First, the Patronus Charm.
Now, Fiendfyre!
One was more profound than the other! If Dumbledore was secretly teaching him, then everything made sense; all the professors at Hogwarts knew that Dumbledore was a master at manipulating fire.
"Albus?!"
Professor McGonagall appeared somewhat astonished, while Professor Sprout seemed lost in thought.
"Indeed, Minerva." Dumbledore first glanced at Ian, then slowly nodded. His acknowledgment transformed Ian from a mischievous child dabbling in dark magic into a diligent student earnestly studying under the Headmaster's tutelage.
"You... how could you... this is extremely dangerous magic," McGonagall stammered, hesitant to publicly question Dumbledore's decision, yet feeling that his actions were perplexing. For many years, this Headmaster had always emphasized the importance of safety in education.
"Mr. Prince needs to learn Fiendfyre for specific reasons, but, Minerva, may I explain the details to you later?"
Dumbledore seemed to be covering for Ian, and upon seeing McGonagall nod, he revealed his signature smile. After a moment of contemplation, he continued.
"That individual may still be lurking in the Forbidden Forest; he clearly no longer possesses the strength he once had. Professors, I ask you to work together to seal off the Forbidden Forest and conduct a thorough search."
Dumbledore's plan met with no objections from the three Heads of House.
"And you? Aren't you coming along?"
Snape suddenly interjected unexpectedly.
"I need to return to the school first to attend to some matters, and I will join this operation shortly to personally cast spells to locate our Dark Lord."
"As for now... you can accompany them." Dumbledore smiled in response.
"..."
Snape fell silent for a moment. "I need to return to the school with you... hmm, to keep an eye on those unruly students, our Defense Against the Dark Arts professor cannot manage them alone."
He seemed to be crafting an excuse to avoid the confrontation. If Harry Potter were present, he would undoubtedly scorn him for being a coward, but Ian understood his good uncle all too well.
"Alright, you, me, and Hagrid will take Mr. Prince back to the school. Remember to keep those disobedient little rascals in check; curiosity often leads to trouble."
"Not everyone can possess the abilities of this child..." Dumbledore remarked, looking at Ian, who was slowly descending, his eyes filled with a deeper meaning. "I must say, Mr. Prince, your performance is quite unexpected; it can be seen as a delightful surprise."
The surrounding charred trees and the scorched earth bore witness to the intensity of the battle, even causing Dumbledore's expression to carry a hint of nostalgia.
At that moment, Hagrid spoke up.
"I'm not going back; I'm not afraid of You-Know-Who; I want to stay and assist the professors." Hagrid shot a glance at Snape, as if to imply he viewed him as a coward.
"Tsk, tsk, what help can you provide the professors here? Are you planning to charge through the forest with your massive frame and directly disturb the one hiding there?" Snape retorted with a sharp edge of sarcasm.
"I won't cause any trouble!" Hagrid's face flushed a deep red. "I just want to find the two missing unicorns; I must bring them back."
His concern for magical creatures was always heartfelt, and he would not hesitate to take risks for them, even for a moment. However, this touching sentiment only prompts Snape to continue with his sarcastic remarks.
"Ha! Your troll-like brain probably doesn't even know how rare unicorn blood is; those two unicorns are clearly no longer alive."
Snape was well aware that Voldemort's survival depended on unicorn blood, and he doubted You-Know-Who would care for unicorns as Hagrid did, raising them and drawing blood from them daily.
"Perhaps... perhaps they are still alive, just waiting for my rescue. I need to make two stretchers; even if they are dead, I must bring them back for a proper burial." Hagrid clearly brushed off Snape's ridicule; as he spoke, he began searching for suitable materials nearby to construct a simple stretcher.
However, in the area scorched by Fiendfyre, there was nothing substantial left.
"Crack~"
Several seemingly intact trees snapped under his gentle pressure, revealing their charred interiors. After all, this was near the site where Ian had battled Voldemort.
Hagrid looked around in confusion.
"Mr. Prince, perhaps you can assist him?" Professor McGonagall could no longer bear to watch; she lowered her flying height to speak to Ian.
"Of course, no problem; Hagrid and I are friends." Ian had already planned to step in; he quickly drew his wand and approached the decayed wood to perform a transfiguration.
With a surge of magic and the casting of a spell, the form and essence of the rotten wood began to change, swiftly transforming into two multifunctional stretchers with a sturdy metal frame.
To make it more comfortable for the potential occupants, Ian even added a layer of padding in the middle of the stretchers, and the exquisite stretchers were completed in the blink of an eye.
"Heavens! They are amazing!"
Hagrid gazed in awe at the stretchers Ian had conjured.
Above the stretchers, Professor McGonagall's face radiated unreserved approval.
"Although I could already sense how much you had hidden in class from the transformation you applied to Fiendfyre, I must say this is truly an impressive feat."
"I doubt there's a student at Hogwarts who excels in the Protean Charm more than you." Flitwick immediately gave Ian a thumbs up, looking at Professor McGonagall, who was flying beside him.
His eyes sparkled with a desire for House points, more fervent than that of the younger students. This was perhaps the competitive spirit of the academic elite; even after many years as Head of House, it had not diminished.
"This needs to go back to the castle... I will remember," Professor McGonagall nodded helplessly. She was increasingly frustrated that a reckless student like Ian, who liked to hide his abilities, was a Ravenclaw.
After pondering for a moment, McGonagall continued, "You are very talented, Mr. Prince, but I hope you can respect your gifts. Your skills have already surpassed those of your peers, so what you need is more grounding."
"At least in terms of transfiguration, it must be so; it is an extremely dangerous branch of magic, and far too many brilliant wizards have met irreparable ends due to their impatience."
McGonagall's tone is serious, fully demonstrating her concern for Ian. Over the years, she had witnessed many extraordinarily talented wizards fall into ruin due to excessive confidence.
"Of course. You taught us this on the first day of class." Ian nodded humbly; he was aware that Professor McGonagall was worried about him secretly attempting to become an Animagus.
"If you wish to access some knowledge in advance, you can come to my office to find me." McGonagall was pleased with Ian's attitude and granted him the privilege to knock on her office door.
"Mm, thank you very much." Ian immediately bowed slightly.
He actually had plans for his Animagus training, but it certainly would not be this year. After all, regardless of who was watching over him, it was safest to improve his transfiguration skills as much as possible.
Otherwise, turning into a half-animal, half-human form would be... quite terrifying. After all, that kind of failed magical transformation could very well be irreversible for life. Just looking at that noseless, hideous face and the significantly reduced intelligence made it clear how frightening it could be.
Just as Ian was preparing to walk towards the impatient Snape, Professor Sprout also lowered her flying height to come in front of him. This Hufflepuff professor was very pleased with Ian's assistance to Hagrid.
"Why didn't you come to us in Hufflepuff? I remember you were always very low-key in class, but I secretly saw you helping several Hufflepuff students during lessons."
Professor Sprout echoed Professor McGonagall's thoughts.
However, her praise made Ian's gaze involuntarily shift, feeling a bit guilty.
"You actually saw that..." The young wizard was somewhat worried that Professor Sprout had noticed him sharing sensitive knowledge with Hufflepuff students in class.
The insights about how to grow mutated chomping cabbages were from the Restricted Section of the library.
This wasn't particularly dangerous, was it?
Ian just wanted to help his classmates unlock epic achievements.
"That should still count as helping others, right?"
"We should go!"
Snape could no longer hold back from speaking to Ian. He felt that if Ian continued to bask in the praise, he might end up causing even more shocking incidents than today in the future.
"Yes, I think we should head back." Dumbledore raised his hand to check the watch on his wrist, which was actually a piece crafted from a broken time-turner.
"Stay put and don't run off," Professor Flitwick reminded his own students, likely realizing that Ian was an unsettled fellow.
"We should also begin our work." Professor McGonagall turned her broom in the direction of the deep Forbidden Forest and flew off first, her posture wild and determined.
Professors Sprout and Flitwick followed closely behind. Although they were about to confront one of the most dangerous dark wizards in history, the three Heads of House showed no signs of fear.
(To Be Continued…)
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