The afternoon woke up, followed by the second and third days, and everything remained as usual.
After studying for a while, Shuxin felt that her English proficiency had improved significantly. Recently she had been learning to recite the names of dishes, though the vocabulary was tedious and not as catchy as Hua Guo, but it still sounded very interesting.
Until the fourth day, same time, same place, but a different "owl."
"Miss Field?"
Shuxin was startled by the voice behind her and turned around with a "ah."
This man's silver hair and beard were so long. What was having hair down to one's waist? This man had a beard down to his waist.
He was also dressed rather strangely, his robes covered in yellow stars, draped with a purple cloak.
Shuxin lowered her head, pretending to continue reading.
Over the past two days, Shuxin had recalled many things about the magical world.
Headmaster Dumbledore was rumored to be the greatest wizard, capable of very powerful Legilimency, and rumor had it he could know someone's memories at a single glance.
However, Shuxin thought the probability of the medium being the eyes was higher; the eyes were the windows to the soul, and they said one could see into the deepest parts of a person's heart through their eyes.
Still, for the greatest wizard in the world, perhaps he didn't even need to look into a person's eyes.
Someone who had lived so long knew everything and was proficient in everything.
Then there was Professor Snape, also an exceptionally powerful master of Legilimency and Occlumency, which was why he could perfectly act like a strand of seaweed, swaying, swaying, swaying.
Professor McGonagall was the strictest and appeared quite a lot. There was also a ghost professor who taught history, a goblin professor who taught Charms, a plump herbology teacher who grew plants that cried loudly, and finally a female teacher with a divination system.
Concluding that the person before her was likely Headmaster Dumbledore, Shuxin was still very frightened. All her years combined, front and back, didn't even add up to thirty, not even a fraction of his age.
"Tom, there's an old gentleman here for a meal," Shuxin said.
"Sir, you've gone the wrong way; the dining area is that way. Come with me, I'll take you," Shuxin said, frantically recalling the word in her head, *"science, s-c-i-e-n-c-e, science."*
Dumbledore found this very amusing and followed her to the dining area up front, ordering a piece of honey cake.
He was the only customer in the entire restaurant. Watching Dumbledore sit down, Shuxin didn't know whether to leave or stay, feeling very conflicted.
"Is the sir here traveling? This is my first time seeing someone with such a long beard, so cool! Is it easy to take care of?" Tom's eyes were practically sparkling.
Mary was also a bit curious; the combination was too strange, but considering he was an elderly person, anything could be understood.
"You're getting on in years, so you shouldn't eat too much sugar and cream. I only put a third of the usual honey, and just a small bit of cream, but the taste is still fantastic—give it a try," Mary said.
Dumbledore ignored Tom, focusing entirely on enjoying his small cake. "Thank you, I still prefer extra honey; the texture is better."
"At your age, are you traveling alone? Where is your family? Do you need our help?" Mary felt the probability of this person traveling for pleasure was rather low, and the probability of him being lost was much higher.
*"geography, g-e-o-g-r-a-p-h-y, geography,"* Shuxin stood to the side, standing sideways and reciting vocabulary, looking very much like a child eavesdropping on adults.
"Er... actually, I am a professor at a school, here to deliver the admission letter to Miss Field," Dumbledore said, looking at Shuxin.
"Sir must be mistaken. We don't have a Miss Field here, only a Mrs. Field. But I suppose my wife shouldn't need an admission letter," Tom said.
"Oh, of course, Mrs. Field doesn't need one; I am speaking of this young lady. Miss Field?" Dumbledore wore a smile and a look of utmost kindness.
"My last name isn't Field," Shuxin didn't even raise her head, her voice sounding somewhat displeased.
"Shuxin, it's impolite to answer like that," Mary scolded Shuxin lightly, then turned to explain to Dumbledore, "Sir, you really might have made a mistake. Shuxin's last name is indeed not Field."
After a few seconds of silence:
"The young lady is from Hua Guo? That is an extremely mysterious country. I wonder if I'll still have the chance to go see it in this lifetime," Dumbledore sighed with emotion.
"Of course, sir. Technology is very advanced nowadays; you can even go to the moon, so where else can't you go?" Tom chimed in.
Shuxin recited even more frantically, *"history, h-i-s-i-o-r-y—no, h-i-s-t-o-r-y, history."*
"Mary and I are also very curious about Hua Guo. Once Shuxin is a bit older, we'll go to Hua Guo to look for her relatives. She's still too young right now, and having just gone through the storm, she's not suited for long-distance travel," Tom said.
That was to say, Tom and his wife truly were wonderful people, and meeting them was Shuxin's fortune.
"The young lady might not know, but your maternal grandfather's surname is Field. Just like this Mr. Tom, he sent a letter to our school as soon as your parents brought you back to England," Dumbledore said as if it were the absolute truth.
"Really? Goodness, I just said that when I first saw Shuxin, I felt a special warmth. How time flies, it's already been four months," Tom said.
"Yes, Shuxin, to me it feels just like yesterday," Mary said.
Shuxin could no longer control herself; her entire body began to tremble, as if she were deeply agitated, her fingers gripping the book turning white.
"However, Professor, where is your school? We originally planned to send Shuxin to Smeltings in September; that's my alma mater, and my son went to school there too," Mary said.
"Of course, our school is the best; it's a large castle," Dumbledore said. "Has Miss Field looked at the notice we sent?"
"Excuse me, Headmaster, I wasn't aware that was a school my parents found for me, so I didn't look at it. I thought it was a prank," Shuxin said.
"Yes, it was a prank! Where in the world is there any such thing as magic?" Mary suddenly snapped back to her senses, glaring angrily at Dumbledore.
"Can you produce any proof? We haven't been able to find out anything about her parents, so how did you find your way here? Have you seen Shuxin's parents?" Tom asked.
"Of course, I naturally have my ways," Dumbledore said.
Shuxin watched with her own eyes as Dumbledore picked up a tissue from the table and handed it to Mary. Mary solemnly passed it to Tom to inspect, and the two of them nodded gravely as if it all made complete sense.
Shuxin felt terrified. She had always known magic was miraculous, but she was still afraid—this was perhaps the very definition of a hypocritical fondness for dragons.
At this moment, Shuxin did not know that her golden cheat had made a brilliant debut.
"Miss Field, our time is very urgent. We need to go to London today to buy our textbooks. If you are ready, take my arm and we'll prepare to leave," Dumbledore said.
Holding the "proof," Mary looked somewhat flustered. "Shuxin's parents had an accident—did they pay tuition in advance?"
"Is today a bit too tight on time? I can go withdraw some money this afternoon, and we can go tomorrow, is that alright? Or you could tell us the place, and we can go ourselves," Mary said.
"We can go by ourselves, too. There are a lot of things to prepare for the start of school—books, school uniforms, and many other things that need to be bought," Mary added.
Dumbledore pulled out his wand and tapped Mary and Tom.
"Oh, goodness me, I need to go prepare lunch! Tom, come to the kitchen and help me, it's getting a bit late," Mary dragged Tom hurriedly into the kitchen and shut the door behind them.
"Pardon me, they are a bit nervous. Can we depart now?" Dumbledore smiled with a face full of paternal kindness.
"Sir, what Tom said is right: did my parents pay my tuition in advance? Is your school's tuition expensive?" Shuxin's internal discomfort had eased considerably, allowing her to speak calmly and composedly with Dumbledore.
"No, they didn't. However, our school has a financial aid fund; although it's not much, it can cover your basic living expenses for the school year. These little matters, I can tell you on the way. Young lady, take my arm, we are ready to leave," Dumbledore said.
"Headmaster, are we using magical means to get to London? Although that's very cool, I'd like to go by non-magical means if possible, is that alright?" Shuxin asked.
Dumbledore was momentarily stunned. "Why? Aren't you curious about magic?"
"I am curious, sir," Shuxin said. "Ever since I came to England, I've been right here and haven't been anywhere else. Once I have miraculous magic in the future, I'll see even less of the ordinary world. While I still can, I want to see more of it. Headmaster, I'd like to take the train to London, may I?"
Dumbledore fell silent. He could find no words to refute Shuxin, nor did he wish to force her.
"Then we'll simply have to put it off for another day. We have a professor at our school who is very familiar with Muggles. I'll go back and consult with him to let him bring you along, though he is a bit stern, and girls tend to be a little frightened of him—you'll see when you have his classes later," Dumbledore said.
"Is he very stern in class? If so, I should get to know him in advance and let him understand me better. Would that make him less stern toward me than the other students?" Shuxin cupped her face in her hands, feigning innocence.
Dumbledore said nothing more and simply vanished right on the spot.
One minute, two minutes, five minutes, ten minutes, half an hour, perhaps even longer.
The kitchen door suddenly swung open, and Tom tumbled out looking disheveled, followed by a battered, pitted potato rolling out after him.
"Get out! What are you doing in the kitchen? You only cause trouble—look at what you've done to this potato!" Mary shouted.
Shuxin's legs went soft, and she slid down to sit on the floor.
From the moment Dumbledore arrived until he left, Shuxin had only looked at him at the very beginning; the rest of the time, she kept her head down or looked in other directions.
The ridiculous thing was that Dumbledore actually claimed her parents had planned to send her to Hogwarts even before coming to England.