Fake foreign alcohol has always had a special effect on the brain.
"Mr. Prince is truly knowledgeable! Rabi admires Mr. Prince so much!"
"Habi admires him too!"
"Sibi will prove Sibi's admiration with actions, Sibi has cut another plate of meat for Mr. Prince."
...
The house-elves are really great at providing emotional value.
Ian's grand plan to ascend the throne at Hogwarts might not be progressing, but in this little corner of the kitchen, he seems to already be enjoying the joy of being a little emperor.
"I've had enough hotpot meat, can you roast this plate of meat and put it in a Mexican wrap for me? I want to be able to replenish my energy while studying."
Ian's request naturally wouldn't be refused by the elves. In a steady stream of emotional affirmations praising his diligence, he took the Mexican wrap and was planning to go to the Forbidden Forest.
Christmas is coming.
Ian needs to prepare gifts for his friends and family. Out of courtesy, Grindelwald must also enjoy the same treatment as Dumbledore and Snape.
He certainly didn't want to be remembered by the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. Besides, apart from the Resurrection Stone and Slytherin's pendant box, the golden container Grindelwald gave is also pure gold.
Reciprocity, after all.
"I'm really a social little expert." Ian passed by the four giant hourglasses that recorded the Academy scores, and he found that Ravenclaw's score was far ahead of the other colleges. First-year freshmen obviously hadn't earned much honor for the school, so it seems the senior students are really quite competent.
"If there are no extra points from the Quidditch Cup, we'd win for sure." Ian had quite an opinion about Quidditch, perhaps because Ravenclaw College didn't perform well in this sport and had little hope of winning. This sport's championship at Hogwarts almost always belonged to Slytherin.
Passing through the entrance hall.
Ian walked toward the castle's gate—his Forbidden Forest "zero dollar purchase" plan was interrupted by a sudden heavy rain, and it was obvious he hadn't noticed the weather while he was in the kitchen.
Now, the rain was pouring down.
Lightning continuously streaked across the sky, and the light shone through the windows, casting mottled shadows that suddenly disappeared. It was hard to say if, in such weather, going to the Forbidden Forest would lead to being struck by lightning.
The little wizards who had been playing outside were also running back one by one, a group of students of all sizes scrambling into the castle, some covering their heads and some holding brooms like refugees.
Their faces and bodies bore signs of the rain, and some students' robes were even covered with mud, possibly from a Quidditch fall or perhaps from playing with boars in the mud—it was unclear. For Hogwarts' little wizards, even the most bizarre behavior seemed reasonable.
Ian stood at the entrance.
He greeted the little wizards coming and going, and he saw the figure resembling a large bat walking towards the castle as well, the sides of the robe billowing high in the stormy wind.
"Professor Snape."
Several little wizards fearfully greeted the large bat. Even the rain seemed to fear this man, veering away before touching his perpetually black robe.
"Get to the dining hall for dinner," Snape said to Ian as he passed him, his expression as gloomy as the cloudy sky outside.
This was clearly not directed at Ian.
Because following behind Snape was a man who seemed timid and small. This man kept greeting some senior wizards but seemed unable to look the little wizards in the eye.
"You weren't like this before you left."
Snape's sunken face became even more sunken when speaking to this man.
"I…I just encountered a lot of danger and got a bit scared… I need some time to recover, some time to recover." The man responded to Snape.
He also gave Ian a polite smile.
"What are you standing here for? Go to the dining hall for dinner!"
Snape gave Ian's back a hard push.
"Okay."
Ian kept looking back at the man who was returning with Snape.
This man wore a plain robe without much decoration, and a purple scarf hung around his neck. His thin frame seemed to sway as if suffering from long-term malnutrition.
"Professor Quirrell! Don't go that way! We need to go to the Headmaster's Office, you ended your leave early, and you need to see Dumbledore with me first."
The large bat's tone was quite annoyed.
Ian, who had stopped, heard Snape's address to the wizard.
He turned to look.
The man was not wearing a turban on his head.