Chapter 489 For the greater good

As the din of the dinner gradually died down, Dumbledore, in an unusual manner, invited Ariana to follow him to the principal's office.

Against the backdrop of the light, he stared at Ariana's familiar yet unfamiliar face, and the waves in his heart made his palms tremble unconsciously.

"Ariana..." His voice was low and full of emotion, as if every syllable carried a thousand pounds of memories.

Ariana's eyes were as cold as ice, and she responded bluntly: "Mr. Principal, if nothing happens, I think I should go back." There was no warmth in her voice, as if it was freezing the surrounding air. "

Because he was temporarily separated from Hermione, Obscurus began to fluctuate in his body. Her eyes glowed darkly, prompting her to get back to Hermione as soon as possible.

The portraits of wizards on the wall of the office aroused strong curiosity. They looked at everything below with inquiring eyes and whispered among themselves.

Phineas Black murmured softly: "A 15-year-old freshman, this is really rare."

He turned to Dumbledore, his eyes full of questioning: "I heard from the Fat Lady that she has the same surname as you. Could it be that she is your granddaughter?" There was obvious doubt in his tone.

"Tsk, tsk, that shouldn't be the case..."

The portraits started gossiping, and as past headmasters of Hogwarts, they knew why Dumbledore never married.

Ariana's appearance undoubtedly caused quite a stir in their hearts, and they began to speculate about the possible connection between the girl and the principal.

Dumbledore sat back in his chair slumped, his shoulders sagging, as if his posture was lowered by an invisible weight.

His voice was low and tired, slowly revealing the truth: "She was once Obscurus, and it was Grindelwald who brought her back."

The portraits were stunned into silence at first, and one of them couldn't help blurting out: "Wow, could it be that he has developed some kind of magical magic that can make two men..."

Before the person in the portrait could finish speaking, Dumbledore immediately stared at her with a stern gaze. After a period of oppressive silence, he finally told the truth helplessly: "Ariana, she is my sister."

"What? Sister!" Exclaims came and went, and the portraits started talking in disbelief.

"Oh my God, she is only fifteen years old, she can be your granddaughter."

"My lord, Merlin, this must be a joke."

Dumbledore didn't explain any more. He was immersed in his sister's cold attitude, and his heart gradually became heavy.

However, even such dullness could not make him stop thinking about the mysterious magic that Ariana had just exuded.

"Obscura..." He murmured thoughtfully, and began to piece together clues in his mind, combined with the conversation with Newt, to try to reveal the truth behind it.

Newt's cure for the Obscurus was to separate it from its host, but what about Grindelwald? What will his method be?

"He will never give up this power, so Obscurus is still in Ariana's body!" Dumbledore suddenly stood up with a bang, his brows furrowed, and his eyes revealed deep worry and determination.

Dumbledore quickly left his office and set out on the path to Hogsmeade.

The Pig's Head Bar at night looks particularly mysterious under the moonlight, and wizards from different backgrounds gather together. Some are gambling, some are exchanging secret information, and they are very happy.

Aberforth hummed a tune and busily wiped every stain on the counter, making them shiny and new. There is a newly hung mirror on the wall to his right. There was a box of light and shadow powder placed on the wooden table below, sparkling.

Every night at six o'clock, you can listen to the Ministry of Magic's news broadcast through the mirror.

Every now and then he glanced into the mirror, expecting a message from Ariana through it.

"We need to talk." A deep voice sounded. Dumbledore was wrapped in a black robe, with a hood covering his face. Only his blue eyes were shining in the dim bar.

Aberforth looked up and smiled lightly: "What's there to talk about..."

"Ariana, our sister." Dumbledore stated his intention bluntly.

Aberforth was stunned for a moment, as if he had just realized that today was the first day of school at Hogwarts. He pondered for a moment, then nodded slightly: "Go to the second floor and wait for me."

The wooden planks on the stairs creaked, and a yellowed oil lamp flickered in the dark room. His eyes swept across the wall and noticed that the portrait that was originally hanging had been taken down by Aberforth, leaving only a conspicuous white frame mark.

A few minutes later, the patrons of the Pig's Head Bar were kicked out by the owner. They grumbled disapprovingly, and some even vowed never to patronize the bar again.

"How much do you know about Ariana?" Dumbledore's eyes were as sharp as a knife and he said to Aberforth in an interrogating tone, "You should have told me earlier."

"Tell you?" Aberforth smiled and sat across the table, "You are a busy man, busy saving the world and saving Muggles."

"What does Ariana mean to you? A memory or a regret."

Dumbledore's eyes flashed with pain, but his voice remained firm: "She is my family..."

"Family?" Aberforth's voice rose, his tone became tough, interrupting Dumbledore, "What qualifications do you have to say that word?"

He sneered and continued to question: "Don't forget why Ariana became an Obscurus. How our father was imprisoned in Azkaban and finally killed by Dementors."

"What about you?" Aberforth did not stop, his tone full of sarcasm and anger: "You are busy with your ideals, busy becoming the greatest white wizard in the world, busy protecting those Muggles who destroyed our family!"

His words were like sharp arrows, shooting at Dumbledore, making his face pale.

"Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore. Listen to your full name, how noble and glorious. You represent the entire wizarding world, how could you lower yourself to take care of ordinary people."

Aberforth's voice was full of sarcasm: "Ariana and I are just refugees from the Fertile Plains, how can we be worthy of being a family with such a great wizard like you?"

"If we were your family, I'm afraid we would be sacrificed for your great interests!" He pounded the table heavily, venting mercilessly: "Go and complete your plan, complete your greater interests! Don't talk about family in front of me, I feel sick, especially when it comes from your mouth!"

Dumbledore sat there quietly, listening to his brother's accusations, he did not refute, but just endured silently. He pursed his lips tightly, his eyes full of pain and helplessness. But he did not defend himself, nor did he escape.

After Aberforth finally vented his anger and calmed down, Dumbledore slowly spoke: "The Obscurus still exists in Ariana's body. You must tell me everything about her return."

"I said, it has nothing to do with you!" Aberforth shook his head firmly and said without question: "The Obscurus not only poses no threat to her, but also allows her to possess powerful magic."

"Aberforth, don't you understand? This may be Grindelwald's conspiracy! He once wanted to use the Obscurus to rule the entire wizarding world!"

"You have already killed my son, are you going to continue to kill my sister now?" Aberforth He stood up excitedly, leaned forward, and stared at Dumbledore with red eyes, "Get out! Leave my pub!"

Dumbledore did not give in, his voice was equally firm: "I will cure her..."

"No, you should do nothing!" Looking at Dumbledore's back, he had to explain: "Grindelwald has controlled the Obscurus. As long as my sister stays with Hermione. When she grows up, the Obscurus will no longer be a threat."

"Albus." He paused and continued, "Sometimes, you care too much."

"Maybe." Dumbledore pushed open the wooden door, and the two brothers parted unhappily again.

Although he did not understand the truth of Ariana's time travel, Dumbledore at least understood what the Obscurus was. His guess was confirmed: Grindelwald would never give up the power of the Obscurus.

Perhaps, he was old and gave up his ambition to change the wizarding world himself.

But this does not mean that Grindelwald gave up his ideals. Ariana, who perfectly possesses the power of the Obscurus, is definitely more powerful than Credence (Dumbledore's nephew) in the past.

In Dumbledore's memory, Ariana was a very kind and sensitive little girl. She was so innocent that she hated the magic that generated the terrifying Obscurus in her body because of the pranks of the Muggle boys.

However, he was not sure what Ariana's attitude towards Muggles was now. Her once beautiful family was broken up and destroyed because of the pranks of those Muggle boys.

If Ariana was hostile to or even hated Muggles, Dumbledore was very worried about what the future would be like. He sat in the chair in his office, his heart full of distress and uneasiness. He had a splitting headache, as if the pain of the past and the worries of the future were oppressing his nerves together.

Dumbledore had been carefully cultivating Harry Potter under the guidance of the prophecy, allowing him to grow step by step and finally complete the mission of killing Voldemort.

However, now he faced more problems. The pure-blood families and the Ministry of Magic united to oppose his opinion and refused to participate in the war across the ocean.

At the same time, Ariana returned with the power of the Obscurus, but Grindelwald was nowhere to be found.

As he was frowning, an owl suddenly appeared outside the window, knocking on the glass. It left an anonymous letter and then disappeared into the night.

"I've paid you back for what I owe you."

The whole letter had only one sentence, and from the familiar handwriting, Dumbledore seemed to see Grindelwald's smile. His face turned pale, as if an important part of his heart was ruthlessly cut off.

He and Grindelwald had once made a blood pact, vowing to realize their ideals together. However, in the end, he stood on the opposite side of Grindelwald and prevented him from fulfilling his ideals.

On the top of the snowy mountain, the blood pact was shattered in Grindelwald's disappointed and love-hate eyes, and in the opposite spells of the contracting parties.

But in Grindelwald's heart, he still remembered that some things were his fault. When he learned that the time-space converter could go back to the past, he broke his promise to Rogge and went to correct his past mistakes in person.

The price of all this was that the time-space converter was disordered, and he was forever trapped in the past. He could only wander in history, sending letters to people in the future at regular intervals.

There were other things in the envelope, and Dumbledore quickly poured them out: a golden ring setting and a black stone.

"Resurrection stone? Horcrux?" Dumbledore felt the remaining magic in it, and his face became serious.

Unlike the Horcruxes that Grindelwald gave to Rogge, the fragments of Voldemort's soul in the Resurrection Stone were completely removed. This means that Grindelwald has developed the magic to crack Horcruxes without damage.

However, he had no intention of revealing this magic to Dumbledore. The fragments of soul left in Harry Potter's scars need to be solved by Albus himself.

"Gellert..." Dumbledore whispered Grindelwald's name, his mood unable to calm down for a long time.

He looked out the window into the darkness, and seemed to see Grindelwald's eyes staring at him through the night.

"For the greater good!" This sentence, this ideal, was once their common pursuit.

From beginning to end, the two people never changed. Everything they do is for the greater good. Sadly, they went from working together to confronting each other. The same ideal finally turns into one person's victory.

Dumbledore walked the path of protecting the wizarding world and Muggles. He hatches plan after plan to take advantage of everyone, including Harry Potter, all for the greater good.

He is so wise and yet so "stupid" that while using these tools, he actually falls in love with them. He will care and worry about them, leaving loopholes and flaws.

In contrast, Grindelwald's love was always dedicated to only one person - Dumbledore. For him, Grindelwald was even willing to give up everything. He gave up on himself and snatched Ariana back from death.

Albus didn't know what he had sacrificed, but the ideal that Grindelwald placed on Ariana might always be just an unattainable dream.

A hot teardrop slipped from the corner of Dumbledore's eye, scalding the cheek covered with traces of time.

"For the greater good!" His memory returned to his youth. At that time, the two of them cut their palms, their blood intertwined, and they concluded a blood pact.

Dumbledore's eyes became determined. Voldemort's ravages in America exceeded his expectations. Despite this, he firmly believed that Harry Potter could defeat Voldemort and bring peace to the wizarding world.

He turned to the picture frame on the wall and asked, "Can someone please call Professor Snape for me?"

"I'd be happy to help." Principal Black's portrait smiled and replied, "But our Potions Professor lives in the dungeon, and no one wants to be in the frame there."

Dumbledore was stunned for a moment and decided to talk to Snape himself. He needed Snape's expertise to develop a potion that would solve the snake-man virus. The virus was spreading around the world more than he expected, and he had to act, and fast.

Otherwise, countless Muggle-mutated snake-men will become a nightmare of despair. Even if Voldemort is finally defeated, the world will never return to the harmonious era it once was.