"My first and most important request is that I hope that you will keep my identity as a half-Veela a secret."
Alina raised her index finger and solemnly spoke to Dumbledore.
The exact origin of witches and wizards stretched so far back into history that it was impossible to verify. From the moment humans became active, they already had the concept of magic, but there was no textual evidence as to when humans began to try to learn and control this supernatural power.
If one put aside the legends of the east, the earliest record of magic in history was around 2600 BCE, with the Pharaohs of Egypt and the magicians that served them. If one disregarded Egypt and ancient Babylon, the earliest record of the Magic World was in 382 BCE, when the Ollivander family began to produce wands.
Alina had always been rather suspicious about this because this always made her think about those stores found throughout the streets of the world she had come from that often claimed to have been in business for one thousand years.
Records of magic in Europe's Non-Magic World only began to appear after 4 BCE, after the descent of Jesus Christ. As for the region of Great Britain, it was only around 500 CE that the first legendary wizard for which textual evidence existed appeared: Merlin.
But no matter what one said, magical creatures had existed long before the first human civilizations were established. To be more precise, if human wizards were considered a type of magical creature, humans actually weren't that magically powerful.
After all, even house-elves could use powerful magic without wands, and they were considered weak when it came to magical creatures. But if a human wizard lost their wand, which could be considered a 'magical amplifier,' their strength would plunge, and the cores of wands were all made from parts of magical creatures.
And reality showed that the majority of witches and wizards of mixed ancestry really were quite a bit stronger than ordinary witches and wizards. For example, Hagrid had inherited his absurd magic resistance and monstrous strength from his giant mother, while Fleur's extraordinary talent for magic was strongly connected to her Veela grandmother.
But humans' attitude toward wizards and witches of mixed blood (referring here to those with mixed magical creature ancestry) had always been rather awkward: fear, exclusion, distrust, and faint envy...from the original work, one could see that both Fleur and Hagrid had been excluded by their peer witches and wizards.
Alina had no desire to have people point at her like an animal at the zoo whenever she went to school. It was enough that the mighty 'Boy Who Lived' enjoyed that treatment.
"If you can't even guarantee this, then I would rather not eat...oh..." The silver-haired girl accidentally bit down on her tongue and groaned, after which she mumbled out, "Rather never learn magic...nor will I study at a place like this."
"On this point, I can guarantee to you that no one in this school except Professor McGonagall and me will know your true identity. But actually, Hogwarts has had quite a few students like you, so there's no need to worry about such things."
Dumbledore nodded and immediately agreed.
He had originally believed that this girl would make very strange and rigorous demands. Even if Alina hadn't mentioned it, he would have still reminded her to keep her bloodline hidden.
In truth, if Alina hadn't been so determined to have anything to do with the Magic world, Dumbledore would have never told her about her Veela blood.
"What else? I remember that you said, 'a few,' right?"
Dumbledore gave a relaxed chuckle. It was clear that Alina was much simpler than Riddle from several decades ago, who had many more things on his mind. While she was a little willful, Alina was much more willing to share her thoughts and ideas. As for the child's gluttonous tendencies, Dumbledore found them insignificant.
"Besides, I have a tiny request that is just teensy bit more troublesome, but for Professor Dumbledore, it should be as easy as lifting a finger."
Alina blinked her eyes, gesturing with the thumb and index finger of her left hand while she raised a second finger with her right hand.
"If it's possible, I hope that between my fourth and fifth year at the latest, I can be a government-sponsored exchange student and study in America."
"Mm...you want to be a foreign exchange student in America?"
A thoughtful look appeared in Dumbledore's eyes, and his eyebrows trembled. After a few seconds, he began to speak slowly.
"The Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry? This might be a little more difficult. Normally, it's very rare for magic schools to exchange students with each other..."
"No, I'm not talking about a magic school."
Alina shook her head and smiled. "I'm talking about Harvard University, a school founded by Muggles. Based on what I know, the Ministry of Magic has always had a close relationship with the Non-Magic World of Great Britain. Professor Dumbledore, if you make the request, I'm sure the British Prime Minister will agree."
"A Muggle school?"
Dumbledore's azure eyes flashed in surprise, and his brow furrowed as he looked in confusion at this little girl, apparently trying to determine from her expression if she was joking.
Alina restrained her smile and looked up to meet Dumbledore's gaze as she sternly answered.
"Yes, just as I said before, the Non-Magic World possesses immense potential, so there must be someone who can go to study and understand all of this. In my view, that place is the part of the Non-Magic World where the newest knowledge will be found."
This was the result of the girl's careful analysis. After all, based on the future plotline, after the Goblet of Fire in the fourth year, Great Britain would become an extremely unstable place. She certainly had no interest in dying to a monster with no nose who had split his soul into several parts.
At the same time, starting from 1995, the Muggle World would formally welcome the great wave of the internet age. Almost all the internet companies that would eventually sweep over the world would rise up within the next ten years. This would be the greatest reshuffling of capital in the modern era of humanity. The opening of the virtual world and the explosion of information would finally cause the term 'civilization' to break free of the confines of territory and nation.
Dumbledore said nothing, falling into a strange silence. After a long time, he finally spoke once more.
"Extremely important?"
"Extremely important! If our Magic World and the Non-Magic World will have to coexist in the future, this might be the last chance for the two sides to be on equal terms, or perhaps for the Magic World to even have the upper hand."
Now that she knew of her connection to the Magic World, that she had been born a half-magical creature. Alina naturally began to use the term 'our.' After all, if the Magic World was completely exposed ten-some years later, she had no wish to be a pitiful outcast who had to keep running and hiding.
"I understand. I need to think about this, and the fourth year might be a little too soon..."
In truth, Dumbledore had always thought about sending students to study in the Muggle World, but this was like gambling a wizard or witch's magic potential for some unknown knowledge.
"What if I can complete the majority of Hogwarts' classes ahead of time? I'm actually very smart."
Seeing that Dumbledore was apparently rather open to the idea, the silver-haired girl hastily stood up, her eyes bright. She hadn't had much hope when she had made the request and had even prepared herself to spend many days after entering the school drinking tea and doing battle in the Headmaster's office.
Dumbledore couldn't help but chuckle upon seeing the overly confident Alina. He extended a hand and patted her silver hair, shaking his head.
"The classes of Hogwarts are not as easy as you imagine. Why don't we do this? If you're number in grades for all your subjects every year, I'll go and find Fudge, ah, that's the Minister for Magic, to discuss this matter."
"It's a deal! Professor Dumbledore, I presume you're not someone who takes back his promises."
Alina extended a hand and pressed it into the hand Dumbledore was using to pet her, her eyes squinting so happy that they were slits. Dumbledore knew nothing of the power of the mysterious super students of the east. One had to realize that every student that could get through the hellish 'National College Entrance Examination' was an existence on par with 'Miss Know-it-All' Hermione Granger.
And besides...
When Dumbledore wasn't looking, a cunning light gleamed in the silver-haired girl's eyes.
Let alone number one for the school for every year; if her speculations were correct, she could even become the No. 1 in Hogwarts for the rest of history.
"Just these two? I'm getting on in my years, so I can't remember too many requests."
Dumbledore and Alina had clearly gotten closer after these conversations. The old man lightly rapped the silver-haired girl on the head as he joked.
"If I really have to say it, then I actually have one more. Mmmm, just treat it as compensation for kidnapping me to Hogwarts. But it concerns Professor McGonagall."
After tilting her head to the side and biting her fingers in thought, Alina spoke.
"What is it? If it concerns Professor McGonagall, I certainly can't guarantee anything." Dumbledore raised his eyebrows and spread apart his arms.
"It's a very simple matter...when reading out the list of students, can you put my name (Alina Kaslana) first?"
Although she spoke in an acute and indifferent tone, Alina was actually very nervous, her eyes carefully studying Dumbledore's expression.
In her previous life, there was no lack of science fiction that speculated on how crossing over might change the plotline of the world. Even in the Harry Potter series, there was the Time-Turner, which could cause paradoxes.
This was Alina's tiny attempt to change the course of the world. She wanted to see if the legendary restricting force of the world's inertia actually existed and if 'Ironforged Hannah Abbott' would be affected by her existence.
"That's all? There's no problem with that."
Dumbledore had waited for several seconds, and when he found that Alina was not adding anything else, he couldn't help but voice his surprise. This request was so simple that it hardly counted as anything in his view.
"Mm, that's all." The silver-haired girl smiled and nodded. As long as she could confirm whether the so-called world's restricting force existed, it was enough.
Everything seemed to slowly be getting more and more interesting.