Nurmengard

After Snape left, Dumbledore stood alone in Hogwarts' Headmaster's Office, staring blankly at the letter Newt Scamander had sent him. He seemed lost in thought.

Only after a long while did Dumbledore seem to reach a decision. He rose and walked to the other side of the office.

There, Fawkes, Dumbledore's own phoenix, was dozing. Sensing Dumbledore's arrival, Fawkes opened his eyes and nestled gently against him.

"Fawkes, thanks for the effort!"

Dumbledore stroked Fawkes and spoke softly.

Fawkes let out a loud cry. With a pop, the man and bird vanished from the Headmaster's Office at Hogwarts.

In a remote, snow-covered place in central Europe, a tower stood tall amid the endless white. Dumbledore and Fawkes appeared there in an instant.

Dumbledore stood before the tower and looked at the words carved above its entrance: "For the Greater Good." After a moment's silence, he walked alone into the tower known as Nurmengard.

Dumbledore climbed the steps alone until he reached the highest point of Nurmengard. In a spacious room, a ragged old man with a deeply wrinkled face sat quietly by himself.

Looking at the old man before him, it was hard to imagine that, if he ever left the tower, few people would recognize him as Gellert Grindelwald, the First Dark Lord who had swept across Europe and America decades ago and struck such fear into the Ministry of Magic in country after country.

Seeing the man who had been entangled with him for most of his life in this state, Dumbledore found himself at a loss for words.

"Albus, it's been a long time since you last visited. What's wrong? You come here and then say nothing. Did you just want to see whether I'm still here—or whether I'm dead?"

Gellert Grindelwald sat on the floor and spoke without turning around.

Dumbledore stepped into the spacious room and casually conjured a ball of fire.

"Albus, looks like you've grown accustomed to living in comfort. You can't even stand this little cold? The Wizarding World is in poor hands if people like you are in charge."

Dumbledore didn't show any anger at Grindelwald's taunt. Instead, he retorted as if speaking to an old friend he hadn't seen in years:

"I was worried your eyesight had gone, and you wouldn't be able to read the letter!"

Then Dumbledore took the letter Newt Scamander had sent him from his robes and handed it to Grindelwald.

Grindelwald took the letter with a puzzled look and began to read.

He had barely read the opening when he couldn't help but sneer.

"Looks like this is from that boy who's always wandering around with an entire zoo in tow. I didn't expect you two would still be in touch after all these years!"

But as Grindelwald read on, his expression gradually darkened. At last, he tossed the letter back to Dumbledore.

Grindelwald finally stood and looked Dumbledore in the eye. His eyes were utterly unlike the rest of his appearance—captivating, deep, and bright even in the gloom of Nurmengard Tower.

"So you came all this way at that boy's request, just to see whether I'd broken our agreement and left Nurmengard? Dumbledore, looks like enough time has passed for you to forget what kind of man I am!"

"Staying in Nurmengard was my own choice! Don't forget, Dumbledore: you didn't beat me back then. I, Grindelwald, simply didn't want to play anymore!"

Looking at the man who had once been both his enemy and his friend—closer to him than a brother—Dumbledore spoke gently.

"Gellert, I've never doubted you. Of course I know you wouldn't break our agreement. There's another reason this happened, and I know what it is."

At Dumbledore's reply, Grindelwald's expression gradually eased. Then he asked, puzzled:

"Looks like something's happened out there?"

Dumbledore slowly nodded and said:

"This year, among Hogwarts' new students, there's a young man named Wentworth Grindelwald!"

"That's impossible!"

Gellert cried out.

"You know that, just as the Dumbledore family is born with the ability to receive help from phoenixes, the Grindelwald family is born with the gift of prophecy. According to my prophecy, there shouldn't have been any more wizards in the Grindelwald Family after me!"

Dumbledore replied matter-of-factly:

"His magical talent did appear rather unexpectedly, but there's no doubt that he has it."

"After he enrolled, signs of Acolyte activity began appearing all over the world. There was even a wizard at my Hogwarts who was suspected of being an Acolyte."

Gellert suddenly interrupted him, frowning as he asked:

"Dumbledore, are you sure that boy has Grindelwald blood?"

Dumbledore nodded firmly.

"Of course, Gellert. I know what you're worried about. You're afraid someone is impersonating the Grindelwald heir to deceive your followers, exploiting their loyalty to you for some hidden purpose."

Gellert nodded and said slowly:

"Since you know that, you must have verified it already."

"Of course. The Acceptance Quill and the Book of Admittance can't be wrong. Besides, that boy looks almost exactly like you did when you were young!"

"Before term even began, he made sure the entire new student body remembered his name. On the first day of term, he became the lucky charm of all Hufflepuff House. On the second day, he demonstrated a special way of handling ingredients that even my Potions Class teacher was amazed by."

"Gellert, he has Grindelwald blood. There's no doubt about it! And even the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher I just hired seems to be one of your followers, here at Hogwarts to protect him in secret. You know your followers—they're not easy to deceive!"

After hearing Dumbledore's explanation, Gellert slowly nodded. He fell silent for a long while before sighing.

"That's good. It's all good. By the way, my brother must be gone by now, right? What about Wentworth's parents? If possible, have them leave Europe for Asia or Africa. Either will do."

"I once thought that after me, the Grindelwald Family would have no more ties to the Wizarding World. But now that Wentworth has returned to it, my old adversaries are sure to catch wind of it and make their move. His parents are ordinary people. It's best to send them away first."

Dumbledore fell silent for a moment before slowly replying:

"According to the new students' enrollment records, Wentworth is an orphan. His parents died in a car accident long ago..."