Old Friend (Thanks to Danqi for the Support! Much Appreciated)

"Oh, my heavens, look who's here?"

Nurmengard, deep within the tower.

The stone walls were icy cold, and only a narrow window let in pale gray daylight. Grindelwald sat in a battered chair, his white hair disheveled, yet his gaze remained sharp, like embers that still retained their heat after the fire had burned out. His robes no longer showed their original color, dull and gray, their cuffs worn into frayed edges, but he still sat upright, like an imprisoned king.

Dumbledore stood several steps away, his moonstone spectacles reflecting a faint gleam, his robes dusted with snow from outside.

"You finally came, Albus. I thought you would never set foot in this place again for the rest of your life." Grindelwald's voice was hoarse, but he bit out every word clearly.

Dumbledore was silent for a moment before speaking. "I didn't come to reminisce."

Grindelwald gave a faint smile and continued talking to himself. "Dumbledore, you're still the same, you old bastard!

"Did you come to flaunt your victory? You became the greatest wizard of the new age, and your—" He paused, those sharp eyes staring straight at Dumbledore. "And your reputation was built on top of mine."

He leaned forward slightly, and his chains rattled.

"Did you win?

"You won!

"The Statute of Secrecy still exists. The Dark Lord was defeated. He was locked in Nurmengard, in the prison he built with his own hands.

"There is no longer any greater good. But Dumbledore, you were the one who first spoke that slogan! You...

"Why did you retreat?"

Dumbledore's fingers twitched slightly.

"What are you afraid of? The order you wanted to protect has long since passed. You can't even maintain this much anymore. You forcibly suppress every conflict through your own power alone. That's why they call you—" Grindelwald sneered mockingly at Dumbledore as he spoke.

"The White Lord!"

Dumbledore's fingertips tightened slightly, proving that he was far from calm inside. His nails dug into his palm, but he did not speak.

Grindelwald did not give Dumbledore a chance to respond. He continued, "Because fundamentally, we are the same. We are both tyrants who force everyone to obey through our own power alone. You can't possibly be unaware of that, can you? They resist you, undermine you, obey you in public while defying you in private, because sweeter rewards lie that way. Hmph. Watching your former students become people you can no longer recognize—quite the challenge, isn't it? Quite the accomplishment, isn't it?"

He raised his head and looked directly into Dumbledore's eyes. Those mismatched pupils, those eyes that had once burned with ambition, now burned with something else—understanding, resonance, the pity one lonely person felt for another.

"Who still loves you now, Dumbledore?"

"Those whose lives were saved by you, those who won because of you, are all... using curses without magic, hoping you die sooner!"

His voice suddenly dropped, so low it was nearly inaudible.

"Only I love you."

The cell fell silent. Wind poured through the narrow window, making the hem of Dumbledore's robes sway gently.

"Only I love you!"

"Only I love you..."

"You won... You won..."

"But you... why didn't you come to see me..."

"Come see me..."

Dumbledore was silent for a moment. His lips moved, then closed again. Several seconds passed before his voice finally squeezed out of his throat, soft and faint. "But I... I need you now, Gellert."

Grindelwald froze for a moment, then abruptly lifted his head. A flicker of disbelief flashed through his eyes before he looked at Dumbledore mockingly and laughed.

"Are you joking, Albus? The great White Lord needs a loser?"

"I've also found you a perfect successor, Gellert."

Grindelwald's expression changed. The mocking, sharp look vanished, replaced by an almost greedy curiosity. His eyes lit up, like a hunter catching the scent of prey, or a scholar hearing an exciting new idea.

"You should have said so earlier, Dumbledore! We can discuss it." His expression changed, and his tone became much lighter, even carrying the eager impatience of a young man.

"I came here to give you a choice."

"A choice? Albus, you and I both know that saving the world is your business! That's what you're best at!" Grindelwald leaned forward, his chains clinking again. "Who is this successor you mentioned? Where is he?"

"At Hogwarts. I truly came here because I need someone who genuinely understands the Dark Arts, someone who can stand before the older students and teach them how to survive."

Grindelwald paused slightly, his brow furrowing. "What are you trying to say?"

"I want to invite you to become the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor for Hogwarts' upper-year students, Gellert."

The cell instantly fell silent, with only the howling wind remaining.

As though he had heard the greatest joke in the world, Grindelwald slowly rose to his feet. His shackles dragged across the floor with a piercing scrape, and his knees made faint cracking sounds—he had been sitting too long, and his joints had stiffened. He straightened, standing half a head taller than Dumbledore.

"Then let's have a proper talk about my successor's story..."

"Draco Draco Draco Draco!"

In the Great Hall at lunchtime, a crisp voice came from the entrance, drawing closer as it charged into the Slytherin table area like a tiny cannonball.

A young girl rushed to Draco's side and sat down directly, squeezing Goyle out of the way.

Goyle had been eating a fried chicken leg, his mouth greasy, and only realized what had happened after he landed flat on the floor. He blinked and looked up to see who was being so outrageous, only to find Astoria grinning at Malfoy.

Goyle got up and dusted off his backside, then squeezed in beside Crabbe and continued eating. The two sat shoulder to shoulder in a space that had originally only fit one person, burying their heads in their food. Crabbe was shoved slightly sideways but said nothing, since he was still holding a roast chicken and had no time to fuss over it.

Su Yu silently mourned for that bench for quite a while. How was the poor thing supposed to withstand those two brutes?

He then secretly tugged Daphne's sleeve, signaling for her to look toward Malfoy as well.

Daphne was elegantly cutting up the fried fish on the plate. It was actually Su Yu's fish, but she could not stand watching him swallow it in one bite, so she cut it into small pieces for him first. It was completely pointless, though—Su Yu would still scoop it all up and shove it into his mouth at once.

When Su Yu tugged her, she raised her eyes and glanced toward Malfoy, the corner of her mouth twitching slightly.

At that moment, Malfoy was looking at this little ancestor, Astoria, with a face full of misery.

His brows were knotted tightly, his lips turned downward as he shifted slightly to the side, as though he wanted to get farther away from her but had nowhere left to retreat.

"Why are you here again?" Malfoy kept his voice very low, low enough that only a few people nearby could hear.

Astoria did not care. She braced both hands on the table and leaned forward, her large blue eyes staring straight at Malfoy as she continued shouting at him, "Draco Draco Draco!"

Malfoy already sensed trouble. He shrank down slightly and lowered his voice further. "What is it, Astoria?"

"I missed you so much!"

Malfoy's face instantly turned red, starting from the base of his neck and spreading upward. His mouth opened as if he wanted to say something, but not a single word came out. Several seconds later, he finally forced out, "Y-you... what are you saying? That's not something a lady should say!"

Astoria tilted her head, her eyes sparkling innocently. "But I'm telling the truth! Did you miss me too, Draco?"

By then, Malfoy was so embarrassed that he began to stammer. "I... I... I didn't miss you!"

"But your mother said you love saying the opposite of what you mean! You must have missed me too!"

Malfoy's face was completely red. His mouth opened and closed, then closed and opened, like a fish thrown onto shore. The Slytherin students around them had begun to snicker. Some covered their mouths, while others lowered their heads, their shoulders shaking.

This conversation could not continue any longer. Malfoy abruptly stood up, shoving his chair back with a harsh screech. "I have things to do!" Throwing out those words, he turned and left. Red-faced and head lowered, he fled the Great Hall at the fastest speed of his life. His robe even caught on the doorframe, and he nearly went sprawling face-first.

Pansy immediately went crimson with rage beside them. Her face flushed red, her fists clenched with a creak. She looked in the direction Malfoy had disappeared, then turned to Crabbe and Goyle, who were still hunched over their chicken legs and had not noticed a thing.

Pansy knocked both Goyle and Crabbe on their thick heads. "Eat, eat, eat! All you know is eating! Your boss has already left, so what are you still eating for?"

Goyle and Crabbe lifted their confused little eyes and looked around, but their leader was nowhere to be seen. Crabbe still had half a piece of chicken in his mouth and mumbled that he could not find him, so they should eat first. Goyle nodded as well. The two looked at each other, then lowered their heads and continued eating.

Pansy rubbed her forehead speechlessly. She felt like she was about to become as much of a nagging mother as Daphne. Sighing, she picked up a goblet of pumpkin juice and took a gulp, then another.

Trying to ease the awkwardness, Theodore asked Astoria, "Can you still keep up with the new term? I can lend you my old notes. Potions is fairly difficult. It took me a long time to understand it back then."

Astoria turned to him and gave him a sweet smile. "You're the best, Theodore!"

Blaise joined in the teasing from beside them. Leaning against the table with a smirk, he looked delighted by the show. "Draco looked so cute just now. You should keep clinging to him like that, Astoria. You're the best!" With that, he burst into laughter, his laugh echoing down the Slytherin table.

Slytherin had certainly had plenty of excitement this year.

Seeing the furious Pansy and the speechless Daphne, Su Yu hurriedly put an arm around Daphne and comforted her. "She's just a little girl. You can't expect every girl to be as mature, beautiful, and generous as you. It's fine, it's fine. She's still young..."

But Daphne had reached her limit. She broke free from Su Yu's arms and grabbed Astoria by the ear. She moved so quickly that Su Yu did not even see how she had done it. Astoria yelped, and her whole body was lifted from the chair, her ear pinched bright red.

"Come back with your sister." Daphne's voice was not loud, but her tone allowed no argument.

Astoria covered her ear, muttering, "Ow, ow, ow," but she did not dare stop walking as Daphne dragged her toward the common room.

Su Yu was about to step in and see if he could rescue Astoria. His hand had stretched halfway out before he pulled it back.

The moment he saw Daphne's practiced ear-twisting posture, he was instantly rendered speechless.

Su Yu silently followed behind them. Kurama also fearfully retreated back into Su Yu's body.

You hit her, so you can't hit me again, okay?

Su Yu could feel that Kurama had curled into a ball inside the soul space as well, wrapping himself tightly in all nine tails, with only his eyes exposed.

Daphne walked in front with long strides while Astoria jogged behind her, still being tugged by the ear and constantly crying, "Sister, I was wrong!" "Sister, be gentler!" "Sister, I'll never do it again!" Daphne did not reply with a single word.

At that moment, Professor McGonagall, who had been about to enter through the Great Hall doors, stopped and asked, "Mr. Malfoy, why are you sneaking around and eavesdropping at the entrance? Why not just go in?"