Chapter 427 I’ve wanted to beat you for a hundred years

There was still a wild boar head hanging behind the counter, and sticky mucus was flowing from its round nostrils. Just when it was about to hit the ground, the nasal cavity sucked it back in with force.

In the tavern, the dim lights reflected several blurry figures. They whispered, their voices echoing secretly in the corners. The white reflection at the door is like a sharp cone, piercing the darkness. The guests stopped talking and looked up at the door.

Their eyes met Dumbledore's, and his deep eyes shone with rare gloom and seriousness.

Aberforth quickly returned to normal, put down a glass of beer rudely, and said with a pun: "Mr. Dumbledore, you are such a rare guest."

Dumbledore didn't answer. He sat quietly in front of the worn counter, staring deeply at the cracked beer foam in the wooden cup. His silence spread in the secret atmosphere of the tavern, like a cold spell, making the originally noisy tavern gradually become silent. The cold wind blowing outside the door was like a big broom, driving the guests out.

Aberforth put his hands on the counter and said with a hint of boredom in his voice, "What are you doing here?"

"We agreed not to meddle in each other's business. Are you here to ask me why I didn't give you a Christmas gift?"

When he saw that Dumbledore didn't refute, the teasing on his lips slowly calmed down. Aberforth felt uneasy in his heart, and he realized that something extremely serious must have happened to Dumbledore.

"That Slytherin from your school?" he asked, frowning.

Dumbledore took a deep breath, his eyes wandering around the edge of the glass, as if searching for the answer.

Suddenly, he gripped the wooden cup tightly, his knuckles turning pale from the exertion. He drank so fast that the wine spilled out, soaking his beard and dripping onto his robe, leaving dark stains.

Dumbledore drank the glass in one gulp and pressed it against the bar.

His voice was low and bitter, as if squeezed from the depths of his heart: "He sent me a letter, a roaring letter."

"Him?" Aberforth's eyes narrowed into slits, a sneer appeared on the corner of his mouth, and he said sarcastically: "You and Grindelwald are still writing letters to each other? Humph, I'm afraid they haven't stopped writing for decades. Let’s get through it!”

"Get out, close the shop!" There was anger in his voice, and he waved the rag in his hand as if he was driving away something unclean.

But Dumbledore still sat there, like an unshakable mountain. His voice was calm and firm: "He found the Resurrection Stone."

Aberforth's hand suddenly stopped in mid-air, and a trace of shock flashed in his eyes. He said to himself: "The Resurrection Stone? Is it the legendary stone? Can people be resurrected from the dead?"

He asked three questions in succession, eagerly awaiting Dumbledore's answer.

Dumbledore nodded slightly and said in a low and firm tone: "Yes, that's the stone. Grindelwald hid it..."

Aberforth suddenly became excited. His hands tightly grasped Dumbledore's collar. His eyes were full of urgency: "Where is he! You must know, right? Tell me where he is!"

He said as he drew his wand, his eyes burning with anger and hope. Dumbledore could not give an answer because he did not know the exact whereabouts of Grindelwald.

His silence was like an insurmountable gap, making Aberforth mistakenly think that he was acquiescing to something.

So, Aberforth pointed at Dumbledore and laughed: "Albus, touch your heart and tell me if you still feel a little guilty!"

"Ariana, my sister was killed by you..."

"Enough!" Dumbledore shouted, interrupting Aberforth.

His palm hit the table hard, making a deafening sound. His blue eyes were now blood red from anger and pain.

The two old wizards looked at each other, and there was a tense atmosphere in the air. In the end, Dumbledore was the first to avert his eyes. His voice was low and vague, revealing a deep sense of guilt: "She is also my sister."

Aberforth loosened the collar in his hand, his voice full of disdain: "Sister? Are you worthy of saying this word?" His eyes flashed with hatred, "Tell me, what do you want from me?"

Dumbledore closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths, as if trying to calm down his emotions. When he spoke again, his voice became calm and firm: "Remember what happened to Ariana?"

Aberforth gritted his teeth, his face full of hatred: "I remember, even if I die, I will remember!"

He clenched his fist and hit the bar hard. Each hit left a deep mark on the bar, as if the anger and pain inside could be released in this way

"Those three damn Muggles, they... they caused her to lose control of magic." His voice was full of hatred, "Father just taught them a lesson, but he was imprisoned in Azkaban by the Ministry of Magic. "

He hammered his chest with his other hand, and each blow seemed to be trying to relieve the hatred that had accumulated in his heart for nearly a hundred years: "My home was destroyed by the damn Muggles! My lovely and smart Ali Anna was turned into an Obscurus by them. Because of them, my mother died in the magic riot."

He pointed his finger directly at Dumbledore's nose and asked, "Albus, what were you doing at that time?" His voice was full of accusations and sarcasm, "Humph, you were busy having a love affair at that time."

"Whose curse do you think caused Obscurus to lose control? It was you!!!" Aberforth's anger reached its peak, and his words shot towards Dumbledore like sharp arrows.

He gritted his teeth, and every word was full of hatred: "I have always wanted to kill you with my own hands!"

Dumbledore stood silently, absorbing each of his brother's accusations. Despite the confusion in the timeline, he couldn't deny that Ariana's death was indeed related to him. If he hadn't invited Grindelwald to his home, that fateful conflict wouldn't have happened, and there wouldn't be...

Dumbledore's sigh was full of sadness, and tears shone in the corners of his eyes: "He said that there will be a fifth-year transfer student at Hogwarts next year."

"Dumbledore!" Aberforth roared with a voice that tore his vocal cords. "Go back to your Hogwarts and take care of your students. What fifth years, what transfer students..."

Aberforth's voice suddenly broke off, his body began to tremble, and an almost impossible thought came to his mind. He hurried to the second floor of the tavern, his steps quick and heavy, and fetched Ariana's portrait.

"I remember she was 14 years old when she died... right? Tell me, right?" He yelled hysterically at Dumbledore, almost losing control of his emotions.

Dumbledore closed his eyes and said in a firm and heavy voice, "Yes, 14 years old."

"How is this possible? How is this possible? He, you..." Aberforth was so excited that he could not speak coherently. He turned his head randomly and walked back and forth behind the bar.

"Where's the letter?" he suddenly asked loudly.

"The Howler letter is broken." Dumbledore shook his head gently, with a hint of helplessness in his voice. "Even if it is repaired, the contents will never be read again."

"Then...is that a lie to us?" He asked uneasily.

"I have no idea."

"But how can she go to school? Ariana is Obscurus, she can't control magic." His dead son appeared in front of his eyes again, and the pain from decades ago struck again.

Suddenly, he thought of something, and his voice was full of hope: "Newt! Albus, do you remember your student Newt? That wizard who was a little stupid and always made strange moves?"

"I remember he had a way to deal with the Obscurus." Aberforth couldn't wait to grab the floo powder on the fireplace, but Dumbledore stopped him.

"Have you ever thought that Ariana died in 1899. How could Grindelwald go back to that time? How could he bring her back?"

"What if he really mastered the magic of time?" At this moment, Aberforth actually wanted Grindelwald to become more powerful.

Time magic? That has been banned by the Ministry of Magic. Dumbledore mentally denied this possibility, but at the same time thought of another magical prop that could travel through time and space.

"Even if he really goes back to 1899, our memories will still not change." He said with a hint of pain.

"Memory?" Aberforth recalled the situation at that time and raised another possibility: "What if the person who died was not Ariana, but someone else?"

"You should know that Grindelwald is a guy who will do whatever it takes to achieve his goals. For him, killing is the simplest thing."

Dumbledore remained silent. Based on his understanding of Gehlot, this was indeed possible. He took out the sandalwood wand from his sleeve, and Aberforth stared at it with sharp eyes.

It was the curse that caused Obscurus to lose control back then.

"Where's your new wand?" Aberforth asked confused.

"broken."

"Huh?" Hearing this answer, he showed a very surprised expression: "Did it? This joke is not funny at all."

"What do you think?" Dumbledore glared at him, lowered his head and continued to look at the wand in his hand.

At this moment, he faintly felt that the power of fate was pulling him towards that unforgettable tragedy. The broken Elder Wand and Grindelwald's roaring letter were all calling him silently.

"I'm going to the Ministry of Magic." Dumbledore was determined to find traces of Grindelwald.

Aberforth suddenly stepped forward to stop him, his wand glowing faintly in his hand: "What do you want to do? Stop him? Prevent him from changing history?"

"Bah, it's impossible." He spat fiercely and turned hostile to Dumbledore: "You must have thought about how he got back."

"Humph, it's that expression again. You know the answer, but you just don't tell it. Albus, don't you know that this kind of mysterious and calm smile is very annoying?"

"Don't even think about lying to me!" Aberforth's wand was pressed against his throat, but Dumbledore still didn't resist. "Tell me how Grindelwald can go back."

"Time turner." Dumbledore answered truthfully. "The magic item studied by the Department of Mysteries can allow wizards to go back in time."

"Why?" Aberforth punched Dumbledore in the face angrily, "You knew you could use it to save Ariana, why didn't you go?"

Dumbledore touched the blood oozing from the corner of his mouth, with a smile on his face, "You have been wanting to beat me for a long time, right? Counting the time, it should be almost a hundred years."

He looked at the angry Aberforth in front of him. Calmly explained: "Aberforth, the use of the time turner is limited. According to the research of Silent Man Thor, it can only safely go back 5 hours..."

Suddenly, Dumbledore froze on the spot. Because he clearly remembered that the Ministry of Magic banned time travel in 1899. The reason is that a witch named Eloi mistakenly traveled back to 1402.

She was trapped there for five days. When she returned, her body had suffered irreparable damage and she died soon after.

Worse, she changed the lives of those she met: their descendants simply disappeared. What's more serious is that in the week when Eloy came back, there were 2.5 days of Tuesday and only 4 hours of Thursday.

Their sister Ariana also died in 1899. Dumbledore realized that Eloy's mistaken trip was probably not an accident.

Aberforth's anger calmed down with his fists, and he asked doubtfully: "What are you thinking about?"

Dumbledore pushed away his wand and murmured thoughtfully: "Did he really succeed?"

He looked at his sister in the painting. She was only 14 years old at the time.

"The fifth-year students at Hogwarts are usually 15 years old. Has Grindelwald really found a way to avoid the harm of time travel?" Dumbledore grabbed his beard and unknowingly pulled off a few strands.

"It's too late to go to the Ministry of Magic now." He narrowed his eyes and sounded extremely serious.

"It's late? Why is it late? Please tell me clearly!" The anxious Aberforth asked impatiently.

Dumbledore explained softly: "Amelia came to me before school started. She hoped that I could lift the dark curse on those wizards. But I didn't agree at that time."

"Humph, is it because of the prophecy and the Boy Who Lived?" Aberforth sneered.

Dumbledore ignored his sarcasm and continued: "Later, she found Grindelwald. As a condition, he was allowed to enter the Department of Mysteries to do research."

"It seems that he has found what he is looking for." Dumbledore quickly walked to the fireplace and grabbed some flying powder.

"Tell me clearly, where are you going?" Aberforth refused, blocking him in front of the fireplace to prevent him from leaving.

"I'm going to find Newt."

"What do you mean... is Ariana already back?" Aberforth's eyes widened in excitement, and his hands were so nervous that they had no where to place them.

Dumbledore didn't answer. He walked into the fireplace, and the hand that sprinkled the Floo powder was trembling slightly.

"Wait for me!" Aberforth reacted immediately, without even closing the bar door, and rushed directly into the floo network.

After a fireplace relay, the two came to Dorsetshire one after another and came to the fireplace of Newt's house.

"Grandpa, look, it's what Muggles call Santa Claus! Hey, why are there two?" Newt's grandson Rolf shouted excitedly.