Dumbledore Requests His Presence

Xiwen didn't learn the outcome regarding Lestrange's fate until the following day.

Slytherin lost thirty points, Lestrange was placed in solitary confinement by Professor Slughorn for a month.

"Actually, I feel the punishment was a bit too lenient," Gomez said to his roommates while eating lunch in the Great Hall. "Based on past precedents, if someone commits an act that poses a threat to a classmate's life, they should theoretically be expelled."

"That's right." Xiwen nodded in agreement. "More than twenty years ago, Mr. Scamander conducted an experiment involving Jarvey. Because that experiment threatened a student's life, he was expelled from Hogwarts by the previous Headmaster Black."

"Why worry about so much? Do you think the Board of Governors would be so heartless as to expel the Lestrange family heir for Riddle, a freshman from an orphanage?" Abraxas said nonchalantly.

"I heard that Doctor Strange came to Hogwarts in person, gave Riddle a small sum of money, and got a letter of forgiveness, thus reducing Lestrange's punishment." Abu began to boast about his information channels again, leaning close to Xiwen other two and speaking mysteriously.

"So, although Riddle may seem to have some aristocratic airs, he's actually just a pauper in the end!"

Upon hearing what Abu said, Xiwen frowned.

Xiwen frowned not because of Abu's boastful words—he was already quite used to Abu's way of speaking; he was simply puzzled by Riddle's behavior.

Xiwen doesn't think that Riddle, with his vindictive nature, would be the kind of person who would forgo revenge for money. It's more likely that he deliberately accepted the money from Doctor Strange, thus gaining both financial gain and the ability to keep Lestrange at Hogwarts for long-term revenge—a win-win situation.

However, Lestrange has probably already bought a lot of alchemical products for self-defense, so he shouldn't be Riddle can handle.

Xiwen increasingly felt that the task of helping Riddle onto the right path was indeed arduous and had a long way to go...

"Xiwen, what are you thinking about?" Mobley asked curiously, waving his hand in front of Xiwen's eyes as he pondered.

"Oh, it's nothing." Xiwen shook his head, clearing his mind of the jumbled thoughts, then smiled at Mobley. "I was wondering what spells we'll be learning in this afternoon's Charms. Could we preview them?"

Life at Hogwarts remained as peaceful and serene as ever, seemingly a different world from the increasingly tense situation outside.

Despite being wanted internationally, Grindelwald led his many followers in instigating several large-scale conflicts across the Europe continent.

Meanwhile, as the powerful wizard chosen by the Qilin, Dumbledore became especially busy amidst everyone's high expectations. Every time Grindelwald appeared, he had to immediately stop what he was doing and use the Floo Network and Apparition to get to the vicinity of the incident.

However, Grindelwald never wanted to confront Dumbledore directly. Whenever Dumbledore arrived, he would immediately Apparition away without hesitation, giving him no chance to make a move.

These two wizards, who can be said to stand at the pinnacle of the world, are still unable to defeat each other even after the Blood Pact oath has been broken.

If one person is determined to leave, the other cannot force them to stay. This situation persisted for several months without any change...

Under these circumstances, Dumbledore approached Xiwen on a drizzly weekend.

"You still go to Nick's house every weekend to study alchemy, don't you?" Dumbledore asked.

As he asked the question, he shook the exquisite candy box in his hand, then pulled open one side of the box, revealing a candy block covered with golden syrup.

"The pineapple preserves aren't bad," Dumbledore muttered, then popped the golden candy into his mouth.

Looking at the candy box in Dumbledore's hand, Xiwen suddenly remembered that she had given him a Christmas present—this blind box of sweets. Now it seemed that Dumbledore actually quite liked it...

"I do go to see Mr. Flamel every week to learn, but not necessarily only alchemy," Xiwen said to Dumbledore, suppressing the urge to retort.

"Very good. Nick is quite knowledgeable. You can gain a lot from learning anything from him." Dumbledore placed the candy box on the table, chewed on a candied fruit, and said to Xiwen, "I'm starting to envy you. You have such convenient magic, and you can go to Nick's house to learn from him anytime."

"You know, when I was in school, the only way I could communicate with Nick was by writing letters!"

"I really have to thank you for your letter of recommendation, otherwise I wouldn't have had the chance to meet such a good teacher as Flamel," Xiwen said with a smile.

"I don't deserve this gratitude; we only got what we needed," Dumbledore shook his head and said to Xiwen. "I did intend to use you to stop Grindelwald from taking Flamel away."

Upon hearing Dumbledore's words, Xiwen suddenly recalled the winter more than half a year ago, and couldn't help but be somewhat lost in thought.

In fact, if it weren't for that crisis with Grindelwald, Flamel might not have trusted me so completely, to the point of sharing everything with me. Therefore, obtaining the Locator Ring I wear on my left hand now wouldn't have been as simple as Flamel giving it to me directly.

In other words, without that crisis, Xiwen might not have been able to open the Dimensional Gate even now, and thus wouldn't have had the opportunity to study with Flamel every week.

Who can truly understand fate?

"Alright, let's not dwell on the past. I have something else to discuss with you today," Dumbledore suddenly interrupted Xiwen's thoughts.

"Wait a minute, I need to find someone else."

With that, Dumbledore summoned his Phoenix Patronus and sent it into the wall of his office.

Seeing this, Xiwen's lips twitched involuntarily.

At that moment, the silver Phoenix suddenly appeared before the Ghost Xiwen, and Dumbledore's voice came from its mouth. "Doctor Strange, I need your help with something. Could you come to my office?"

The Young Wizard Xiwen looked at Dumbledore eating candy in front of him, Ghost Xiwen looked at the Patronus Phoenix speaking in Dumbledore's voice, finding the scene inexplicably comical!

However, you can't show this feeling of amusement on your face, or you'll arouse suspicion.

So, with a blank expression, Ghost Xiwen followed the Patronus Phoenix to Dumbledore's office...

"You've arrived, Doctor Strange," Dumbledore greeted with a smile as he saw Xiwen emerge from under the floorboards.

Ghost Xiwen nodded, looking at Dumbledore with a questioning gaze.

"We'll talk about the specifics later. Let's head to the Hog's Head first," Dumbledore said. "The others should be waiting there already."

"Professor, do I need to apply for leaving school?" The Young Wizard Xiwen suddenly thought of a question and asked Dumbledore.

"Did you apply for leaving school every week when you went to the Flamel family?" Dumbledore smiled and winked at Xiwen.

The Young Wizard Xiwen smiled knowingly.

He then extended his wand and opened a Dimensional Gate to the Hog's Head.