The Hogwarts Emerald

Chapter 629: Nurmengard without Summer

Do you know who RAB is?
Faced with Harry's question, Ada had no choice but to shake her head. She was not an encyclopedia of the wizarding world.

After racking her brains, Ada still couldn't figure out who this RAB was. There were too many mysteries surrounding RAB. Who was he? Was he dead or alive? Has the soul fragment in the locket been destroyed?
All these questions can only be answered after finding the person who took the locket.

Fortunately, fortunately there is a name abbreviation to look for. If this person did good deeds without leaving a name, not even "RAB", Slytherin's locket would really be lost in the sea.

Confused about RAB, Ada left Hogwarts.

Before attending Dumbledore's funeral, she had to go to another place, Nurmengard.

In order to get to Nurmengard as quickly as possible, Ada used a variety of transportation methods, including Apparition and portkeys. When she arrived at the remote mountainous area, it was the hottest time of the day.

Nurmengard is a castle and also a wizard prison. There is magic to prevent apparition, so Ada can only walk up along the mountain road or fly.

As Ada walked, she was organizing her words in her mind. She didn't know how to tell him the unfortunate news.

As the cold castle got closer, Ada wrapped her outer robe more tightly. The mountains surrounding Nurmengard were all covered with snow. Even in the hottest days of summer, it would not feel hot. There was no summer in Nurmengard.

The old and dilapidated castle had been repaired the last time I came here, and it looked somewhat like it used to, but it could not regain its former power.

Vida sat at the long table waiting for Aida. Apart from her, almost no one would touch the magic at the castle gate. The house elf Agnes had already prepared tea and snacks.

"What's wrong? You look absent-minded?" Vida asked softly after a simple hug. During her stay in Nurmengard, Vida cut off contact with the outside world. Without those disturbances, she became much younger.

"How is he now?" Ada asked. She had planned to inform Grindelwald of Dumbledore's death, but after she entered Nurmengard, she hesitated.

Sometimes, one person living well is enough to save another person.

Just like Dumbledore to Grindelwald, Grindelwald lost everything, except for the unforgettable old times.

Vida sighed and said, "Not very well. It's hard to say when... Life these years is a cruel torture for anyone. His body has collapsed a long time ago."

More than 50 years of imprisonment and half a century of loneliness were the tortures that fate inflicted on Grindelwald, and they were the result of his own choices. The blisters on his feet were all caused by his own walking.

"What happened?" Vida asked. She could hear the hesitation in Ada's tone, and she could also guess that it must be related to Grindelwald.

Ada pulled out the Elder Wand and said, "Albus Dumbledore died last night. He was... murdered."

Vida fell into a long silence out of astonishment. It would be hard for anyone not to be surprised to hear this news.

Dumbledore's powerful magic is known to everyone in the magical world. Even children of a few years old have heard of his name. He is the greatest wizard of our time.

Darkness once again shrouded England and Voldemort rose again. The first person people thought of was Dumbledore, and they placed their hopes on this centenarian old man.

Who could have thought that he would leave this world in such an unacceptable way?
"This is not a bullshit plan, is it?" Vida lost his usual elegance.

This news was so shocking that Vida even wondered if this was a plan by Dumbledore to fake his own death, waiting for the right moment to trap Voldemort. Faking death is a common strategy in both the wizarding and Muggle worlds.

Vida and Ada had acted out a scene together before, and they had carefully prepared the coffin, and finally put Alan Rozier and others into the coffin, without any worries. "I hope so, but it's a pity..." Ada said softly.

Through analysis, Ada had already guessed that Dumbledore would soon die, and also guessed that Dumbledore might let Snape kill him. He did use his own death to make Voldemort trust Snape more.

This is also the reason why Ada took action against Snape. She had to pretend.

After a long silence, Vader took Ada upstairs without saying a word and walked to the room at the top of the castle. That was Grindelwald's bedroom and also the cell of the first Dark Lord.

Ada had been to this room before, and it was dirty and messy at that time, with books and tattered clothes everywhere, except for a small wooden box that was well preserved. Now it is neatly arranged, the books are back on the bookshelf, the tattered clothes are gone, and only the hard bed is still there.

After climbing another narrow staircase, Vida and Ada arrived at the cramped attic.

The black stones used to build the castle were exposed, and sunlight shone in through extremely narrow gaps. It was the only light in the cell.

Grindelwald, leaning back in his chair, slowly turned his head, his robes draped over his body like they were draped over his frame.

Despite Vader's careful care, Grindelwald was still very thin, his face became like a skull, his eyes were sunken in his eye sockets, and his teeth were almost all gone.

I can’t recognize him. Ada is a little bit unable to recognize the old man in the dimly lit attic. Is this still the Gellert Grindelwald she knows?
"It's you. Why are you here again? Is there something you don't understand?" Grindelwald said in a soft voice and spoke slowly.

Then he turned back and looked out the narrow window again. Grindelwald continued, "Or are you here to tell me some bad news?"

The words suddenly got stuck in my throat and it was difficult to utter them.

Ada believed that as long as she told Grindelwald the reason, he would immediately lose the will to live and accelerate his death.

Vida turned her head away, tears flashing in her eyes. Although she was the one who brought Ada up here, and she was the one who decided to let Ada tell Grindelwald the news, Vida still couldn't bear it.

"Dumbledore... Albus Dumbledore left last night." Ada mustered up her strength and said these words that made her feel a little choked, and stated the reason why she visited Nurmengard again.

Grindelwald did not react after the words fell, and seemed to have calmly accepted the cruel fact of Dumbledore's death. Perhaps Grindelwald had a premonition long ago, as he was the wizard who accurately predicted the Muggle War II.

After a while, Grindelwald said slowly: "I understand. In fact, you don't have to mind so much. Death is nothing to be afraid of. It's just another great adventure."

Ada pulled out the Elder Wand from her robes. It had once belonged to Dumbledore and Grindelwald.

The trembling hands stopped shaking after taking the Elder Wand. Grindelwald gently stroked the Elder Wand with his dry fingers, just like stroking the face of a lover.

He continued: "Thank you for telling me the news, Ada. We were once as close as brothers, and even more than brothers. Now we are both old, and that despicable guy..."

"And you, Vida. Don't be sad, don't be sad. You should know that my life was destroyed a long time ago. Now I am just a body bound by chains, which is gradually moldy and rotting..."

Grindelwald spoke calmly, as if he was comforting, or as if he was saying his final farewell.

Suddenly, he seemed to see that summer in Godric's Hollow in Nurmengard.

(End of this chapter)