The atmosphere in the box fell into a stalemate again. Snape took a step back again. He didn't say anything, but just looked at Dumbledore with a very complicated look.

"You're not dead..." His voice was dry, filled with anger of being deceived, "So that funeral was also fake. You deceived everyone, including me."

Grindelwald frowned, unhappy with Snape's offensive tone...

"I don't like that professor."

"Albus is just too kind. At least at Durmstrang, no teacher would dare to speak to the headmaster in this tone."

If anyone else were here, they would be surprised by what Grindelwald said.

He was actually speaking for the enemy who defeated him, instead of Snape who let him leave Nurmengard.

But Kyle didn't find it strange at all.

The last time he went to Nurmengard, he saw an unsent letter written on a piece of bed sheet in the corner of the top floor.

"You know I will reply to your letter when you want me to, just as you know I love you since the first day we met."

It was clear that there was a reason why the letter was not sent... Of course, it could also be that Nurmengard was short of owls.

This is why Kyle was able to make Grindelwald hesitate with just a few photos.

What he took out were the precious pictures that he had carefully selected over the past few years.

For example, the photo of Dumbledore in tears when he met Ariana was an exclusive photo that only Kyle had.

Dumbledore, crying with joy, showed his vulnerable side in front of outsiders for the first time. Needless to say, how valuable this scene is. Except for Kyle, no one else may ever see such a Dumbledore.

There are also precious memories of friendship between the high-spirited young headmaster and the ambitious Grindelwald in Godric's Hollow in 1899.

Yes, Kyle had more than three photos, and far more than that... After all, his original idea was to fill up an entire album, so how could only three photos be enough?

Kyle subconsciously touched his transformed lizard skin bag, but his action immediately attracted Grindelwald's attention.

As a villain who is... well, good at playing with people's hearts, even after being imprisoned in Nurmengard for seventy years, Grindelwald's insight is unmatched by ordinary people.

But he just watched with interest and said nothing.

"I'm sorry, Severus." Dumbledore said after a moment of silence: "I know you don't want to hear any explanation from me now, but I can assure you that the funeral was not completely fake."

That soft yet somewhat self-blaming tone made Grindelwald even angrier.

But because Dumbledore was still here, he held back and continued to remain silent.

"It's not completely fake...what does this mean?" Snape asked with a frown, not knowing that there was someone next to him who wanted to kill him all the time.

"I believe you should know what this means when you see my current appearance."

Dumbledore opened his arms and a gust of wind, carrying a few fallen leaves, passed through his body.

"Ghost..." Snape said, then shook his head, "No, it's impossible. Dumbledore can't be a ghost."

"I'm glad you think so highly of me." Dumbledore smiled.

Ghost is just a name. They are some wizards who fear death and leave marks in the places where they once lived.

In other words, the ghost is contrary to Gryffindor, which symbolizes courage.

Dumbledore probably felt that Snape had just acknowledged that he was a courageous, true Gryffindor.

To be honest, he was really happy.

"I am indeed not a ghost." Dumbledore said with a smile, "To be precise, I am now a memory that has been put into the Pensieve."

Snape subconsciously looked at Dumbledore's feet. There was nothing there, not even a rough stone basin with magic runes engraved on it.

"It is only a metaphor, Severus," Dumbledore explained. "A special magic has replaced the function of the Pensieve, allowing my memory to appear here intact."

"That wasn't what you said just now." Snape shook his head.

Although he was unconscious for a while, he still remembered how Dumbledore looked when he first appeared... He had a serious face and started with powerful weather magic, which scared Voldemort so much that he started swearing...

He screamed at Dumbledore for being unsportsmanlike and secretly preparing a Horcrux for himself.

Using magic... this is not something that can be done with just a memory.

"Severus, I'm not supposed to be here, but at Hogwarts, explaining this in front of all the students and professors."

Dumbledore sighed, "I have to admit that I did something wrong. I should have trusted you more, or left you some more obvious hints when I sent Draco to you."

"Draco... is that you?"

"That's right." Dumbledore nodded. "I think if the child is left locked in the classroom, he will definitely be taken away by the Ministry of Magic. This is unfair to him."

"Is that fair to me?"

"I'm so sorry, Severus."

"Oh, is that so..." Snape sneered, and it could be heard that he still had some resentment.

Grindelwald subconsciously took a step forward.

"Don't be impulsive, don't be impulsive..." Kyle leaned over and whispered, "Professor Dumbledore was indeed unkind in this matter. It is reasonable for Snape to feel a little resentful."

"Oh?" Grindelwald glanced at Kyle sideways. "First, fake your death, then hide and prepare for a sneak attack... Why do I feel that this is not an idea that Albus would come up with?"

"Maybe... well, Professor Dumbledore has kept up with the times." Kyle said seriously, "After all, you haven't seen each other for seventy years."

"So what? Even if I haven't seen him for a hundred years, I still understand him..."

Kyle stopped talking. He felt a little uncomfortable being stared at by Grindelwald.

"Let's take a step back and say that I think you should thank Snape as well." He changed the subject somewhat stiffly, "After all, it was he who helped you get out of Nurmengardi."

"Do you really think that tower can hold me?" Grindelwald said meaningfully, "Or do you think that without my wand I can only be slaughtered by others?"

"That's not what I meant." Kyle shook his head.

This was also his true thought. Although wandless casting was one of the most difficult skills, the opponent was Grindelwald, so how could he not know it?

"You know? He told me that Dumbledore was dead..." Grindelwald shook the wand in his hand that originally belonged to Snape.

"He should be lucky to be alive after telling me such a lie."

Grindelwald did not deliberately lower his voice like Kyle did, so several people present heard what he said.

No one thought Grindelwald was joking, especially Snape. As soon as the two of them came in, Snape knew that the other party wanted to kill him.

Grindelwald looked at him as if he were looking at a burnt steak.

That invisible pressure made him feel very uncomfortable, and it was only when he and Kyle were fighting for something just now that he felt a lot better.

Only now that feeling came back again.

"It's all my fault." Dumbledore stepped forward and said, "Severus didn't know I was still alive, so in a sense, he didn't lie to you either."

Kyle pouted and took a step back.

Seriously, if Dumbledore really wanted to do good for Snape, he should have just shut up and said nothing instead of standing up to defend Snape.

Didn't you see that after he stood up, Grindelwald held the wand even harder? But he couldn't remind him of this kind of thing. If Grindelwald felt embarrassed, he would be the first person to look for him. Kyle didn't want to be hated.

But after no one spoke, the atmosphere gradually became awkward.

"I just want to kill the Dark Lord in my own way." Finally, Snape spoke first.

"Harry Potter cannot kill the Dark Lord."

Snape interrupted him, "I believed you at first, and thought the Dark Lord would be defeated by Potter again, until I personally participated in the battle at Hogwarts.

"I don't know what Potter will have to do to kill the Dark Lord, and this time, no one will use the ancient protection magic on him."

"But what does this have to do with your coming to Nurmengard?"

"To find the Dark Lord an enemy who can kill him." Snape looked at Grindelwald.

"I thought you said that no one could kill the Dark Lord as long as Harry was alive."

"That's right..." said Dumbledore, "Because Harry is also a Horcrux... Oh, I think I understand."

Dumbledore suddenly said: "So you rescued Tom when you were in Hogwarts. I always thought that you didn't want him to die with the professors, but now it seems that you don't want others to know that Harry is a Horcrux.

"Are you worried that others will kill Harry after knowing the truth?"

Snape said nothing, but turned his head and looked away.

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"Even if this matter was discovered, Minerva would never do this." Dumbledore sighed.

"What about others? You can't guarantee that everyone favors students as much as you do, Dumbledore." Snape said:

"Besides, I know the Dark Lord. He won't fight to the death. Even if I don't save him, he will definitely find a way to escape. Instead of hiding after he escapes, why not try my method?"

"Your solution is Grindelwald?"

"That's right," said Snape. "I had no intention of coming here until that time when you and the Dark Lord had a major battle somewhere abroad... in Austria, not far from here."

"I never understood why the Dark Lord chose this place to fight you, until one day, I accidentally saw a very old newspaper, and the content on it solved the mystery for me.

"Everyone knows that Dumbledore defeated Grindelwald and saved Europe...but few people know that the two were close friends when they were young."

Dumbledore and Grindelwald were silent.

Few people know this, and although it is true, it sounds too much like a rumor... Dumbledore was awarded the Order of Merlin, First Class, because he defeated Grindelwald. You say they are close friends? How is that possible?

After so many years, no one would believe it even if someone told the truth.

"It's just that at that time, I didn't pay too much attention to it." Snape looked at Dumbledore, "But then you were suddenly killed, and I learned the legendary story of the Elder Wand by chance."

"So, at the most critical moment, a plan emerged."

"Let me deal with that guy named Tom?" Grindelwald raised his eyebrows.

"That's right," Snape said, "If you were really close friends, perhaps you would choose to avenge Dumbledore after knowing the truth."

"You also said that it was once upon a time." Grindelwald shook his head. "He defeated me and caused me to be imprisoned in Nurmengard for seventy years. We may have long since gone from close friends to enemies. How could I avenge him?"

For some reason, after hearing what Grindelwald said, Snape was stunned, as if he had never expected such a possibility.

Grindelwald stared at him for a while, then suddenly smiled, "What a brilliant Confusion Spell."

"What did you say?" Kyle looked at Grindelwald in confusion. "Did anyone use a Confounding Charm on him?"

"Want to know?" Grindelwald held up three fingers.

Kyle's mouth twitched and he took out a photo. "No more, it's up to you whether you want to say it or not."

"Deal." Grindelwald took a look at the photo and put it away with satisfaction.

"Now you can tell me."

"You can let that fool think about it carefully." Grindelwald said slowly: "What he said about accidental and coincidental events, is there a specific person who appeared?

“There may not have been direct contact, but they must have met.”

A specific person?

Snape first lowered his head to think, and after a moment his pupils suddenly contracted.

"It seems that you have thought of it." Grindelwald continued, "I am sure that at least one of the newspaper and the Elder Wand was guided by the other party.

"In other words, your undercover identity has long been exposed."

"Who is that man?" Kyle asked.

"You should ask him that question."

Kyle and Dumbledore looked at Snape at the same time.

"Oren." Snape's voice was dry, and he said a name that both of them knew but were about to forget.

Snape lost himself in memory.

"Oren was the first to discover that the Dark Lord's wand had changed. He seemed to know the origin of the Elder Wand very well and enthusiastically shared the legend of this wand with others."

"Later, the Dark Lord discovered that his wand was a little out of control and could not be used completely by him. I remembered what Oren once said, that the Elder Wand was once loyal to Grindelwald."

"Then this trip to Nurmengard will become a natural progression. If everything goes well, I will accidentally reveal the news that Dumbledore was killed and then accidentally drop a wand."

"Wait, wait a minute." Kyle held out his hand.

"According to you, Oren knew a long time ago that Voldemort did not have complete control of the Elder Wand?

“This is a bit too magical.”

"I don't know." Snape shook his head, "But if what Mr. Grindelwald said is true, Oren is indeed the most suspicious one."

"The Elder Wand's rejection of a wizard is actually quite obvious." At this time, Grindelwald suddenly said, "If the person you are talking about knows enough about the Three Hallows, then it can actually be seen."

"Can you tell that?" It was the first time Kyle heard of such a thing.

"Want to know?" Grindelwald stretched out his entire palm this time, meaning five photos.

"No, I don't want to know." Kyle decisively rejected his exorbitant request.

"Well, that's a shame." Grindelwald did not insist.

"Like most wizards, you don't want to spend time and energy looking for clues related to fairy tales like the Three Hallows.

“And some details about the Elder Wand happen to be hidden in these unrecorded fairy tale scraps.”

"Oren used his identity as a bard to travel to various countries to facilitate the smuggling of magical animals, and the bards are most exposed to fairy tales."

Dumbledore whispered beside him, "He played the role very successfully and was never exposed."

"That's not surprising." Grindelwald stared at Snape. "Oh, and I found that I seemed to be wrong. The traces of magic left on your body don't seem to be a confounding spell, but a suggestion similar to hypnosis?"

"What does this mean?"

"It's to let some people know of my existence through some kind of language hints, just like him." Grindelwald pointed at Snape.

"Before this, he may have never known me, let alone asked me to help deal with that Tom."

"How interesting." Grindelwald suddenly laughed. "He must have used this special hint on many people. This way, he can be more sure that when there is a problem with the wand, someone can draw Tom's attention to me."

"I kind of want to meet him, that clever and cunning wizard."

…

(End of this chapter)