Dumbledore, the Unwelcome Guest

Well... cut.

Manus chose that wording because the other party did not seem particularly eager to see Dumbledore.

Though not everyone felt that way.

The group Dumbledore had brought Manus to meet consisted of three people. They were all quite old, though there were still noticeable age differences among them. Two of them looked surprised when they saw Dumbledore, then nodded naturally in greeting.

But the remaining man, who appeared to be of middle age among the three, stopped dead when he saw Dumbledore. His already slightly lowered head dipped even further, and his expression became indescribable for a moment.

How should he put it? It felt like the man wanted to turn around and leave, but thought that would be impolite, so he hesitated. That hesitation made him miss the best chance to leave, and now he could not leave at all.

Manus: ...?

This was rather novel. It was the first time he had seen someone in the Wizarding World who seemingly disliked Dumbledore.

He had known Dumbledore had his detractors, and the Death Eaters on Voldemort's side certainly would not like Dumbledore either. But this was the first time he had seen someone openly display that dislike right in front of Dumbledore.

"Dumbledore."

"Professor Dumbledore."

"Albus."

No matter what, the three of them still greeted Dumbledore, each using a different form of address.

Interestingly, the one who seemed to dislike Dumbledore the most addressed him with the most intimate name—Albus.

"Newt! Theseus! Joshua!"

Dumbledore seemed completely oblivious to anything unusual in their reactions and greeted the three with a cheerful smile.

Hearing that, Manus looked at the three of them again in surprise.

Newt... If it had been just that name, he might not have been certain. But combined with Theseus, it was almost certain that this