Compared with the version of the past Vizet had pieced together from Aberforth Dumbledore, the past as Dumbledore told it was clearly more coherent, filled with deeper self-reproach and irreparable regret.
He did not make excuses for his youth and ambition. He merely stated how he had been blinded by power and ideals, how he had neglected his family responsibilities, and what share of guilt he bore in that conflict.
To some extent, when Dumbledore and Aberforth Dumbledore spoke of the past, their expressions were quite similar, both carrying self-reproach and irreparable regret.
Under ordinary circumstances, Aberforth Dumbledore always drank strong liquor while recounting the past in fits and starts.
After downing a glass of spirits, he would angrily curse Gellert Grindelwald a few times.
But Dumbledore at this moment had only endless sorrow. His body was slightly hunched, as if he were drinking from an inexhaustible cup of Despair Potion.
After recounting this piece of the past, he let out a long sigh. In those bright blue eyes, besides sorrow, there was also an unprecedented clarity and resolve.
His tone carried the same finality. "Vizet, I need you to do me a favor!"
Vizet met Dumbledore's gaze, not the slightest hesitation in his voice. "No problem!"
Dumbledore exhaled again, as if expelling the last trace of fluke and fantasy. "In truth, you and I both know very well that everything here..."
"Including her!" He turned to look at Ariana's figure. "May be a trap set by The Master. We must be on guard against that!"
"When we were searching for the Horcrux, it was because of my own obsession that I nearly made an irreparable mistake, and nearly hurt you as well."
He unconsciously clenched his fist, his knuckles turning white. "I know what my weakness is. Standing here,