Headmaster Dumbledore nodded quietly after hearing this, then chewed on a piece of candy:
"So, what made you want to work at Hogwarts? With your abilities and all the honors or awards you have received, you have so many options. Whether it is to work for the Ministry of Magic or using your wealth to spend the rest of your life in comfort to study magic, you have so many options. So, why be a professor?"
The professor's deep blue eyes started to scrutinize Edward under his glasses, his gaze deep and penetrating as if he wanted to see through him, see through his soul.
As for Edgard, he was very calm the entire process. He took a sip of his tea, looked at the professor in the eyes, and replied:
"You know, I have always felt it very demeaning the way you always suspect or compare me to him. Always watching over me in case I became the next Tom Riddle. No, I should call him Lord Voldemort now."
The room instantly became quiet, and the paintings of the former headmasters in the wall gasped while looking at Edward. Some of them, like Phineas, had gleeful smiles on their faces.
As for Dumbledore, he was calmed as he chewed on a piece of acid pops without any expression on his face.
"Well, Edward, you cannot blame me for this. After all, you started rising right after Tom fell, and the similarities between the two of you were too much to ignore.
"You had the same unparalleled talent. In your case, your magical abilities even surpassed his at the same age. You had the same desire for power…"
"Desire for knowledge, Professor," suddenly said Edward. "I pursue knowledge, not power. Power is nothing but the consequence for my search for the truth."
"That may be true, but that did not change the fact that by the Fourth Grade, you were already considered a master of the Dark Arts," replied the professor with a deep and powerful gaze.
As for Edward, he was calmed as he shook his head, "My views on the subject of the Darks Arts is not to shun or fear it, but to understand its origins and essence. Dark Magic is as much part of wizards as White Magic. Although I understand that Dark Arts can influence the user's mind, precautions can be used to manage such side effects."
"Edward, it is a great form of arrogance to believe that a person can control such terrible and terrifying power without being lost by it," replied the professor with a little sadness in his voice.
"And it is a great ignorance to simply ignore a power that we know exists in this world, a power that will not go away and always remain a part of every wizarding society. Not to mention the impact and significance it can have on the world--both positive and negative.
"A perfect example of this can be found during the Wizarding War. The Death Eaters used dark magic to terrorize the world by brutally killing many people. However, the war started to turn around as soon as Barty Crouch passed the law that allowed the Aurors to use the Three Unforgivable Curses.
"Dark Arts are not inherently bad nor any less harmful than white magic. In the end, it all comes down to the will and choice of the user."
The room then became quiet again. The two people talking in this room are some of the most powerful and knowledgeable wizards in the world. As such, they each had their own ideas, will, beliefs and philosophies. So, it is not easy to change their mind.
After a few minutes of silence, Edward looked at the window while saying:
"You know, I used to be as ambitious as Tom, if not more when I was young."
"Oh, how so?"
"Once, my dream or goal was to build a true Wizard Civilization. I would gather all the wizards in the world, pooled all our knowledge and resources together to push the civilization of wizards forwards towards a bright future.
"Then, we would explore the universe. Muggle Scientists have already determined how vast the universe is and how our planet is nothing but a small piece of dust in a small solar system. They have started to wonder whether there are other lifeforms out there, what kind of other civilization exists in the cosmos."
Edward took a sip of his tea, however, it had turned cold while he was talking. He waved his hand, then steamed started to come out of his cup again.
"After knowing about this, I started to ask myself the same question as to them. Are there any wizards out there on different planets in the universe? And if so, how powerful are they? What kind of knowledge do they have? Is there magic different from ours?
"Then, my dream was to slowly guide the wizards on this planet to slowly explore the stars and come in contact with these other civilizations. Maybe we could exchange knowledge and resources with them. Can you imagine how prosperous the wizarding world would be after having access to other civilizations?
"The world would enter a blooming age of progress. Countless wizards from all over the world would come together to create new spells, potions, and alchemy products. We would discover countless unknown magical creatures and plants.
"We would study the mysteries of time, space, death, and love. We would unravel the potential of the human mind, find the secrets of the soul, control the different energy and forces of the world, and leave our trail in the cosmos.
"Wizards would no longer be just ordinary mortals that have some special abilities. But long-living beings that pursue the truth and laws of the world. And things did not stop there.
"According to muggle scientists, there are countless dimensions and other universes that possibly exist out there. According to them, some of these dimensions are simply beyond human understanding or have laws that are completely different from our own. These muggle scientists cannot truly prove the existence of these dimensions or universes, but magic can.
"After all, we wizards have found ways to travel through both space and time. As long as we study these spells and modify them, who can say we could not find the existence of these dimensions? Then, the footsteps of our civilization will not only spread through the stars but also across multiple dimensions."