Where Are My Feet?

"For nearly a hundred years, you have been the only survivor of a successful magical transfiguration in all of Britain," Dumbledore said sharply.

"Who is it?" Yvonne asked automatically, as an image flashed through her mind.

"Tom Riddle, or as we might call him—Voldemort!" said Dumbledore, looking searchingly at Ivan.

Hermione was taken aback.

Yvonne opened her mouth to defend herself, then closed it and said nothing.

Dumbledore took in Ivan's reaction and continued speaking.

"Tom's fear of death, coupled with his fascination with the power of magic, was extremely dangerous. Unaware of this, however, he continued his dangerous Dark studies after his graduation from Hogwarts, mixing with the worst of the wizarding community and sinking deeper and deeper into the mire of Dark Magic.

A full ten years after his graduation, he returned to Hogwarts once, hoping to take up a position in Defence Against the Dark Arts.

With that, Dumbledore waved his wand, and a strange, pale human face slowly appeared on the table. It was narrow and narrow like wax, and strangely twisted.

"That's what Tom was like at the time." Dumbledore's words were filled with emotion and regret. "I guessed at the time that he must have undergone multiple magical transformations like you, but not nearly as lucky. Apparently, he lost control of his powers…"

Ivan looked at the pale face at the table with a troubled expression.

He was not surprised by the number of times Voldemort merged his blood, as Tom Riddle was the one who found and placed the book in the Restricted Section.

Even he was able to find a way to fuse multiple bloodlines in the Slytherin Chamber of Secrets, let alone Tom Riddle, the true Heir of Slytherin.

However, the other party did not have the help of the system and could not solve the problem of blood conflict. They also refused to give up on this shortcut to quickly increase their strength, resulting in them becoming neither human nor ghost…

"Professor! Ivan and You-Know-Who are different…" Hermione broke the silence.

Ivan turned his head in surprise to find Hermione staring at him with a look of trust in her eyes.

"You once told us that You-Know-Who was extremely selfish and didn't know what love was, nor did he have any friends. But Ivan wasn't like that. He helped Harry with his charms and changed Ron's clothes at the dance…" Hermione went on and on about how much Ivan had helped them, detailing every little detail in her memory.

Ivan, who was listening, was embarrassed and moved by Hermione's confidence in him.

"Of course, I am well aware of that, Miss Granger," Dumbledore interrupted with a smile. "Hales is naturally different from Tom, and far superior to Tom…"

Dumbledore must have thought his words were ambiguous, for he looked at Ivan and added, "Let us put it another way: of all the students I have taught, no one, not even Tom Riddle, has achieved so much at your age."

"Your gift is beyond doubt, Hales. Surpassing me, even becoming the most powerful wizard in wizarding history, is only a matter of time…

"So what you need to do most is to understand the powers you have, tap into their potential, rather than adding more uncontrollable factors…" Dumbledore said soothingly.

In his opinion, Ivan's compatibility with several different bloodlines at once was incredible, but Ivan's use of his blood abilities could only be described as crude.

"In addition, I want you to bear in mind, Hales, that the accumulation of knowledge and the power of belief is the foundation of a wizard's power, and that you will never understand the true mysteries of magic if you become intoxicated by the power of those bloodlines!" Dumbledore reminded him.

"I understand, Professor." Yvonne nodded quickly.

He knew very well that Dumbledore meant him no harm and genuinely wanted to give him advice.

He was well aware of the drawbacks of multiple magical transformations. If not for the assistance of the system, he would have been killed by the blood conflict during the blood fusion…

And as the number of times he had fused with his blood increased, Ivan became aware of the diminishing benefits of fusing with his blood.

He was no longer as strong as he used to be, and a powerful blood magic spell was just icing on the cake for him.

It was only the news of Lord Voldemort's return that put too much pressure on him, forcing him to continue merging his blood to gain enough power to protect himself.

After all, the protection provided by the Fusion Bloodline and the System was one of the only two methods that could greatly increase one's strength in a short period of time, and they just so happened to go together…

As they were talking, Moody, who had been lying in his chair, suddenly jumped up. When he landed, his left foot missed and he fell heavily to the ground.

Thinking this to be another attack, Moody waved his cane like a madman and screamed.

"Where's my foot? Where's my foot? Get out of my head, you bedbugs, and face me if you dare…"

To everyone's surprise, Moody acted like a madman, and Hermione tried to avoid being hit by his cane.

"Are you all right? Professor Moody—"

Moody waved it around for a while, then stopped, panting. He seemed to be in a daze, as he stared at them with his strange magical eyes.

"Oh, good evening, Albus, Miss Granger … and … Hulse!"

"Do you remember what happened before, Alastor?" Dumbledore asked as he helped Moody to his feet.

"Of course I do!" Moody said angrily, propping himself up with his cane. "Barty Crouch Junior and Peter Pettigrew broke into my room and I got into a fight with them, deliberately making a noise with the Blast Charm."

"But before the Ministry could get to me, they caught me… Barty Junior disguised himself as me with Polyjuice Potion and tricked the Aurors who were after me."

"I warned them many years ago to look into every suspicious point!" Moody shouted irritably, as he was under Ministry of Magic regulations that allowed Aurors to remove him from Muggle territory for investigation.