A Conversation Between Two Headmasters

When Sean saw those huge, orange-yellow eyes, he didn't have time to react at all.

He heard Dave's frenzied and violent roar, the sound of a giant creature breaking through the water, and the sound of his own wand hitting the ground.

However, the sounds grew weaker and weaker, and Sean's vision blurred. He felt as if his body was floating, as if someone had hooked his hair with a hook and was slowly lifting him up with a strange force.

"Basilisk? Slytherin, damn it..."

A final thought flashed through his mind, and Sean's consciousness plunged into darkness.

Inside the Stone Chamber, Dave's mournful and piercing screech echoed for a long time.

As night fell, in the Headmaster's Office on the Seventh Floor of Hogwarts Castle, two elderly men sat in armchairs, talking face to face.

"Albus, I've warned you many times," Grindelwald said gravely, slowly stroking his short beard. "Whether the Prophecy comes true depends on us and the children's efforts, but in any case, you need to understand one thing first—some nasty thing has already awakened."

Opposite him, Dumbledore looked somewhat tired, and he propped himself up with his right hand and vigorously massaged his temples.

"I understand, Gellert, but that's not something we can stop. The door Realm of Illusion and reality has already opened a crack..."

Grindelwald rudely interrupted him, "Albus, what I mean is, you've been too lenient with those awakened old geezers!"

He took a crystal bottle from his pocket, uncorked it, and poured the clear liquid inside onto Dumbledore's other hand. His left hand appeared normal, but upon contact with the liquid, the skin instantly became dry and stiff, as if it had been dried out.

Dumbledore did not stop the other person's actions. After the liquid was poured, a slight relaxation appeared on his tired expression, and then he sighed.

"Thank you for your Potions, Gellert, it makes me feel much better."

Grindelwald snorted, then resealed the remaining half of the crystal bottle and placed it heavily on the desk.

"What a great Mr. Dumbledore! To liberate a corrupt soul, he's even willing to bear Ancient Spell with his own body," he sneered sarcastically. "Do you think you're on par with Merlin now?"

Dumbledore showed no displeasure, and even smiled, "Gellert, when we were young, your most frequent saying was, 'Oh, Merlin's beard~ In the future, I'll have the kids change it, for example, Grindelwald's beard would be quite nice.'"

"That remains my goal," Grindelwald said curtly.

"I think it's good enough to stay on the Chocolate Frog picture," Dumbledore shrugged, then changed the subject. "Getting back to the point, Gellert, we need to investigate again. The Ancients have been reviving too frequently lately. I'm afraid Merlin might rise up one day—good heavens, Paracelsus [Note 1] is troublesome enough already."

"That's because you're unwilling to completely erase him and are trying to save an ancient soul that's already covered in dust. They're no longer the great wizards they once were!" Grindelwald said irritably. "If one day you die because of your own mercy, don't expect me to mourn for you."

"That would be perfect. I don't like making things too serious—could you throw a few bags of Cockroach Cluster into my grave?" Dumbledore winked.

Grindelwald retorted irritably, "I'll catch hundreds of live cockroaches to take with you to your grave."

"That's not bad—but we can discuss that later. We need to talk about the current situation. I've noticed a pattern lately: those Ancients who have been awakened from the Realm of Illusion weren't all powerful wizards in their previous lives. However, the more powerful they are, the more rational they retain. Perhaps we can try to communicate with them."

Grindelwald scoffed. "Isn't Paracelsus powerful enough? Where is his reason? They should have long since faded into the annals of history. Erasing them from reality would be the best outcome."

"Gellert, you're going too far."

"No, Albus, you have been too lenient all along—anything that threatens the survival of wizards should be eliminated."

Does that include Sean?

Grindelwald suddenly fell silent.

Dumbledore chuckled, stood up, turned his back to Grindelwald, and said casually, "Gellert, everything has two sides..."

He spoke at length about his thoughts, unaware that Grindelwald's eyes had become deep and sorrowful.

Just then, there was a knock on the Headmaster's Office door.

Grindelwald's body twisted and transformed into the appearance of another person.

"Albus! Oh, I didn't know you were having a visit, but I have something to report to you..." Professor McGonagall looked very anxious. She glanced around the office, looked at the person Grindelwald had transformed into, and looked at Dumbledore questioningly.

Dumbledore nodded. "It's alright, this is an old friend of mine, you can speak freely."

Professor McGonagall was somewhat puzzled. She had never met this person before, but since Dumbledore had said so, he must be someone she could trust.

"Sean is missing," Professor McGonagall said quickly, taking a deep breath.

Dumbledore's smile vanished, and he abruptly looked at the other person. "Minerva?"

"Just now, Sean's good friend Miss Granger came over. She said she hadn't seen Sean all day and wanted to ask if he was studying in one of the professors' offices. I went to every professor, but they hadn't seen Sean either."

Dumbledore's gaze turned serious. He pondered for a moment before speaking, "I understand, Minerva... You go back first. I roughly know where Sean went."

"You knew?" Professor McGonagall breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank God."

Once Professor McGonagall left, Grindelwald returned to his usual self, casually leaning back in his chair, his tone relaxed. "Sean is just like me—let me think, he probably got curious and went to the Chamber of Secrets, right? Probably got held up by that old geezer Slytherin. Just wait and see, Albus, how much sanity do these resurrected Ancients have?"

"Watch your words when you are facing one of the Founders of Hogwarts, Gellert."

"Come on, you still need me to get into the Chamber of Secrets, don't you?" Grindelwald chuckled.

Dumbledore glanced at him, and finally could only shake his head helplessly.

Note 1: Paracelsus: An alchemical genius. His full name was Philippians Aurelius de Overlast Bombasz von Hohenheim, born in 1493. From the Chocolate Frog Card.