Hogwarts Study Panel

Chapter 544, Part 542: Dumbledore's Life and Lies (4k)

How should I tell Headmaster Dumbledore this?

Sheen walked into the principal's office with a heavy heart.

The portraits of past principals on the wall are all asleep, their chests rising and falling gently.

Professor Dumbledore's phoenix, Fawkes, perched on a golden perch by the door. It was as large as a swan, its bright red and gold feathers dazzling. It swayed its long tail feathers lazily, waving them at Sheehan.

“Our assistant coach Green, you don’t look too good.”

Dumbledore held a cup of black tea, his deep blue eyes fixed on Sheen.

"I hope I haven't bothered you."

Sheen said.

“My child, based on past experience, you have never bothered me. Sometimes I wish you would bother me.”

"Dumbledore said kindly."

He put down his green tea-colored porcelain cup and observed the young wizard who seemed hesitant to speak.

He paused slightly... such a situation is relatively rare.

"Some tea, or pumpkin juice?"

Dumbledore flicked his finger, and a glass of pumpkin juice floated onto the table in front of Sheen.

Gazing at the thick, fragrant liquid, Sheen took a sip and fell into thought.

Ariana is waiting for her brothers.

She is a wandering soul, a soul that is unwilling to move forward in the afterlife, nor linger in the world of the living.

Their memories are all they have, and what the borderlands demand.

How should I tell this story?
Tell Headmaster Dumbledore about those long, heartbreaking days at the borderlands...

Isn't this too cruel...?

"Professor Dumbledore."

Sheen finally spoke.

"Assistant Coach Green."

Dumbledore's expression became much more serious.

"Did you drift into the realm of dreams last night...?"

Sheen hesitated.

He saw Dumbledore stand up, his slightly cloudy eyes gleaming.

Dumbledore instinctively moved closer.

"The dream I had..."

Dumbledore murmured.

Sheen saw that Dumbledore looked somewhat flustered after his momentary reaction.

"That's obviously a dream story that happens in your mind."

Sheehan's voice rang out from the principal's office.
"But why does that mean it's not true?"

Dumbledore sat down abruptly, carefully placing his wand on the edge of his temple. A thin silver thread floated out, which Dumbledore carefully placed into the basin.

The basin was like a bright piece of silver, but it was constantly flowing, like ripples on the surface of water in a breeze, or like clouds drifting and gently swirling.

The silver threads within are like light transformed into liquid, or like wind solidified into solid.

Or perhaps, it was all a dream.

"she……"

Dumbledore's voice was hoarse.

The kind and wise old man was gone; at this moment, Dumbledore was just a rather incompetent older brother.

"She is not doing well."

Sheen said.

Dumbledore's breath hitched, his face contorted in distress and grief.

"Extremely bad."

Sheen pondered, realizing that his language was still not quite accurate.

“Green…”

Dumbledore's voice was completely gone.

“Professor Dumbledore…please forgive me, lies always bring peace of mind. But as for the truth, sir, I’m sorry, I cannot hide it.”

Sheen sighed and said,

"The world behind the veil of death does not welcome wandering souls. When I met her, she was a timid witch, unable to find her home. She couldn't find the fireplace, the bed, the boiler, or her…brother…"

Alone and vulnerable, she often endured wind, rain, and hunger. The world behind the veil of death extracted her memories as payment, in exchange for a century of wandering and suffering.

As Sheen spoke, his eyes dimmed.

Nothing in this world can withstand scrutiny; once examined closely, every single thing reveals its hidden grievances.

Sheen saw tears streaming down the old man's cloudy eyes.

This was the first time he had seen Professor Dumbledore cry, and he turned his face away.

"I see……"

Dumbledore recalled his dream from the previous night, the pain of parting, the scars of guilt, and the shameful and sinful memories flashed before his eyes in an instant.

He was restless and so terrified that he wanted to scream.

In the end, he simply closed his eyes in anguish.

Sheen fell silent for a moment.

He looked at Professor Dumbledore, his eyes filled with reluctance.

It was too cruel, but he couldn't hide it.

If it's hidden, who will speak up for her grievances, Ariana's grievances?

Rita said that some wizards in the border region would pretend to "bully" Ariana because of her timid nature.

Sheen wondered, even her god wanted to bully her.

A long silence fell over the principal's office, which was finally broken by Fox's splashing.

"Green, did I do a bad job?"

A look of confusion crossed Dumbledore's face, and the setting sun outlined his sunken nose, making him appear to have aged considerably in an instant.

"You are the best headmaster at Hogwarts."

Sheen said in a low voice.

“But I’m the worst brother, right?”

Dumbledore's smile looked worse than a grimace.

“Say something to me, child. I know that one day, all of this will be entrusted to you.”

Sheen's eyes flickered. Before he could even process what she was saying, he unconsciously and sadly sighed.

"Have you made your choice?"

Sheen said.

"What an incompetent person he is, doing such a cruel thing to her and then trying to use other people as an excuse. How much does the world need him?"

Dumbledore's sorrowful eyes, however, revealed a tenderness.
"Can I trust you, child?"

"I do not know."

Sheen said hesitantly.

Headmaster Dumbledore was the highest wall between Voldemort and everyone else in the wizarding world; he was the only person Voldemort truly feared. If he were to leave, then…

Sheen's gaze gradually hardened.

Admittedly, the world needs Dumbledore, but Ariana needs Albus.

“You’ve made your choice, haven’t you? You could have kept it from me, but you didn’t want to, did you? Child, you’ve never lied.”

Dumbledore looked at the young wizard standing quietly and smiled kindly.

He would always make that choice; Dumbledore always knew it.

Even though he knew the consequences, this kind-hearted child always made the right, albeit difficult, decision.

"Let me tell you a story, child. Although I've already told it before, I'll now tell you more details."

Dumbledore looked nostalgic.

"Regarding her departure, my sister, it was all my fault. After hearing this, you should despise me."

"I will not look down on you."

Sheen said.

You should look down on me.

Dumbledore said, with a bitter smile,

"You probably already know the secret of my sister's poor health, know what those Muggles did, and know what she has become."

You know my poor father paid the price for avenging her, dying a horrible death in Azkaban. You know my mother sacrificed her life to care for Ariana.

“At that time I resented all of this, child.”

Dumbledore's narration is frank and detached.

At that moment, his gaze swept over Sheen's head and looked into the distance.

“I was so selfish, child. Of course I love them, but I ran away in the end… because he came…”

Dumbledore looked directly into Sheehan's eyes again, then his gaze fell.
“You know him, Grindelwald.”

But you can't imagine how his ideas attracted and inspired me.

Muggles were forced to submit, and we wizards finally had our moment of triumph. Grindelwald and I were the glorious young leaders of this revolution.

A fanatical light gleamed in Dumbledore's eyes.
"Oh, I had some concerns, but I comforted my conscience with empty words."

Everything is for a greater good; any harm caused will bring a hundredfold benefit to the wizarding world.

Do I really know what kind of person Gellert Grindelwald is?
I think I know, but I'm turning a blind eye. As long as our plan succeeds, all my dreams will come true.

And at the heart of our plan are the Deathly Hallows! How obsessed he is with them, how obsessed we both are with them! A wand that will never lose, a weapon that can grant us power!

The Resurrection Stone—to him, it meant an army of undead, but I pretended not to know!

For me, I admit, it meant my parents coming back to life and relieving me of all the responsibilities I had to bear.

And then there's the invisibility cloak... For some reason, we never really talked about it. We both know how to hide ourselves very well without it.

Of course, the real magic of the invisibility cloak lies in the fact that it can not only protect and conceal its owner, but also be used to protect and conceal others.

At the time, I thought that if we could find it, we might be able to use it to hide Ariana. However, our interest in the Invisibility Cloak was only because it was one of the three elements. According to legend, the person who possesses all three is the true conqueror of death, which we understood to mean 'invincible'.

The invincible conquerors of death, Grindelwald and Dumbledore!
For two months, I was completely absorbed in my dream, my mind filled with cruel fantasies, neglecting the only two people left at home who needed my care.

Dumbledore's fervor quickly faded, and he aged again.

"Later... reality appeared in the form of my younger brother, who was rough, uncultured, but much more outstanding."

I didn't want to hear the truth he was yelling at me. I didn't want to hear that I was being held back by a weak, unstable sister, preventing me from going to find the Sacred Relic.

The argument escalated into a duel. Grindelwald lost control.

That part of his character—that I'd always sensed but always pretended not to notice—suddenly and terrifyingly erupted. Ariana…after all the tender care and attention my mother had given her…collapsed and died.”

Dumbledore took a deep breath and began to cry emotionally.

Fox flew over and leaned on Dumbledore's shoulder.

Sheehan gripped Dumbledore's arm tightly, and the old man slowly regained his composure.

"Later, Grindelwald ran away, which was something no one but me could have predicted."

He disappeared, taking with him his plans for power, his schemes to torture Muggles, and his dream of finding the Deathly Hallows, dreams I had encouraged and helped him with.

He ran away, and I stayed behind to bury my sister, learning to cope with guilt and deep sorrow—the price of my shame.

Many years have passed. I've heard some rumors about him. It's said that he obtained an incredibly powerful magic wand.

At that time, the position of Minister of Magic was offered to me, not just once, but many times. I naturally refused. I already knew that power could not be handed to me.

While I was busy training young wizards, Grindelwald assembled an army. People say he fears me, and maybe he does, but I think I fear him more.

Oh, it's not that I'm afraid of dying,"

Dumbledore looked at Sheehan's quiet yet compassionate gaze.

"It's not that I'm afraid he'll use magic to harm me. I know we're evenly matched, and perhaps I even have a slight edge."

What I fear is the truth. You understand? I still don't know who cast the curse that killed my sister during that terrible battle.

You'll probably call me a coward, and you're right. My child, what I fear most is learning that I caused her death, not only because of my arrogance and stupidity, but also because I delivered that fatal blow.

I think he knew, I think he knew what I was afraid of. I delayed seeing him until finally, when it would be too shameful not to show myself. People were dying horribly, and he seemed unstoppable; I had to do what I could.

Well, you know what happened next. I won the duel. I won the magic wand.

Now, history repeats itself, with another young and cruel wizard, even utterly brutal…

Dumbledore's narration has ended.

He got up and carefully examined Sheen.

Is this child, this fourteen-year-old wizard, going to have all this heavy burden placed on his shoulders?

Dumbledore knew that he would definitely take on this responsibility and do his best to fulfill it.

This is beyond doubt.

“Go see him, child, and tell him I introduced you. There aren’t many wizards left in this castle who can teach you this kind of knowledge.”

"Dumbledore said softly."

What do you mean?

Sheen was completely stunned.

"Oh, child. Have you forgotten everything Severus taught you for so long? Or is it because you're almost as good as him that you've stopped paying attention?"

Dumbledore seemed quite pleased with his reaction.

"But you..."

Sheen was filled with doubt.

Headmaster Dumbledore is not...

And then there's Grindelwald, whom Headmaster Dumbledore introduces as someone who learned dark magic from Grindelwald...

The world must be upside down.

"Creating a completely new magic is not an easy task... As for me, child."

I'm already too ashamed to face her. You told me not to back down, but I don't think this is the time.

Dumbledore gazed at the sunset on the horizon.
"If I go to that place and then meet you again soon afterward, I think no one would not be heartbroken."

Sheehan underestimated Headmaster Dumbledore's determination. After experiencing so many hardships, he eventually became a kind, magnanimous, and resilient wizard.

"By the way, you can bring her out, right?"

Before the black tea had completely cooled down, Dumbledore suddenly asked.

"Not now, but not long from now."

Sheen replied.

(End of this chapter)