009 The Letter

Words : 1908 Updated : Sep 10th, 2025

In the following days, Adrian waited for the official Hogwarts letter while crafting the prosthetic limbs for Professor Kettleburn. Oh yes, and Harry—due to Adrian having many things to attend to—was given several days off by Adrian. Even the most diligent students need holidays, don't they? Besides, for the Wisdom Tree, there would be plenty more opportunities to share space with Harry in the future and they certainly weren't lacking in time. When Adrian finally brought the completed arm and half-leg prosthetics to the shop, he suddenly heard a tapping sound emanating from the shop's front window. A tawny owl was perched on the windowsill, with a thick letter bound to its leg. Adrian walked over, removed the letter, and the owl hooted softly before flying away. Opening the envelope, the familiar Hogwarts crest came into view, and Dumbledore's handwriting was clearly visible. Adrian smiled slightly. He had been waiting for this moment for a long time. Adrian gently refolded the letter along its original creases and placed it carefully in a small drawer in his desk. "Small tests?" he murmured softly to himself, running his fingers thoughtfully over the smooth wooden surface of the drawer. This must be Dumbledore's idea of maintaining the integrity of the hiring process, Adrian thought after careful consideration. Hogwarts wouldn't casually hire a professor. Even with Professor Kettleburn's recommendation, Dumbledore still wanted to personally assess Adrian's capabilities before entrusting him with the education of young wizards and witches. "Since he wants to see what I'm capable of..." Adrian stood up from his desk stretched his shoulders to release the tension that had accumulated during his long hours of crafting the prosthetics, his gaze was focused on the inconspicuous door leading to his magical plantation and the smile on his lips deepened, "I'll give him a little surprise." Soon enough, the appointed day arrived with perfect summer weather—clear blue skies adorned with wispy clouds, a gentle breeze carrying the sweet scent of Scottish wildflowers, with golden sunlight falling on the stones of Hogwarts Castle. When Adrian reached the iron gates of Hogwarts, he spotted Professor Kettleburn's figure waiting patiently from afar. Professor Kettleburn appeared exactly the same as ever. Despite his numerous physical injuries, he seemed always full of energy and enthusiasm. "I didn't expect you to personally welcome me, Professor," Adrian called out in greeting as he approached, walking forward. He carried a briefcase and wore a brand-new black robe—one he had ordered from Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions. "I was here to organize the things in my office," Professor Kettleburn said. "Then the Headmaster suddenly assigned me the task of receiving you." "I thought Professor McGonagall would come to meet me," Adrian said casually as they passed through the gates, his gaze sweeping appreciatively over the magnificent castle towers. The sight evoked a peculiar mixture of comfortable familiarity and strange newness, the paradoxical feeling of returning to a place one knows closely, yet approaching it from an entirely different perspective. Kettleburn waved his hand dismissively as his prosthetic limbs made creaking sounds with the gesture. "She's probably up to her neck in administrative work right now!" Kettleburn exclaimed. "The Headmaster has already given her mountain of tasks—you know, it's the time of year when acceptance letters must be sent to students—this is a responsibility that cannot possibly be neglected or delayed!" "No wonder she couldn't spare the time," Adrian said with an understanding nod as they began the long walk up the sloping grounds toward the castle's massive front doors. Chatting amiably along the way, the professor led him through the familiar castle corridors. Adrian observed subtle changes in the castle while they made their way to the Headmaster's office at the top of the castle's tallest tower. Truthfully, Adrian had been a complete "nobody" during his school days at Hogwarts. Apart from consistently excellent academic performance, he hadn't stood out in any other remarkable way before that incident in his fifth year. Given this ‘unremarkable’ school life, Adrian suspected that Dumbledore's personal impression of him wouldn't be particularly vivid or detailed. After all, the Headmaster had thousands of students passing through Hogwarts during his years, he couldn't possibly remember every quiet, well-behaved student who had caused no significant problems. By the way, Adrian's house was "Hufflepuff"—the house of the hardworking, the loyal, the patient, and the just. As they approached the stone gargoyle guarding the entrance to the Headmaster's office, Kettleburn spoke the password ("Acid Pops!"), causing the statue to leap aside, revealing the familiar spiral staircase that went up. "Ah, you've finally arrived, Mr. Westeros," A gentle yet undeniably energetic voice called down from the top of the spiral staircase before they had even begun their climb. Just then, Dumbledore himself walked out of his office and stood at the top of the stairs, looking down at them with a kind smile. Seeing the legendary Headmaster exactly as he remembered him—long silver beard, half-moon spectacles, and robes of deep purple adorned with silver stars—Adrian suddenly felt a powerful wave of nostalgia shower over him, temporarily transporting him back to his first year at Hogwarts. "Good morning, Headmaster," Adrian responded respectfully, standing up straight and meeting Dumbledore's blue gaze openly and honestly. Dumbledore nodded slightly in acknowledgment; his gaze lingered for a curious moment on the briefcase in Adrian's right hand. His look carried an unmistakable hint of curiosity mingled with something else—perhaps amusement? "I've heard," He began in a conversational tone perfectly calibrated to put one immediately at ease, "that you've prepared a set of rather remarkable prosthetic limbs for our accident-prone Professor Kettleburn?" Adrian hadn't expected Dumbledore to mention this particular matter first—he had anticipated questions about his qualifications or teaching philosophy. The unexpected direction of the conversation momentarily caught him off guard. "That's correct, Headmaster," Adrian replied carefully, unsure why Dumbledore would prioritize this seemingly unrelated matter at their first formal meeting. Was this already part of the test—an assessment of how he handled surprise? "Interestingly enough," Dumbledore continued with a thoughtful stroke of his long silver beard, his eyes now shifting to look toward Professor Kettleburn, "I had also planned to prepare a new set of enchanted prosthetic limbs as a retirement gift for him.” He paused, his eyes twinkling even more brightly. "But Silvanus refused my offer, saying that his former student would provide him with the absolute best set of prosthetics in all of magical Britain." Hearing Dumbledore's revealing words, Professor Kettleburn laughed awkwardly. Adrian nodded slowly, realizing that Dumbledore's intended gift had coincidentally aligned with his own. "I invested considerable time and effort into designing the professor's new limbs," Adrian replied tactfully. "I believe he'll be quite satisfied with their performance." After hearing this response, Dumbledore seemed somewhat pleased. "Then perhaps I should thank you for saving me both the expense and the effort," Dumbledore said with good humor. "However," He continued, smoothly changing his tone to something more official while extending his hand in an elegant gesture of invitation toward the stairs, "while conversation is always pleasant, we still have the matter of your small assessment to complete. Mr. Westeros, I hope to witness firsthand the exceptional skills that have made Professor Kettleburn speak of you with such enthusiasm and confidence." "It would be my honor, Headmaster," Adrian responded with appropriate formality. Adrian followed Dumbledore and Professor Kettleburn down the spiral staircase and through the castle's corridors. They eventually emerged from the oak front doors and continued across the grounds to an open area on the edge of the Forbidden Forest. The location provided a clear view of Hagrid's wooden hut nearby. "Hagrid!" Professor Kettleburn suddenly shouted at the absolute top of his lungs, his voice echoing across the grounds with surprising volume for a man of his age and physical condition. Several birds took startled flight from nearby trees at the unexpected noise. Just as the aftershocks of Kettleburn's booming call faded, the unmistakable sound of heavy footsteps—footsteps that seemed to make the earth tremble slightly—came from behind the hut. Then, Rubeus Hagrid's giant figure appeared before everyone, ducking slightly as he emerged from around the corner of his home. "Headmaster Dumbledore! Professor Kettleburn!" Hagrid's booming voice matched his impressive height. Then his beetle-black eyes fell upon Adrian, and his expression transformed instantly from polite respect to unrestrained enthusiasm. "And... Mr. Westeros! I couldn' wait any longer!" Seeing Hagrid's unusual level of excitement, Adrian couldn't help but wonder what exactly this "small test" would involve. Searᴄh the ηovёlFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Adrian immediately dismissed this hypothesis as irrational. Living dragons weren't easily obtained in Britain—the Ministry maintained strict regulations on dragon importing and breeding. Even if Dumbledore somehow agreed to such a dangerous test, the Ministry of Magic's Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures would never officially permit a dragon to appear at Hogwarts, especially so close to the start of term. Dumbledore nodded to Hagrid to proceed with whatever had been prepared. "Coming right up, sir!" Hagrid responded eagerly, rubbing his enormous hands together with such vigorous anticipation that the friction might have started a small fire. He quickly disappeared around the back of his hut, and moments later returned to the clearing, as he pushed an enormous iron cage covered with a heavy black cloth. The cage was truly massive—larger than Hagrid's entire hut—and appeared to be constructed from solid iron bars as thick as Adrian's forearm. Whatever was contained within, it was certainly no ordinary magical creature. When Hagrid finally removed the covering cloth, Adrian's pupils contracted sharply in disbelief. Adrian's mind spun with the impossible revelation. He could hardly believe it. The creature in the cage appeared to be still sleeping—or perhaps magically sedated—curled up tightly in a corner like an enormous scaly cat. Its scales gleamed magnificently like polished metal in the bright summer sunlight. "Is this... a Norwegian Ridgeback?" Adrian immediately identified, forcing his voice to remain steady despite his internal shock. His mind automatically cataloged the defining characteristics of the species in front of him—the dragon had black ridges along its back. "You have precisely ten minutes to safely subdue the dragon in front of you," Dumbledore announced calmly, as if he were merely asking Adrian to repot a Mandrake or feed a Hippogriff. "Also, I should inform you that the Anti-Apparition Charm that normally prevents such transportation within Hogwarts grounds has been temporarily lifted in this specific area." With a smile that did nothing to reassure Adrian, Dumbledore gently waved his wand and instantly, the massive iron cage that had contained the dragon vanished completely—not just becoming invisible, but ceasing to exist completely. Now, the Norwegian Ridgeback in front of him was completely unrestrained. Seeing this, Hagrid and Professor Kettleburn immediately retreated, putting considerable distance between themselves and the testing area. Their hasty withdrawal gave Adrian more than enough space to maneuver—or to flee, should that become necessary. Dumbledore, however, just stepped a short distance to one side, maintaining a position where he could observe everything clearly. His blue eyes watched Adrian with great interest.

009 The Letter

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