Chapter 4

Felix seemed to be slightly puzzled and asked, ” What do you mean? I don’t get it, Headmaster?”

Dumbledore placed his hands in front of him with a questioning gaze, “I mean, you have a great future ahead of you, but you keep on insisting on returning to Hogwarts! I want to know why.”

The Headmaster’s implication was clear, you’ve already made a name for yourself, and in the three years since you graduated, you’ve written three books, each of them quite brilliant. The two Muggle Studies books didn’t sell much – at least compared to the other professor he was interviewing with, who is also an author the sales are low, as the two books didn’t sell much better.

But there is no denying that the influence of these two books is so widespread that a book: The History of the Muggle Wars: From a Million Years Ago, and the other one, How Muggles Think, has become the guiding books for most of the world’s wizarding departments dealing with Muggles issues.

At least Dumbledore had discussed some contents of the books with two of his friends, both among one who works as head of the Division for the Prohibition of Muggle Abuse and the other one is a member of the Wizengamot, both were equally enthusiastic about the two books.

Felix thought for a moment and said, “Headmaster Dumbledore, I am very attached to Hogwarts, it is my home, and it makes me feel close to it! Besides, I’d love to teach students, it’s a very fulfilling thing to do …”

Dumbledore interrupted, his azure eyes full of brilliance that it’s impossible to tell this is the gaze of a hundred-year-old man. “We both know that’s not true, I want to know what you really think, it’s important, it’s about whether you’ll get the teaching job or not.”

Felix felt slightly embarrassed. He subconsciously used the Occlumency, but stopped it Halfway.

This is not a wise decision. Occlumency isn’t foolproof, especially when you were the one at the lower level, let alone against one of the greatest wizard of the century.

It’s a good thing he’d planned ahead and made some small preparations for this in advance.

For example, a few drops of elixir.

After a couple of seconds of contemplation, he decided to follow his instincts and “tell it like this”.

Felix finally spoke up and said sincerely, “To delve deeper into the mysteries of magic.”

Dumbledore bowed his head and looked like he is listening.

“Headmaster, you have been my headmaster from the time I was enrolled to the time I graduated, so you should have some idea of what I have been through. I spent a lot of time in the practical aspects of magic before my fifth year in order to deal with some trouble, and neglected some theoretical aspects.” It’s true, he was always very uptight in order not to get beaten up and bashed around a bit.

“At that time I was seeking power, the power of a single spell, but I was wrong, and it wasn’t until my last two years at school when I finally had the time to indulge in the mysteries of magic, that I realized what I had missed.” It was also true that while his golden fingers had helped him to become powerful quickly, it also led him in the wrong direction – a one-sided pursuit of magical prowess at the expense of the theory behind it.

Dumbledore nodded slightly, his tone becoming gentle again, but with a touch of curiosity, “So, you’re researching ancient magic runes?”

It was not difficult to guess, after all, Felix’s three books, apart from Muggle Studies, consisted of the Exploration of Ancient Magic Runes. Muggle Studies, on the other hand, could not be described as the study of magic.

“That’s right! The more you delve into magic, the more you can’t get away from ancient Magic Runes, especially when you need to trace the origins of the magic, so you need to research ancient magic. I only realized this in sixth & seventh year, but unfortunately, I only got an A in Ancient Rune on my OWLs, so I couldn’t pursue it further and had to study on my own.” This is even more true, and was a mistake made by Felix in his youthful ignorance.

Felix continued, under the influence of the Felix Felicis his instincts were acute, and his words became smoother, “I do have a personal interest, Hogwarts has the largest library in the world and there are many books on Ancient Magic Runes in it.”

“But the books on the market-”

“I’ve read all the books on the market, and unfortunately they are mostly theory and not much practical – they seem to treat Ancient Runes as a mere language, used only to translate the manuscripts of their predecessors. And in the process of studying Muggles, I had the unexpected inspiration of trying to combine the two! As you know, ancient magic Runes are essential knowledge for alchemy as well.”

Dumbledore was intrigued, “You mean – if I’m not mistaken – that you want to combine alchemy and the muggle stuff?”

Felix looked a little enthusiastic as he spoke eloquently, “Yes, but this is only an initial stage, which is to transform muggle items into magical products. An air Conditioner, for example, is a cooling device that keeps the room temperature at a comfortable range. Muggles need to be powered by electricity – that is, a form of energy – and the conversion to a magical artefact is much simpler, with a freezing charm at its core, plus a detection spell.”

“Of course, there is the issue of stability to consider, and that requires the use of ancient magic runes.”

“And what I’m working on now is a further step, combining the wisdom of the muggle with the Magic of the wizard. You know, Muggles always have a lot of strange ideas, and it’s hard to turn some of their ideas into reality, but when you add magic to the mix, it’s easy to do!”

Dumbledore nodded and commented, “The first step is to transform, the second step to creating a brilliant idea.”

The two of them discussed the subject for a long time, and it was only after three hours that Dumbledore snapped out of it. He had indeed just been unconsciously immersed in a discussion with Felix, arguably one of the most remarkable students he had come across in the last few decades.

Especially after three years of study at his own suggestion, the student had burst into flames!

Even though he is a Slytherin.

Unfortunately, he is a Slytherin!

Dumbledore was silent, he wavered, and time seemed to have travelled back fifty years in an instant.

The resemblance, the resemblance seemed too great!

The same Muggle Orphans, the same Slytherin, the same good and gentle manners, the same obsession with power, how could he choose?

If only he hadn’t forced that boy to admit his mistake for using Fiendfyre, if only he had cared more, or even if he had discovered his evil ambition earlier, perhaps there wouldn’t have been such a horrible Dark Lord.

And what about now?

It seemed that he had the identical choice in front of him.

The old man is in a trance. He looked across the table at the young, handsome, outstanding student and seemed to see the shadow of another person.

Voldemort!

On the other side of the table, Felix looked puzzled. I am telling the truth, albeit selectively. I’m telling the truth, and we’ve just had a good conversation, why is Dumbledore acting all complicated and glum?

What did he say wrong?

Did it prick him?

What the hell is going on?

Felix got a headache!