Even after leaving Ren Olds Chang's residence, Dumbledore's emotions remained unsettled for a long time.
Just before Dumbledore had departed, Ren had shared a speculation of his own.
He suggested that a wizarding family possessing such profound heritage might not be one of the hidden families.
Among the prominent families known publicly, there was only one great family that had connections to the four founders of Canada, the Li family. Legend claimed that their direct lineage descended from Li Dan himself.
Li Dan, also revered as Laozi, had lived more than two thousand years ago.
In other words... this was a family that had existed for over two millennia.
Dumbledore could not help but sigh again. If Wade truly came from such a family, then his possession of so many extraordinary things would hardly be surprising.
It was difficult to imagine how disastrous the consequences would be if Grindelwald managed to establish cooperation with them.
...
"What? Abernathy was driven away without even meeting the person in charge?"
At Nurmengard, Grindelwald's face was filled with fury.
"Yes," Vinda said softly. "They said they have absolutely no interest in our ideology. Furthermore, they have never cared about affairs in the Muggle world. They don't care what we do, so long as we do not interfere with them. However, if we do disturb them, the consequences will be severe."
"How can that be..." Grindelwald muttered in disbelief.
Although he had changed his methods, Grindelwald's ideals had never changed. His ultimate goal remained the establishment of a new global order in which wizards ruled over Muggles.
And yet... those strange people from Asia had no interest whatsoever in ruling Muggles or conquering the world.
"They also said..." Vinda hesitated.
"What else did they say?" Grindelwald asked.
"They said that if they had ever desired such things..." Vinda replied through gritted teeth, "they would have conquered the world long ago.."
Grindelwald drew in a sharp breath.
Because he knew they were probably not exaggerating.
A family that had existed for over two thousand years...
Who could imagine the extent of its resources, or how many powerful wizards it had produced?
And besides, the Li family was far from the only family of its kind.
Standing by the window and gazing at the distant mountains, Grindelwald suddenly felt a profound sense of helplessness.
After a long silence, he finally waved his hand.
"Recall Abernathy. Don't mention cooperation again in the future."
"Yes," Vinda replied before turning to leave.
"So, in the end, Wade remains the key..." Grindelwald murmured, his gaze deep and thoughtful.
...
The place where Elena and the others were now living was a three-storey house with its own garden.
Originally, they had intended to rent a house temporarily.
However, they had not entered Britain through official channels.
After learning that they would have to apply for permits from the Ministry of Magic, Andrews simply took Elena to a scenic location by the mountains and water and used Transfiguration to create a beautiful house.
For Andrews, creating a house with Transfiguration was not difficult. Creating one with fine detail, however, was another matter entirely.
Fortunately, Transfiguration was Elena's strongest subject. After receiving Wade's guidance, her Transfiguration skills had become far superior to what they had once been.
In barely a single day, the house had appeared from nothing.
After Andrews brought Wade there, Wade spent several days helping them refine and improve it.
As for Tom, Wade had originally intended to send him back to Riddle Manor on the very day they left Malfoy Manor.
However, after seeing the house created through Transfiguration, Tom decided to stay.
Tom would never pass up any opportunity to hone his abilities, and something like building a house with Transfiguration was precisely the sort of task that could greatly improve one's skill. There was no way he would let such a chance slip by.
"All right, I should be heading back as well. I've already stayed here for several days."
Seeing that the house was nearly finished, Wade prepared to leave with Tom.
Tom was going home, while Wade... several days had already passed. The effects of that potion formula should have begun to show by now.
He needed to return and prepare for whatever came next.
"Can't you stay a little longer? I... I still have so much to learn from you..." Elena said reluctantly.
Wade's knowledge was simply too vast. And just as he had once said, perhaps he really was suited to becoming a professor.
Elena had learned far more from him than she had from Andrews.
Wade's explanations were clearer and more thorough. Most importantly, he didn't shout at her.
As for Andrews... because of his complicated past, he tended to be extremely strict when teaching Elena.
Whenever she was scolded, she felt as though he wasn't really scolding her, but rather her father.
"I'll drive you back," Andrews said as he walked towards the carriage.
"Good. Leave the carriage here for now, and please look after the Abraxan horses for me," Wade replied.
"Of course, boss," Andrews agreed readily.
He had once been a poacher, after all, so he knew a thing or two about caring for magical creatures. Besides, these Abraxans were unusually docile.
"Tom, it's time to go," Wade said, patting him on the shoulder.
But Tom simply stood there, staring blankly into the distance, making no move whatsoever.
"What's wrong? Did Sneak give you a Petrification Hex?" Wade joked.
"Wade, I don't think you're getting away this time," Tom suddenly said with a grin.
"Getting away? Why would I need to get away..."
As he spoke, Wade followed the direction of Tom's finger.
Then his smile froze.
Beneath a distant tree stood Dumbledore, quietly watching them.
When he noticed that they had seen him, Dumbledore removed his hat and waved.
Wade inhaled sharply.
"No, seriously... how did he find this place?! I wasn't ready yet!"
He suddenly turned to look at Tom.
"Heh, didn't see that coming, did you, Wade? It was me who sold you out again!" Tom said with a triumphant smile.
"Oh, so that's how it is! After everything I've done for you, you betray me?"
"What choice did I have? That's Professor Dumbledore! How could I possibly lie to him?"
"Fine, fine. Such deep teacher-student affection. I'm leaving!"
Wade turned and ran.
"Hey! Don't use this as an excuse to escape! Professor Dumbledore came here specifically to see you!" Tom shouted, grabbing Wade's arm tightly.
"Tom, let go of me! Fine! Just you wait! Tomorrow, I'm turning you into a boiled egg!"
...
In the end, Wade failed to escape.
In the blink of an eye, Dumbledore appeared directly in front of him.
To be honest, the scene was somewhat terrifying.
"Professor..." Wade said with an awkward smile as he forcibly pried Tom's fingers off his arm.
Dumbledore glanced at Elena and Andrews behind Wade, then smiled.
"A lovely place. Aren't you going to invite me in?"
"Of course!" Wade stepped aside and invited Dumbledore into the house.
Seated in a chair, Dumbledore looked around at the interior.
"Very impressive Transfiguration," he said with a smile. "However, it doesn't appear to be your work. Compared to yours, the technique is still somewhat immature."
Wade pointed at Elena.
"That's right. She made it... Professor, please let me explain..."
"Elena," Dumbledore interrupted him. "A child of the Yuriev family."
He looked directly at Elena.
Dumbledore then shifted his gaze to Andrews.
"Andrews Ivanov... the Soviet Ministry of Magic's most wanted fugitive, and the man accused of kidnapping the daughter of the Head of the Auror Office."
"So that's what that bastard Yuriev said about me?" Andrews' eyes burned with anger.
Dumbledore looked at Andrews silently. After a long pause, he turned to Wade.
"I believe there is more to this story. However, I still hope you'll explain your reasons to me. For example, why did you go to the Soviet Union? Was it to meet Ren Olds Chang?"
Wade asked in confusion, "Ren? But I've only met him once. Before going to the Soviet Union, I didn't even know him. As for why I went to the Soviet Union... you can ask Tom."
Dumbledore turned his searching gaze towards Tom.
Tom had no choice but to explain the entire sequence of events: how Wade had gone to the Soviet Union to rescue Slytherin, how he had hired Andrews along the way, and how, on their return journey, they had accidentally brought Elena out of the country.
After finishing his explanation, Tom clearly saw Dumbledore let out a sigh of relief.
A genuine sigh of relief.
However, Dumbledore's expression quickly returned to its usual seriousness.
"I told you a long time ago that if anything happened, you should come to me! You went to the Soviet Union by yourself? What if something had happened? It's wartime! What if you'd been shot? What if you'd been caught in a bombing raid? And that bizarre tomb, I've read about it in Slytherin's manuscripts as well. Even Slytherin himself paid an enormous price to escape from it, yet you approached it so recklessly?"
Faced with Dumbledore's barrage of criticism, Wade could only accept it. After all, the man was genuinely concerned for his safety.
"Professor, I'm sorry. I was very anxious at the time."
Dumbledore sighed.
"You're young and exceptionally talented, so it's natural to be proud and confident... But it's precisely because of that that I hope you survive. Throughout history, countless gifted wizards have died before reaching their full potential."
After that, Dumbledore spent a full thirty minutes lecturing Wade about not being overconfident and not allowing youthful impulsiveness to rule him.
But if one wasn't hot-blooded when young, was one really young at all?
Dumbledore himself probably knew that most of what he said would have little effect.
He only hoped that the next time Wade acted impulsively, he would think a little more carefully about the dangers involved.
Only then did Dumbledore turn his attention back to Elena and Andrews.
"So, you weren't kidnapped?"
"No. I ran away myself! My father... he killed my mother right in front of me!" Elena's eyes reddened. Every time she recalled that day, it felt as though a knife were twisting in her heart.
Hearing this, the scrutiny in Dumbledore's eyes vanished, replaced entirely by sympathy.
Wade scratched his head awkwardly. He hadn't expected Elena to accidentally guess the "password" so perfectly.
Dumbledore really did fall for this sort of thing.
Sure enough, after listening to Elena tearfully recount the entire story, Dumbledore had already begun asking whether she would be willing to enrol at Hogwarts as a transfer student.
As for legalising the identities of Elena and Andrews, he assured them that he had ways of resolving that problem.
Watching Dumbledore speak with Elena, Wade suddenly understood why, decades later, Dumbledore would be called the greatest wizard of the century.
Perhaps being described as "great" had never been solely because of his power.
____
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Read 12 Advance Chapters—P@t- Captain69