"What did you say?" Mr. Eric Hart shouted subconsciously, "Is your school principal going to visit our home tonight?"
"Yes!" Jon nodded honestly.
"Oh, God!" Eric exclaimed, "Why didn't you tell us earlier?"
"I just received the notice as well..." Jon said with a wry smile.
Eric couldn't help but rub his hands together to form a cross. While thinking, he asked, "I remember hearing Dr. Granger say that your headmaster seemed to be a very famous wizard?"
"That's right!" Jon nodded again: "He should be one of the most famous wizards in the British Isles and even in Europe this century!"
"The wizarding equivalent of Tim Berners-Lee, John Lennon or Winston Churchill?"
"That's about right!"
"Amen... son..." Eric lowered his voice quietly: "You didn't do anything wrong at school, did you?"
...
...
"Of course..." Jon said reluctantly, "No."
"That's good." Eric breathed a sigh of relief.
"Do you think Jon is the same as you?" Judy came out of the kitchen. She had heard the conversation between the father and son. She said to Jon with a smile on her face, "Your father was a troublemaker when he was in school. When he was in Trumpington, he broke curfew at least five times a month..."
"Hehe!" Eric smiled. "Your mother was a good girl. When she married me, all the old professors at Newnham were extremely shocked. How could she be with a notorious troublemaker like me?"
"Jon has been like me since he was a child, very well behaved!" Judy snorted coldly and continued to ask her son: "Your ... Principal Dumbledore..."
"It's Professor Dumbledore..." Jon corrected quickly.
"Yes, Professor Dumbledore... is coming over at seven o'clock, right? So, He will probably have dinner with us. Does he have any preferences for food?"
"Um, I think..." Jon thought seriously for a moment: "He should prefer fish and chips!"
…
July 15th seemed like a year in the past.
An unknown amount of time had passed before the sun gradually set... Jon glanced at the broken setting sun and checked his watch. The time was already six fifty-five.
"How will Professor Dumbledore get here?" Judy asked nervously, "By flying carpet?"
"He should come in through the door!" Jon whispered, glancing at the fireplace in the living room that had long been welded shut.
As early as five years ago, our family switched to an electric fireplace, and the fireplace in the living room was left abandoned.
One can only hope that Professor Dumbledore won't use the Floo Network...
The minute hand of the watch pointed to twelve, and almost at the same time, the street lights outside the window suddenly went out.
Jon went to the window and squinted at the sidewalk outside the door; he saw a tall figure in a long cloak walking towards number 86.
Jon reacted quickly, waving at his parents and whispering, "He's here!"
Eric and Judy quickly began making final preparations.
A few seconds later, there was a crisp knock on the door.
"Hello, who is this?" Eric's voice was calm and polite.
"I am the headmaster of Hogwarts, Albus Dumbledore!" A deep voice came from the other side of the door: "Excuse me, is this Mr. Jon Hart's home?"
"Oh, please wait a moment!" Eric walked quickly to the door.
"Professor Dumbledore!" After opening the door, he eagerly shook the guest's hand: "It is an honor for you to visit my humble home. I have heard of your name for a long time. A friend of mine told me that you are the most outstanding wizard in Europe this century!"
"Oh, really...Mr. Hart!" Albus Dumbledore looked a little surprised.
"My friend, Mr. Wendell Granger, has a daughter who is a senior student at your school..." Eric explained with a smile, "The whole family thinks very highly of you!"
As he spoke, Eric raised his hand and made a gesture of invitation: "Please come in, Professor Dumbledore!"
"Thank you very much!" Professor Dumbledore bowed gently, "But your evaluation of me just now is indeed a bit exaggerated."
He walked into the living room and Jon quickly greeted him: "Hello, Professor!"
At the same time, he placed the mat on the sofa where Professor Dumbledore was about to sit.
"Thank you..." Professor Dumbledore smiled and patted his shoulder: "Good evening, Jon, how was your summer vacation?"
"It's going great, Professor... except you can't use magic!" Jon replied with a grin.
"To be honest, I also think that the "Law on Reasonable Restraint of Underage Wizards" is too harsh in some aspects!" Professor Dumbledore nodded seriously: "But it is usually necessary... Thank you, ma'am."
As he said the last sentence, Professor Dumbledore stood up and took the cup of black tea that Judy brought over.
"Professor Dumbledore, this is the best Sri Lankan Uva black tea!" Judy introduced, "If you prefer green tea, milk tea or cocktail tea, you will have to wait a moment!"
"No... no need!" Professor Dumbledore shook his head: "This is very good!"
"Would you like some dessert?" Judy continued, "Scone, mousse or a piece of birthday cake?"
Of course, Judy would not just prepare fish and chips for Professor Dumbledore as Jon said.
"Birthday cake?"
"Today is my birthday, Professor!" Jon said honestly.
"Oh, really?" Dumbledore was obviously a little surprised: "I'm sorry to disturb your birthday party... and I haven't brought you a birthday present yet!"
"No, no, no, the best birthday gift for him is for you to come to my humble home and give him personal guidance!" Eric quickly agreed.
"You're so welcome, Mrs. Hart!" Before Dumbledore could respond to Eric, he saw Judy coming over with a large plate of desserts.
The old wizard snapped his fingers, and the plate of dessert flew out of Judy's hands and landed safely in front of the coffee table in front of them.
Jon was keenly aware of the strange expressions on his parents' faces... Although they had long known the existence of magic, they had indeed only seen it a few times. However, they still tried their best to remain calm.
"Well, thank you very much for your hospitality!" Dumbledore quickly added, "But there's really no need to be so polite!"
…
Eric and Judy both sat on the sofa opposite Professor Dumbledore, and Jon brought a small stool and sat next to them.
"Professor Dumbledore!" Eric was the first to ask, "I still don't quite understand why you're here. Did Jon make any mistakes in school?"
Judy on the side also asked with a worried look on her face: "Yes, Jon has been very well-behaved since he was a child and never caused trouble... Is there something wrong?"
"Wrong?" Dumbledore was stunned, then smiled and shook his head: "Of course not, Mr. and Mrs. Hart, in fact, Jon's performance in school is very good..."
"...His final exam score was first in the whole school. Almost all the teachers praised him highly, including an extremely strict professor, and of course, me..."
"In fact, there is hardly any student in the entire Hogwarts who works harder than him... I saw him use the Petrification Spell once during a Defense Against the Dark Arts exam. That must have been the result of practicing it thousands or even tens of thousands of times. Many sixth and seventh grade students can't even do that!"
Jon was stunned. He had not expected that Professor Dumbledore would speak so highly of him, and with such polite words.
Eric and Judy looked at each other, and there was deep surprise in their eyes:
"But I still don't quite understand..." Eric asked cautiously.
"There's no rule against making a home visit to a very outstanding student, is there?" Dumbledore winked slightly.
However, his expression gradually became serious: "Of course, Mr. Hart... You may not understand that the magic world is huge and there are many temptations. Many true geniuses may go astray because of temptations and become unable to extricate themselves..."
"I'm sorry, but I've seen such tragedies happen several times... Especially when a wizard is truly gifted and has no elders who understand magic to discipline him..." Dumbledore said apologetically, "Although it's a bit abrupt, I'm sorry, you don't really understand our world!"
When Eric and Judy heard what Dumbledore said, there was a hint of worry in their eyes.
"Jon has been a sensible and good boy since he was young. He wouldn't..." Judy said to herself in a very low voice.
"Don't worry so much..." Dumbledore laughed again: "This is just the alarmist talk of a crazy old man, hahahaha!"
Eric and Judy also forced awkward smiles.
…
They chatted together for about an hour.
Albus Dumbledore was a very easy-going person. Even when he was with the Harts, who knew nothing about magic, he could still have a great time chatting with them.
It was a quarter past eight, and Dumbledore had just finished telling a joke about a goat breaking a wizard's nose when he stood up.
"Are you leaving, Professor Dumbledore?" Jon's parents quickly stood up.
"I'm sorry, I have an appointment a little later!" Dumbledore said apologetically.
Jon couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. This stressful "home visit" was finally coming to an end!
"However, I have another impolite request!" Dumbledore suddenly bent down and looked at Jon: "I hope Jon can come with me and help me with a few small favors in the next few days!"
Jon froze in place as if he was staring into the basilisk's eyes.
"I hope you don't mind?" Dumbledore winked at him.