Aurelius Dumbledore

Aurelius Dumbledore

Watching the black mist gradually fill the corridor before him, Li Weide slowly backed away...

When facing a beast, the worst thing to do was turn your back and run.

Li Weide feared that if he turned and ran, the black mist would surge at him!

After all, what difference was there between a mindless Obscurus... and a beast?

Yes, the moment Li Weide saw that strange black mist and sensed the powerful magic contained within it, he had already guessed what it truly was.

The Obscurial Credence Barebone... or rather, Aurelius Dumbledore, was Aberforth's biological son.

Li Weide only knew that sometime around 1930, after the Qilin election incident had ended, Aberforth had taken him home.

As for what became of him afterward, Li Weide did not know.

But seven or eight years had already passed. Given the short lifespan of an Obscurial, even if Aurelius was exceptionally gifted, his condition could not possibly be good now.

After all, enough time had passed for even Nagini to gradually succumb and vanish from public sight...

The fact that Aurelius, an Obscurial, was still alive had to be called a miracle.

Just as Li Weide was considering whether to smash through the floor and jump down to escape, or slowly back down the stairs...

Aberforth's voice suddenly came from behind him.

"Don't move. Don't panic..."

Li Weide immediately stopped.

Then Aberforth stepped out from behind him.

He cautiously approached the mass of black mist.

"Calm down... Aurelius, calm down. You can do it. I can trust you, can't I?"

As Aberforth gently coaxed him, the black mist began to tremble.

Gradually, the black mist filling the entire corridor slowly contracted. In the end, it gathered in the corner of the hallway and turned into a pale young man.

His body shook uncontrollably. "I... I can't hold on much longer... Please, kill me... I won't be able to endure for much longer anyway. Rather than letting me stay here, never knowing when I'll lose control and hurt someone, it would be better to send me out of this world now..."

"Nonsense! What son forces his father to kill him? Besides, the attic has the magic your uncle set up. Even if you lose control, you won't be able to destroy it. Don't worry. You won't hurt anyone."

"But I ran out without realizing it this time, didn't I? Even Uncle's magic can't stop me completely... Father, please agree... Let everything end..."

Sorrow filled Aberforth's face. "Don't say that again! Good boy, let's go back. I'll stay with you until the end... You don't need to think about anything else! Please... don't force me anymore..."

Supporting Aurelius, he slowly helped him to his feet.

Bitterness showed on Aurelius's pale face as he turned to Li Weide. "I'm sorry..."

He seemed to want to say something more, but though his mouth opened, he ultimately said nothing.

Throughout all this, Li Weide said nothing. He merely watched them quietly, until he finally watched them slowly climb the stairs leading to the attic.

Li Weide now fully understood why Aberforth had not allowed them into the attic.

Aurelius had not died. He lived in the attic, and because an Obscurial was far too dangerous after losing control, many Protective Magic spells had been placed there as well.

If Li Weide had guessed correctly, the sounds he had heard earlier were the out-of-control Obscurus striking against the Protective Magic.

When he stepped into the corridor, the Obscurus had just broken through the Protective Magic and escaped, running straight into him...

Not long afterward, Aberforth came downstairs with a grave expression.

He stopped in front of Li Weide. "If you have any questions, ask them."

Aberforth knew that after unexpectedly seeing Aurelius today, this child would certainly have countless questions. Clearly, saying nothing was not an option.

Children at this age were at their most curious. If they went looking for "answers" themselves, they might cause trouble...

"What was that just now?" Li Weide could only ask symbolically.

"That was an Obscurus... You can think of it as an illness. The person suffering from it is my son, Aurelius Dumbledore. Those afflicted with this illness can turn into an Obscurus at any time and lose their reason... This time was an accident. I've reinforced the Protective Magic again." Aberforth answered.

Seeing Aberforth's expression, Li Weide did not want to keep asking.

Because asking further would undoubtedly force this pitiful father to relive a tragic past he did not wish to revisit.

Besides, Li Weide had already roughly guessed the whole story. There was no need to ask more.

"I don't have any other questions..."

Aberforth looked at Li Weide in surprise.

If it had been him, he would have had many questions after encountering something like this. Yet Li Weide had asked just one question and stopped?

But Aberforth soon understood Li Weide's thoughts.

"Alright... Come find me if you have any questions later." Aberforth gave Li Weide a deep look, then turned and walked down the stairs.

What a gentle child... Aberforth thought.

When Tom woke up, it was already three in the afternoon.

The moment he opened his eyes, he saw Li Weide practicing Transfiguration, turning a matchstick into all sorts of shapes.

Damn it! You told me to sleep, but you were secretly working hard yourself? How shameless!

Li Weide looked up and saw Tom staring at him with a face full of grief and indignation.

"How did you sleep? You look much more energetic."

"How I slept—aren't you the one who knows best?" Tom glared at Li Weide furiously.

"Alright, alright, I know you don't want to see me anymore, Tom." Li Weide waved a hand. "Whatever. I was just thinking about how to leave anyway."

Tom frowned. "What do you mean?"

Li Weide took out a key and dangled it in front of Tom.

"As a rich man with five or six thousand Galleons in Gringotts, there's really no need for me to live under someone else's roof. Wouldn't it be better to buy my own house? And if that doesn't work, I can find a place and build one myself! With Toby taking care of my daily needs, why would I need a guardian?"

With a massive amount of Galleons and valuable gold bars in his possession, Li Weide indeed had the basic means to live independently.

More importantly, living by himself would allow him to carry out many experiments he had been contemplating for a long time but had never had the opportunity to conduct.

Those experiments were impossible with a guardian keeping watch over him...

Tom shook his head. "Dumbledore won't agree. If he doesn't agree, there's no way you'll pull this off, so forget it. You should know he isn't as kind as he looks on the surface."

"You have a point, but I'll definitely think of a way." Li Weide frowned as he pondered.

"And don't forget, half of those thousands of Galleons and gold bars you mentioned are mine!" Tom emphasized.

Back then, both of them had done the work, and both of them had caused the trouble. No matter what, Tom was getting half of the money they had earned!

"Oh, of course, of course. I won't leave you out." Li Weide put the Gringotts key away again.

After a moment of silence, Tom suddenly asked, "If... if you can figure out a way to move out... could you take me with you?"

"What?" Li Weide stared at Tom in shock. "Didn't you not want to stay with me? Tom, don't tell me you have designs on me! I have no interest in men!"

"Bastard! What filthy thoughts are in that head of yours?!" Tom's face darkened. "I mean... we move out together, get free of these so-called guardians, and then go our separate ways!"