20demayo Chapter 110 Midnight Talk
Chapter 110 Midnight Talk
Qin Yu had no idea how Dumbledore's words appeared before him, but he guessed that it must have been some kind of sophisticated information transmission spell.
Since Deng Xiaoping asked him to go over now, there's probably something important he wanted to say.
So Qin Yu summoned an owl and sent Hermione a text message informing her that he had something come up to do that night and the tracking plan was canceled, leaving Harry and the others to figure it out themselves.
Then, following Dumbledore's message, he went to the headmaster's office on the eighth floor of the castle.
"Sorry, Qin, I didn't realize how late it was. When I realized it, I wanted to send you a message, but you weren't in the dorm anymore," Old Deng said apologetically as soon as they met.
Qin Yu learned two things from his words.
First, the matter wasn't too urgent, but Dumbledore clearly took it quite seriously.
Secondly, the information transmission spell probably requires knowing the "recipient's" location in advance; otherwise, Qin Yu would have received Dumbledore's message telling him to go back to sleep while he was on the way, and he wouldn't have needed to come.
These thoughts flashed through his mind, and Qin Yu shrugged and said, "It's alright, Professor Dumbledore, I just had insomnia and wasn't asleep."
Of course, he wouldn't say that he was waiting to go with Hermione to follow Harry and the others who were up to no good.
“Alright, let’s get down to business…” Dumbledore said, gesturing for the little boy from the East to sit down in the chair.
Just after Qin Yu sat down, a delicate white porcelain teapot with gold trim slowly flew to his front, then gracefully tilted, pouring a line of orange-red water into an equally exquisite teacup on the table next to him.
"You don't seem to like adding milk or sugar to your tea, if I remember correctly?" Dumbledore asked with a smile.
"Yes, Professor, I still prefer the original taste of black tea," Qin Yu nodded and said.
The last time he had tea in the principal's office was when Lucius came; clearly, he didn't like adding any random things to his tea.
"Before we get to the trouble, I'd like to give you a gift. It was just delivered to me today, so I'm taking this opportunity to give it to you."
As Dumbledore spoke, he picked up a long, thin wooden box from the table and handed it over.
The moment Qin Yu received the wooden box, he couldn't help but raise his eyebrows.
Because he saw the Ollivanders wand shop logo on the wooden box, as well as the shop's slogan, which represented more than two thousand years of professional wand making—"Making fine wands since 382 BC."
"This is..." Qin Yu couldn't help but look at Old Deng.
“That’s right, a new wand.” Dumbledore didn’t keep anyone in suspense. “I commissioned Mr. Ollivander to make one, and its core is made of phoenix feathers.”
Upon hearing his words, Qin Yu subconsciously glanced at Phoenix Fox, who was crouching in mid-air and dozing off.
As if sensing Qin Yu's gaze, Fox raised his eyelids and lazily glanced at him before closing his eyes and continuing to sleep.
So aloof, no wonder she's a phoenix!
Yeah, I love it when you look at me with that indifferent gaze!
Qin Yu secretly praised him.
Upon opening the wooden box, he saw a grayish-white magic wand lying inside.
“You can try it out and see if it suits you,” Dumbledore suggested.
"it is good."
With the wand in hand, Qin Yu's first impression was that it was slightly heavier and noticeably longer than his previous one.
However, he tried swinging it once and found it to be just right.
It seems that Mr. Ollivander took into account his physical growth and development over the past year.
He then closed his eyes and carefully savored the experience.
He felt as if the wand in his hand had become an extension of his arm, and the core made of phoenix tail feathers emitted a chime at that moment.
Unbeknownst to him, at that very moment, Phoenix Fox cast another glance his way, this time with a thoughtful and serious look in his eyes.
On Qin Yu's side, when he heard the "call" of the phoenix tail feather, he also felt the joy and excitement it conveyed.
Then, he suddenly opened his eyes, raised his right hand holding the wand, drew a powerful arc in the air, and chanted:
Incendio ~
Immediately, the room burst into flames, the temperature soared, and a raging fire erupted, threatening to burn down Dumbledore's desk.
Fortunately, at the crucial moment, Dumbledore waved his wand and casually extinguished the flames as if they had never existed.
"I'm sorry, Professor, I didn't control my strength well," Qin Yu quickly said.
Based on his original wand and his experience with the spell just now, the fire spell shouldn't have been this powerful.
The wand, with its phoenix tail feather as its core, clearly enhances the spell's power.
“It’s alright, that’s why I gave you this wand.” Dumbledore smiled.
His words made Qin Yu think about it more.
Sure enough, Dumbledore continued, "Although you are still young, and I had originally planned to let you get involved in these things a few more years later, things are developing in a way that is increasingly beyond my expectations..."
In Qin Yu's view, Dumbledore's brows furrowed with worry when he said those words.
The world's greatest wizard at this moment resembled a troubled old man, pondering some difficult questions.
Okay, Qin Yu almost forgot that Dumbledore is indeed an old man who is over a hundred years old.
Perhaps I've become so used to seeing only Dumbledore's power that I've overlooked his age.
"Is it related to what I discovered at Christmas?" Qin Yu asked tentatively.
During the last Christmas holiday, Qin Yu accidentally stumbled upon a transaction between two suspicious wizards in Diagon Alley and roughly guessed their identities—one a Death Eater and the other a member of the GA. (See Chapter 53 of this book for details)
Most importantly, he seized a bottle of suspicious black liquid that could turn rats into "zombies." According to Professor Swinton's research and analysis, it was a product of life alchemy, originating from the dark alchemy of the North American witchcraft cult. Its uses were not limited to creating "zombie rats," and there were certainly many other applications. As for its specific uses, Professor Swinton didn't investigate it too thoroughly afterward, as the sample size was too small to conduct numerous experiments. (See Chapter 56 of this book for details)
In short, the meeting between the Death Eaters and the GA members was not a good sign, which is why Qin Yu immediately thought of them.
"Yes, it's somewhat related to that incident. Those people who were originally only active in South America have now gone to North America, and their development speed has indeed exceeded my expectations..."
As Dumbledore spoke, he showed Qin Yu a world map that looked like a projection of the Earth.
"This is where those people were first discovered to be active... and then here... Recently, they've been frequently spotted in North America, and the attitude of the North American Magic Congress seems quite ambiguous, which is what worries me. It seems that a considerable number of people in the Magic Congress share their views..."
As Lao Deng waved and rotated the "Earth Projection," he explained the current situation to Qin Yu.
Watching the eerie blue flames gradually light up on the map, from initially being concentrated in a certain place in Brazil to eventually becoming scattered and ubiquitous throughout North America, Qin Yu felt a sense of urgency that a wildfire was about to spread.
He never expected that the group operating under Grindelwald's name would grow so rapidly.
This is way more awesome than those cowardly Death Eaters.
“I know that telling you this now might put some pressure on you.” Dumbledore could also see Qin Yu’s nervousness.
You know this and you still say it... Are you trying to put pressure on me? I'm only in second grade, okay? Can't I just enjoy my two years of school life in peace? Someone thought to themselves.
Dumbledore, of course, couldn't hear his thoughts. After a pause, he continued, "However, I think you are different from other children. You have a maturity far beyond your years, especially the composure you showed in dealing with Lucius's two difficult situations. It surprised and pleased me greatly."
Although you acted nonchalant after changing your tune at the last minute, you actually meant to talk about acting skills, right? Qin Yu added in his mind.
"In short, I'm telling you this so you know that there will be many difficulties in the future, and you need to be mentally prepared, because the future belongs to you." Dumbledore concluded with a smile, his expression becoming much more relaxed, as if he were talking about something very interesting.
Qin Yu, however, felt that there was nothing interesting about this matter.
Of course, he also couldn't understand the thoughts of an old man who had lived for over a hundred years. Perhaps, Old Deng had a different perspective on life, death, and time than the younger generation.
What he really wanted to say was, "If you could borrow another five hundred years from heaven, who knows who the future would belong to?"
However, all indications suggest that even as the world's greatest wizard, Dumbledore is indeed in his twilight years. Even if he lives peacefully without any accidents, the old man's lifespan is probably not much longer.
Perhaps it was because his days were numbered that Dumbledore wanted to resolve things once and for all, which is why he made so many plans and schemes in his later years.
As Qin Yu pondered these various thoughts, he realized that there wasn't much he could do. However, he knew that when the crucial moment arrived, he would definitely stand on the opposite side of those people, because he couldn't just stand by and watch the people around him be killed one by one.
Since there's no other choice, let's just do it.
Thinking about this, he felt much more at ease and no longer felt overwhelmed by the approaching crisis.
Qin Yu gripped his wand and chuckled, "So, you gave me this wand so I could use my free time to fight a Death Eater or a GA?"
"Haha, you're overthinking it. I have no intention of sending you to the battlefield. I just thought you'd probably become the backbone of these kids, so I'm telling you this in advance. Besides, judging from Professor Snape's feedback, you really do need a new wand." Dumbledore was amused by Qin Yu, shook his head with a laugh, and explained simply.
The wand Qin Yu previously possessed could not use more powerful dark magic because of its core. Unicorn hair cores repelled dark magic, and Qin Yu's abilities were unstable, making the use of dark magic too uncertain. Now, after tutoring from Professors Snape and Swinton, Qin Yu's control over his emotions and power was quite good, and it was time for him to learn some more powerful techniques.
Then, Dumbledore sighed slightly, made a face, and continued, "Actually, I don't know exactly what I want you to do. Maybe I just feel a bit overwhelmed and want you to share the burden. Strangely enough, after talking to you, I feel much better and less stressed."
"Ha, you're under less pressure, but I'm under a lot more pressure," Qin Yu sighed inwardly, silently complaining.
That night, Dumbledore simply gave Qin Yu a wand, talked about the current situation, and encouraged him to unite the children and help them grow up quickly.
As for the specific arrangements, Lao Deng didn't say anything, because he himself didn't know.
The two, young and old, drank tea and chatted about various things before ending their conversation, which was later the subject of much speculation and given a legendary air by many.
Afterwards, Qin Yu left the principal's office and walked downstairs.
After he had only taken a few steps, he felt a rapid vibration in his waist.
That was an alchemical artifact he always carried with him, and there was also a whistle that shared the same origin and could resonate with it.
The whistle was hanging around Hermione's neck.