Let's rewind to before Dumbledore's departure.
"Dumbledore, I must speak with you!"
Professor McGonagall called out to Dumbledore with a serious expression.
"Minerva, I have something urgent to attend to—"
"I know," Professor McGonagall interrupted Dumbledore, unusually, "It's about Levi, isn't it?"
"Minerva, I must say I'm a little surprised." Dumbledore's expression remained unchanged, but the atmosphere clearly darkened. "
I didn't expect even you to know about him. It seems his influence is more serious than I imagined!"
"Of course I know him! He's my student—no—no—what are you saying!"
Professor McGonagall's eyes widened, realizing Dumbledore had misunderstood her.
"I've maintained correspondence with Levi for many years; my interactions with him are far more frequent than yours. Of course I know him!
Not the kind of infamous knowledge you're thinking of! It's the exchange between two scholars!"
Professor McGonagall was clearly agitated, her tone quite indignant.
Dumbledore's eyes widened slightly, then immediately lowered again.
" Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't expect that."
Professor McGonagall wasn't one to hold grudges.
She stared intently at Dumbledore, her face stern.
"The Ministry of Magic wants you to personally arrest him?"
"Yes, while what he's done isn't currently harmless, Fudge and I both see a dangerous trend. He'll likely be imprisoned in Azkaban."
Professor McGonagall blinked, not speaking immediately.
Then came a heavy sigh.
"Oh no."
But she said nothing more.
No one understood Levi's thoughts better than her.
This student believed magic was a miracle of wish fulfillment, a mystery containing the ultimate truths of the universe, but also a science that could be dissected.
Whether it's spells, transfiguration, or dark magic, everything has its origins. The reason it's incomprehensible is simply due to insufficient research.
In his twenty-one years of quiet dedication, Levi mastered all spells, the first to fifth stages of transfiguration, and combined spells and transfiguration to invent many spells that Professor McGonagall applauded.
What pleased Professor McGonagall even more was Levi's open-mindedness in sharing—Levi believed that simply understanding and mastering knowledge was not enough; only when you could teach it to others could you truly say you had mastered it.
Although he didn't hold a professorship at any magic school, he had walked the magical world for many years, taking on over a dozen students and two assistants whom even Professor McGonagall admired.
She had tried to persuade Levi to stop researching dark magic, but in the end, it was Professor McGonagall who was convinced.
In fact, every powerful wizard had studied dark magic, even Dumbledore and she were no exception.
What Levi did was actually similar to what they had done before, only the times were different. Professor McGonagall desperately pondered how to save Levi from this predicament.
Dumbledore sensed Professor McGonagall's complex emotions and was somewhat surprised. He rarely saw Minerva display such nuanced emotional changes.
Did this unassuming student seem to have entirely different insights from his own?
"Minerva, I fully respect your thoughts,"
Dumbledore said gently, looking at Professor McGonagall who had hurriedly looked up.
"Regarding Levi, if you have any thoughts or opinions, please tell me. I assure you, I will carefully and thoroughly consider your ideas."
Professor McGonagall hesitated for a moment, knowing her words would influence Dumbledore's judgment, but she still spoke.
"Dumbledore, besides arresting Levi and sending him to Azkaban, is there any other possibility?"
"Of course—if he gives up his research and dissemination of Dark Magic."
Professor McGonagall's heart, which had just settled, tightened again, and she finally sighed dejectedly.
"That's impossible."
"Has he become that obsessed?"
Dumbledore raised an eyebrow, his inclination shifting to the other side.
"Obsessive...? Perhaps, but it's definitely not obsession with Dark Magic, but obsession with Magic itself."
Professor McGonagall sighed again, her mind racing, wondering if there were other possibilities.
Levi was not only her former student, but also a close friend with whom she had corresponded for over ten years, and a like-minded partner in teaching and magic.
Even with differences in their philosophies, Professor McGonagall still genuinely respected and appreciated the existence of someone like Levi.
"I thought magic wasn't just limited to Dark Magic?"
Dumbledore retorted sarcastically.
"According to him, he's reached a dead end in spells and transfiguration unless a new perspective is introduced—like dark magic and ancient runes.
But he considers ancient runes a subject he hasn't mastered enough. Asking him to abandon dark magic to study ancient runes is like choosing to mine underground instead of digging for gold right in front of him—that's what he said himself."
Dumbledore's eyebrows rose subtly.
He was intrigued.
Although he didn't think ancient runes were as bad as Levi made them out to be, he found the other's understanding of dark magic and ancient runes quite interesting.
Of course, Dumbledore would never admit that he secretly thought the same thing.
Otherwise, why would he have bothered studying dark magic in the first place?
"Nowhere to go? That's a broad term."
Even Dumbledore wouldn't say he couldn't improve his magic any further, but he had indeed seen people who, after reaching a certain stage, could no longer make any progress.
"At the very least, are you sure he's mastered all the spells and transfiguration? Or is this just an excuse?"
"As far as I know, he only got eight O's in his OWL exams.
Of course, that's a very good achievement; he didn't even use the Time-Turner, but it's still far from his goal."
Hogwarts' library contains the vast majority of spells and transfiguration knowledge, even books like The Secrets of Dark Magic, which deal with Dark Magic and the Unforgivable Curse, are kept in the restricted section.
However, a student can't possibly master this knowledge while still in school, and acquiring it after graduation is much more difficult.
Not to mention, Levi neither joined the Ministry of Magic nor the Death Eaters; how did he acquire that knowledge?
Or was Minerva simply fooled by him?
"When I first learned of this, I was also quite surprised and even verified it myself—I have to admit, in terms of the number of spells he knows, I'm indeed inferior to him."
As if thinking of something interesting, Professor McGonagall's face lit up with a smile again, even taking the time to keep things mysterious—just now, she had thought of another solution to this matter.
Although the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor changes every year, Professor McGonagall preferred to let Levi take a gamble rather than be imprisoned in Azkaban.
Besides, she believed Levi might be able to solve the problem.
"What method did he use?"
Dumbledore asked, half-supporting and half-curious, seeing Professor McGonagall's silent smile.
"He memorized all the knowledge needed in the entire librar and the Forbidden Section."
Ps.
Please show your love i being uncomfortable because of output.
(End of Chapter)