Chapter 6 Secret Talk

That night, Professor McGonagall returned to Hogwarts.

Probably because school had not started yet, Hogwarts seemed a bit empty at night. Professor McGonagall walked alone in the empty corridors, with only her own footsteps and the whisper of the portrait accompanying her.

Walking in front of an extremely ugly giant stone monster, Mag stopped and said, "Ice pear juice!"

After hearing these words, the monster suddenly came to life and jumped to the side. The wall behind it cracked in half, revealing a spiral staircase. Professor McGonagall climbed the stairs, and the newly cracked wall closed with a roar, and the stairs spiraled upwards, like an escalator in a Muggle mall.

There was a wooden door at the top of the stairs. Professor McGonagall walked up and knocked on the door. With a creak, the door opened by itself.

Professor McGonagall walked into the room. It was a spacious circular room with many portraits hanging on the walls. There were men and women. They were each doing their own thing, but they were all secretly looking at McGonagall. Sitting behind the desk was a tall and thin old man. His silver hair and beard were long enough to be tucked into his belt. His nose was long but looked a little crooked, and it must have been broken. Behind the half-moon-shaped glasses is a pair of blue eyes, which seem to contain supreme wisdom.

"Professor McGonagall, would you like some cockroaches to try?"

"No, Albus. I took that child to Diagon Alley today." Professor McGonagall first glanced at the so-called pile of cockroaches, and then waved her hand decisively.

"How is it?" Albus Dumbledore stretched out his long fingers to pick through the pile of cockroaches. "What kind of child is little Esmeralda?"

Professor McGonagall thought for a moment and then replied: "A good child, very talented, but also very pitiful." Professor McGonagall then relayed Ada's story to Dumbledore.

After hearing about Ada's unfortunate childhood, Dumbledore was silent for a while, and then said: "Happy people use their childhood to heal their lives, and unfortunate people use their lives to heal their childhood... We can't choose our origins, but we can Choose how to live. In this world, there are always people who can face the misfortunes of life, are not afraid of thorns along the way, and bloom bright flowers in the wind and rain..."

"Albus, I think she should be a strong child. You asked me to pay more attention to that child. I have also observed her in the past few days. She takes care of her life very well. What should be done at what time? She arranged everything well... But today I officially met with her. Her behavior was in line with the experience that a child of this age should have, but I could feel that she had been hiding herself. She only showed that she was obedient and well-behaved. On the one hand..." Professor McGonagall said while thinking about what happened in the past few days.

"This shows that little Esmeralda is a smart child, and she knows how to please others. In front of a teacher, if she shows her obedient and sensible side, she will naturally be liked by the teacher. Just It seems like a cunning young fox!" Dumbledore said, he sometimes felt that he was a little too cautious? As a student who has not officially enrolled yet, I still have a lot of time to observe and guide.

"Well, yes, she knows exactly what she needs." Mag recalled the scene in the second-hand bookstore with Ada today. When Ada chose books, she did not choose them randomly, but in a very targeted way. Pick. Ada buys books that are suitable for her. Through these books, she can increase her understanding of the magical world. She is very aware of her shortcomings and will find ways to make up for them.

"It's just, Albus, I still don't quite understand why you are interested in her? She just... Drizzt just came out of an orphanage like him..." Professor McGonagall was still not very sure. Do you understand why Dumbledore pays so much attention to a child who has not yet entered school? Is it because she had the same unfortunate childhood as that person who must not be named?

"I want to know more about Miss Drizzt, not because of him." Dumbledore recalled, and then said to McGonagall, "The reason is the Book of Access."

"Book of Access?" Professor McGonagall became even more confused.

"In this land, every time a child shows magical talents, there will be one more name in the Book of Admission. Then we will recruit the child to Hogwarts at the right age." Dumble Lido said.

The Book of Access is stored in an inconspicuous locked tower at Hogwarts, and if Dumbledore hadn't accidentally discovered the situation, no one would have discovered it.

The Book of Admission and the Pen of Acceptance, two ancient magical items, exist to provide admission lists for Hogwarts. Whenever a child on the British Isles shows his magical talent for the first time, the Pen of Acceptance will write the child's name in the Book of Admission. The name appears on the Book of Admission, and the child will receive a notice of admission to Hogwarts when they are eleven or twelve years old.

However, not every child with a magic riot will receive a notification letter, because some children are not capable enough to become a wizard, or they are only affected by the residual magic energy of their parents, rather than their own abilities. In this case, although the Pen of Acceptance will still record the child's name, the Book of Admission will prevent it from being written and exclude the child.

"Miss Drizzt's name is in the Book of Access. What's the problem with this?" Professor McGonagall was even more confused by Dumbledore's words. She really couldn't think of any relationship between the Book of Access and Ada. What's the connection?

"Yes, Ada's name is in the Book of Admission, and there is no doubt about her admission." Dumbledore looked at the confused McGonagall and slowly explained, "Esmeralda Jessie Ka Drizzt, I don’t know when her name first appeared in the Book of Access, but I do know that her name disappeared from the Book of Access two years ago..."

"Disappeared?" Mag felt a little incredible. "Disappeared and then reappeared. Has this happened before? Can you do it?"

Although Professor McGonagall has been working at Hogwarts for a long time, this has never happened before. The Book of Access almost never made any mistakes. For the first time, she felt that she was really old and her brain was running out.

"I can't do it, Minerva," Dumbledore said. "Actually, it's not the first time that a name in the Book of Admission has disappeared. It's usually some unfortunate news, such as the child's death. lost his talent or died young."

"However, neither situation suits her!"

"Yes, the two most common situations are not suitable for her. I didn't think too much about it at the time, and I just felt it was a pity that her name disappeared. But a few days later, I found that Ais The name Melalda Jane Drizzt reappears in the Book of Access." Dumbledore also showed a puzzled look.

Professor McGonagall was also lost in thought, and a name appeared on the Book of Access. This was normal. It is normal for a name to disappear, but it is abnormal for it to disappear only to reappear a few days later.

"So, is that why you asked me to pay more attention to her?"

"This is the cause of the matter, and there are other things that contributed to my decision. Minerva, do you remember that there was a big accident in London two summers ago? At that time, Cornelius personally led the magic accident Staff from the Disaster Department went to the scene to handle the incident."

Professor McGonagall had an impression of this incident. The scene of the accident left traces of a strong burst of magic power, and an entire street was blown up. The incident caused quite a stir at the time. Although there was no Dark Mark left at the scene of the accident, most people still believed that the remnants of Death Eaters had done it.

There were only a few collapsed buildings and two unidentifiable bodies left at the center of the accident. Otherwise, the Ministry of Magic found no useful information. In the end, the Ministry of Magic, which found nothing, had to disguise the accident as an accident caused by a gas leak.

However, people who had lived a peaceful life for a few years did not buy it at all. Regarding the Ministry of Magic's inaction, the angry people sprayed Minister Millicent Barnold and Director of the Accident and Disaster Department Cornelius Fudge. The dog's head is bloody. Are these two things related?

"These two things seem to have no connection. It can even be said that they are completely unrelated. How could a young wizard who has not yet entered school be connected to such an accident?" McGonagall asked, she was waiting for Dumbledore. Solve her doubts.

"During that time, I had been busy with the admission of freshmen, and I would often look at the admission book... Unfortunately, I didn't see how it worked. When the accident happened, I was in the tower watching the admission list. , after Cornelius informed me of the bad news, I immediately left the tower and went to the Ministry of Magic." Dumbledore recalled, "When I came back from the Ministry of Magic, I discovered that Ada's name had disappeared When the name appeared again a few days later, I was just a little curious."

Dumbledore stretched out his slender fingers, tapped his forehead gently with his fingertips, and continued: "Until one day later, I suddenly noticed that the street where the accident happened was close to the orphanage where she lived. Very, very close!”

"This is too far-fetched..." said Professor McGonagall.

"I know that there are almost no little wizards who can blow up half a street at the age of ten. I have also paid attention to Ada privately. She is indeed very talented, but this is not something she can do now. She also It doesn't look like someone who could do such a thing," Dumbledore said.

Dumbledore had secretly observed Ada many times. She could beat the children who bullied her in the orphanage to bruises, and she could also take good care of the younger children. Her talent is indeed very good, but Dumbledore doesn't think Ada can blow up half a street at the age of ten!

"The scene of the accident left traces of black magic. This is not what little Esmeralda can do. But she is the only wizard in that neighborhood. For any reason, I must pay more attention to her. .”

"Who have you mentioned this to, Albus?" Professor McGonagall thought of some bad things that might destroy the child.

Dumbledore stretched out his hand and pointed first at himself and then at McGonagall, "There are only you and me. This is just my guess, not even a guess. I can't use it without evidence, and even I think it's ridiculous. To destroy a child's future with speculation, Minerva."

"I will pay more attention to her." Professor McGonagall said, looking at a tattered and wrinkled wizard's hat on another table.

"I can't control the sorting, Minerva. But fortunately, she will be admitted soon..."