Time passed quietly for several seconds.
Wade looked up at Dumbledore, his expression complicated. After a long pause, he asked, "Professor, was that memory... valuable to you?"
"Of course," Dumbledore said. "It answered some questions that have lingered in my mind for a long time. Sophelus Rake... I never expected him to still be pursuing those delusions."
Wade perked up. "You know that man?"
"Yes, I'd heard of him—"
As he recalled the past, Dumbledore's expression grew somewhat heavy. He leaned back slightly into his chair, and after a long while, let out a soft sigh.
"A genius of Ilvermorny School, who enrolled several years after me... after I did."
At the time, Albus Dumbledore of Hogwarts, Gellert Grindelwald, who had been expelled from Durmstrang, and Sophelus Rake, who had once sparked widespread discussion at Ilvermorny School, were all the most renowned figures at their respective schools.
Although Dumbledore had already been out of school for several years when Rake began making a name for himself, he remained in close correspondence with his former professors. He also frequently exchanged letters with many notable figures in the Wizarding World, discussing various questions.
Even in the distant United States and Russia, Dumbledore had several pen pals.
For that reason, he had caught sight of that increasingly impossible-to-ignore name more than once between the lines of letters from different correspondents.
"When Sophelus Rake was young, he briefly stirred some unpleasant discussions in academic circles. People called him 'a disturbing genius.'"
"It was also because of him that Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry set extremely stringent requirements for students applying for a Time-Turner, and in most cases, permission could not be obtained."
Of course, this was also because Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry had several times as many professors as Hogwarts. Even