Chapter 949: Aurel, the Forgotten
Chapter 949: Aurel, the Forgotten
The atmosphere in the room became tense again as Snape took a step back, his eyes fixed on Dumbledore with a complex expression.
"You're not dead..." His voice was dry, filled with a sense of betrayal. "So, the funeral was fake too. You deceived everyone, including me."
Grindelwald frowned, displeased with Snape's tone.
"I don't like that professor."
"Albus is too kind. At Durmstrang, no teacher would dare speak to the headmaster like that."
If anyone else were present, they would be surprised by Grindelwald's words.
He was defending the one who had defeated his enemy instead of Snape, who had been imprisoned in Nurmengard.
However, Kyle didn't find this strange at all.
The last time he visited Nurmengard, he had spotted a letter written on a torn bedsheet in the top corner, never to be sent.
"You know I will reply when you want me to, just as you know I love you, from the day we met."
It was clear that the letter had not been sent for a reason... or perhaps it was due to the lack of owls in Nurmengard.
This was also why Kyle could manipulate Grindelwald with just a few photos.
The images he had carefully selected over the years were priceless.
For instance, the photo of Dumbledore with tears streaming down his face when he met Ariana was an exclusive shot that only Kyle possessed.
Dumbledore, overwhelmed with joy, had revealed his vulnerable side to an outsider for the first time, and its value was evident without needing to be stated. No one but Kyle would likely ever see this side of Dumbledore again.
Additionally, there was the precious memory from 1899 of the young, spirited headmaster and the ambitious Grindelwald in Godric's Hollow, discussing their friendship.
Yes, Kyle had more than three photos, far more than that... After all, his initial plan was to fill an entire photo album, and three photos were not nearly enough.
Kyle subconsciously touched his Changeling lizard skin bag, but his action immediately caught Grindelwald's attention.
As a... well, a skilled manipulator of hearts, even after being imprisoned in Nurmengard for seventy years, Grindelwald's insight was not something ordinary people could match.
However, he merely watched with interest, saying nothing.
"I'm sorry, Severus," Dumbledore said after a moment of silence. "I know you're not willing to hear any explanations from me right now, but I can assure you that the funeral was not entirely fake."
The soft tone, laced with a hint of self-blame, only made Grindelwald angrier.
But with Dumbledore still present, he managed to restrain himself and maintained his silence.
"Not entirely fake... What does that mean?" Snape asked, unaware that someone beside him was itching to kill him.
"You should know what this means, seeing me in my current state," Dumbledore said.
Dumbledore spread his arms, and a gust of wind carrying a few fallen leaves blew through his body.
"A ghost..." Snape said, then shook his head. "No, it's impossible. Dumbledore can't be a ghost."
"I'm glad you hold me in such high regard," Dumbledore smiled.
Ghosts were just a term for wizards who feared death and left their mark in places they had once lived.
In other words, ghosts were the antithesis of Gryffindor, which symbolized courage.
Dumbledore probably felt that Snape had just acknowledged him as a true Gryffindor, a brave one at that.
To be honest, he was quite pleased.
"I'm not a ghost," Dumbledore laughed. "To be precise, I am a memory that has been placed into the Pensieve."
Snape subconsciously looked down at Dumbledore's feet, but there was nothing there, not even the stone basin with magical inscriptions.
"It's just a metaphor, Severus," Dumbledore explained. "A special magic has replaced the Pensieve's function, allowing this memory of mine to appear here intact."
"You weren't like this before." Snape shook his head.
Despite a brief period of unconsciousness, he remembered Dumbledore's initial appearance—a serious expression on his face, followed by a powerful weather spell that startled Voldemort into cursing.
Dumbledore was accused of lacking martial morality and secretly preparing a Horcrux for himself.
Using magic... This couldn't be something a memory could do, could it?
"Severus, I shouldn't have appeared here; I should have explained this to all the students and professors at Hogwarts."
Dumbledore sighed, "I have to admit that I made a mistake. I should have trusted you more, or at least given you more obvious hints when I sent Draco to you."
"Draco... was it you?"
"Yes," Dumbledore nodded. "I thought if I let that child stay locked in the classroom, he would be taken away by the Ministry of Magic. It wouldn't be fair to him."
"Is it fair to me?"
"I'm sorry, Severus."
"Oh, is it?" Snape scoffed, still carrying a hint of resentment.
Grindelwald took a subconscious step forward.
"Don't be impulsive, don't be impulsive..." Kyle whispered as he approached, "It's true that Professor Dumbledore wasn't being honest about this matter, and it's understandable for Snape to feel resentful."
"Oh?" Grindelwald glanced at Kyle with a sideways look, "First, feign death, then hide and prepare for a sneak attack... I don't think this is something Albus could come up with."
"Maybe... Well, Professor Dumbledore has kept up with the times." Kyle spoke earnestly, "After all, it's been seventy years since you last saw each other."
"So what? Even if it's been a hundred years, I still understand him..."
Kyle fell silent, feeling a bit awkward under Grindelwald's intense gaze.
"Let's take a step back and say this, I think you should also be grateful to Snape." He stiffly changed the subject, "After all, it was he who got you out of Nurmengard."
"Do you really think that tower could keep me locked up?" Grindelwald said with a meaningful tone, "Or do you think that without my wand, I'm at the mercy of others?"
"I didn't mean it that way." Kyle shook his head.
This was indeed his genuine thought. While wandless spellcasting was one of the most challenging techniques, the person in question was Grindelwald, so how could it not be possible?
"You know, he told me that Dumbledore is dead..." Grindelwald waved the wand in his hand, which originally belonged to Snape.
"He should be grateful that he's still alive after telling such a huge lie to me."
Unlike Kyle, who was intentionally suppressing his voice, Grindelwald's words were loud enough for everyone present to hear.
No one thought Grindelwald was joking, especially Snape. From the moment the two of them entered, Snape knew that Grindelwald intended to kill him.
Grindelwald's gaze felt like he was looking at a burnt steak.
The invisible pressure made Snape feel extremely uncomfortable, and it was only during the earlier struggle with Kyle that he felt some relief.
But now, that feeling returned.
"Blame me for this, but Severus didn't know I was alive, so in a sense, he didn't lie to you either." Dumbledore stepped forward and spoke.
Kyle sidestepped and took a step back.
To be honest, if Dumbledore truly cared for Snape, he should have kept quiet, said nothing, and not intervened on Snape's behalf.
Didn't they notice that Grindelwald's grip on the wand tightened after Dumbledore's appearance? But Kyle couldn't bring himself to point it out, fearing that Grindelwald might feel embarrassed, and he didn't want to be the first one blamed.
The silence that followed made the atmosphere increasingly awkward.
"I just wanted to kill the Dark Lord in my own way." Snape finally broke the silence.
"But we had agreed on this before..."
"Harry Potter can't kill the Dark Lord."
Snape interrupted, "I trusted you at first, believing that the Dark Lord would fall to Potter just as he had before, until I personally witnessed the battle at Hogwarts.
"I don't know what Potter will do to defeat the Dark Lord, and this time, no one will use the ancient protective magic on him."
"But what does that have to do with you coming to Nurmengard?"
"To find an enemy capable of defeating the Dark Lord." Snape's gaze shifted towards Grindelwald.
"I remember you saying that as long as Harry is alive, no one can kill the Dark Lord."
"That's right..." Dumbledore said, "Because Harry is also one of the Horcruxes... Oh, I think I understand now."
Dumbledore suddenly spoke, "So when you rescued Tom at Hogwarts, I always thought you didn't want him to perish alongside the professors, but now it seems you didn't want others to know that Harry is a Horcrux.
"Were you afraid that if others learned the truth, they might kill Harry?"
Snape remained silent, turning his head away and averting his gaze.
Find the original text in Chapter 6, Book 9!
"Even if this is discovered, Minerva would never do such a thing." Dumbledore sighed.
"What about others, Dumbledore? You can't guarantee that everyone will be like you." Snape spoke up.
"And I know the Dark Lord. He won't fight to the death. Even if I didn't save him, he would find a way to escape. Instead of waiting for him to hide after his escape, why not try my method?"
"Your method, Grindelwald?"
"Exactly." Snape said, "I didn't plan to come here until that one time, when you and the Dark Lord engaged in a great battle abroad... It was in Austria, not far from here."
"I've always wondered why the Dark Lord chose to fight you here, and then one day, I accidentally came across an old newspaper, and its content cleared up my confusion.
"Everyone knows that Dumbledore defeated Grindelwald, saving Europe... But few know that the two of them were once close friends in their youth."
Dumbledore and Grindelwald fell silent.
Indeed, few knew this, and although it was true, it sounded too much like a tall tale... It was because of defeating Grindelwald that Dumbledore received the Merlin First-Class Medal, and you're telling me they were close friends?
It's hard to believe.
After all these years, even if someone spoke the truth, no one would believe it.
"At that time, I didn't pay much attention to this matter," Snape looked at Dumbledore, "But later, when you were suddenly killed, I coincidentally learned about the legend of the Elder Wand."
"So, at the most critical moment, a plan emerged."
"You want me to deal with that guy named Tom?" Grindelwald raised an eyebrow.
"Exactly." Snape said, "If you two were truly close friends, perhaps after knowing the truth, you would choose to avenge Dumbledore."
"You also said, it was once." Grindelwald shook his head, "He defeated me and got me locked up in Nurmengard for seventy years. Maybe we've long turned from friends to foes, how could I avenge him?"
For some reason, after hearing Grindelwald's words, Snape was completely stunned, as if he had never considered this possibility.
Grindelwald stared at him for a while and suddenly laughed, "What a clever Confundus Charm."
"What did you say?" Kyle looked at Grindelwald in confusion, "Did someone use a Confundus Charm on him?"
"Want to know?" Grindelwald extended three fingers.
Kyle's mouth twitched, and he took out a photo. "This is all I have. Take it or leave it."
"Deal." Grindelwald glanced at the photo and put it away with satisfaction.
"Now you can tell."
"You can let that fool think it over." Grindelwald spoke slowly, "His so-called 'unintentionally' and 'coincidentally' must have involved a specific person.
"Maybe not directly, but they must have met."
A specific person?
Snape lowered his head in thought, and a moment later, his pupils suddenly contracted.
"It seems you've figured it out." Grindelwald continued, "I can affirm that either the newspaper or the Elder Wand, at least one of them, was guided by this person for you to see.
"In other words, your undercover identity was exposed long ago."
"Who is this person?" Kyle asked.
"This question you should ask him."
Kyle and Dumbledore looked at Snape simultaneously.
"Olen." Snape's voice was steady as he spoke a name both of them knew but were on the verge of forgetting.
Snape was lost in his memories.
"Olen was the first to discover the change in the Dark Lord's wand. He seemed to know the origins of the Elder Wand and enthusiastically shared the legends about this wand with others."
"Later, when the Dark Lord found his wand disobedient, unable to fully serve him, I recalled Olen mentioning that the Elder Wand had once sworn allegiance to Grindelwald."
"Then, the trip to Nurmengard became a logical step. If everything went according to plan, I would 'unintentionally' reveal Dumbledore's death and 'accidentally' drop a wand."
"Wait, hold on." Kyle extended his hand.
"According to what you said, Olen knew long ago that Lord Voldemort didn't fully control the Elder Wand?"
"That's a bit far-fetched."
"I don't know." Snape shook his head, "But if we follow Mr. Grindelwald's theory, Olen is indeed the most suspicious one."
"The Elder Wand's rejection of a wizard is quite obvious." At this moment, Grindelwald suddenly spoke up, "If the person you mentioned knows enough about the Hallows, it can be discerned."
"How can it be seen?" Kyle had never heard of such a thing.
"Want to know?" This time, Grindelwald extended his entire palm, indicating five photos.
"No, I don't want to know." Kyle firmly refused his audacious request.
"Well, it's a shame." Grindelwald didn't insist.
"You, like most wizards, don't want to spend time and effort searching for the Hallows, which are related to fairy tales.
"And some details about the Elder Wand are hidden in these unrecorded fairy tale fragments."
"Olen, using his identity as a bard, traveled to various countries, facilitating his smuggling of magical creatures. Bards have the most contact with fairy tales."
Dumbledore spoke softly beside them, "His performance was so successful that he was never exposed."
"That's not surprising." Grindelwald stared at Snape, "Oh, and it seems I was mistaken. The magical traces on your body aren't from a Confundus Charm but a hypnotic suggestion?"
"What do you mean?"
"By using a certain language suggestion, some people know of my existence, just like you." Grindelwald pointed at Snape.
"Before this, you might have never known me, let alone ask me to deal with Tom."
"Interesting." Grindelwald suddenly laughed, "You must have used this on many people, ensuring that when the wand goes awry, someone will draw Tom's attention here."
"I'm starting to want to meet this clever and cunning wizard."
...
(End of Chapter)
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