Hogwarts: Harry Returns from Azeroth

Chapter 195, Section 194: Dumbledore and Grindelwald

In the eyes of most people in the wizarding world, the relationship between Dumbledore and Grindelwald can definitely be described as a deadly enemy, because Dumbledore almost destroyed all of Grindelwald's achievements, whether it was his ideals or the organization he established.

Finally, they even imprisoned Grindelwald, and he was imprisoned for decades... Putting themselves in his shoes, they think Grindelwald must hate Dumbledore to death now.

But who would have thought that these two old people, who in the eyes of outsiders should hate and kill each other, could now be living together in harmony in a room, looking at each other and laughing heartily?

Yes, a secret that many people cannot imagine or believe—Dumbledore and Grindelwald were once lovers who exchanged their true feelings. They even used magic to establish a blood oath for each other that would never betray them... But obviously, the blood oath that was supposed to never betray them eventually broke down and disappeared.

“You have indeed changed, Albus.” After a long while, Grindelwald finally sat down on the edge of his bed. He turned his head and looked Dumbledore up and down, saying, “Don’t deny it, I can see the change. You seem more relaxed, as if you’ve put down a heavy burden—this is not like you at all. Has something happened outside?”

"Didn't you foresee anything?" Dumbledore asked in return, without directly answering Grindelwald's question.

Unlike Professor Sybil Trelawney's unpredictable and uncontrollable wizarding prophetic abilities, Grindelwald was a 'prophet' who could make active prophecies, and the visions he foresaw were remarkably clear. This is why so many people believed him many years ago and were willing to fight for the world he depicted.

“I haven’t seen any new prophecies in a long time,” Grindelwald said frankly, shaking his head. “You can hardly understand this feeling, Albus. When I try to find answers, all I get is a most nauseating dizziness…like when we were young and went riding flying broomsticks and had an accident and were thrown off the broomsticks.”

"confusion?"

“Yes, chaos,” Grindelwald affirmed. “The world is becoming alien.”

“I can certainly relate to that,” Dumbledore nodded. “When did you begin to lose your ability to predict the future?”

"Last year? Or the year before?" Grindelwald shook his head slightly and said, "I can't remember. After all, I no longer have any reason to make predictions, do I?"

“I understand,” Dumbledore said, sitting down on the edge of the bed. “This is… interesting.”

“What are you thinking about now?” Grindelwald glanced at the person beside him. “Those things you can never let go of? Things you think you can’t do without you? I thought you became relaxed because you found an heir as stubborn as you.”

“Oh, speaking of which,” Dumbledore suddenly laughed, “you know what? Gellert, I thought that after my eightieth birthday, no one would make that kind of suggestion to me anymore.”

"What proposal?"

"He suggested that I find a companion and a quiet place to retire," Dumbledore remarked, mostly jokingly. "To be honest, before he said that, I really didn't realize that I was already 110 years old."

"An outdated old man," Grindelwald commented, "with one foot already in the grave—though for a wizard, that age is still relatively young."

"Ha, so you've found another useful boy?" Grindelwald couldn't help but sarcastically remark. "Called at a moment's notice and dismissed at a moment's notice, valuing your ideals above your own life—is that why you're so relaxed and happy now?"

“I’m not here to argue, Gellert,” Dumbledore said calmly. “And I’m afraid I’ll have to shatter your illusions—I admit that Harry can be quite stubborn at times, but he is not my heir, nor has he inherited my ideals, and he will not be summoned or dismissed at will by my words.”

“Honestly, there have been many times when I even felt that I was his successor,” Dumbledore chuckled self-deprecatingly. “I never imagined that someone would kidnap me in the middle of the night to transport soil and trees, or to repair houses and fix mage runes… Ha!”

“Harry certainly didn’t treat me like some highly respected and renowned wizard in the magical world, nor did he treat me like some old man who needed to be taken care of—it was more like he didn’t treat me like a human being at all.”

As if he had finally found a safe haven to confide in, Dumbledore babbled on and on about things he had never said to Hogwarts or anyone else.

His words made Grindelwald laugh.

"Are you sure he's your student, or that you're his student?" Grindelwald couldn't help but ask after a few laughs. "You like him that much?"

Are you able to tolerate the things he makes you do?
“Don’t talk nonsense, Gellert,” Dumbledore said calmly. “Harry and I are different, and neither he nor I know that very well… We are more like testing each other, confirming each other’s bottom line, and making sure that the other will not do something that we cannot accept.”

"...Is he very powerful?" Grindelwald asked thoughtfully.

“Extremely strong, so strong that he doesn’t seem like a twelve-year-old child at all,” Dumbledore answered without hesitation. “According to him, he once went on an adventure in a world that no one knew.”

"What about authenticity?"

“I think it’s pretty real,” Dumbledore shrugged. “At least the power he’s shown is definitely from a different system, completely different from the magic that wizards usually use.”

"Compared to that little boy you mentioned before?" Grindelwald asked. "The one called Voldemort."

Without saying a word, Dumbledore simply took something out of his pocket and handed it to Grindelwald.

"Voldemort?" Grindelwald looked at the trinket in his hand with surprise. He saw the hideous face that was constantly radiating the aura of dark magic, and the other side of the face that seemed to be sobbing.

"To be precise, it should be Voldemort's main soul," Dumbledore added. "Harry made him and another... not-so-innocent soul into this little thing he called an ornament. I can tell you with certainty that I did not interfere at all during the process—Voldemort was already like this when I arrived at the scene."

After fiddling with the ornament in his hand, Grindelwald suddenly raised the palm holding it and pointed it at the opposite wall. The next moment, an oval-shaped black orb shot out, melting the flowerpot he had just watered into a puddle of unidentified liquid emitting a burnt smell. "The power has increased," Grindelwald said confidently. "Is this borrowing the power of the sealed Voldemort? Interesting, a very ingenious idea, and I don't understand how he did it."

“I have never doubted Harry’s magical talent,” Dumbledore said, glancing at the flowerpot with a hint of regret. “...It took a lot of effort for it to grow up.”

"Anyway, the cold winds of the Alps aren't suitable for its growth, it'll die sooner or later," Grindelwald said nonchalantly, casually tossing the trinket back to Dumbledore without a second thought.

“It seems you and your new boy have everything planned out,” Grindelwald said casually. “What made you think of me, this poor, useless old man who has been living alone in the mountains for decades?”

“Oh, you don’t need to belittle yourself like that, Gellert,” Dumbledore said with a smile. “I did think for a long time about whether or not to come see you. I had good reasons for both, but in the end I came… After all, you were a crucial party in what happened back then.”

"That matter?" Grindelwald was somewhat confused about what Dumbledore was talking about.

"Ariana," Dumbledore uttered lightly, a name that sent a shiver down Grindelwald's spine. But Dumbledore seemed oblivious to his former friend's reaction, calmly continuing, "I'm ready to move on. My journey may have only just begun."

"You—" Grindelwald hesitated, "You wouldn't—"

"What do you mean, 'don't want to'?" Dumbledore suddenly turned his head, revealing a mischievous smile. "You don't think I'm going to commit suicide, do you? Heh heh, although Harry always says I should retire and live a life of leisure, I feel that my body is still full of vitality."

Well, Grindelwald's expression right now looks like he wants to shove his own bowl on Dumbledore's head.

But he held back.

Because of this incident—the very incident that Dumbledore spoke of—it was this incident that led the two of them down completely opposite paths, and it was this incident that separated two souls who loved each other completely.

Ariana Dumbledore, Albus Dumbledore's beloved sister, was the one whose death changed Dumbledore, causing him to break away from his past self.

Everyone knows that the Dark Lord Grindelwald is powerful and worships dark magic. They also know that Grindelwald and his followers want to lead a revolution in the wizarding world, overthrow the International Law of Secrecy, and establish a global order led by wizards, with wizards ruling Muggles—most terrifyingly, he almost succeeded, if Dumbledore hadn't stepped in to stop Grindelwald.

This is precisely the reason why Dumbledore enjoys such high prestige in the international wizarding world, because he has indeed maintained world peace and protected many innocent Muggles.

But what no one knows is that when Dumbledore was young, he and Grindelwald were extremely close friends in terms of relationship, feelings, ideals, and beliefs. To be precise, they shared the same ambition: both wanted to change the status quo of wizards hiding themselves, overthrow the Law of Secrecy, and make wizards superior to Muggles, allowing those with talent to rule everything.

However, Ariana's death changed everything.

As Dumbledore's sister, Ariana also possessed great magical talent, but she became an Obscurial because of the persecution of several Muggle boys when she was very young. Dumbledore's father punished those Muggles and refused to send his daughter, who had become an Obscurial, to St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Arts, and she was eventually sent to Azkaban.

The Obscurial was unable to control the raging magic within her. In an accident, Ariana killed her mother, and from then on, it was Dumbledore's brother Aberforth who took care of Ariana.

At that time, Dumbledore was very young. His sister's illness and the misfortune of his family made him hate Muggles. The appearance of Grindelwald finally allowed him to find a like-minded partner, so much so that he even forgot to take care of Ariana.

Aberforth believed that Grindelwald had corrupted Dumbledore and blamed him for not taking good care of his sister, while Grindelwald believed that Ariana had dragged him and Dumbledore down. In the end, the three of them fought each other in the house—until a curse, no one knows who cast it, struck Ariana and she died.

It wasn't until he witnessed his sister's death that Dumbledore finally realized what was truly important to him. It was also because of Ariana's death that Dumbledore abandoned his past ideals and parted ways with Grindelwald.

The events of that day haunted Dumbledore and Grindelwald like a persistent ghost, making it impossible for them to forget.

It is profound and heart-wrenching.

"...What do you want?" After a long silence, Grindelwald said in a hoarse voice, "Ariana...she's dead, she'll never come back...even the most powerful magic can't make that happen—what do you want from me?"

Is there anything I can do to help you?
Grindelwald kept his last words buried in his heart.

“Of course—no,” Dumbledore said casually. Compared to Grindelwald’s sorrowful expression, his expression at this moment could only be described as cheerful, so cheerful that it was almost abnormal.

"Having been locked up here for so many years, you probably have no idea what changes have taken place in the outside world," Dumbledore said with a light laugh. "After all, according to you, you haven't made any prophecies in a long time."

"So?" Grindelwald remained noncommittal.

“Do you remember what I just said?” Dumbledore countered. “Harry went on an adventure to an unknown world and brought back a completely different power system to our world.”

“Continue,” Grindelwald said.

“A new kind of magic—ancestor magic, soul magic,” Dumbledore said with a complex expression. “This magical magic allows us to see those departed souls again through the pull of blood.”

Grindelwald suddenly turned his head.

(End of this chapter)