"Professor? Professor Dumbledore?"
Dumbledore felt someone calling him. He felt a hand reach out and gently tug at his sleeve.
"You're not asleep, are you? Professor Dumbledore?"

Dumbledore suddenly came back to his senses. The cold, gray tower bricks were gone, Grindelwald's figure was gone, replaced by the warm and comfortable Hogwarts Headmaster's office. The firewood in the fireplace on his right crackled softly.

In front of him, a beautiful silver-haired little girl was staring at him intently, her eyes full of concern and doubt.

"You're right, Gellert..."

Dumbledore murmured almost imperceptibly, his gaze serious as he examined Eileen.

Without a doubt, besides being "her," the half-Veela girl before him almost completely matched Grindelwald's prophecy, even more powerful, smarter, younger, and less restricted by conventional thinking.

But the key question was – the old man glanced down at his wrinkled, veined right hand – he wasn't sure if he had enough time left to guide her in the right direction.

Seeing Dumbledore regain his senses, Eileen breathed a slight sigh of relief.

Just now, on a whim, she had followed Dumbledore's words and began popularizing basic natural science knowledge about physics, chemistry, and mathematics. As she spoke, she noticed that the old wizard in front of her had started to stare blankly, almost scaring her.

After all, who knew if the wizarding world also had things like senile dementia or strokes? What if her rambling caused the most powerful white wizard of the time to develop some kind of problem? Eileen estimated that before she could run out of the castle, she would be caught and killed by the professors who rushed over.

"Um, Professor Dumbledore. If there's nothing else, maybe I should go now and not bother you. See you at the start of term?"

Eileen glanced at the silent Dumbledore, finished her pumpkin juice in one gulp, and said timidly.

Although she didn't understand what was happening, according to her sixth sense, staying any longer might not be a good choice.

Dumbledore raised his hand and stroked his chin, a hint of thought flashing in his eyes behind the half-moon spectacles.

"I remember we agreed that if you could get the highest score in the entire school in all subjects, after your fourth year, I would get the Ministry of Magic to send you to a Muggle school in America."

The silver-haired little loli raised her head warily. "Professor Dumbledore, you are the greatest wizard in the world. You wouldn't go back on your word, would you?"

"On the contrary..."

Dumbledore shook his head and said softly, "I have thought about it carefully. If you are going to leave Hogwarts temporarily in your fourth year, then to ensure that your talent is not wasted, I will try my best to persuade the other professors to give you extra lessons in their spare time for these four years."

No one is born knowing everything. To become a mature wizard, one must go through a long process of learning and practice.

Dumbledore believed that instead of following Hogwarts' usual, relatively flexible teaching plan, it would be better to guide and accompany Eileen as much as possible in her growth.

In this way, he could also keep track of and pay attention to her personality development and the improvement of her magical abilities at any time, protecting her to the greatest extent, so that she would not lose herself because of powerful dark magic, like Grindelwald or Tom Riddle before.

"Eh...eh?!"

Eileen's cute little face was stunned at first, then she immediately reacted, her eyes wide – wasn't this just a cram school?!

Wasn't it said that foreigners all advocate happy education? Why, after entering the magical world, would there still be such hateful, nature-defying after-school cram schools!

"Well, um, the professors are already very busy every day. Let's not trouble them. Actually, I can study on my own by reading books. If there's anything I don't understand, I can organize it and then ask the professors for answers..."

Eileen, who had originally envisioned playing and eating happily after entering Hogwarts, felt an unprecedented sense of crisis, her eyes fixed on Dumbledore, seriously counting on her fingers, trying hard to dispel his dangerous proposal.

"In addition to that, in light of your powerful magical talent, I hope that at least once a week from now on, you can come to the Headmaster's office for at least one lesson of magical control practice."

Dumbledore seemed not to have heard the silver-haired little loli's voice, and continued gently. Although he used the word "hope," the unmistakable certainty in his tone clearly meant "must."

"Wait, wait, I haven't agreed to the last thing yet! How did another rule get added? What's this strange requirement of magical control practice? Can you listen to people properly?!"

Feeling that her words were being ignored, the half-Veela puffed up her cheeks angrily, her fair little hands waving back and forth in front of the old wizard's eyes. Such a request was no different from detention.

Dumbledore, who had always had a gentle and easy-going image in Eileen's mind, suddenly became stern, his two azure eyes piercing her face like sharp swords.

"Believe me, this is all for your own good. You must agree!"

"Hmph! Then I won't go to Hogwarts! Do you think I care about those magical creatures and magic? Not at all! I, most, hate, being, forced!"

Hearing Dumbledore's forceful words, Eileen felt a surge of anger in her heart. She stood up and shouted angrily at Dumbledore – what she hated most was the phrase "it's all for your own good," and what she hated second most was cram school.

The girl's silver hair shone with a faint golden light, and the tea sets and cups in the room trembled slightly with Eileen's words, making clinking sounds. A sudden vortex of air rose from under Eileen's feet and spread outward, throwing up the small objects in the room.

The porcelain cup rolled up from the table and smashed against the wall, shattering into pieces. The weak flames in the fireplace suddenly leaped up high, and the wildly swaying firelight cast shadows in the room.

The intense magical surge instantly reminded Dumbledore of the pressure brought by the young man with the same surname "Dumbledore" who had been by Grindelwald's side many years ago, even more suffocating than that child.

The old man silently looked at the girl, who looked like a cat with its fur standing on end. After thinking for a while, he put down the wand in his right hand, stood up, walked to Eileen, squatted down, picked up a piece of candy scattered on the ground, opened the wrapper, took the girl's hand, and gently placed it in her palm.

Then, in the girl's hostile and wary gaze, Dumbledore slowly reached out his wrinkled hand, gently patted her head, revealed a warm smile, and said softly with a hint of apology.

"Don't be afraid. I just want to help you."

————

(Mysterious Journey begging for food, new book seeking recommendation tickets!)
(There will be another chapter tonight, I'll try my best to evolve into a two-chapter beast!)