Li Wei did not need to see the old headmaster's face to sense his embarrassment.
What he had done was hardly fair.
But embarrassment was better than remaining trapped in painful memories.
"Forget it. I'll treat you!"
"And for the gentleman across from me, a treacle tart, a fruit-and-cream cake, some chocolate balls, and a glass of milk with sugar!"
Li Wei had no intention of making things difficult for Dumbledore. As soon as he saw that the headmaster had shaken off his sadness, he changed his tune.
He even remembered to order Dumbledore a meal packed with enough sugar to bring on diabetes.
Fortunately, magic flowed through Headmaster Dumbledore in vast quantities.
Otherwise, if he ate meals like the one Li Wei had ordered, Dumbledore would keel over before Voldemort ever came back!
"Heh, how embarrassing. I forgot to bring money today!"
Headmaster Dumbledore had never imagined a student would treat him to a meal. Was this what people meant by the joy of family?
For the first time, Dumbledore, who had no descendants, felt something strange and warm stir in his heart.
Perhaps it was Li Wei's interruption, or perhaps the sweets had released a rush of dopamine. Either way, Headmaster Dumbledore's mood visibly improved.
He grew much more talkative and even brought up their next destination himself:
"After we eat, we should go to Smith House, as Borgin said. It was the home of the late witch Hepzibah Smith."
"Hepzibah Smith?"
Li Wei repeated the unfamiliar name.
Even after using the Pensieve to sort through his memories of Harry Potter, he barely recognized it.
He only vaguely remembered that Voldemort had used his good looks and youth to charm an elderly, wealthy descendant of Helga Hufflepuff into giving him Hufflepuff's Cup, which he then turned into a