The name on Ian's self-made Living Map was clearly visible.
Abeforth Dumbledore.
Of course, this was still Dumbledore, but not the one everyone recognized and knew. It was just atop the person who was the only one staying in the Headmaster's Office.
"How damn charming is my insight." Ian muttered, watching the black dot inside the Headmaster's Office, his expression on a slightly twisted mouth unchanged.
He had already noticed something wrong with Dumbledore, sensing it from the beginning in the Forbidden Forest, and it became even more apparent after reaching the Headmaster's Office.
Perhaps Albus Dumbledore would, for some reason, temporarily allow Voldemort to secretly operate, but as the Headmaster, Dumbledore wouldn't find eight hundred reasons to avoid searching for Voldemort with the professors just to go back to the office for a cup of tea; Ian clearly sensed a cowardly emotion in the Forbidden Forest.
Could Dumbledore feel cowardice towards Voldemort?
Certainly unlikely!
Additionally, for Ian to so easily sense emotions was already extremely unusual—under normal circumstances, this would absolutely not occur before Albus Dumbledore lost his composure.
Ian's observation was keen, realizing that from the Forbidden Forest onward, Dumbledore acted like he would procrastinate about everything, resembling a summer job worker trying to do the bare minimum, just to win so long as issues didn't erupt during his "working" hours.
Such behavior was truly too strange, too unlike the Headmaster Ian was familiar with!
Furthermore, despite saying they would go to the Headmaster's Office to discuss Voldemort, once in the office Dumbledore continued to drink tea and showed complete indifference towards Voldemort—not only did he not inquire about anything related to Voldemort, but he even asked about the Resurrection Stone, which Grindelwald should have kept well hidden.
That too was extremely intriguing—it's not that Ian thinks Dumbledore wouldn't be tempted by the Resurrection Stone, but Dumbledore absolutely wouldn't behave so frantically.
How could someone called the White Demon King lack any strategic thinking? One must know Dumbledore being tempted by the Resurrection Stone and impulsively putting on the ring originated from not knowing his sister was in the Misty Illusion Realm living well, nor having made a "natural end of life" agreement with her through Ian's connection.
It was the intertwined memories of a father dying in Azkaban, a mother in uncontrolled magic, and a sister in an accident that drove Dumbledore to abandon reason.
Currently, the situation is clearly different—when Dumbledore obtained the Resurrection Stone, he hadn't even hesitated to let Ian seek Ariana's consent or use Ian's special talents to explore the secrets of the Resurrection Stone, as if completely unaware of the information Ian had previously revealed.
Consequently.
At this moment Ian was nearly certain the Dumbledore he faced was an impostor, with the reckless eagerness to use the Resurrection Stone yet not wanting Ian to know being most suspicious.
It was upon perceiving the opponent's psychological emotions that Ian realized who the impostor might be. And sure enough, upon stepping outside and checking the Living Map, Ian immediately confirmed his suspicion.
Abeforth was apparently careless in not realizing the existence of such a tool like the Living Map.
Of course.
He might also have limited magic skills, unlike the current Professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts in the underground classroom, where the ghostly party was happening, able to truly impersonate someone. Based on Ian's brief contact, he felt Abeforth's situation likely involved both factors.
"Just don't know how Abeforth Dumbledore guessed that the Resurrection Stone was with me..." Ian mused, rubbing his chin, feeling like he was Hogwarts' Sherlock Holmes.
Being able to use the Headmaster's Office proved Abeforth's impersonation likely had Albus Dumbledore's blessing, possibly being arranged by Albus Dumbledore himself.
Having received that letter from the Misty Illusion Realm sent to the Human World, even if the relationship between the brothers hadn't completely healed, it was much better than the situation of never speaking again. It's entirely possible Dumbledore requested his brother to use his name to show up on certain occasions when he wasn't present.
In fact.
Even if something happened, Abeforth's presence served as a form of support; Abeforth's strength was undeniable. The Dumbledore family never really birthed weaklings.
Whether it was Ariana or the young man Ian had encountered in the Misty Illusion Realm previously, the one who might have saved the entire Hogwarts with his helpful reminders, living as an Obscurial for much longer than others by the family's strong bloodline reason.
Even if many deemed Abeforth ordinary in the Wizarding World, he was actually one of the top wizards, being the unique battle force in the Phoenix Society after losing Albus.
"The Dumbledore family never had mediocrities..." Ian turned back to glance toward the direction of the Headmaster's office again, perhaps being one of those most knowledgeable about the Dumbledore Clan within Hogwarts. Accordingly, he knew well, although Abeforth wasn't as invincible as his brother, he should still be one of the rare strong ones.