"Should I call you Poppy Graham?"
"Or perhaps, should I call you Hydrus Lestrange?"
In that moment, Dumbledore's sharpness was fully revealed.
Although he didn't use his will or his magic to suppress Hydrus, she felt the air suddenly become heavy.
'Is this the aura of the wizarding world's ceiling?'
Hydrus reverted to her true form. Her skin gradually turned green, her pupils became slits, and dragon horns grew from her forehead.
"Although I don't know how you managed it, Miss Lestrange," Dumbledore's face was full of admiration, "this magical transformation is truly marvelous. Hydrus the evil dragon, the nightmare of Knockturn Alley! If this were at school, I wouldn't be able to resist giving you points."
Hydrus didn't respond. Instead, she bolted fiercely toward the outside of the house.
With the enhancement of her dragon strength, her speed was extremely fast.
Hydrus had only one thought: 'Run!'
She hadn't forgotten that she was still a criminal wanted by the Ministry of Magic!
Rushing out of the villa, she was on an open lawn. Hydrus pushed her speed to the extreme, moving so fast she left afterimages.
—Although she hadn't practiced anything related to magic in the past five years, the act of constantly dispersing magic into her body had strengthened it to another level.
If she were a magical creature, her physical strength alone would earn her a 5X classification from the Ministry.
However, in front of Dumbledore, even an adult dragon was just a slightly larger small animal.
This was the power of the world's strongest white wizard.
A giant stone barrier suddenly rose from the lawn, firmly enclosing her from all sides.
Hydrus kicked off the ground hard, her whole body soaring into the air, flying towards the sky.
But Dumbledore's speed at putting a roof on the structure was clearly faster than her flying speed.
With a thud, Hydrus slammed her head into the "ceiling."
Her skull throbbed with pain. This roof, created by Transfiguration or Conjuration, was quite hard!
Hydrus landed on the ground.
This enclosed, giant "box" should have been pitch dark, but the next moment, it suddenly lit up. Dumbledore had used Transfiguration to create a dozen antique-style wall sconces within the space.
He even had the leisure to make the patterns on the sconces exquisitely detailed, even adding an aged effect!
With a soft pop, Dumbledore appeared inside.
"I can't let you just leave like that, Miss Lestrange," Dumbledore chuckled. "The Headmaster frightens away a new student during a home visit? If word of this got out, I'd lose all my old face."
"Headmaster Dumbledore, what on earth do you want? My wanted status is all a scheme by the Gray family. I'm innocent!"
Dumbledore spread his hands. "I am merely here to ensure that a new student will appear at Hogwarts on time."
'And then sort me into Azkaban during the Sorting ceremony?' Hydrus grumbled internally.
Her bloodline really couldn't withstand scrutiny. On the surface, she was a Lestrange, but in reality... 'Voldemort, you've ruined my life!'
She herself didn't believe the white wizard would let her go!
She took a deep breath.
Hydrus suddenly spewed dragon's breath.
The high-temperature, high-speed pillar of fire shot straight at Dumbledore.
The white wizard Apparated to the side in an instant, but Hydrus's eyes remained locked on Dumbledore, her breath never stopping.
Dumbledore was a little curious. The girl clearly knew she had missed, so why continue this useless effort?
But the next moment, the old Headmaster understood.
The dragon's breath had burned a hole through the rock wall he had transfigured.
"Unparalleled control!" Dumbledore couldn't help but clap. "Burning only the rock barrier, without letting even a trace of flame escape!"
"Are you afraid of damaging the Muggle house?"
Dumbledore's composed attitude greatly increased Hydrus's sense of defeat.
But she still had to escape!
Hydrus shot out with a whoosh, flying towards the hole she had burned.
Dumbledore waved his wand. Vines rose from the ground, trying to bind her, but she dodged every single one.
This agility and speed were truly impressive!
In just one second, she reached the opening.
She dove forward, half of her body already outside the "giant box."
'No matter what, I have to get out first. I made a mistake earlier. I should have taken off immediately after leaving the house. I've never heard of Dumbledore having air combat capabilities.'
'But it's not too late to mend the fence. As soon as I'm out of the "box," I'll ascend immediately!'
However, reality was harsh. The walls of the hole she had burned suddenly shrank rapidly, clamping her firmly in place.
...
This was very awkward.
Dumbledore Apparated in front of her. At this moment, she looked as if her upper body was growing out of a wall...
Hydrus exited her dragon form. "Alright, you win," she said. "Send me to the Ministry or send me straight to Azkaban, do as you please!"
Dumbledore just smiled.
But large beads of sweat began to form on Hydrus's forehead...
Her infallible, house-elf-style Apparition wouldn't work!
Dumbledore laughed heartily. "Trying to make me lower my guard by talking, and then preparing to Apparate away?"
"Quite a lot of little tricks. But when you escaped the Ministry's pursuit, you used an Apparition that ignored anti-Apparition wards. I guessed back then that you had learned the house-elves' method of travel."
"If you can use a dragon's abilities, you might not be unable to use the abilities of other magical creatures. Based on this guess, I made a lot of preparations."
Dumbledore was clearly in high spirits. "You should know, Hogwarts has many house-elves, child. It wasn't difficult to find a house-elf willing to cooperate with my research. Especially one named Momo..."
The vision ended abruptly there.
...
...
"Should I call you Poppy Graham?"
"Or perhaps, should I call you Hydrus Lestrange?"
Hydrus transformed and fled, all in one smooth motion.
Learning from her lesson, she shot straight up into the sky the moment she was out of the villa.
'This time, it should be fine!'
A Stunning Jinx shot towards her. Hydrus's pupils shrank slightly, and she dodged it. However, she suddenly felt a weight. She didn't know when, but shackles had been clapped around her ankles. At the other end of the chain were two giant iron balls.
Hydrus was speechless. The ankle chain she hadn't had time to remove after the concert tonight had actually been used by Dumbledore, transfigured into shackles...
Looking ahead, Dumbledore was sitting on a flying carpet, waving at her.
...
...
"Should I call you Poppy Graham?"
"Or perhaps, should I call you Hydrus Lestrange?"
Hydrus bent down and, under Dumbledore's puzzled gaze, removed the ankle chain.
Then she turned into a dragon and fled, all in one smooth motion.
This time, she paid close attention to the air. Sure enough, the air distorted, and Dumbledore Apparated on a flying carpet, sending a Stunning Jinx straight at her.
She dodged the spell with ease. 'No ankle chain this time, I can definitely escape, right? How can a flying carpet be faster than a dragon?'
"Descendo!"
An immense gravitational pull came from below.
"Aah\~!"
Hydrus screamed, flailing her limbs, and slammed heavily onto the ground, even cracking the concrete pavement.
...
...
"Should I call you Poppy Graham?"
"Or perhaps, should I call you Hydrus Lestrange?"
Hydrus hesitated for a moment, but ultimately removed the chain from her ankle.
She thought for a moment, then said, "Headmaster Dumbledore, why don't you drink your tea?"
Dumbledore obliged, raised his teacup, and took a sip. However, when he set the cup down, Hydrus had already vanished.
"Ah, this is the Demiguise's ability. Miss Lestrange certainly knows a lot."
As he spoke, Dumbledore's eyes followed Hydrus's movements.
Hydrus: ...
'Fine, this old bumblebee can see through one of the Deathly Hallows, the Invisibility Cloak, so naturally, he can see through a Demiguise's invisibility... How annoying!'
...
...
"Should I call you Poppy Graham?"
"Or perhaps, should I call you Hydrus Lestrange?"
Hydrus sighed.
"Mr. Headmaster, please, have some tea first."
The Headmaster smiled, raised his cup, and drank.
When he set the cup down, Hydrus was gone.
"Hm?" Dumbledore was very puzzled.
He stood up and began to scan the living room.
But no matter how he looked, Hydrus was not there.
This went back to three years ago, during the Astley siblings' world tour, India stop.
A lost little Occamy had latched onto Hydrus.
This had given her the Occamy constitution.
Occamies could grow or shrink, a wondrous ability.
She used this constitution a lot, especially every night when she went to sleep.
Now, by shrinking, she could achieve the experience of being completely surrounded by her 'little monies' while sleeping, using less than a hundred Galleons. The key was, it wasn't uncomfortable to lie on!
What could possibly make her happier than this?
And right now, Hydrus had shrunk her body to its smallest size and was hiding under the sofa.
She was preparing to wait for an opportunity to slip out of the villa, undetected!
The tiny Hydrus ran towards the other side of the sofa.
But when a person shrinks, their speed naturally slows down.
It took her a full ten seconds to cover the one-meter distance.
"Ah! I've found you."
Dumbledore's voice came. The tiny Hydrus rolled her tiny eyes. 'This "wicked" old man is so bad, I'd be a fool to believe you!'
"I really did find you, little Hydrus!"
(Hydrus, the constellation, also known as the lesser water snake)
The old man seemed to enjoy the game of hide-and-seek with Hydrus. He teased her for a little while longer, then made the sofa float.
"Child, you'd better return to your normal size, or else I'll have to speak to you with a magnifying glass."
...
...
Hydrus leaned back on the sofa, her eyes tightly closed, seemingly deep in thought.
Dumbledore sat opposite her, quietly watching her form flicker in and out of visibility.
Hydrus was shocked to discover that Dumbledone's knowledge of her was already incredibly deep.
'Did he start paying attention to me five years ago?' Hydrus couldn't help but wonder.
Cold sweat dripped incessantly from her forehead, to the point where even Dumbledore couldn't stand to watch anymore.
"Child, you're using the Demiguise's ability to peek into the future, aren't you? Don't use it too frequently, it's not good for your body."
Hydrus opened her eyes, looking at Dumbledore with a grave expression.
'Can't escape. Really can't escape.'
However, in these possibilities she had glimpsed, she had also gathered a lot of information.
First, her house-elf, Momo, was currently at Hogwarts.
Second, Dumbledore didn't seem to bear her much ill will. If he wanted to arrest her and bring her to justice, he wouldn't have needed to go through so much trouble.
Third, if she wanted to escape the white wizard, she couldn't do it, at least not at her current level.
'Instead of making useless efforts... it's better to have a proper talk with him.'
'I just don't know if Hogwarts supports correspondence courses...'
[Reviews - Power St0nes - Comments are highly appreciated to keep me going.....(+50 chapters) patre0n.c0m/talecrafter]