Time rewound to before Dumbledore set out. The corridor was quiet, and footsteps echoed faintly as urgency pressed in from one side. Minerva McGonagall caught up to him with a stern look.
"Dumbledore, I have to talk to you."
"Minerva McGonagall, I have something urgent to take care of right now."
"I know," Minerva McGonagall said, breaking in without ceremony, which was rare for her. "It is about Levi Wells, right?"
"Minerva McGonagall, I must admit I am a little surprised." Dumbledore kept his expression calm, but the air between them grew heavier. "I did not expect even you to know about his affairs. It seems his influence is more serious than I thought."
"Of course I know him. He is my student, no, no, that is not what you mean."
Minerva McGonagall widened her eyes and realized that Dumbledore had misunderstood her. She spoke quickly, her tone sharp with irritation.
"I have kept up correspondence with Levi Wells for years. I exchange ideas with him far more often than you do, so of course I know him. Not in that infamous sense you are thinking of, but as one scholar speaking to another."
Dumbledore paused, his eyes widening slightly before lowering again. He inclined his head in apology.
"Oh, I am sorry. I did not realize that was what you meant."
Minerva McGonagall was not one to hold grudges. She kept her face stern and stared straight at Dumbledore.
"The Ministry of Magic wants you to personally arrest him?"
"Yes. What he has done has not caused immediate harm, but Cornelius Fudge and I both see a dangerous direction forming. He would likely be sent to Azkaban."
Minerva McGonagall blinked and did not answer at once. After a moment, she let out a heavy sigh.
"Oh no."
She said no more, because no one understood Levi Wells better than she did. To him, magic was a miracle shaped by will, a mystery tied to the laws of the world, and also a discipline that could be taken apart and studied.
Whether it was Spell, Transfiguration, or even Dark Magic, he believed all of it followed patterns. What could not be understood was only the result of insufficient research. This belief had guided him for years.
In twenty-one quiet years, Levi Wells had mastered all known Spell and reached the first through fifth stages of Transfiguration. He combined Spell with Transfiguration and created many spells that even earned Minerva McGonagall's open praise. What pleased her most was his willingness to share, because he believed that only teaching knowledge proved true understanding.
Although he never held a post at a formal magic school, he had traveled the wizarding world for years. He had taken in more than a dozen students and worked with two assistants whom even Minerva McGonagall admired greatly. She had tried to persuade him to stop researching Dark Magic, but in the end, she had been the one convinced.
In truth, every powerful wizard had studied Dark Magic at some point, including Dumbledore and herself. What Levi Wells was doing was not much different from what they once did, only the era had changed. Minerva McGonagall strained to think of any way to spare him from disaster.
Dumbledore sensed the complexity of her emotions and felt surprised. It was rare for him to see Minerva McGonagall so conflicted. It seemed she held a view of that quiet student very different from his own.
"Minerva McGonagall, I fully respect your thoughts." Dumbledore spoke gently as he looked at her raised face. "If you have any ideas or opinions about Levi Wells, you can tell me. I promise I will consider them carefully."
Minerva McGonagall hesitated. She knew her words would affect Dumbledore's judgment, but she spoke anyway.
"Dumbledore, is there any other possibility besides arresting Levi Wells and sending him to Azkaban?"
"Of course. As long as he gives up continuing his research and spread of Dark Magic."
The relief that had just settled in her chest vanished again, and she sighed in defeat.
"That is impossible."
"He has become obsessed to that extent?" Dumbledore raised an eyebrow, his thoughts shifting.
"Obsessed, perhaps," Minerva McGonagall said, sighing again. "But not with Dark Magic. He is obsessed with magic itself."
She thought quickly, searching for any other path. Levi Wells was not only her former student but also a close friend of more than ten years through letters, and a companion who shared her views on teaching and magic. Even with differences in belief, she respected him deeply and was glad such a person existed.
"I thought magic was not limited to Dark Magic alone," Dumbledore said with a cool hint of mockery.
"According to him, he has reached a dead end with Spell and Transfiguration unless a new perspective is added, such as Dark Magic or ancient runes. But in his view, ancient runes lack enough accumulated study. Asking him to abandon Dark Magic for that would be like ignoring a gold mine in front of him to dig underground. Those were his exact words."
Dumbledore lifted his brows slightly. He felt a spark of interest. He did not agree that ancient runes were so lacking, but Levi Wells's view of Dark Magic and ancient runes intrigued him, even if he would never admit how familiar the thought felt.
"A dead end is a broad claim," Dumbledore said. Even he would never say there was no room left for improvement in magic, though he had seen people stagnate after reaching certain stages. "Are you sure he has mastered all Spell and Transfiguration? Could this be an excuse?"
"From what I know, he only earned eight O grades in his O.W.L. exams," Minerva McGonagall replied. "That is already an outstanding result, and he did not even use a time-turner, but it still fell short of his goal."
Most knowledge of Spell and Transfiguration could be found in the Hogwarts library. Even books involving Dark Magic and Unforgivable Curses were stored in the restricted section. Yet no student could master all of that while still in school, and acquiring such knowledge after graduation was far from easy.
More importantly, Levi Wells had joined neither the Ministry of Magic nor the Death Eaters. How had he obtained that knowledge at all? Or was Minerva McGonagall simply misled by him?
"When I first learned of it, I was shocked as well and personally checked," Minerva McGonagall said. "I have to admit that in sheer quantity of Spell, I am not his equal."
She smiled as if recalling something amusing and even let the moment linger. She had just thought of another possible solution. Compared to locking him in Azkaban, she would rather let Levi Wells take a risk, especially since she believed he might resolve the problem himself.
"What method did he use?" Dumbledore asked, half indulging her and half curious, when she only smiled.
"He memorized everything in the library and the restricted section."