Hogwarts Wasteland: The Witch from the Borderlands

"I have to thank you, Hermione. If it weren't for you, everyone in this school would be dead," Dumbledore said sincerely.

"Perhaps, as you said, one day I should also lay down my burdens and calmly face the death that is long overdue for me. Perhaps there, there will be a warm fireplace, endless desserts, and thick wool socks."

Hermione was startled. This was what she had told Dumbledore at Christmas, but now she regretted it, fearing that the old man might really have come to this conclusion and die, leaving the orphans and widows in the castle in ruins!

"Professor! You can't die like this! Professor McGonagall is critically injured, the corridors are full of wounded students, the master of Malfoy Castle is still imprisoned, and Voldemort might make a comeback. All of this depends on you!"

Dumbledore chuckled, "I'm not that capricious. At least, this old codger will hold out for a few more years, until you grow up..."

His eyes gleamed with reminiscence: "Unfortunately... back then, I thought Tom would be a good successor. He was intelligent, polite, excellent, and humble. Everyone had high hopes for him. In the days when the end of the world suddenly descended upon everyone, when I was struggling on the edge of death, he rose like the bright morning sun, giving everyone hope..."

"Voldemort?" Hermione asked, puzzled. "But how did he end up like that?"

She recalled the figure in the sky, shrouded in death and misfortune, which seemed completely incomparable to the sun-like figure the professor had described.

"I was too hasty," Dumbledore lamented. "I showed him my true form before he was fully prepared."

"Skeleton and ghost, a decaying thing confined to a broken body, was destroyed by the fear of death. From then on, he was like a different person. He began to secretly study the magic to escape death, and began to increase his power by any means necessary, even using the lives of others to add some insignificant lifespan to himself."

"Even the most powerful white wizard is like a wretched old dog struggling to survive in the face of death. I don't want that pathetic state to befall me one day," Dumbledore said indifferently, mimicking Voldemort's tone.

"With those words, he abandoned the castle, taking with him those who believed in him, and those who also desired eternal life, and departed forever." He stroked his hard cheekbone: "If I had been more patient then, if I had waited until he was more mature before telling him everything, would the outcome have been different?"

"No, Professor," Hermione calmly interrupted him. "Hagrid and I discovered Slytherin's Chamber of Secrets, and the basilisk that used to hide there. And the innocent Myrtle—if I remember correctly, Hagrid was framed by Voldemort, wasn't he? Even then, he was already a wicked scoundrel."

Dumbledore paused, startled. "Tom back then... in sixth grade? No, fifth grade..."

"A person who only cares about himself will not change as he gets older. His hypocritical nature has remained the same from beginning to end. He is the real culprit who opened the secret room. You have all been deceived by him."

"Even if he hadn't become a madman terrified of death, even if the world remained the same and the sun still rose, given his ambition and hypocrisy, he would probably have joined forces with those pure-bloods to seize even greater power."

Dumbledore's sigh echoed in the headmaster's office: "I must thank you; your words have lessened my guilt considerably."

"But Professor, I'm only a freshman, aren't you afraid I'll be scared too?" Hermione said with a smile, trying to change the subject.

"If I hadn't seen you and Hagrid fighting side by side, I might still have had this worry," Dumbledore laughed.

"Forgive me, I wasn't trying to peek. The ghosts are my eyes. To be honest, I've never seen such a brave child as you. You're even better than Tom was back then, but what's even more precious is..." He looked at the girl with his misty, one eye: "You have a heart as warm as the sun."

Hermione removed the brilliance stone from the staff and handed it to Dumbledore: "It should be returned to its rightful owner."

The old man took it with his intact hand, and then in the blink of an eye, the dazzling core disappeared: "Please forgive me for not being able to give it to you. This castle still needs it, but as promised before, you can go to the fourth floor at any time to borrow its power."

Hermione nodded understandingly: "So what should we do next? I mean, Malfoy Castle, Lucius, and Voldemort."

Dumbledore frowned. "This is a real headache. We successfully repelled the invasion, but Minerva is seriously injured..."

He glanced at McGonagall, who was still being treated by the Phoenix: "The subsequent negotiations with Malfoy Castle, the handling of the Death Eaters, and the warrant for the Green Flame Party all require dealing with those nobles. But apart from me, the competent vice-principal, the other professors... Pomona is too honest, Lily is too young, and Felius is a half-elf. None of them are suitable to deal with those cunning old devils."

"Minerva, she has taken on so much for me, and she has been forced to become much stronger." The old man looked at the shocking scars on McGonagall's body with pity.

"She had long been doing everything a headmaster should do, dealing with those nobles and establishing a strong authority, but now, without her, I have no one to rely on."

"The professor will get better, right?"

"Although Tom didn't use the Killing Curse, this level of injury would take at least half a month to recover, even with the best potions and healers," Dumbledore said.

Hermione thought for a moment, looking at the old man bound in the headmaster's office, when a bold idea suddenly popped into her head: "What if, I mean, what if you could be freed?"

"Hmm?" Dumbledore looked at her.

The girl carefully took out the tightly wrapped bell from her pocket, unfolded it, and placed it on the table: "This was seized from Lucius."

Dumbledore manipulated the bell to float up and examined it carefully: "Ah, this bell contains very profound dark magic, with the ability to summon death and control ghosts. No wonder it made the ghosts in my body go berserk. I've heard of this dark magic artifact; it should have been passed down from the Burke family. I didn't expect Lucius to have gotten his hands on it."

Hermione pondered for a long time, and finally hesitated before saying, "I have an idea that may completely change your current situation, and there is no turning back, but if it succeeds, it can free you and these ghosts, allowing you to walk in the world in your prime."

"No way out? Isn't that what life is all about?" the old man laughed.

"What is the price?" Dumbledore was no novice in the magical world; he knew, of course, that all of this couldn't be obtained for nothing.

"I need powerful energy, some of your ashes, this bell, and... you will be unable to disobey my orders from now on." Hermione looked directly into Dumbledore's eyes with honesty.

The method she wanted to try was the Soul-Summoning Bell given to the Faded Ones by Princess Lani of the Moon, which could summon the souls of the strong by using their ashes to fight for the Faded Ones.

This Burke family bell is perfectly compatible with the Bell of Destiny. With a little modification and the help of the professors, she can quickly turn it into her own. Then, with the inexhaustible energy of the Brilliant Stone and Dumbledore's voluntary offering of ashes, she can bind Dumbledore's soul and make it a dead soul that obeys her commands.

"Of course, I won't actually order you to do anything. I'm just using this method to free your power so that when the day comes that you really have to face death, I will obey your wishes and release you from your bonds," Hermione said honestly.

Dumbledore stared into her eyes for a long time, then suddenly smiled: "Good girl, you are really different from Tom."