"I suppose so!" Dumbledore replied with his eyes closed.
The more Dumbledore interacted with Ivan, the more he felt Ivan was different from Tom Riddle!
While they both had a strong and passionate desire for power, Ivan knew what love was… and what friendship was! Tom never understood…
Therefore, Ivan was more like a younger version of himself, ambitious and full of ideas…and a little more bottom line!
It was because he saw something of himself in Ivan that Dumbledore paid more attention to Ivan, and did not want Ivan to come to his senses after he had done something irreparable.
Having great power is sometimes not a good thing, especially if it is so great that no one else can stand against you, and such people tend to become arrogant, to feel superior, to have control over everything…
Therefore, it is important to learn to restrain one's power so that it can be used in the right way, rather than causing destruction…
Dumbledore sighed at the thought, which he did not realise until after Ariana's death, a painful and profound lesson…
"But Hales was so much more powerful than I was then!" Dumbledore then exclaimed, unable to hold the Elder Wand in his youth.
"I agree with you on that!" Nick Flamel nodded in agreement.
Dumbledore was left speechless.
"So you're sticking your nose in a bit too much, Albus!" Nick Flamel laughed and continued.
"I told you from the start that we're old and only need to do our job. Leave the rest to the young. Don't you think it's good now? Even if You-Know-Who comes back to life, Hals will deal with him in the future…"
"Perhaps," said Dumbledore noncommittally.
He didn't think so, and it turned out that there were too many gaps in the wizarding hierarchy.
How could he be at ease when he could not find a single wizard in the whole of European wizarding world who could stand against Grindelwald, or the rising Lord Voldemort, decades ago?
If he could, he would simply settle down at Hogwarts and work as Headmistress, but the burden was too much for him to bear…
Nick Flamel could tell that Dumbledore did not agree with him, but he did not try to dissuade him. The minds of people like him were too ingrained to be easily swayed by a few words.
"When are you going to bring him to me?" said Nick Flamel.
"We'd better wait… I think it's too soon!" Dumbledore said, after a moment's hesitation. "Alchemy is too dangerous, especially when it comes to the Philosopher's Stone! You should know what it's like to have a child with a half-formed mind master it…"
"I can teach him step by step, starting with the simplest!"
Nick Flamel disagreed with Dumbledore, but, sensing the headmaster's insistence, relented.
"Well, I can wait, but you need to know I don't have much time … and you'd better hurry!"
Nick Flamel would have liked to meet the young wizard Dumbledore had spoken of, but he was in no condition to go out.
Not to mention, Voldemort was out there coveting the Philosopher's Stone.
They have now destroyed the stone, but the problem is that Voldemort may not want to believe it!
"I understand. It won't be long!" Dumbledore assured her, his eyes returning to the damaged Time-Turner on the table.
"What about this Time-Turner? Can you fix it?"
"Of course, no problem! But I've been working on something very interesting, and I don't have time to fix it. You can pick it up later!" Nick Flamel waved his hand without much interest.
Dumbledore nodded, put down the Time-Turner, summoned the phoenix, and left the Alchemy Hut…
…
At the same time, in the Headmaster's office at Hogwarts, Professor McGonagall was angrily berating the two young wizards.
"Mr. Harls, Miss Granger, I believe Headmaster Dumbledore warned you that the power of the Time-Turner requires caution!"
"I'm sorry, Professor! I've been trying to think of a way to improve a potion, and I was in too much of a hurry, so I accidentally overused it and broke it… Fortunately, Professor Dumbledore told me that he had a friend who could fix it!" Ivan apologized.
Professor McGonagall was relieved to hear that the damaged Time-Turner could be repaired.
"How can you think that, Hales? Even for study and research, there's a limit! You're still young, there's still time. There's no need to rush…"
McGonagall would not have believed anyone else if they had told her that they had broken a Time-Turner by being too eager to learn, but Hermione and Ivan were different.
The young witch's usual performance was superb and she was very good at following the rules. Ivan's strength far exceeded his peers, especially when it came to Transfiguration, which was much better than that of some adult wizards. Presumably, he had been practising hard in private…
What's more, Ivan showed that the improved Polyjuice Potion, which greatly improved the potion's duration, was much more stable.
This was, of course, far less shocking than Ivan's invention of the Wolf Poison Potion in his first year of school, but it was already quite a good result.
McGonagall's heart ached at the thought, and she asked Ivan and Hermione solemnly about their physical condition.
The Time-Turner would not have been damaged so easily if it had not been used so often and at such high intensity in such a short period of time.
Yvonne and Hermione quickly shook their heads, indicating that they were in good health, and that they had had a good rest while using the Time-Turner.
Professor McGonagall was relieved, but then she felt that she could not let the matter go, so she said sternly,
"Fifty points are deducted from Gryffindor for your actions! I hope you will remember this lesson!"
"But Professor, now that Gryffindor has run out of points…" Hermione protested weakly.
Professor McGonagall looked at them in surprise.
"Our house points were deducted by Professor Dumbledore a long time ago!" Ivan explained nonchalantly. You don't have to worry about debts when you have them, do you?
Professor McGonagall took in Ivan's expression and guessed what he was thinking.
"Then I'll keep these fifty points for next time!"