Chapter 3
London, inside the Society of Knowledge.
Lucian and Dumbledore sat facing each other. Both had lowered their wands. Around them lay nothing but ruins—devastated by storm and frost. Wild magical energy still lingered in the air, yet the two at the center of the tempest were strangely calm.
"Lemon tea, right?"
"Yes—thank you." Dumbledore thanked the house-elf beside him.
Barton snorted forcefully through his nose, two jets of air bursting out, then placed a cup of lemon tea in front of Dumbledore. With malicious enthusiasm he dumped in several heaping spoonfuls of sugar, stirred vigorously together with ice cubes.
"Ohhh~~~"
Dumbledore watched with an amused smile, making no attempt to stop the obviously reckless action.
Lucian shook his head slightly, then spoke first. "Professor, it seems I've earned your approval? May I ask what the third option was?"
Before they clashed, Dumbledore had given Lucian three choices.
The first one being abandoning the Dark Arts or atleast stop studying and spreading them, and Dumbledore would personally intervene with the Ministry to have Lucian's wanted status lifted.
The second one being ignore the first choice and be personally captured by Dumbledore and sent to Azkaban.
The third one being, a fight with the old Dumbledore and the decision would be made based on Lucian's performance.
The first choice Lucian had rejected without a second thought—he would never halt on the path of magic.
The second he naturally didn't want either. Though he was confident he could escape from Dumbledore, he had no certainty he could protect his two assistants in the process.
Moreover, even if he escaped this time, Dumbledore would surely mark him as a dangerous target from then on, and his future activities would be severely restricted.
As for fighting to the death—he hadn't even considered it. There was no meaning in battling Dumbledore with one's life on the line; doing so would be even more foolish.
Thus, only the third option remained.
"Hm."
Dumbledore finally tore his attention away from Barton. Under Lucian's gaze, he smiled and downed half the tooth-achingly sweet iced lemon tea in one go. "An occasional cold drink really isn't bad… but I'm getting on in years. I have to take it easy."
On the surface, Dumbledore appeared utterly relaxed, but beneath those bright blue eyes lay astonishment.
From their earlier clash, he had realized that the young man before him had already reached an extremely critical threshold—only one step away from a great status in achieving remarkable strength in magic.
Such a genius had remained completely unknown in the wizarding world until recently, only now entering the Ministry's field of vision?
"Would you mind telling me a bit about your two young assistants? And that unique spell you used earlier—what was it called again? The third attack formation?"
"Of course."
"His name is Jeffery. He's twenty-four this year. I rescued him after dismantling an underground auction. He was the first student to follow me and study under me. he's talented."
Following Lucian's introduction, Jeffery stepped forward from behind him and greeted Dumbledore politely.
"Headmaster Dumbledore, it is an honor to meet you."
"Hello—good lad."
Dumbledore narrowed his eyes slightly. It was as though he could see the scars hidden beneath Jeffery's clothes. His expression softened. He believed Lucian could easily have removed those scars, but this young man named Jeffery seemed to carry a certain stubbornness about them?
"Her name is Camille. She's eighteen. Uhm, her parents are unknown. She carries a mysterious curse on her body. She's currently studying under me while we search for a way to break the curse."
"May I take a look?"
Hearing the word "curse," Dumbledore raised his wand again which made Camille hesitate and glance toward Lucian.
"If Professor Dumbledore is willing to examine it, nothing could be better." Lucian gave her a gentle nod.
Camille stepped forward silently and rolled up her right sleeve. Just above her wrist was a pitch-black crescent moon mark, mysterious and striking.
"Professor?"
Dumbledore belatedly noticed the particular way Lucian addressed him, and an unconscious sense of calm settled over his heart. That low-profile, courteous student from many years ago, even after more than a decade of trials, seemed essentially unchanged.
At the very least, he still held genuine respect for his former professors. Dumbledore's thoughts drifted. He raised his wand and waved it toward Camille.
"I'm sorry, but it seems like even I cannot unravel the mystery of this curse." Dumbledore lowered his wand and exhaled softly, his eyes full of curiosity about the mark on Camille's body. "But I can confirm that this curse will not harm her."
"Indeed. So far, aside from erasing her emotions once a month, we haven't discovered any other negative effects."
"Erasing emotions?" Dumbledore sounded puzzled.
"Yes. Every month, her impressions of the past are wiped clean. The memories remain, but in her perception those events become something extremely distant—devoid of any emotional resonance."
"It doesn't affect anything. Even if my emotions are erased each month, in the new month I will still sincerely admire and respect professor from the bottom of my heart." Camille delivered this declaration with an expressionless face, then stepped back behind Lucian.
Dumbledore caught something in her words and shot Lucian a teasing glance. Lucian kept his face straight giving no response.
Seeing that Lucian refused to take the bait, Dumbledore remembered which house the young man had once belonged to and belatedly realized—he probably didn't enjoy this kind of "time-wasting" small talk.
So he finally moved on to the main topic.
"In any case, you've taught these two students very well. I can feel the stable, powerful magic within them."
"Yes, I've invested a great deal of effort in them. But in a way, it's mutual learning."
Lucian accepted Dumbledore's praise frankly, though no trace of pleasure showed on his face—as though this were simply a natural, inevitable result.
"Mutual learning? You mean the professor learns from the student?"
Dumbledore was somewhat surprised by Lucian's viewpoint. He had met many outstanding individuals, but the more exceptional they were, the prouder they tended to be—rarely willing to admit they might be inferior to someone else.
Much less inferior to their own students.
"accepting the truth is not that hard." Lucian said, with a smile, "Morever each field of study or skill has its own masters.
Therefore, a student is not necessarily inferior to the professor, and a professor need not be superior to the disciple in every aspect.
In truth, when it comes to curses, all I possess is theoretical knowledge. I have little practical experience, so Camille and I often discuss and explore together."
"After all, it's not so easy to find suitable subjects for curse research, is it?" Dumbledore liked this humble answer and spoke with a hint of implication.
"Indeed. Though we could use test subjects as substitutes, the results are far from ideal. On the path of curses, I still have much to learn."
"You're too modest, Lucian. Even without studying the Dark Arts, you would still be a truly remarkable master of magic."Dumbledore took another sip of tea, his gaze shifting to the two quiet students standing behind Lucian.
Like master, like student? The three of them truly seemed cut from the same mold.
Looking at them, Dumbledore felt as though he were gazing at the bright moon reflected on a winter lake at night: beneath their calm surface lay an unfathomable depth that invited contemplation.
Even he, in this moment, could not help but genuinely admire the three of them. It would be far too great a pity for talents like these to go astray—Dumbledore suddenly felt a premonition.
Turmoil was coming, and it was at this precise moment that he had discovered Lucian. In the future, Lucian might very well become one of the most crucial figures in it all.
With that thought, Dumbledore set down his teacup. His bright blue eyes reflected Lucian's upright figure. "The third path I offered you… is an invitation."
"As Headmaster of Hogwarts, I would like to invite you to come to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry… as the new Professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts. You may continue your research into the Dark Arts under my supervision—but you must no longer involve yourself further in the three Unforgivable Curses."
'Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor?' Lucian's perfectly straight posture suddenly stiffened.