an expected and inevitable achievement.

"Mutual learning? You mean the teacher learns from the student?"

Dumbledore was somewhat surprised by Li Wei's perspective. He had met many excellent people, but the more excellent they were, the prouder they often became, making it difficult for them to accept or admit that they might be inferior to others.

Let alone, inferior to their own disciples.

"Understanding comes with time, and skills are specialized."

Li Wei suddenly spoke in fluent, pure language that Dumbledore found somewhat unfamiliar.

"This is an ancient saying from China, meaning that the understanding of principles has differences in timing, and academic skills have their own specialized fields.

Therefore, a disciple is not necessarily inferior to a teacher, and a teacher does not have to be superior to a disciple in all aspects.

In fact, regarding curses, I only have theoretical knowledge. I haven't had much practical experience, and I often discuss them with Jiamer."

"After all, curses aren't that easy to find targets for, are they?"

Dumbledore liked the humble answer and said meaningfully.

"Yes, although we can use lab rats as substitutes, the effect isn't ideal. On the path of curses, I still have much to learn."

"You are too modest, Li Wei. Even without studying Dark Arts, you are already a remarkable master of magic."

Dumbledore took a sip of his black tea, his gaze shifting to the two students standing quietly behind Li Wei.

Should I say the disciples take after their teacher?

This trio of master and disciples truly seemed cast from the same mold—calm and reserved.

Looking at them, Dumbledore felt as if he were seeing the bright moon reflected on a winter lake, its calm posture concealing a profound depth that invited contemplation.

Even he couldn't help but admire the three of them from the bottom of his heart at this moment.

It would be a shame for such talent to go astray—Dumbledore suddenly had a premonition.

Turmoil was imminent, and he had discovered Li Wei at this very moment.

In the future, Li Wei might very well become a crucial piece in it!

With this thought, Dumbledore put down his black tea, his sapphire-blue pupils reflecting Li Wei's upright figure.

"The third path I offer you is an invitation."

"As the Headmaster of Hogwarts, I would like to invite you to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry to serve as the Professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts.

You can continue your research on Dark Arts under my supervision, but you are not allowed to delve into the Three Unforgivable Curses anymore."

Professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts?

Li Wei, who had been sitting upright, suddenly stiffened.