"What does this have to do with my compensation? Is it because the Saints have become active again, so as Aurora's good friend, I should naturally be valued by them?"
Ian felt he couldn't rudely criticize the actions of his own headmaster.
"In fact, the Saints don't hold much sway here." Dumbledore chuckled lightly, his tone tinged with a hint of regret, "But the pure-blood clans aren't foolish, and my methods aren't exactly clean, as I don't have much experience in these matters."
"They'll definitely discover the truth, perhaps they've already discovered it. Believe me, Ian, they will reassess whether the letters I sent them carry weight." Dumbledore's words were quite intriguing, and Ian saw a very confident look on the headmaster's face.
"Aren't you afraid they'll report you to the Ministry of Magic?"
Ian asked curiously.
By the candlelight, Dumbledore leaned slightly forward, bringing his face closer to the light, his smile becoming even more intriguing.
"I don't think so; they know how to judge the situation... In fact, after I took what I wanted from Gringotts amidst the encirclement of Aurors, even if I came forward to the Ministry of Magic and confessed that it was my doing, the Ministry would claim someone implanted me with a false memory."
"All the Aurors present, including the elves, would become witnesses before the trial, proving to the Ministry that the person they encountered was merely a follower of the evil Dark Wizard, Grindelwald."
"Honestly, if they dared to challenge me, I would actually be glad for them." Dumbledore's soft-spoken words left Ian feeling incredulous.
This was something Dumbledore actually said!
Where was the softie Dumbledore?
"Are you teaching me that with power, you can do whatever you want?" Ian wanted to pinch Dumbledore's face, suspecting some Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher was up to a prank.
"I thought you'd be more concerned about the compensation from the pure-blood clans." Dumbledore replied with a smile, "Ian, I'm just telling you that the world isn't black and white."
"What you need to understand most, sheltered as you are, is that even your headmaster, the celebrated hero, sometimes resorts to unscrupulous means."
It's hard to imagine Dumbledore remaining so composed when evaluating himself like this.
"I think I'm still too young to understand all this."
Ian quickly changed the subject.
"Who wouldn't think so."
Dumbledore nodded, noncommittally.
He noticed that Ian's gaze kept drifting toward Hufflepuff's Golden Cup.
"You recognize this item, don't you?"
Dumbledore pushed Hufflepuff's Golden Cup forward, and Ian, who had been itching to touch it, immediately held it with both hands. The profound alchemy engravings confirmed his guess—it was indeed a treasure capable of replicating the 1982 Lafite! This thing could even adjust the taste of red wine!
"It should belong to Hufflepuff's ancestor." Ian was filled with doubts and amazement; he really wanted to know why such a thing was now in Dumbledore's possession.
Moreover.
Wasn't it said that this thing was cast with Diffindo and Flagrante Curse? Ian gave it a tap, but the cup didn't split. Looking into the cup's mouth, he only saw a hollow darkness with Riddle's fractured soul shivering inside—his unconscious curiosity piqued Dumbledore's attention.
"I've already removed some of the curses from it."
Dumbledore looked at Ian with deep meaning and suddenly laughed, "Inside now is just one of my students, the Wizarding World's notorious Mysterious Man."
He did not, as he did with Harry Potter, conceal the known information; he straightforwardly told Ian it was a Horcrux from Voldemort.
"I can't see it, but I can sense a lingering soul; it seems to be frightened by you. So, that's Voldemort's soul?"
"Why did he end up in here?" Ian feigned curiosity while shaking Hufflepuff's Golden Cup as if it were a soda.
Tom Riddle's remaining soul had just glared at him fiercely from inside.
"I thought you had studied the knowledge about Horcruxes since the content about Fiery Fire follows the Horcrux explanation." Dumbledore's astonishing remark made Ian stop shaking abruptly.
"..."
Ian didn't expect to face such a situation. He tugged at his lips, "Did Aurora's grandfather tell you? Didn't expect him to know that she gave the book to me?"
Ian knew that pretending to play dumb was pointless. Still, he wasn't overly nervous since the source of "Advanced Dark Arts Unveiled" was a bona fide Hogwarts professor!
Learning Dark Arts in secret?
Clearly, it was just attending the professor's class ahead of time! If Dumbledore could hire Grindelwald as a professor, why shouldn't Ian critically study some advanced Dark Arts with his Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher? Dumbledore can't be double-standard; otherwise, Ian will call Ariana to weigh in!
Thinking of this, Ian suddenly remembered the reason he came to the Headmaster's Office to find Dumbledore. He had been initially drawn in by Hufflepuff's Golden Cup.