Hogwarts: Harry Returns from Azeroth

Chapter 250, Page 249: Dumbledore's Wonderful Adventure

Dumbledore's condition was clearly off. It wasn't that his mind had been altered by some unknown magic, but rather that his thoughts were chaotic, his words were incoherent, he said whatever came to mind, and he was somewhat overly agitated.

"So, I was also part of the prophecy?" Dumbledore looked up, his eyes fixed on the stone archway beside him and the black curtains that had been drawn back on either side of it.

Just like the scene depicted in Nico's prophecy, the curtains that were originally closed and seemed to be constantly blown by invisible winds now stood quietly on both sides, no longer fluttering, and the center of the archway was now empty—only the gray-white light gate was missing from the prophecy.

“It’s come to this, let’s leave.” Unable to answer Dumbledore’s words, Harry tried to pull Dumbledore up from the ground. “I’ve trespassed. Do you even have the strength to walk? What about Fawkes?”

“Oh, I hope Victor won’t be angry. He always keeps a close eye on things here.” Dumbledore chuckled instead of being angry. “As for Fawkes, she’s waiting to be reborn, so I’m afraid we can’t use her to get out of here again—I know you have a lot of questions, Harry, but let’s get out of here for now.”

Harry didn't want any physical conflict with the Hummels, but thankfully, no Hummels or Aurors rushed out to arrest them until he helped Dumbledore leave the Ministry of Magic with the Disillusionment Charm and returned to the Great Totem at Hogwarts.

The Ministry of Magic was as noisy as when he first entered, with nothing unusual.

“That’s not surprising,” Dumbledore said with a smile, leaning back on the transformed sofa bed. “Victor must have seen something that prevented him from stopping you. You should know that there’s a hall in the Department of Mysteries called the Hall of Time, right? The Silent Ones study the mysteries of time there.”

"...So, perhaps Director Victor chose to send people to stop us, but they were defeated, possibly causing some serious consequences, which is why he didn't choose to stop us?" Harry said thoughtfully. "But aren't things that have already happened unchangeable? How can he change things based on what he sees in the future? Is this prophecy or glimpsing the future?"

“The future we’ve glimpsed is not immutable, Harry,” Dumbledore said, blinking. “You never know what lies beneath the surface of a seemingly calm pond… But that’s not what we should be discussing today. Can you tell me what’s wrong at Hogwarts? I saw many of the castle walls appear to have been damaged before I came in.”

"Hogwarts... has been attacked by a demon..."

Harry thought for a moment and decided to tell everyone what had happened during that time, including the invitation from the Board of Governors and the requests from Fudge and Scrimgeour. He had no reason to hide anything.

“Is that so?” Dumbledore’s eyes dimmed. “Lockhart summoned a demon and even tried to use sacrifice to steal the students’ talents… I made a wrong choice…”

“You really didn’t consider the professor’s character when you were recruiting him,” Harry said seriously. “That’s quite important.”

“No, I have considered it,” Dumbledore said with a sigh. “I have read Lockhart’s books, and some of the experiences in them are very similar to those of some old friends of mine, but when I visited them, I found that none of them remembered these things.”

"So you knew all along that Lockhart was a fraud?" Harry asked.

“It’s just a guess,” Dumbledore shook his head and said, “That’s why I need to keep him in sight. After all, only by putting him on the stage will he expose his weaknesses—and it turns out that my choice was right. The students have realized that those illusory fame means nothing, haven’t they?”

“It is indeed quite educational,” Harry nodded, “but its harm is certainly greater.”

“I will not deny my mistakes,” Dumbledore said, his posture appearing slightly hunched. “I never imagined that Voldemort would have two pieces of his soul at Hogwarts at the same time, and those demons… I’m sorry, Harry, as the headmaster of Hogwarts, I have failed in my duty, to the point that you need to shoulder this responsibility.”

“There’s no need for that. Whether it’s me or the other professors, we are all part of this school. Protecting the school and the students is our responsibility, as is the responsibility of the Aurors and the strikers.” Harry shook his head and took out the damaged tiara and diary from the cabinet next to his desk, handing them to Dumbledore.

"Two Horcruxes again?" Dumbledore stared blankly at the objects in his hands. The tattered pages and the violently broken crown showed what its owner had suffered.

After a long silence, Dumbledore suddenly laughed.

“You know what, Harry?” Dumbledore turned and said, “Before you came along, I tried every possible method and channel to find the secret of Voldemort’s immortality and power, but even after spending more than a decade, I still couldn’t find one of his Horcruxes, and I wasn’t even sure if he had ever used Horcruxes at all—until you came along.”

“The two Horcruxes and his main soul,” Dumbledore waved the objects in his hand with amusement. “Perhaps I should bestow upon you the title of Voldemort Slayer, just as Professor Trelawney’s prophecy has been fulfilled, and you are gradually bringing that prophecy to fruition… Isn’t fate truly wondrous?”

"About my prophecy?" Harry paused, taken aback.

“Yes, a prophecy about you, and also the prophecy that caused the tragedy of the Potter family,” Dumbledore said softly, “The one with the power to conquer the Dark Lord has entered…”

"Born into a family that had defeated the Dark Lord three times, born at the end of the seventh month..."

"The Dark Lord marked him as a formidable enemy, but he possesses an energy that the Dark Lord does not understand..."

"And one of them must die at the hands of the other, because two people cannot both live; only one can survive..."

“The end of July… Neville’s birthday is also at the end of July, only one day apart from mine.” Harry paused for a moment.

“Yes, so the key point of the prophecy is that Voldemort marked him as a formidable enemy,” Dumbledore said gently. “Neville’s parents also defeated him three times, but Voldemort ultimately chose you over the Longbottoms. I don’t know if my Potions professor told you about the crimes he committed; he only heard the first part of the prophecy and told it to Voldemort, never imagining it would lead to the death of the person he loved most.” “So that’s why he felt guilty for the rest of his life?” Harry shook his head slightly. “They didn’t tell me that.”

“That’s why prophecies are so wondrous,” Dumbledore said leisurely. “Voldemort chose his own enemy, and you do indeed possess an energy he doesn’t understand. Ha, someone like me has searched for years and still can’t find a trace of his secret to immortality, while you destroyed his two Horcruxes and his main soul in less than two years—you are indeed the one destined to kill him, Harry.”

“Or he might kill me… but that doesn’t matter anymore, I won’t lose,” Harry said calmly. “Anyway, I’ve pretty much told you what happened while you were gone. Now it’s your turn, isn’t it? Where did you go? And why did you come out from behind the curtain of the Hall of Death?”

“That makes sense,” Dumbledore nodded. “I almost forgot, why did you think of going to the Hall of Death to find me?”

“I didn’t go there to find you,” Harry said speechlessly. “I just went to check and find out why the Knights of the Ebon Blade came from there. Who would have thought you would come out of there?”

“I followed in Gellert’s footsteps to Egypt. Well, you should already know that the Department of Mysteries was established before the Ministry of Magic, right?” After confirming that Harry knew, Dumbledore continued, “The Department of Mysteries, of course, it wasn’t called that back then. Anyway, it was built on top of an ancient ruin, and there are actually many such ancient ruins all over the world.”

They could now quite skillfully call him Gellert instead of Grindelwald... Harry thought these two elderly men might have truly experienced a second spring in their lives.

"So where's your Gellert? Why were you the only one who came out?" Harry asked. "What did you find in the ruins?"

“It’s amazing, Harry. We found a strange stone tablet under the pyramid in Egypt, with symbols we don’t understand. We’re not sure if it’s just language or some kind of magical runes,” Dumbledore recalled. “I don’t know what Gellert did, but you can understand, right? Prophets always do things that ordinary people can’t understand, based on the future they see.”

"In short, the ancient stone tablet suddenly came to life. Some of the stones floated up, and although they were separate, they were still a whole. Then I saw that grayish-white light on those stones—you remember the portal in Nico's prophecy? That light was clearly similar to that portal."

"And then you went into the portal?" Harry asked.

“I don’t know,” Dumbledore said bluntly. “The only thing I’m sure of is that we’re not in that pyramid anymore—don’t ask where we went. When I woke up, I was all alone, and Gellert wasn’t with me.”

“I have never seen such a beautiful sight, Harry,” Dumbledore said, his expression dazed, as if a part of him was still in that unknown world, captivating him. “The sky was a deep blue, with soft, pale golden light flashing across it from time to time, and the clouds were like flowing glass.”

“Golden meadows and trees, and those magnificent, towering buildings… I might be in heaven, Harry—I never thought that the heaven that Muggles talk about could actually exist,” Dumbledore said earnestly. “Because those people flying overhead all had beautiful white wings, and those things that looked like feathers weren’t feathers at all. Once they fell from their wings, they turned into shimmering fragments. But the most amazing thing was their skin color. They had blue skin just like in fairy tales, and some were even pure energy beings, hahaha…”

A story that is neither too long nor too short.

As if reciting a foreign language, Dumbledore recounted his experiences of landing and exploring in that unknown world and trying to make friends with the locals. To be honest, it's hard to imagine that Dumbledore would have such an expression on his face, especially when he was telling his wonderful adventures. This centenarian was gesturing with his hands like a child, his face full of excitement.

"Those people didn't tell you where you went?" Instead of thinking Dumbledore was hallucinating under some kind of spell, Harry was seriously analyzing the information revealed in Dumbledore's words. "Your languages ​​are mutually intelligible?"

“Of course not,” Dumbledore shook his head and said, “but those Kyrians—that’s what they call themselves—claim that they can communicate with any intelligent life without any obstacles. Isn’t that amazing?”

"And they call the area I arrived at—Fortress Ascension."

Dumbledore paused, and Harry waited a few seconds.

"and then?"

“That’s it,” Dumbledore shook his head and said, “I wanted to learn more about that world, but before I could get to know those Kyrians better, I suddenly heard your voice, and then it was like falling from a great height, with the swirling mist obscuring my vision… When my dim old eyes could see my surroundings again, all I saw was you and the stone of the Hall of Death.”

“…I understand,” Harry thought for a long time, “Can you recall every specific term they mentioned?”

"You mean Azeroth?" Dumbledore shook his head and said, "I haven't had a chance to ask them about these things, and they haven't used any similar terms—are you questioning Azeroth, the place that connects to our world and taught you these skills?"

“Very likely,” Harry nodded. “If it really was a portal… otherwise, it doesn’t explain why I was able to go to Azeroth, does it?”

"But where did Grindelwald go? Since you were acting together, and so many things have happened in this world recently without Grindelwald reappearing, did he really disappear with you?"

“A very good question,” Dumbledore thought for a moment, then shook his head and said, “But at least for now, it is still unknown… Rather than exploring these unknowns, what is more important to me right now is perhaps fulfilling my responsibilities as the headmaster of Hogwarts.”

“Although I’ve already said it, I think I need to say it again—thank you, Harry,” Dumbledore stood up with some difficulty, bowed deeply, “thank you for protecting the students’ safety, thank you for protecting Hogwarts.”

(End of this chapter)