Dumbledore's Hint

After the young wizards left the Great Hall, Dumbledore took out his wand and began to "draw" something with flowing strokes near the professors' seats.

His wand tip spewed out a grayish-white mist, which, under the effect of Transformation, gradually condensed into a towering snow-capped mountain before everyone's eyes, with a temple standing atop the mountain.

"Bhutan," Newt said softly.

"Correct answer, Hufflepuff gets three points!" Dumbledore joked.

Just then, the Young Wizard Xiwen arrived outside the Great Hall. He glanced back silently and discovered that three yellow gems had indeed fallen from Hufflepuff's scoring hourglass...

'This is actually possible...' Ghost Xiwen's lips twitched, deciding to stir up some trouble for Dumbledore was randomly adding points.

He turned to Jacob and said, "Mr. Kowalski, if you don't like the bag of Cockroach Cluster the Slytherin wizard gave you, you can give it to Dumbledore. I bet he'd love it!"

"Really?" Jacob, looking bewildered, handed Dumbledore the Cockroach Cluster he had been disgusted with and asked, "You really like eating this stuff?"

"Oh, thank you, Mr. Kowalski. And of course, Doctor Strange." Dumbledore happily took the bag of Cockroach Cluster, popped one into his mouth, and began to chew with great interest.

Xiwen: "... I never expected you actually like this kind of thing."

After finishing the Cockroach Cluster in his mouth, Dumbledore nonchalantly continued his story to everyone present.

"The Kingdom of Bhutan is located high in the eastern Himalayas. It is an indescribably beautiful place, and some of our most important magic originated there. The people of Bhutan often say that if you listen carefully, the magical knowledge of the past will whisper in your ear."

Xiwen stared at the temple on the Himalayas, his eyes momentarily glazed over.

Himalayas, temple.

These were words that Xiwen was extremely familiar with—as if they were the location of Kamar-Taj.

The temples of Kingdom of Bhutan and Kamar-Taj are remarkably similar in style and location. To Xiwen, the temple now seemed to overlap with the place where he had lived for twenty years.

But Xiwen also knew clearly that there was no Ancient One, no Stephen Strange, and no former fellow disciples there. There was only the same ancient magical lineage, and a completely different magical system...

When Xiwen came to his senses, he realized that Dumbledore's speech was coming to an end.

"I'm afraid you'll have to make do with the night at my brother Aberforth's Hog's Head," said Dumbledore. "Everyone, prepare yourselves; tomorrow we'll face the final battle!"

As a successful ghost with his own room at Hogwarts, Xiwen didn't go to the Hog's Head with Dumbledore for the night, but instead stayed in the dungeon with Helena.

"Helena, do you think we can successfully stop Grindelwald tomorrow?" Xiwen asked Helena with a furrowed brow.

"What's wrong? Don't you have confidence?" Helena asked with a smile.

"It's not that I lack confidence, it's that I have absolutely no idea how things will turn out," Xiwen said, shaking his head in frustration. "Dumbledore didn't tell me anything, he just told me to 'do what he thinks is necessary,' but I have absolutely no idea what I'm supposed to do!"

"Don't overthink it. Maybe it's just not the right time for you to take action yet," Helena comforted her. "Perhaps Dumbledore will give you a new hint tomorrow?"

"I hope so," Xiwen, frowning as he pondered.

Nothing more was said that night...

The next day, everyone gathered on the Seventh Floor of Hogwarts Castle in the Room of Requirement.

The Room of Requirement is now quite empty, with only a Scripture-Transmission Cylinder engraved with various golden runes placed at the front of the room, and five identical old-fashioned leather trunks arranged in a circle in the center.

Newt's assistant Bunty, was already waiting inside the Room of Requirement, watching everyone with a nervous expression.

"Newt, come and look at these boxes." Dumbledore beckoned to Newt and asked, "Can you tell which one is your box?"

Newt looked around carefully and slowly shook his head.

"No," he said.

"That's good!" Dumbledore smile. "Otherwise, I would have been worried."

He then distributed the tickets for the International Confederation of Wizards election to each member and told them to keep them safe, as they would not be able to enter the final election venue without them.

"Doctor Strange, I think you can enter the venue without a ticket, right?" Dumbledore said with a smile to Xiwen after handing out tickets to everyone except Xiwen.

"Of course," Xiwen said, pursing his lips.

Dumbledore smiled and nodded, then walked to the front of the room.

"Alright, everyone, the final part is about to begin!" Dumbledore solemnly addressed the crowd. "Now, each of you will choose a briefcase and travel through the Scripture-Transmission Cylinder to Bhutan."

"Mr. Kowalski, you come with me first," Dumbledore said, glancing at Jacob at the end.

Jacob paused for a moment, nodded, and bent down to pick up the briefcase in front of him.

"Ahem!" However, Dumbledore coughed.

Jacob had no choice but to straighten up, walk to the box next to him, and look at Dumbledore.

Dumbledore smiled and nodded.

"Um, Dumbledore." Xiwen suddenly recalled the comical scene of Jacob using the Portkey to reach the train and couldn't help but chuckle. "I think I can open a portal directly to Bhutan. That way, Mr. Kowalski won't have to endure the pain of being teleported by the Portkey anymore."

Jacob clearly showed interest and looked at Dumbledore hopefully.

"No need, Mr. Kowalski can come with me." Dumbledore, as if he hadn't seen Jacob's gaze, rejected Xiwen's suggestion without hesitation.

"Also, Doctor Strange, I personally suggest you stay until the very end." Dumbledore said this, then winked at Xiwen.

Xiwen stood there, stunned.

After Dumbledore and Jacob left, Newt quickly picked up the briefcase next to him—the very same briefcase that Jacob had wanted to choose but Dumbledore had stopped him from.

Newt then walked toward the spinning Scripture-Transmission Cylinder.

"See you in Bhutan, everyone!" Newt said, touching the Scripture-Transmission Cylinder and leaving the Room of Requirement.

Then Theseus and Professor Hicks each picked up a suitcase and left.

Only Xiwen and Newt's assistant Bunty, remained in the room.

Xiwen watched this scene, lost in thought.

What did Dumbledore mean by that look he just gave him? Was it a hint about what he needed to do?