But the joys and sorrows of people are rarely shared. While Jane Yu and Newt Scamander marveled at their good fortune, Albus Dumbledore was utterly overwhelmed.
First, his summer plans were completely disrupted by a series of unexpected events. Then, his ward was struck by a mysterious curse. To top it off, The Daily Prophet published a scathing article slandering him and the Wizengamot. And his dear brother Aberforth not only believed the article but even attempted to seize custody of his ward...
Almost every day, letters flooded in like snowflakes, many of them Howlers in vivid red.
"Your ward was cursed, and you ** just stood there watching!" Aberforth's crude roar echoed through the office. "If you * were standing in front of me, ** I'd punch you in the nose this instant! Break that crooked nose of yours again!"
What followed only stoked the flames of Dumbledore's anger.
"Albus, I've always said you're incapable of raising a child!"
"If you can't take care of her, then transfer custody to me!"
Hearing this, Dumbledore felt an uncontrollable urge to storm into the Hog's Head and cast a Tongue-Tying Curse on Aberforth!
He tore up the letter on the spot and stuffed a handful of wriggling cockroaches into an envelope, instructing Fawkes to deliver them to his brother—with specific orders to sprinkle them over his head.
Only after doing this did he manage to calm down slightly, taking two large gulps of honey tea.
Faced with such misfortunes, he even wondered if he should take a piece of Murtlap Essence to heal himself!
When he finally finished dealing with the pile of letters and arrived at the Scamander couple's cottage, more bad news awaited him.
Newt, his once-favorite student...
Actually wanted to keep Jane Yu as his apprentice!
Now he truly understood what it meant to be stabbed in the back!
And his dear ward, for some reason, seemed to be swayed by Scamander...
Even nodding in agreement!
"Newt, while I have great faith in your expertise in magical creatures," Dumbledore tried his best to maintain a calm tone and expression, "completing the seven years of basic education at Hogwarts is what she ought to do."
"After graduation, she can choose to join you for research... There's no need to rush."
Newt wasn't easily convinced. Socially awkward as he was, he failed to catch Dumbledore's underlying message and thought he could still make his case. So he argued:
"But she's incredibly talented. We should nurture that talent, and Hogwarts doesn't allow magical creatures."
"I can teach her those spells myself. I can take her to the rainforests of Brazil, the volcanoes of Peru... for research..."
His words came to an abrupt halt as Tina gave a sharp twist to the flesh on his waist. Though it was late July, the height of summer, he felt a chill run down his spine.
Instinct and survival instincts told him that silence was the best option.
For some reason, he suddenly felt as if he had returned to the interrogation room of the Magical Congress of the United States of America sixty years ago. The figure of Percival Graves, or rather Grindelwald in disguise, sitting across from him, suddenly morphed into the image of Headmaster Dumbledore, arms crossed, frowning as he asked:
"What is it about you that makes Jane Yu like you so much?"
He shook his head, chalking it up to being too groggy from waking up early.
How could he possibly think Headmaster Dumbledore was Grindelwald?
Meanwhile, Jane Yu sat there, utterly dejected, as if mourning a great loss.
She had thought this matter was a done deal, only to have her guardian veto it outright!
Even rejecting the request of his favorite student—
She had underestimated Dumbledore's controlling nature!
She thought bitterly.
...
Dumbledore whisked Jane Yu away faster than ever before.
He thought his misfortunes had ended, but little did he know, they were just beginning.
Just as he pulled out a piece of parchment, cleared his throat, and prepared to outline his grand plans, a letter from the Ministry of Magic arrived.
When he unfolded it and saw Cornelius Fudge's hasty and scrawled handwriting, his vision went black—
Sirius Black had escaped from Azkaban!
Not wanting to face Aberforth's smug expression at the Hog's Head, he chose instead to drop Jane Yu off at Diagon Alley, instructing her:
"You should know that underage wizards have the Trace, which allows their location to be tracked—"
"So you will obediently stay at The Leaky Cauldron and won't wander off to Muggle London, right?"
Jane Yu nodded dejectedly.
Dumbledore quickly handed her the package sent by the Flamel couple and hurried off to the Ministry of Magic.
...
From the moment Jane Yu arrived at Diagon Alley, she felt something was off.
Why did passing wizards keep sneaking glances at her with strange expressions?
Puzzled, she checked into Room 10 at The Leaky Cauldron and opened the package from the Flamel couple.
Inside were a letter, a blueprint, and a game console. She unfolded the letter.
[Dear Yu,
We hope you are doing well!
We're deeply sorry you couldn't spend your summer vacation in France. We look forward to seeing you this time next year.
We have good news to share: the French Ministry of Magic has approved the research and use of the game console.
To that end, we've sent you a prototype and the blueprints. If the international procedures go smoothly, we'd be delighted to grant you the license to manufacture and sell it.
To commemorate your contributions to the game console, we've included some surprises and Easter eggs in the modified version of the game.
We hope you can spread the joy and brilliance of the game across the world.
Sincerely yours,
Nicolas Flamel & Perenelle Flamel]
What a delightful surprise!
The Flamels truly were the research geniuses of the wizarding world!
In her previous life, they'd surely have been at least academician-level talents!