Hogwarts: I Obtained the Paternal System

[I'm going to Hogwarts!]

Plot or no plot, whatever. I wanted to save the world and let Paternal Light shine upon Hogwarts!

"Oh, dear little Darren, you must have finished reading the letter. Perhaps we should sit down in your room? You may need a glass of iced lemonade to calm down."

Just as Darren made his inner declaration, an elderly voice sounded by his ear.

He looked up and saw an old man in purple robes standing before him.

He was tall and thin, with silvery-white hair and a long beard.

He wore half-moon spectacles, and the blue eyes beneath them were bright and piercing.

His nose was long and crooked, as if it had been flattened at least twice.

This should be Dumbledore, right?

"Dumbledore. I am Dumbledore. You may call me Professor Dumbledore. I believe you may already know that I am the headmaster of Hogwarts."

Dumbledore said with a smile.

His gentle eyes met Darren's.

[Ding, the host is currently being subjected to Legilimency. Would you like to disguise your memories?]

Damn!

Darren nearly cursed out loud.

This old man had used Legilimency the moment they met. He really wasn't a good person!

He had thought the old man would wait until they got to his room before trying anything. Who would have expected him to suddenly unleash his ultimate move?

Even Darren himself felt there was something suspicious about his appearance.

After all, Harry and the others' names had appeared in the Book of Admissions from the moment they were born.

His own name had only appeared half an hour ago.

It was perfectly normal for Dumbledore to suspect him.

But Darren was speechless. This old man was far too suspicious—he had not even given him time to prepare.

If he did not have the system, his secret as a transmigrator might have been exposed.

Vicious!

Hmph. Since Old Deng wanted to look, Darren would show him something big!

[System, show Old Deng all those memories I'm thinking of!]

The eleven-year-old boy stepped forward to stop Kenli from bullying a girl. Kenli shoved him viciously down the stairs, and with blood streaming from his broken head, he struggled to protect his head.

The ten-year-old boy envied other people's parents from a corner, but then he quickly cheered himself up and shared some of his meager food with a stray cat.

The eight-year-old boy was beaten to tears by an auntie at the Orphanage because he had pointed out someone stealing on the street. The thief had been startled and failed to steal anything, yet turned around and falsely accused him instead.

A couple came to adopt the six-year-old boy. They wore expensive clothes and had excellent manners. They liked the boy too, and he desperately wanted to leave with them.

But when he saw the hopeful faces of the friends who had grown up alongside him, he painfully recommended one of them to the couple instead.

They promised they would keep in touch often, but that friend never came back. The boy worried about him and missed him.

The four-year-old boy picked up some vegetable leaves from the kitchen and wolfed them down.

Because he had brought a child suffering domestic violence to the Orphanage, causing the child's parents to call the police, the teachers had punished him by forbidding him from eating for two days.

But even after two days had passed, the teachers still had not brought him any food.

The two-year-old boy lay on the grass, trembling as he fed his poor-quality milk to a baby crying desperately from hunger.

Dumbledore took in every one of those scenes.

He withdrew his wand heavily.

At first, he had not intended to look through so many memories. He had merely wanted to know, out of habit, what had happened earlier and why Snape had become so furious.

But for some reason, the moment he used Legilimency, the child's memories flooded into his mind as though they were being forcibly poured in.

He did not want to resist the feeling.

Subconsciously, he accepted those memories.

It was undeniable that his past experiences had given him too many bad habits.

He truly wanted to know what Darren had gone through.

Yet after receiving those memories, he did not feel relieved in the slightest.

Clearly, he should have been glad that Darren was nothing like the person in those memories, nor was he a Dark Wizard in disguise.

Darren was kind, brave, resilient, and full of love.

He possessed qualities so exceptional that even Dumbledore envied them.

But this child was too kind.

So kind that it made Dumbledore's heart ache.

They should have found this child sooner. He should have grown up surrounded by everyone's love.

Dumbledore sighed. Mist clouded his usually wise blue eyes. He removed his glasses and wiped away his tears, speaking with emotion.

"Forgive me, child. Please forgive this damned old man for committing such a grave mistake. I may have made you think of unhappy things. I am deeply sorry, child!"

Darren secretly curled his lip.

Having read the original story, he had long known Old Deng was suspicious. He often used Legilimency even on The Chosen One.

He kept apologizing, yet never changed.

Gotta Pay More

Darren silently complained about Dumbledore.

In his heart, he was just short of hanging Dumbledore's photo on a gravestone.

But on the surface, he remained a pure, innocent boy.

After all, he was now a "poor little thing who had never encountered magic." Naturally, he would not understand what Dumbledore was talking about.

So he tilted his head and asked with an innocent expression, "Why are you apologizing? Is it because you didn't find me sooner? It's all right. I'm very happy. I really like it here. Even Kenli is very likable."

Right, he should be able to farm Paternal Points from that guy.

Maybe he could bully that guy while pretending to be paternal at the same time.

Before long, he might become the number one person in the Wizarding World.

Thinking of Kenli's miserable state just now, Darren nearly laughed sadly out loud.

[Ding, the host has been found independently demonstrating Paternal Light for the first time. Reward: one Phoenix Pet Egg. Paternal Points +100.]

Huh?

A Phoenix Pet Egg?

A phoenix!

Dumbledore had a phoenix too. Rumor had it that the Dumbledore family possessed Phoenix bloodline, which was why they could attract phoenixes. Darren had not expected that he could have one too.

Darren smiled excitedly.

He wanted to take out the reward right away, but seeing Dumbledore, he could only roll his eyes and keep pretending to be obedient.

Of course, Dumbledore did not see Darren's expression.

He only saw Darren's present kindness and generosity.

Life here was clearly difficult for him. Everyone could bully him. Even when he had done good deeds, those people had let him experience fists and hunger.

Yet his heart remained unchanged, and his kindness remained pure.

When he said, "Even Kenli is very likable," Dumbledore, who had always told others that love was great, actually wanted to explain the evil in this world to Darren.

But in the end, he suppressed that thought.

Otherwise, the greatest White Wizard in the world might have had to revise his beliefs.

So he smiled and said, "Dear child, I need not tell you. Clearly, you already understand that love is the greatest thing in this world. As long as you believe in it, this world can be a wonderful place."

Darren wore an expression of half-understanding.