Dumbledore and Grindelwald's Blood Pact

"Thank you for your trust, Newt," Dumbledore sighed and said softly.

"Then why don't you stop Grindelwald's scheme yourself? Whether it was ten years ago or this time." Xiwen gritted his teeth and finally asked the question that Newt hadn't answered before.

Upon hearing Xiwen's question, Dumbledore shook his head and chuckled softly.

"Actually, now that things have come to this, there's nothing I can't say." He rolled up the sleeve of his right arm a little and then raised his right hand.

Xiwen saw that Dumbledore's right wrist was wrapped with many silver metal chains. At the end of the chains hung a diamond-shaped silver pendant with a round gem in the center, emitting a faint light.

"Do you know what this is, Xiwen?" Dumbledore asked.

"I'm not quite sure," Xiwen honestly shook his head and replied. "This pendant looks like a magical artifact?"

"This is Blood Pact." Dumbledore gazed intently at the pendant in his hand, his expression exceptionally gentle.

"Blood Pact?" Xiwen didn't immediately realize what Blood Pact was.

"Blood Pact is a magical creation built from the blood of two people. Its existence ensures that the wizards who establish the Blood Pact cannot fight against each other," Flamel explained, noticing Xiwen's confusion.

"So, whose blood is included in this Blood Pact?" Xiwen asked, frowning.

"Coincidentally, Theseus asked the same question," Dumbledore chuckled.

"And who is Theseus?" Xiwen felt his mind was blank; he had no idea who this person Dumbledore was who had suddenly brought up.

"Theseus Scamander, my brother," Newt suddenly explained. "He's now the head of the Auror Office at the Ministry of Magic in England, and Dumbledore once explained the issue of Blood Pact to him."

Xiwen nodded, then asked again, somewhat anxiously, "So whose blood is it?"

He vaguely guessed the answer, and even the reason why Dumbledore didn't confront Grindelwald personally. But Xiwen still held onto a sliver of hope; he only hoped his guess was wrong.

"My blood, and Grindelwald's blood." Dumbledore's words shattered Xiwen's hopes. "That's why I can't stop Grindelwald myself."

Upon hearing Dumbledore's words, Xiwen's mind went completely blank.

"But why?" he asked.

"I never thought I'd have to say this again," Dumbledore said softly, rubbing his temples. "Yes, because of love, and also because of my past arrogance and naiveté."

Xiwen suddenly remembered Sandrine's warning. "Don't get too close to Dumbledore, the headmaster of Gryffindor. He had a close relationship with the Dark Lord Grindelwald when he was young. He's an untrustworthy dark wizard. Be careful not to be used by him!"

Sandrine's words seemed to confirm everything: Dumbledore's relationship with Grindelwald was not only close, but they trusted each other to the point of forming Blood Pact that would make their blood intertwine!

Sandrine's own predicament today was a result of Dumbledore's manipulation, and her fears had indeed come true.

Dumbledore didn't care what Xiwen was thinking. He simply kept looking at the pendant in his hand and said in an almost murmured voice, "I've tried to destroy it, but it senses every single thought I have. It's always ready to punish me for breaking the contract."

"Is there absolutely no way to crack it?" Xiwen asked.

"Perhaps, but I'm not entirely sure myself," Dumbledore said, slowly shaking his head. "I'll go see Grindelwald later, hoping to find some clues to lift the Blood Pact restrictions."

"You're going to meet Grindelwald?" Flamel and Newt exclaimed in surprise.

"Don't worry, don't forget that we have Blood Pact, and we can't fight each other," Dumbledore reassured them.

"Actually, it was Grindelwald who contacted me." Dumbledore pulled out a piece of paper, waved it at the group, and chuckled. "I never imagined that Grindelwald would get his hands on this letter addressed to Xiwen, and even use it as a way to contact me."

Xiwen pursed his lips, feeling that Dumbledore had deliberately given Grindelwald this letter.

A magical stationery capable of writing messages was presented to Dumbledore by Xiwen using his wand to tap the lower right corner. Grindelwald, however, discovered the stationery's true purpose, writing a lengthy message inviting Dumbledore to meet him; the exact content of the message remains unknown...

Dumbledore tidied himself up in front of the mirror before leaving the picture frame. He must have gone to see Grindelwald.

Xiwen, Newt, and the Flamel remained in the safe house. After this incident, no one had any intention of going out again.

With a few days left before the start of the school year, the Flamel stopped going out to see opera performances and were rather downcast. Xiwen, however, was quite the opposite; he was delighted to find he had an extra whole afternoon for studying!

For the next three days, Xiwen spent his mornings learning alchemical theory from Flamel, his afternoons learning the Weather Charm and the Undetectable Extension Charm from Newt, and his evenings racking his brains to devise a method for making the Sling Ring. It was an extremely busy time!

However, the forging of the Sling Ring has reached a bottleneck.

While in Kamar-Taj, Xiwen's focus was always on various advanced spells and methods to stabilize the soul. He never paid attention to the manufacturing principles of basic magical artifacts like the Sling Ring, so he could only deduce its structure and Ancient Runes circuits by working backward from alchemy and his feelings when he used the Sling Ring.

Xiwen is currently unsure whether the Ancient Runes in the Sling Ring are Ancient Runes, Sanskrit, or Seal Script. This leaves him feeling utterly lost!

On the morning of January 3, 1938, two days before Hogwarts opened.

Xiwen arrived at Flamel's studio.

"You want me to help you create an alchemical product that can remotely locate and control magic?" Flamel asked with great interest upon hearing Xiwen's question.

Xiwen nodded, mainly because tomorrow was the departure time for the Hogwarts Express. He had also promised Sandrine that he would come home for one night before school started, which meant he would be going home tonight.

If you add the dozen or so hours of driving from France to England, Xiwen will soon be leaving here and embarking on his journey home. So he can't help but be anxious!

Flamel looked at the anxious-looking Xiwen with some confusion, but still led him to another cabinet in the workshop.

Upon seeing the cabinet that Flamel had opened, Xiwen's eyes widened in surprise!