"Professor Dumbledore, using Legilimency to pry into someone's mind is a very impolite thing to do, let alone to one of your own students," Victor said with a sigh and a nonchalant expression. He had vaguely felt a probing force and immediately knew that the old man was using Legilimency. He hadn't used his full power, though; otherwise, the reaction from his Mind Ward would have been much bigger.
"Oh… I'm sorry, I couldn't help myself," Dumbledore looked like a child caught doing something wrong, quickly averting his gaze.
"So, Professor, is there a reason you called me here?" Victor asked, already knowing the answer. He walked up to Dumbledore, took a Cockroach Cluster from the glass jar, and popped it into his mouth.
The candy looked exactly like a regular cockroach, and its repulsive appearance was enough to make most people not want to eat it. But for Victor, it was nothing. When he was on Earth, he had eaten all sorts of things, from cow dung hot pot to a full insect banquet.
Cockroach Clusters were, at best, just a candy shaped like a cockroach. He had eaten real bugs before, so what was there to be afraid of?
There was even a time when he was looking for bamboo worms in the mountains; he ate so many of them raw that he had an allergic reaction to the protein and had to be sent to the hospital.
He chewed on the candy, and it was actually quite good. It was crunchy and sweet, but the cockroach legs were a bit sharp on his tongue. He also wished it was less sweet; just one was like having a spoonful of wild honey in his mouth.
Dumbledore was silent for a few seconds after Victor's question. Then he began, "Mr. Dreyar, who taught you magic?"
"I think Professor McGonagall should have already told you about that," Victor said, grabbing another handful of Cockroach Clusters and putting them in his mouth. "Actually, Professor, you don't have to worry about a thing. I came to Hogwarts simply to learn. There's no need for you to see me as a source of instability."
"I'm not a lunatic like Voldemort; I have my own will!"
Victor wasn't surprised by Dumbledore's question. If he were in Dumbledore's shoes, a student who completely defied all logic suddenly appeared in the magical school he ran, and that student was from a regular Muggle family. How could that not attract attention? It was a logical question, and Victor fully understood.
However, Dumbledore's expression, which had been calm until now, finally showed a hint of emotion when Victor said the name Voldemort.
"That's truly impressive, Mr. Dreyar," Dumbledore's expression became serious. "You should know what it means to say that name. No one has dared to say his name out loud since he died."
"Is he truly dead, Professor Dumbledore? You and everyone else seem to have imagined him to be too terrifying, so much so that people have forgotten that ten years ago, he was beaten into the ugly state he is in now by someone he considered to be an ant. He's just a parasite, clinging to others to survive." Victor said with his cheeks full, a crunching sound coming from his mouth, looking completely unfazed.
"For someone who likes sweets, shouldn't you be able to smell the strong garlic scent on Professor Quirrell? It's meant to cover up the smell of decay!"
"..." Dumbledore was silent once again. Victor's composure and the things he knew were completely beyond Dumbledore's expectations. At this moment, Dumbledore was thinking about how to handle his relationship with this completely illogical young wizard.
"Mr. Dreyar, if you don't feel comfortable telling me the name of your teacher, I won't press you. I am also very willing to believe that you won't do anything to harm Hogwarts," Dumbledore suddenly said. "However, I still have one request for you. Please don't reveal anything about Quirrell, especially to Harry Potter."
Victor was a little speechless when he heard Dumbledore, a series of ellipses appearing over his head. He realized that Dumbledore had just given him a perfect reason for his power and had even saved him the trouble of creating a plausible backstory.
He didn't know why this 109-year-old living fossil of a man had come to this conclusion, but Victor decided to just go with it and continue the conversation in the direction Dumbledore had taken.
So…
"Professor, that's not a request at all. I have no intention of getting involved in Professor Quirrell's affairs," Victor said, his words having a double meaning. This answer showed that Victor had agreed to Dumbledore's request, but also that he had no intention of getting involved in Dumbledore's plan to use Quirrell or Voldemort to train Harry.
To be honest, Victor just couldn't understand why Dumbledore, who was known as the White Wizard of the magical world, would allow himself to be bound by a small prophecy.
Voldemort had been severely injured for ten years now, and Dumbledore, knowing that the noseless wonder wasn't completely dead, had not done anything.
What had he been doing all this time?
Was he just stupidly waiting for Harry to come to school so he could train him to become the Savior who would defeat Voldemort, just like the prophecy said?
Victor would bet his life that Dumbledore, with his power and influence, could have at least found out about the Horcruxes and destroyed one or two of them if he hadn't let up on his investigation of Voldemort over the past decade.
Moreover, even if Dumbledore believed that the prophecy would be fulfilled, there were many ways to train someone, but he chose an aggressive, high-risk, and uncertain method. Was he not afraid that instead of creating a Savior, he would create a second Dark Lord?
And there was one more thing Victor couldn't figure out: What was Dumbledore so afraid of?
As the man who had defeated Gellert Grindelwald and ended the First Wizarding War, as long as he was alive, Voldemort would always be just a rat in a sewer. He would never be able to rule the European wizarding world.
Victor had once found a shabby diary in a junkyard that detailed the bloody war led by Grindelwald decades ago, a war that had almost affected the entire world.
To win, Grindelwald's followers had used every brutal and ruthless method imaginable. If a terrorist like Voldemort had been around back then, he would have been torn to shreds by the vortex of war in an instant.
Victor would bet his life that Voldemort wouldn't have survived for a month. He would even wash his hair while standing on his head!
"Thank you, Mr. Dreyar," Dumbledore's serious expression slowly relaxed when he heard Victor agree. However, just as he was about to ask Victor to leave his office, Victor cut him off.
"Now, Professor, since you've said what you needed to say, it's my turn to talk," Victor said, pulling a piece of parchment out of his robe with his sticky hands. On it was the Hogwarts class schedule, with the days, dates, and subjects.
"Professor Dumbledore, I've been meaning to talk to you about this for a long time, and since I'm here today, I want to discuss the Hogwarts curriculum with you, no matter what!"
"Look, at our first-year schedule…"
For the next few minutes, Victor began to ramble on to Dumbledore about the modern education system's teaching philosophy, proposing that the current average of 1.2 class periods a day at Hogwarts be increased to five or six, with a focus on first-year students to help them build a strong foundation.
Dumbledore broke out in a cold sweat listening to Victor's angry and incessant speech. He couldn't understand what the students had done to deserve such a brutal and inhumane schedule.
"Mr. Dreyar, please, listen to me. I know you have the best interests of the students at heart," Dumbledore interrupted Victor with a headache. "But have you considered that our professors don't have enough energy to teach so many classes? Remember, except for the seventh-year students, the professors have to teach every other year as well."
"Huh?! That's not a big deal! Just hire a few more professors. I don't believe you can't find a few more," Victor said indifferently.
"But Hogwarts doesn't have the funding for that," Dumbledore explained. "Hogwarts's funds are mostly provided by traditional British wizarding families. There's no way they would give us another Knut, not unless I hand over some of the management rights of Hogwarts."
"Galleons?" When he heard that the problem was money, Victor's gaze drifted to the Forbidden Forest outside the window.
Dumbledore followed Victor's gaze and immediately knew what he was thinking. He quickly said, "No, no, no. That won't do. Mr. Dreyar, it's time for you to go!"
"Fawkes!" The phoenix that had been dozing on its gilded perch spread its wings. With a long cry, a flash of fire enveloped Victor.
"Hey! Hey! I'm not done yet!" Victor complained. But just before Fawkes transported him away, he left Dumbledore with one last message. "Horcruxes! Voldemort's immortality…"
But before he could finish, the flames completely surrounded him.