Chapter 674: Grindelwald's Sins
Chapter 674: Grindelwald's Sins
"Wow, is that true? Dumbledore really said that he would remove the piece of Voldemort's soul from you tonight?"
The next morning, when Harry told his friends about what happened the previous night, Hermione exclaimed in surprise. Ron was so shocked he couldn't speak, his eyes fixed on Harry's face.
Harry nodded silently. They were walking around the Black Lake, their feet sinking into the soft grass. The sun was warm outside the castle, and they could see Hagrid working in the vegetable garden from a distance.
"Did he say how he's going to do it? What do you need to prepare?" Ron asked eagerly.
"He only told me to do something brave, and the rest will be revealed after tonight's dinner", Harry replied.
"But why?" Ron asked, puzzled.
"Maybe it has something to do with the O.W.L. exams?" Hermione speculated. "The last exam ends today, so Headmaster Dumbledore will be free to focus on this."
Harry couldn't think of a reason to either refute or agree with her. In fact, he had been looking forward to this day, hoping to spend the last week of June with Ginny, a thought that was incredibly appealing.
As they walked around the Black Lake, they occasionally stopped to watch the giant squid spout water, the sun refracting into a rainbow that quickly disappeared.
Sometimes they would excitedly discuss the methods Dumbledore might use. Ron guessed that Harry would have a thrilling battle with Voldemort under the watchful eyes of Dumbledore and Professor Hep. However, Hermione didn't think the professors would put Harry in such danger, so Ron quickly revised his idea to suggest that Dumbledore and Professor Hep would weaken Voldemort first before letting Harry finish the job.
"Maybe it'll be a bare-handed fight, just the two of them testing their strength. Voldemort looks like he hasn't had much exercise", Hermione said with a serious face.
Harry laughed.
He laughed even harder when Ron stubbornly said, "It's not impossible", and the three of them spent the afternoon with Hagrid, drinking tea and discussing the patterns for the canvas trousers Hagrid was preparing for Grawp, feeling quite content.
When it was almost time, Harry, Ron, and Hermione returned to the castle. They timed it perfectly, and when they reached the entrance hall, many students had just finished their Charms practical exam and were chatting excitedly in small groups, celebrating the end of a hellish year. A few minutes later, Ginny appeared through a side door of the Great Hall.
For a brief moment, Harry clearly heard Professor Ban's loud voice announcing the end of the exam.
"I always thought this surname was a disadvantage", Ron muttered. "You never get a good spot in any alphabetical order."
Ginny rolled her eyes at Ron and affectionately linked her arm with Harry's. Harry looked away, a bit uncomfortable, and noticed Colin Creevey leaning against the niche with the House Cup hourglass, seemingly being interviewed by Malvada.
At that moment, Snape's wide black robes swished past them.
Harry gave him a curious glance but was soon drawn back by Ginny's words, "I'm going to be a bridesmaid!" Harry was momentarily distracted, the image of Snape fading from his mind as he imagined Ginny in a bridesmaid's dress, wondering how it would differ from a wedding gown.
But over the next few minutes, more and more professors appeared, and even Hermione, who was enthusiastically discussing wedding dresses with Ginny, and Ron, who looked impatient, noticed something was off: professors were passing by them more frequently than usual.
So when Hagrid's large figure entered from outside, Harry called out to him.
"Hagrid, what are you doing here?"
"Meeting", Hagrid grunted, his boat-like boots still muddy from the vegetable garden. He lumbered into the Great Hall, and the group exchanged glances. Ginny volunteered to investigate and returned a moment later, saying, "Hagrid went to the staff room. I peeked inside, and there were a lot of people there, it seems all the professors were invited."
...
When Felix sat down next to Snape, he scanned the room and saw that all the professors from the school were present, along with two unfamiliar faces sitting silently in the corner.
The room gradually quieted down, and all eyes turned to Dumbledore, who was seated at the head of the table. With a smile, Dumbledore looked around and began to speak.
"Before we begin the meeting, please allow me to introduce two witnesses, Viktor and Chester, representatives of the school board."
The two men nodded.
The professors exchanged surprised glances, sensing that something significant was about to happen.
"Next, I have something to say that has been agreed upon by all members of the board: Ladies and gentlemen, I will be stepping down as Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry", Dumbledore said solemnly. The room erupted in whispers, but he continued, as if he hadn't noticed, "At the same time, I am deeply grateful to the board for their approval of my recommendation. Minerva Mcgonagall will succeed me as the new Headmistress."
Professor Mcgonagall let out a scream, "No, Dumbledore—"
Dumbledore silenced her with a look.
"Let me finish, Minerva. The new appointments also include—Felix Hepworth, who will continue as Professor of Ancient Runes and will additionally serve as Deputy Headmaster."
Dumbledore finished speaking, his ten long fingers touching together, and then he politely looked around at the others, as if waiting for questions. The room fell silent for a moment as everyone tried to digest this startling news, and no one was eager to break the quiet.
Felix showed little reaction to the sudden position thrust upon him. Even without the title of Deputy Headmaster, he had the ability to implement some reforms at the school. He frowned slightly, his gaze fixed on Dumbledore, feeling a sinking sensation in his heart.
He had suspected this might happen, but he had never been entirely sure. Especially after he learned recently that Dumbledore had used the power of the Resurrection Stone to summon the soul projections of two of his loved ones from the living, he had not believed that Dumbledore would be willing to give up his life.
If Dumbledore was determined to die, what was the point of all this?
But now Dumbledore had suddenly made this decision. It couldn’t possibly be just for the sake of enjoying retirement, could it? A thought crossed his mind, and he looked at Grindelwald across the room. Perhaps he knew something? Grindelwald’s brow was furrowed, his eyes locked on Dumbledore, who did not deliberately avoid his gaze but also did not pay him too much attention.
Felix felt a cold sensation creeping into his chest.
"Dumbledore, you should have discussed this with me first!" Professor Mcgonagall said angrily. "I cannot accept you doing this. It’s absurd, and I’m sure the other professors were not prepared for it either. Even if you plan to retire, you should have given us some time to adjust, instead of springing this on us."
"Minerva, we have two hours before the banquet starts, plenty of time to address any concerns, but my decision will not change."
"Of course, there are questions!" Professor Mcgonagall said heatedly. "Let’s start with when you first had this irresponsible idea, and what you plan to do after you leave the school. You’ve spent most of your life here."
"That’s a broad topic, Minerva, and I don’t want to go into too much detail. It would be tedious, and we don’t have two hours. To put it simply, I’ve planned a trip." Dumbledore announced cheerfully, and Felix detected a hint of mischief in his tone. "Of course, you could also say I’ve been planning this for a long time."
"A trip?"
Professor Mcgonagall seemed confused, but Grindelwald’s head snapped up. A trip? Dumbledore had mentioned this to him in private. Two days ago, he had talked about his aborted graduation trip, his voice tinged with regret.
He had described his planned route in detail.
Starting from Britain, passing through France, Greece, Egypt, Brazil... almost covering all the famous wizarding towns and magical sights around the world. Of course, the most important part was the people. He was very interested in the magical ecosystems of other countries and wouldn’t mind taking short breaks in some scenic spots...
Grindelwald felt a twinge of longing.
For the rest of the meeting, he was distracted, his thoughts wandering. When the meeting ended, the professors walked out of the staff room in a daze, and the students in the Great Hall were already seated at their tables. The banquet began and ended, and Dumbledore stood up to speak, announcing this shocking news.
The students below were stunned. They finally understood why all the professors seemed to have no appetite today—this naturally included Grindelwald, though his thoughts were entirely different from the others.
When Dumbledore announced his intention to step down as Headmaster, Grindelwald knew that his year of patient planning had come to nothing. He had been isolated in Nurmengard, cut off from the outside world, which was exactly what he wanted. At first, some Saints had tried to send messages through various means, but when they received no response, they gradually gave up. His world became simple and quiet, and he spent his days living on past memories.
Many years had passed. One day, he accidentally learned from the house-elf Bondi about the old wand. He couldn’t resist the urge and had Bondi send a letter. He knew that the Elder Wand had been in Dumbledore’s possession for half a century, and given Dumbledore’s character, it would never have changed hands.
He smelled a conspiracy.
Sure enough, a young wizard calling himself Voldemort began to stir things up. Grindelwald observed the battle outside Hogsmeade through the eyes of the house-elf, but his questions remained unanswered. Dumbledore was old and showed no signs of the Elder Wand’s power. However, the wand was still in his possession.
After that, he made contact with Felix Hepworth.
Through constant bickering and exchanges, he acutely realized that another grand era was about to unfold. The last such era was a century ago, when Muggles were developing at an increasingly rapid pace, not only making the more perceptive members of the Wizarding community feel threatened but also making ordinary Wizards notice that their living space was becoming more and more restricted, and the secrecy laws were becoming increasingly stringent.
Dissatisfaction spread across the world.
He seized that opportunity, which led to Grindelwald becoming the most dangerous Dark Wizard in history. Now, nearly a century later, history was repeating itself, but this time, it wasn't the Wizards who were initiating the conflict. Instead, they had nowhere to retreat, and no matter how much they tried to hide, the existence of the magical world seemed impossible to conceal.
The secrecy laws were on the brink of collapse, and this crisis wasn't something that could be resolved by locking a Dark Wizard in prison.
Shortly after, he 'saw' some visions, not just one. To be precise, there were three different scenes: an anti-Wizard protest, a grand fireworks display, and—himself convening the Saints!
He kept the last two visions secret, using the most straightforward first one as leverage in negotiations. In the end, he succeeded, transforming himself and assuming a new identity as an ordinary magic teacher.
At first, he had no interest in teaching students.
But this attitude gradually changed. Sometimes, he even thought that continuing such a life until the visions came to pass might not be so bad. He even found explanations for the other two visions: a celebration after victory, and his own summoning of the Saints to replace the corrupt and ineffective International Confederation of Wizards when his existence in the Wizarding world was exposed.
Understanding the significance of these three visions led to the trilateral theory he, Dumbledore, and Hepworth had established. Each of the three occupied a crucial role:
Dumbledore, with his immense prestige from defeating Grindelwald and being recognized by the Qilin, had an influence that no one could match even to this day.
Felix Hepworth's influence was slightly less, but that depended on the comparison. In reality, his personal strength and reputation far exceeded geographical boundaries. In just a few years, he had spread his influence throughout the magical world by promoting Ancient Runes and developing innovative magical items, even impressing Grindelwald with his impressive resume.
As for Grindelwald himself, as he said, he would unite all the forces of the Wizarding world to ensure internal stability. If necessary, his Saints would eliminate all threats. This list naturally included the stubborn Muggle governments. In his view, even if Wizards and Muggles eventually reached peace, it would only be after a war.
In the short few decades of his most active period, two world wars occurred, and he knew all too well the evils of human nature.
Wizards must demonstrate their power. Optimistically, burning just one or two countries to the ground would suffice. At least it would prevent a full-scale war, right? Even if both sides would suffer heavy losses, with Wizards' ability to hide, as long as there was organization, a single ordinary house could easily hide hundreds or even thousands of Wizards.
Those who unfortunately died would help to quell the hatred of ordinary Muggles.
After a few hundred years, when the convenience of magic was deeply ingrained in people's hearts, Wizards would become the de facto nobility, and the past wars and bloodshed would be forgotten. How many people now remember that a small country like Bulgaria also participated in the war?
This was Grindelwald's vision of the future—gloomy, desperate, cold, and cruel. Even voicing these thoughts would invite widespread condemnation. So he kept these bloody words hidden, but he knew Dumbledore would guess them.
This time, it wasn't he who was determined to start a war.
He was even willing to comfortingly say, "There are over two hundred countries in the world. As long as each one makes the right choice, war can be avoided." He enjoyed seeing Dumbledore's speechless expression.
They had lived too long and witnessed too much ugliness. Only Hepworth still harbored unrealistic fantasies, hoping for a smooth and peaceful future. But the possibility of that... was too slim.
He and Dumbledore were fundamentally thorough pessimists, their hearts long since desolate.
...
In the deathly silence, Dumbledore raised his goblet and smiled as he toasted to everyone:
"What do we have left if we lose hope?"
The Great Hall remained silent, as if someone had cast a Silencing Charm. Then, Dumbledore announced the end of the banquet, but no one moved. Everyone stared at him, and some of the more emotional girls began to cry.
Dumbledore was deeply moved. He took a gentle breath and said, trembling, "You may leave. Additionally, the Heads of the four Houses, Professor Hepworth, and Professor Bashir, please follow me." With that, he led the way through the crowd toward the door, and those named followed one by one.
As he passed the standing Gryffindor students, Dumbledore paused slightly, looking into the crowd. Their eyes met, and Harry immediately understood.
He glanced back at the chaotic Great Hall, exchanged a look with Ron and Hermione, and then bent down to follow quietly. Behind him, he heard the sounds of shoving and Seamus's angry shouts: "I'm not leaving! I'm in sixth year—I'm an adult!"
(End of Chapter)
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