After parting with Hermione, Felix returned to the office and turned around to appear in classroom 7 again.
The space of classroom 7 seemed to expand again. Thoughts and reality intersected here. The distance of a few steps normally might become a street or a beautiful garden in this place... Felix deviated from the path that students usually used for classes, passed through layers of mist, and a simple little village emerged in front of him.
Felix stood in front of an ordinary little house and knocked on the door.
It was Grindelwald's memory that opened the door. What surprised Felix was that the image in front of him was not the image of a young man, but the face of Grindelwald in his old age, but it looked a little different when he looked closely.
"I knew you were coming, so I met you with this face. I've been waiting for you." The old man grinned and smiled. He was wearing a purple morning gown, and his expression was calm and composed, without any hostility.
The two sat down opposite each other. "You have something to say to me?" Felix asked, and then looked at the old man curiously, "Are you complete now? I mean, your memory--" "
Of course, of course." Grindelwald said, "At the moment I speak to you, I am more complete than ever. You know, after staying here for a while, I am actually not very satisfied with this place."
"Why?"
"One reason is: it's too boring. There are only two memories in the whole space that have the characteristics of life, which is equivalent to half a living person." Grindelwald said. This surprised Felix quite a bit, because although the memories look like they are still alive, they are very different from real people in terms of their way of existence, such as the perception of time. "
Your performance also surprised me, it looks no different from ordinary people." Felix looked at Grindelwald's memory with an inquiring look, and the other party smiled and said nothing.
"Except for the first reason? You said you were waiting for me, so it has something to do with me?"
Grindelwald nodded slightly, and then slowly shook his head.
"I did think so at first. After the funeral, I decided to leave the necessary information and have both sides be frank, but you never came... Later, the ghosts told me what you had done during this period, and I felt that there was no need to say it. You completely understood what I meant."
"Then today--"
"It's a farewell. Or, do you want to hear me tell you about a past event? You know, I've met them, but they don't remember me. This feeling is very strange, like time has gone back and everything started again, but only I remember what really happened. My memory has become a burden."
"Do you mean Dumbledore, or his sister Ariana and nephew Credence?"
"Aurelius," Grindelwald said slowly, "I prefer to call him that. The child has helped me a lot."
Felix pretended to listen attentively.
"Aurelius Dumbledore," Grindelwald said, "I remember clearly... just seventy years ago. In the underground gathering in Père Lachaise Cemetery, under my careful planning, he chose to join my team. You can't imagine how much I value him."
"Because of his background?" Felix asked.
Credence is Dumbledore's nephew, but for a long time Dumbledore and Aberforth didn't know his existence. It can be said that this was a huge secret at the time. It must have taken a lot of effort for Grindelwald to know.
"Not only that, he is also an Obscurial, an Obscurial who lived to adulthood. His potential is unimaginable. When he never received systematic magic education, he surpassed 99% of wizards by instinct alone - I originally planned to let him inherit my career."
Felix was surprised by this statement. He looked at Grindelwald. Grindelwald had no need to lie. Felix followed this line of thought to sort out many scattered threads.
Grindelwald's biggest obstacle at the time was Dumbledore. Even if there was a blood alliance between the two, as long as Grindelwald did not give up his dream of ruling wizards and Muggles, they would definitely go to the opposite side, and the whole world would force them to do so.
In the end, it was proved that even the most unbreakable blood alliance was broken.
"I will not wait for Dumbledore to come to me, but take the initiative. My plan is to train wizards who can compete with Dumbledore." Grindelwald said slowly.
"Train a great wizard? This idea is too bold." Felix slowed down his breathing. He put himself in Grindelwald's position at the time and felt that this plan was extremely difficult.
"It's indeed a bit whimsical, but I finally found a way - it may even be the only feasible way, the Obscure."
Felix suddenly realized. Grindelwald knew that Obscurials could live past the age of ten, and the evidence was Dumbledore's sister Ariana. Perhaps his initial idea was to find a young Obscurial, take good care of him, and help him conquer his dark magic - Obscurial, but he unexpectedly got a child of the Dumbledore family, Credence.
"A child who has the potential to rival the Archmage and can restrain Dumbledore emotionally, is simply perfect for my requirements." Grindelwald's memory said slowly, as if he was sitting in front of Felix, calmly chatting with him about past plans and unknown secrets.
"That rally also allowed me to seize the Ministry of Magic's loophole. An Auror killed ordinary people who came to listen to my speech, which gave me a perfect excuse. It's not that I seek violence. From then on, the Saints have launched an all-out confrontation with the existing order of the Ministry of Magic."
"My power expanded rapidly. Aurelius and a woman who can read minds played a huge role in this. The former, while accepting my teachings, appeared all over the world and defeated Aurors from various countries; the latter - I remember her name was Queenie, she used her innate talent to see through a large number of spies. Her ability is silent and can be maintained forever."
"Everything is moving in a good direction." Grindelwald said calmly. But Felix knew that a turning point was about to come, and sure enough -
"I have always kept the secret of Aurelius' life experience hidden, using it as a trump card, ready to use it at a critical moment. But several accidents occurred one after another. On the one hand, the phoenix beside him followed him to the battlefield and became famous. A phoenix -" Grindelwald "tsk", "There is a legend in the Dumbledore family that when a family member is in urgent need, the phoenix will appear. Maybe this is the reason that aroused Dumbledore's suspicion; I had to reduce his outings."
"The good times didn't last long. His body developed problems and his abilities became extremely unstable. I thought of some ways, but I could only watch his body collapse. Perhaps this was the fate of the Obscurials... I was very disappointed with this, and I believe he realized it himself. He took the initiative to ask to assassinate Dumbledore, but I refused. He was no match for Dumbledore now. Later... later his girlfriend came to him. She was a blood-cursed orc. When the two met again, her problems were equally serious. She looked like a snake most of the day. They stayed together all day until one day, Aurelius disappeared for a while, and when he came back he had nothing..."
"Is that woman called Nagini?" Felix asked.
"You know her, too?"
"I know her, and I've even seen her once, but in the form of a snake. I think Aurelius released him."
"Released?" Grindelwald repeated in a low voice, "I thought she was dead."
"Remember the woman who could read minds I mentioned? She also had a problem - oh, not her sister who tried desperately to bring her back, but for other reasons - she had a Muggle... lover, and hoped that the two would stand together openly, but after so long there was still no hope, her position began to waver. I noticed her slackness, especially in the most important task - the assessment of Aurelius's mental state. When I realized this, I knew that the original plan was not suitable, and I had to speed up."
"I decided to run for the president of the International Confederation of Wizards that year. In fact, no matter what the result, I was ready to wage war against Muggles, but at that time there were still many people who opposed me, and I hoped they could join my camp."
"I found clues about the Kirin. Its unique magic could increase the chances of my campaign, so I sent out several teams to look for it, and finally Aurelius brought it back. I made a puppet of the newborn Kirin, and used its blood to see part of the future... I saw Dumbledore after I warned him. I had a hunch at that time, and even though I gave him the blood covenant token for several years, he didn't find a way to crack it, but I did have a bad feeling."
"The result was just as I expected. I was successfully elected President of the International Confederation of Wizards with the help of the dead Kirin, but the trick was exposed. Newt Scamander brought another Kirin, and they were twins. All this was Dumbledore's work, but he didn't know what he had done. It wasn't me who wanted to create the division, but he was creating it. At that moment I finally made up my mind. I drew my wand, and Aurelius stood in front of me..."
Grindelwald's eyes became blurred.
"Everything happened just like yesterday. Dumbledore, I, and his brother, the three of us attacked at the same time, with an Obscure standing next to us and unable to defend ourselves. But the result was completely different. Aberforth was irrelevant. My spell and Dumbledore's were connected, and the chains wrapped around his hands finally broke."
"Dumbledore and I had a brief fight. It was the first time we had fought in more than 30 years. When my hand touched his heart, I could feel his heartbeat, but I could no longer sense his inner thoughts. This means that the blood oath has been completely lifted."
"The plan was forced to stop, and we couldn't take care of declaring war on Muggles for the time being. Dumbledore stood in front, although that was the closest I ever came to success."
"So the blood oath was broken because--" Felix asked.
"I don't know either. It was an accident."
"It can't be because of love, right?"
"Oh, maybe. The blood alliance is guided by blood, but it requires a strong emotion to solidify the magic. We have been bound by this emotion for decades, and we have tried everything to get rid of it. The only reason is that Dumbledore used a stronger love to transcend the limitations of individual emotions at that time."
Grindelwald's memory stood up and walked to the door.
"Why are you telling me this?" Felix asked suddenly.
"Maybe it's because after today, these will become permanent secrets."
Silver spots of light began to emanate from the body of Grindelwald's memory, and then his face changed little by little, becoming younger, his back straightened up again, his hair dyed a brilliant gold, and when he opened his eyes, his pupils were clear blue.
As he said at the beginning, the memories of the past have become a burden. If you want to start over, you must let go of unnecessary things.
...
The next day when the students went downstairs, they found that the courtyard was filled with white and cold mist. When Harry and the other two passed the notice board in the hall, they saw a group of people pointing and talking below. From the expressions on their faces, the notice was a good thing.
"Let's go and take a look." Ron said.
"No need," Harry said, "I know what it says. If nothing goes wrong, it should say the arrangements for the first weekend in Hogsmeade."
Ron whistled softly.
"That's great. I heard that there are several new shops in Hogsmeade. I must go and have a look." He said, "But how did you know?"
"I think," Harry smiled, "maybe because I posted it myself."
"Ron," Hermione said kindly, "If you look closely, you will find that the handwriting on the notice is very similar to the papers you usually use for 'reference'."
Although he knew it in advance, Harry still looked forward to the short trip in three days. He simply wanted to go out and get some fresh air and clear his mind, even if it was just to have a drink with Ginny at the Three Broomsticks and spend two or three pleasant hours.
"Hey, Harry," Hermione said, "You can take advantage of this opportunity to meet Mr. Doggie. Didn't you say you wanted to talk to him face to face?"
Harry stared, and after a while he muttered, "I'll write him a letter."
"Why don't you get a voice mirror?" Ron asked puzzled.
"Mr. Doggie is not used to it." Harry said, "He thinks writing letters can help him sort out his thoughts."
At this time, Neville walked towards them, his face was flushed, and his body seemed to be a circle wider than usual, I don't know if it was because he was too cold. They went to the hall to eat together.
At about the same time, Felix appeared at Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and Horace Grimstinger, the president of the American Magical Congress, also appeared not long after. When they parted, the expressions on the faces of the other two looked particularly solemn.
"I will ask the Aurors to put aside everything they are doing," Horace Greenstinch said in a deep voice, "The investigation will be conducted in secret and will not affect the upcoming Confederation Conference."
The headmaster of Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry also said, "If there are really little wizards who fall into the hands of the authorities, the most cost-effective way is not to imprison them or conduct various experiments on them, but to let them grow up - whether it is to crack the secrets of magic or to cultivate a wizard force of their own, it is better than simply imprisoning them. What's more, they can also use their wizard identities to spy on various intelligence..."
They talked in detail for a while, and then Felix appeared at the headquarters of the International Confederation of Wizards, waiting for the meeting to be held in the afternoon. He had a vague idea in his mind. Grindelwald's words made him realize that he had also in fact created a split in the wizarding community. Although this trend was not obvious at the moment, it seemed necessary - Grindelwald's identity did make some problems simpler - but there was no doubt that the two forces would eventually have to be reunited.
"It takes a suitable opportunity..."
－－－－－－－Digression－－－－－－－
Felix and Grindelwald must meet, but it was not in line with expectations to meet in real life, so it was changed to Classroom 7; also out of resentment towards the movie, I modified the plot of the third movie with my own ideas and inserted it into the book. I have always wanted to do this, but I didn't find the opportunity before.