Exchange secrets
"Hmm...who?" Queenie seemed to have heard the name somewhere before, but she couldn't remember where.
“He’s a dark wizard, extremely…” Hermione glanced at Bathilda, swallowing the word “brutal” vaguely, “Anyway, ‘defeated Grindelwald in 1945’—that’s what Professor Dumbledore’s Chocolate Frog card says.” She recalled the evil deeds she had read about Grindelwald and found it hard to believe that he had ever had a close friendship with Professor Dumbledore. It was as shocking as Harry suddenly declaring that he was actually Voldemort’s best friend.
Queenie remembered that Harry had mentioned it once.
“Chocolate Frog is a candy that jumps around like a frog, and it comes with wizard cards. I’ve collected the whole set—I’ll bring you some next time, I mean Chocolate Frog,” Ron explained considerately.
Hermione, "..." Merlin's beard, that's all he heard?
"So they're rivals and friends?" Queenie grasped the key point.
Hermione pursed her lips and turned her inquisitive gaze to Bathilda.
"Impossible!" Harry seemed to finally snap out of his daze, letting out a sharp denial. Fortunately, Bathilda's attention had already wandered; she was staring blankly at the two spirited young men in the photo, oblivious to the voice that shouldn't have been in the room.
Even ten minutes after leaving Bathilda's house, Harry was still unable to calm down. "Did you hear that? What did she say? They are—closer—friends—than Ron and me?!"
It was already getting dark, and there were a few pedestrians on the road heading home. When they heard the loud voice, they all instinctively looked over. Since Harry was still invisible, Ron had no choice but to play the one who was going crazy.
“My love, if that’s what you meant,” Hermione said, now completely calm. “Thinking about it, it’s not surprising at all. We’ve all seen Grindelwald’s picture. Have you ever seen a more handsome man? Oh Sirius, and Cedric… but they’re different styles…”
Ron followed her train of thought, "Don't forget Gilderoy Lockhart, you used to be so fascinated by him."
“Well, and Lockhart too,” Hermione added calmly. “I mean, they’re both young and ambitious, so it’s perfectly normal for them to be attracted to each other. I believe he must be a very charismatic person, otherwise he wouldn’t have so many followers. Like Voldemort, did he simply gain so many fanatical Death Eaters through intimidation?”
Actually, Bathilda didn't say much; at least she didn't explicitly say that "Dumbledore and Grindelwald were lovers," but her description was clear enough, as explicit as it could be.
Queenie was absolutely intrigued. “So they fell in love in just one summer—” Harry gasped as she finished speaking, “—and then they parted ways again in 1899, right? It’s worth noting that Dumbledore’s sister Ariana died that same year, which may have been the reason for their breakup.”
“You’re right,” Hermione agreed. “Mrs. Bathilda said, ‘Poor Ariana, Gellert left after that,’ which means something must have happened that led to her death. Didn’t Mrs. Bathilda also say that they were always studying magic together? I’m guessing it’s probably dark magic… Could it be that Professor Dumbledore dueled with him to avenge his sister?”
"Half a century later? Why not settle such a huge grudge on the spot?" Ron interjected.
“1899…” Queenie’s eyes suddenly lit up. “Dumbledore has never married, has he? For over a century?”
They all understood what she was trying to say.
"No—" Harry cried out again in anguish.
Once home, Harry finally took off his Invisibility Cloak. Hermione and Ron had already left. Before they left, Hermione said she would continue searching for clues related to the Deathly Hallows. If they really existed—and Bathilda's account suggested otherwise—then obtaining them might help in defeating Voldemort. After all, their side seemed to already possess two of them, didn't they?
Harry's expression was indescribable, which successfully amused Queenie, who made him a cup of hot cocoa. "Darling, is this really that hard to accept? We're British, after all."
"No... I'm just shocked by their identities..."
"But Dumbledore wasn't born righteous, and Grindelwald wasn't born evil either."
"I understand... I am..."
As the two were talking, Sirius returned.
"Queenie? Harry? Is Harry there?"
Queenie called out, “We’re here, in the back porch!”
Sirius couldn't wait and immediately used Apparition. He saw Harry breathe a sigh of relief and asked, "Why didn't you reply to my message?"
Harry took out his phone and saw Sirius's reply.
"I've already sent Kreacher to find the photos. There's an urgent matter here, I'll be back late."
“I didn’t have time to check my phone this afternoon. I have to tell you a secret.” He desperately needed his godfather’s help to share the shock.
“Excellent, I was just about to tell you a secret, we can make a trade.”
Harry was intrigued by the secret he spoke of. "What is it?"
Sirius's handsome eyebrows furrowed, his expression a complex mix of joy and unease. "We may have found Voldemort's weakness."
“This is all thanks to that idiot Mundungus.” Sirius took a swig of Queenie’s liqueur and smacked his lips in disgust at the sweetness.
Harry knew Mundungus; he was the one who had brought him, Hermione, and Ron back to the old house from Hogwarts.
Sirius continued, "He's a habitual thief, and I've always felt that someone like that shouldn't be in the Order of the Phoenix. But Dumbledore insisted that he was loyal, just had some minor, not-so-evil, flaws. Ha, today those flaws came in very handy; he stole Voldemort's things from the Black family."
What? Harry didn't understand.
“Mundungus stole something while I wasn’t at the old house the other day—the Black family may be in decline, but they might still have some valuables—but he didn’t know he was seen by Kreacher. However, because of my order that ‘members of the Order of the Phoenix must not disobey,’ Kreacher couldn’t stop him at the time, and he always runs away very quickly,” Sirius continued. “Today at the meeting, Kreacher fought with him and demanded that he hand over the stolen goods. Merlin’s beard—it’s the first time I’ve ever seen a house-elf attack a wizard. To be honest, it’s already quite strange that it insulted a wizard.”
Harry, "..." Is it strange? He saw it when he was twelve.
Sirius paused for a moment. "In fact, Dumbledore instructed us to keep this a secret, especially not to you—you kids."
Harry frowned immediately. If it was related to Voldemort, why couldn't he know? He had the right to know!
“But I’ve always advocated for your involvement,” Sirius continued quickly. “I know you’re a warrior.”
Harry relaxed. "So what is it?"
"Have you heard of it?" The light cast shadows on Sirius's nose and eye sockets, and his expression seemed to harden as he uttered the word, "Hordeal."
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