Chapter 137 Bloodline Magic

"But how am I supposed to guide Riddle?" Xivan looked into Dumbledore's profound eyes and asked with a helpless shrug.

"Actually, Tom's background of being born in an orphanage makes his situation in Slytherin rather difficult," Dumbledore said softly. "Do you know what Minerva and I were just discussing?"

Without waiting for Xivan's reply, Dumbledore continued on his own, "Minerva just told me that Tom intentionally stayed behind after class and asked her some questions he already knew the answers to. Minerva suspects he did it to avoid his roommates and deliberately delayed going down to the Great Hall with them."

"Young wizards in Slytherin place far too much importance on blood purity, yet Tom doesn't even know who his own parents are. Consequently, it's very hard for him to make genuine friends in Slytherin. In fact, I believe that if he had been sorted into any other house, he would have had a much healthier school life."

"Yet judging by his temperament, he does seem to fit Slytherin's values more closely," Xivan agreed with a nod, then chuckled. "He's certainly much better at that than I am; it seems many people think I should have been sorted into Gryffindor or Ravenclaw."

"Yet that is precisely your shining quality, Xivan," Dumbledore said with a gentle smile. "As a Slytherin, you possessed the immense courage to intercept Professor Lore all by yourself and dared to face a dark wizard alongside Sylvanus; at the same time, you possess the wisdom to deduce the culprit behind the destruction of the magic nodes."

"More importantly, you don't care about Riddle's origins, do you?"

"Actually, it's not quite as grand as you make it sound," Xivan said, looking somewhat embarrassed.

"I am not exaggerating at all, Xivan," Dumbledore shook his head slightly and told him. "As long as you can become friends with Riddle, you can subtly influence him with your kindness, steering him away from such extremes and leading him back onto the right path."

Dumbledore's repeated praise left Xivan somewhat at a loss, unsure how to respond, so he simply lowered his head and sipped his tea in silence.

"By the way, how is your cat doing these days?" While Xivan had his head down drinking tea, Dumbledore abruptly asked a completely unrelated question.

Xivan was a bit taken aback by Dumbledore's rapid change of subject, and replied helplessly, "Uh, pretty well, I suppose."

As it happened, he was feeling a bit of an urge to pet a cat, so he pulled out his wand and drew a circle in the air before him.

A small, golden glowing ring materialized in front of Xivan, revealing a small cat currently dozing beneath a tree inside the circle.

Taking the cat by surprise, Xivan scooped it up into his arms and casually cast a cleansing charm on it, removing all the dusty dirt from its fur.

During the previous semester, Xivan had persisted in visiting Flamel every week to study alchemy. Although a ring for spatial positioning was difficult to craft right away, making a collar for the small cat that could provide coordinates was quite simple.

This time, Xivan had used the collar around the cat's neck to pinpoint its location and snatch it right back.

Although the cat was a little dazed by its sudden change of location, the familiar scent radiating from Xivan set her mind at ease. She quietly settled down across Xivan's lap, enjoying his gentle strokes while emitting a soft, purring sound from her throat, looking utterly blissed out.

Once one spot had been massaged to her liking, she would proudly shift another part of her body right next to Xivan's hand, signaling him to rub her somewhere else.

Watching Xivan's doting expression toward the cat, Dumbledore smiled with satisfaction.

"Xivan, I think you might want to suggest that Tom keep a small pet," Dumbledore said, giving a playful wink.

Xivan froze for a moment, not entirely sure what specific significance Dumbledore's suggestion held.

"Oh, right, I got so caught up discussing what I wanted to talk to you about that I almost forgot you came looking for me today," Dumbledore suddenly asked. "Is there anything I can help you with?"

"That's right, I still have a few questions I'd like to consult you about," Xivan looked at Dumbledore and asked cautiously.

"Do you know about blood magic?"

Upon hearing Xivan's question, Dumbledore's expression grew a shade more serious.

"Have you already spoken with Professor Enriques, Xivan?" Dumbledore asked.

Seeing Xivan nod, Dumbledore slowly began, "Yes, of course I know about blood magic."

"Professor Enriques came to Hogwarts to teach Defense Against the Dark Arts at my invitation. I invited him here specifically to discuss certain matters concerning blood magic."

"I heard that a blood magic tradition has been passed down within your family—whenever a member of the Dumbledore family is in need of help, a phoenix will appear," Xivan asked curiously.

Dumbledore looked at Xivan with mild surprise and casually asked, "Did Newt tell you that?"

"Um, actually, Mr. Strange told me," Xivan silently used his soul-body form as a shield.

Actually, it would have been entirely fine even if Dumbledore had assumed Newt told him.

Regarding the blood magic of the Dumbledore family, it all started because Xivan's spirit form had been curious about the phoenix that appeared in Bhutan, prompting him to ask Newt about phoenixes. Later on, he learned about the relationship between the Dumbledore family and phoenixes directly from Newt.

"You are quite right, the Dumbledore family does indeed carry a blood magic related to phoenixes," Dumbledore didn't dwell on the matter and continued to explain. "In fact, I have a nephew. His name is Aurelius, and he is an Obscurial."

"He has carried the Obscurus within him for far too long, and its dark power is constantly eroding his body day and night. Right now, he can only rely on the healing properties of phoenix tears to sustain his life. But phoenix tears are not omnipotent, after all..."

"Besides that, Aurelius had a friend ten years ago named Nagini. She once fell victim to a blood curse and turned into a Maledictus," Dumbledore said with a heavy tone. "With Aurelius's time running short, he has instead remembered this once-inseparable friend of his and hopes we can help her."

"However, Nagini has carried the blood curse for well over a decade, and none of us can be certain whether she still retains her sanity or has been completely consumed by the curse."

Hearing the term "blood curse," Xivan's spirits soared. His actual purpose in coming to the Transfiguration Head's office today was to ask Dumbledore if there was any way to resolve the blood curse afflicting Elshionae.

He hastily asked, "Professor, could you tell me what a Maledictus is?"

"Do you know what an Animagus is?" Dumbledore countered with a question.

"An Animagus is someone with the ability to freely transform into a corresponding animal form," Xivan nodded and replied. "Is a Maledictus similar to an Animagus?"

"Somewhat similar, in that both grant the ability to transform into animals. But there are major differences between the two," Dumbledore said.

"Unlike the voluntary transformation of an Animagus, as time goes on, a wizard who is a Maledictus will gradually lose their human cognitive faculties and undergo passive transformations driven by the curse, until they eventually turn entirely into a mindless beast!"