"Simple." Ian answered calmly.
"Purify the bloodline of modern Dragonkind and see whether their ancestors were truly 'True Dragons' as the legends claimed. Even if I fail, I still want to see what a dragon will become after its bloodline is purified."
"Magic... can do something like that?" Hermione asked in astonishment.
"I've never seen anything like it recorded in any book."
Ian looked at her, his gaze deep and calm.
"Miss Granger, magic is a powerful and mysterious force. Its possibilities are infinite. What truly limits magic isn't the laws—it's ourselves."
After he finished speaking, he paused for a moment before adding:
"Let me give you some advice. If you think memorizing everything in your books is enough to become a great wizard, then you're spectacularly wrong."
His voice was steady and powerful, as if it carried a convincing presence.
"True strongmen, like me or Dumbledore, think more like scientists from the Muggle world. We approach magic with curiosity and observation."
He glanced around and spoke lightly:
"Have you ever asked yourselves—what is magic? Where does it come from? Why can wizards cast magic from birth, while Muggles cannot? Is magic some kind of energy, or something deeper? Why are some people extraordinarily gifted, while others are utterly ordinary? Why are some animals born with magic, while most are not?"
With every question he asked, the air seemed to grow heavier.
"There are far too many unanswered mysteries. The problem is—almost no one asks about them."
"The Wizarding World is obsessed with its existing magical system, yet no longer seeks the 'unknown.' That is why it stagnates, hardens, and decays."
He slowly walked over to the students and lowered his voice.
"I know you're only first-year children. You can cast only a handful of spells. But it's never too early to start thinking."
The hut fell utterly silent.
Hagrid, Harry, Hermione, and Ron—every one of them was deep in thought.
Hermione was the most shaken. For the first time, she realized that what she had considered diligence and intelligence was merely the mechanical absorption of knowledge passed down by her predecessors. Every magical principle she had memorized, every definition in her books—she had never truly understood "why."
Harry simply thought Ian was incredibly impressive; as for those "philosophical questions," he wasn't interested.
Hagrid was still thinking: if it were truly possible to create a True Dragon, how amazing would that be?
Ron, meanwhile, felt somewhat uneasy—he couldn't understand why no one had ever brought up these questions. He even wondered whether thinking this way might be considered "too dangerous."
Only Hermione's inner world was quietly changing.
Ian swept his gaze over their expressions, the corners of his mouth lifting slightly. He could see what they were thinking—
Although he rarely used Mind Reading, occasionally peeking into people's thoughts helped him understand the complexity of human nature more clearly.
"Professor, how should we begin thinking about these questions?" Hermione asked earnestly, a long-lost passion showing in her voice.
Ian smiled. "Let me demonstrate."
He took out his wand and gave it a light wave. "Let's start with a spell you're familiar with. Pick any one."
Hermione hesitated for a moment, then raised her wand and softly recited, "Lumos."
A gentle light appeared at the tip of her wand.
Ian nodded. "Very good. Now, tell me—why do you need to chant a spell? And why don't some wizards need to?"
Hermione frowned and began to recall.
"I remember the books saying that every wizard has a Magic Core inside their body, and that magic grows stronger with age. Chanting a spell is meant to draw out the magic within our bodies and guide it smoothly into the wand."
"Correct." Ian nodded approvingly. "Then, for the next step, go and feel that magic."
Hermione was slightly stunned.
"Close your eyes and cast the spell, but don't focus on the result. Instead, sense the changes taking place inside your body."
Hermione took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and softly chanted again, "Lumos."
One second, two—
She didn't feel anything at all.
"I didn't feel anything, Professor."
"That's fine. Try again." Ian's tone remained calm. "Failure is part of observation."
She tried again. Once, twice, three times...
Finally, on the seventh attempt, she felt a faint tremor in her chest. It was a warm current slowly welling up from deep within her heart, passing through her blood vessels and nerves, flowing into her right arm, then extending into her wand.
"I... I felt it!" Hermione opened her eyes, her voice filled with delight.
Ian smiled. "Not bad. You were three attempts faster than your senior Susan."
When he himself had been six, on the day his magic had first erupted, he had already been able to clearly sense the existence of magic.
In his eyes, magic was like a part of the body—hands, feet, heartbeat, breathing—yet wizards had simply never realized it.
"Next," Ian continued, "look for the source of your magic. I'll give you a hand."
He raised his wand and lightly tapped Hermione between the brows.
A beam of white light flowed into her consciousness. In an instant, her perception was amplified.
"Now, cast the spell again."
Hermione closed her eyes and slowly chanted, "Lumos—"
Light appeared. She felt the path that power took through her body, so clear it seemed she could reach out and touch it.
"Professor, I see it!"
She opened her eyes excitedly. "Near my heart... there's something shaped like a cube, with light flashing inside it. Is that the source of my magic?"
Ian answered softly, "That is the Magic Core. Every wizard's magic is stored there."
Hermione stared at him, her heart pounding.
At that moment, she experienced the reality of magic for the first time.
She was no longer merely a student memorizing formulas and incantations. For the first time, she had "touched" the essence of magic.
"Remember this moment," Ian said. "It's more important than any textbook."
Hermione nodded lightly. She began trying to control that power.
Magic flowed through her body, smooth and gentle. She lightly waved her wand, and light, levitation, and shields—all the spells that had once been difficult to cast—were completed in an instant.
She wore a look of wonder.
But a few minutes later, Ian withdrew the amplification spell.
Hermione's perception gradually returned to normal, and her Magic Core once again sank into the depths.
"Professor, I... I feel like it's gone again."
"That's natural." Ian smiled. "Your perception isn't stable enough yet. One day, you'll be able to sense it without external help."
Hermione nodded solemnly. She had already made up her mind—
She would no longer be merely "a top student who memorized books." She would become a wizard who truly explored the essence of magic.
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