Cultivating an aura of invincibility from a young age, then biding one’s time to first crush one’s peers before surpassing the old guard, right?
Isaac was all too familiar with this!
Before transmigrating, he had read plenty of web novels on Qidian; there wasn’t a single trope he hadn’t seen.
But something didn’t seem quite right.
Isaac suddenly spotted a blind spot in Dumbledore’s logic.
“That’s not right, Professor.
Not to mention the Prefects and Head Boys that are produced almost every single year…
Hogwarts naturally has a most outstanding student in every year group, doesn’t it?”
“Setting aside those generally outstanding young wizards, I don’t think Hogwarts lacks those who are exceptionally brilliant.
Like Percy Weasley of Gryffindor?”
Although Isaac had not yet formally set foot inside Hogwarts, that didn’t stop him from discussing the notable figures and events of the school with total confidence.
Dumbledore didn’t find anything amiss with the boy’s familiarity either.
Hearing Percy Weasley’s name, Dumbledore nodded in agreement.
“Indeed, Percy is a very outstanding young wizard, but that alone is not enough.”
From a certain perspective, Percy Weasley had already reached the absolute ceiling of what ordinary wizards could achieve through sheer effort.
In fact, without the corresponding innate talent, Percy’s academic height would remain entirely out of reach for even the average wizard.
Hogwarts students must pass two life-defining examinations during their time at school.
The fifth-year O.W.L.s (Ordinary Wizarding Levels) serve as the fundamental threshold for a magical career, directly determining a student’s eligibility for advanced sixth-year courses.
In this examination, Percy Weasley obtained twelve certificates, securing a perfect top score in every single subject.
Next are the seventh-year N.E.W.T.s (Nastily Exhausting Wizarding Tests), the highest level of examination at Hogwarts, which determine entry into elite magical professions.
Occupations such as an Auror, a St.
Mungo’s Healer, a high-ranking Ministry of Magic official, an Alchemist, or a Spell Researcher all strictly require top scores in the corresponding N.E.W.T.
subjects.
Percy Weasley achieved twelve perfect scores in this examination as well.
This flawless academic record was the primary reason he was selected to become the personal assistant to the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement the moment he joined the Ministry of Magic.
What kind of power does the Department of Magical Law Enforcement hold?
To put it plainly, it oversees crucial subordinate units like the Auror Office.
The department is essentially a massive combination of the Muggle world’s Home Office, Ministry of Justice, police force, and Supreme Court.
Its Head has historically always been the most potent candidate for Minister of Magic.
That Percy Weasley could be selected to serve as the direct secretary to the Head of such a powerful department was certainly due in part to his family name, Weasley, but his twelve perfect certificates were an absolute prerequisite for such an exceptional promotion.
It was just a shame that the Head at the time, Barty Crouch, never anticipated that he had actually recruited a bit of a bureaucrat.
Setting aside Percy Weasley’s rather clumsy political debut later on, his academic brilliance while studying at Hogwarts was truly indisputable.
Even the students of Ravenclaw, who prized academic pursuit above all else, openly acknowledged it.
Did this level of achievement still not satisfy Dumbledore’s definition of an outstanding young wizard?
“Of course not, Isaac.
You are focusing on the wrong metrics.
Grindelwald and Tom’s excellence never lay in the certificates they obtained or their so-called school grades.”
“Gellert’s excellence lay in the astonishing—or rather, terrifying—talent for the Dark Arts he displayed by the age of sixteen.
As for Tom, his Parseltongue, alongside his demonstrated genius for raw magic and dueling, were the main pillars supporting his supremacy.”
“In other words…” Isaac said, a thoughtful look crossing his face.
“To truly embody that kind of excellence, one must be capable of feats that ordinary wizards simply cannot replicate?”
Dumbledore nodded with deep gratification.
His own legendary status in his youth had nothing to do with standard Hogwarts school awards.
Rather, it was based on his ability to engage in profound peer-to-peer academic exchanges with the master alchemist Nicolas Flamel and the magical historian Bathilda Bagshot.
To walk the exact same “path of invincibility” as Albus Dumbledore, Gellert Grindelwald, and Lord Voldemort, simply being a model student at Hogwarts was completely useless.
Even if one were as flawlessly meticulous as Percy Weasley, one would ultimately still just be an outstanding, ordinary wizard.
A true generational master must be capable of executing feats that left their peers entirely in the dust.
“So…” Isaac began to fully grasp what Dumbledore was driving at.
“So, you can try to subdue this Dark Wizard yourself.
Rest assured, I will be watching quietly from the sidelines.”
Hearing Dumbledore’s proposition, Isaac didn’t immediately think of his own safety; instead, his mind flashed to Harry Potter’s upcoming “adventures” at Hogwarts.
In his first year, Harry took on a corrupted teacher and Lord Voldemort; in his second year, a teacher and a Basilisk; in his third year, an escaped convict and a Dementor; in his fourth year, champions from other schools…
Come to think of it, the boy really did follow a pattern!
If one applied Dumbledore’s current theory, the quality of the adversaries Harry Potter encountered during his school years was exceptionally high.
Even Dumbledore and Grindelwald hadn’t been actively squaring off against entities like Lord Voldemort at that age.
Although Voldemort was merely a remnant soul at the time and was heavily countered by the sacrificial protection on Harry, the sheer caliber of those encounters wasn’t just standard experience—it was extraordinary.
By the time Harry Potter reached his seventh year in the future, his ability to stand toe-to-toe with Tom might very well have been fueled by a passive blessing derived from this path of magical invincibility.
The only real difference between Isaac and Harry Potter was that Harry walked this path completely unawares.
Now, Dumbledore had explicitly laid the framework before Isaac, asking if he possessed the courage to walk it by design.
Walk it?
Of course he would walk it!
In a world where magical might dictates reality, having a proven path of invincibility that the absolute greatest legends had successfully tread laid out directly before him—paired with a world-class guardian watching his back—Isaac would have to be an absolute fool to refuse.
It was just a small-time Dark Wizard.
He would deal with him!
Enemies never wait for a wizard to be perfectly prepared before they strike, and Isaac was no ordinary child.
“Excellent!”
“Rest assured, Isaac, your…” Dumbledore began, fully intending to offer a few more words of grandfatherly persuasion, but he hadn’t expected Isaac to agree so instantly.
Not only was the boy decisive, but his capacity for immediate action was also remarkably sharp.
“Professor Dumbledore, hide yourself well.
By the way, please remember to help me protect Anthony later.
At his advanced age, his heart can’t handle being tossed around by a Dark Wizard.”
Isaac promptly drew his wand and carefully inspected the wood and grain, exactly like a seasoned soldier maintaining his weapon before stepping onto a live battlefield.
Finally, he gave Dumbledore a crisp nod and strode out of the magical confectionery.
Leaving the sweet shop behind, Isaac walked straight toward the exit of Diagon Alley, passed cleanly through the Leaky Cauldron, and stepped onto the street to summon the Knight Bus.
After providing the address for 12 Medway Street, Isaac strapped himself securely into one of the bus’s volatile seats, enduring the chaotic speed of the magical transport.
Isaac was quite certain that the Dark Wizard tracking him had not boarded the bus with him, but he did not harbor the slightest doubt that the stalker possessed a method to locate his residence.
He simply needed to wait quietly inside for the enemy to come knocking.
Roughly twenty minutes later, a cloaked wizard materialized at the edge of Isaac’s property via Apparition.
He first verified the house number on the gate, then let out a pair of low, sinister chuckles.
“Alohomora!”
His wand pointed directly at the locking mechanism of Isaac’s home.
The next second, accompanied by a sharp, metallic click, the iron gate guarding the front garden slowly swung open.