Dumbledore and Grindelwald (Part 2)

Nurmengard was the castle Shen Fei had seen earlier, also the prison holding Grindelwald. It had been built during Grindelwald's era of upheaval and served as a gathering place for his faction at the time.

In this regard, Grindelwald was far ahead of Voldemort. Voldemort didn't even have his own stronghold; when the Death Eaters held meetings, they had to borrow the Malfoy family's manor.

"Am I lucky or unlucky?" Shen Fei muttered inwardly as Grindelwald and Dumbledore went upstairs, seemingly to discuss something.

Although Dumbledore wasn't in front of him at the moment, Shen Fei had no intention of fleeing. Nurmengard was surrounded by barrier protections, and without spatial teleportation, he couldn't outrun Dumbledore.

As for his own safety, Shen Fei wasn't too worried. Dumbledore generally didn't kill people casually. What he feared most was the Memory Charm.

Before long, Dumbledore and Grindelwald came down from upstairs. They then stood on opposite sides, forming a triangle with Shen Fei on the other end.

"Can you explain your origins?" Grindelwald asked first.

"I'm an Easterner. There was an error in my spatial teleportation," Shen Fei said, reciting the story he'd prepared. That he came from another world was something he absolutely couldn't reveal—at least not now. With his Eastern features, pretending to be Chinese wasn't impossible, but it wouldn't hold up under scrutiny. Claiming to be an Easterner, however, was different.

The Wizarding World had very little external contact. Hogwarts, though world-renowned, was just one magical school in England. There was no way they could know everyone in the Eastern magical world.

If anyone else had lied in front of Dumbledore, who excelled at Legilimency, the falsehood would have been exposed immediately. But Shen Fei wasn't afraid of his Legilimency. Kamar-Taj's magical system was highly effective at countering such abilities.

"You should know that wizards are not permitted to casually use Muggle objects," Dumbledore said.

"I know. But I think this rule is utterly unreasonable. Perhaps it was fine a hundred years ago, but now? The ultimate result of this rule will be the destruction of the Wizarding World."

Shen Fei knew what the disagreement between Dumbledore and Grindelwald was. All he had to do was play to their interests. No matter what, he absolutely couldn't let Dumbledore use a Memory Charm on him. If that happened, he might end up living out his days as an ordinary person in this world.

Theoretically, with his current strength, an ordinary Memory Charm wouldn't affect him. Even if it worked temporarily, he'd recover his memories quickly. But Dumbledore was a different matter.

"I think you should realize that the Wizarding World's living space is shrinking. As technology advances, the likelihood of exposure grows. Only by understanding Muggle objects can we better protect the Wizarding World."

Shen Fei's words made Grindelwald nod approvingly.

"This would provoke war between the Wizarding World and Muggles," Dumbledore said, disagreeing with what Grindelwald agreed to. This had been their point of contention back then.

"Hasn't that war already broken out once? Last time, both sides got through it safely. But if it happens again, we might not be so lucky."

Before Dumbledore could respond, Shen Fei continued, "Don't tell me you've been trying to avoid this war. What the Wizarding World is doing now is nothing but escape. It's been hiding for a thousand years. How much longer can it hide? A hundred years? Two hundred? One day, the Wizarding World will no longer be concealed, and then war will begin."

"You're less perceptive than a child. If you and I had joined forces back then, we could have changed all this," Grindelwald said, somewhat agitated.

"That would have killed many people. Too many had already died back then."

"That's still better than the complete extinction of the Wizarding World."

After that, Dumbledore and Grindelwald both fell silent. Both were top figures in the Wizarding World, and their convictions wouldn't be easily shaken. That was precisely why they had dueled all those years ago.

"I believe things will get better in the future," Dumbledore said after a long pause, raising his wand again.

"Better? What a ridiculous notion. You said that to me back then. Now tell me, what has actually changed?" Grindelwald stepped between Shen Fei and Dumbledore as Shen Fei retreated a few paces.

"After all these years, the only thing that's changed is the Muggles' weapons."

"The Wizarding World refuses to engage with the Muggle world, yet hopes for friendly exchange in the future. Don't you find that absurd? If you truly want change, you should gradually reveal the Wizarding World to Muggles, let them know about it, instead of using Memory Charms at every turn."

"When East and West first made contact, what was the catalyst? War. Many died back then, but now both sides can communicate as equals. If Muggles don't know about the Wizarding World, how can there be any exchange?"

Shen Fei's words left Dumbledore hesitant. In terms of magical knowledge, Dumbledore could outclass Shen Fei by dozens of leagues. But when it came to certain concepts, Shen Fei could outclass Dumbledore by just as many.

His readings of Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Lecture Room, the Hundred Schools of Thought, and The Book of Lord Shang hadn't been for nothing—even if he'd originally learned all that because of Qin's Moon.

These were just grand principles. In Shen Fei's previous life, few would have paid them any mind. But in this world, they were fresh ideas.

Both Grindelwald and Dumbledore wanted to change the Wizarding World's status quo. As two of the few with supreme wisdom in the Wizarding World, they saw further than ordinary people.

Most wizards believed that Muggles could never harm them—that it was pure paranoia. They were content with their superiority over ordinary people. Even the International Confederation of Wizards had laws protecting Muggles, but the very terminology revealed their sense of superiority. They called ordinary people "Muggles," and even the laws bore that label.

They had completely forgotten the wars between wizards and Muggles in the Middle Ages, as well as the First and Second World Wars.

In this world, both World Wars had originated from the Wizarding World.

But due to their personalities, Grindelwald was a radical. He wanted the Wizarding World to seize control of the entire world, so exposure wouldn't matter.

Unfortunately, Dumbledore was an idealist. As their personality conflicts grew, the lovers became direct opponents.

For the two most powerful wizards in the world to both be homosexual—such a coincidence was once in a century, even a millennium. Yet they met. The odds of that could only be called fate's cruel joke.

Compared to Grindelwald, the Dark Lord, Voldemort was nothing more than a powerful terrorist.

"Wait, I think you've misunderstood me," Shen Fei said hastily as Dumbledore prepared to act. "My solution to the Wizarding World's problem with Muggles is different from what you're thinking."