Dumbledore and the Dark Lord's Story

"You know his name now."

Dumbledore looked somewhat desolate as he said this.

Realizing that Dumbledore had been affected by the conflict between them, Roy did not want to hurt the old man before him, who had always been kind to him.

Roy softened his attitude somewhat, with an almost imperceptible apology in his tone.

"It wasn't difficult. What you told me during the summer gave me a rough area to search."

"You really are cleverer than every child I've ever met." There was a trace of comfort in Dumbledore's voice. This old man of over one hundred and ten still believed in Roy.

"You were much like Grindelwald and Tom when they were young." Dumbledore seemed to have fallen into memory. Having lived for more than one hundred and ten years and led the wizarding world through two wars, people often focused only on the boundless power of the strongest wizard of his time, forgetting the experience and wisdom that had won him both wars.

"But you are also so different, Roy. You are far kinder than they were, and far wiser."

Dumbledore stood up, took down a silver basin from a nearby shelf, then drew his wand and released several wisps of smoke into it. The basin immediately began billowing with smoke.

"This is a Pensieve. I have placed some of my memories inside it. I don't mind letting you see the failed life of a mad old man."

Under Dumbledore's guidance, Roy lowered his head into the smoke continuously pouring from the basin. The icy mist dragged his entire body downward until he finally found himself standing in a sunlit meadow.

Before him stood an unadorned house. Before Roy could react, Dumbledore suddenly appeared at his side.

"This was the ancestral home of the Dumbledore family. From that day onward, no one ever lived in this house again. Aberforth later stayed at the Hog's Head, while I lived at Hogwarts from then on. Perhaps neither of us could bear the memories this house contained."

Roy saw two red-haired young men with similar features rush out of the house. The taller Albus grabbed his younger brother Aberforth, and the two erupted into a fierce argument.

"How could you leave Ariana home alone?! I knew all you ever thought about was fooling around with that blond bastard!" Aberforth's fury was beyond words.

Albus Dumbledore did not argue back. He only kept begging for forgiveness. Then the arrival of a blond young man made the conflict even sharper.

"That was Gellert Grindelwald when he was young. You look a great deal like he did at that age," Dumbledore introduced the man to Roy.

To be honest, Roy thought Grindelwald was still a little more handsome than himself.

Roy watched as the young Grindelwald rushed out and argued with Aberforth, accusing him and their shared sister Ariana of being burdens holding Albus back from the truly great revolution of the wizarding world.

The conflict intensified because of Grindelwald's interference. For some reason, the memories that followed had no sound. Roy could only see all three of them draw their wands and attack one another as though performing a pantomime.

In the end, a spell struck the young red-haired girl beside them without missing, and a tremendous magical surge erupted from her body before she collapsed to the ground.

After Ariana fell, all three of them stopped. The sound of the memory returned at that moment. Seeing that things had gone wrong, Grindelwald's face turned exceedingly ugly, and he Apparated directly away from the meadow.

The world froze at that instant. The elderly Dumbledore beside Roy seemed to show no reaction to the scene, yet his refusal to look at the girl lying on the grass revealed his true feelings.

As though confessing, Dumbledore stared at his younger self and began speaking to Roy beside him.

"Ariana was my sister. She was abused by Muggles when she was young, which caused an Obscurus to grow inside her."

Roy knew that an Obscurus was a kind of Dark Magic that grew within mentally unstable young wizards. Obscurials generally did not live past the age of ten.

Usually talkative, Roy said nothing now and simply listened quietly to Dumbledore.

"Later, my father sought revenge on those Muggles. In the end, he was sent to Azkaban for abusing Muggles. My mother did not want outsiders to know of our family's disgrace, so she forbade Ariana from attending school and kept her locked in the attic. In the end, the suppressed Obscurus erupted, and the Dark Magic killed my mother on the spot."

"My family was destroyed by Muggles. Both my parents were dead, and my sister had an incurable illness. At the time, this made me hate Muggles intensely. Grindelwald believed wizards should live openly in the sunlight and become the masters of Muggles. I was drawn to the charismatic and extraordinarily gifted Gellert of that time, but I had to remain home to care for Ariana. It made me feel shackled, and he was deeply dissatisfied as well."

Roy had already seen the rest of the story. Ambition had utterly destroyed Dumbledore's already shattered family.

"My hatred for Muggles prevented me from seeing what kind of person Gellert truly was. I think it was only after that day that I realized I did not love him."

The surrounding scene began to distort, then dissipated like smoke. After a wave of dizziness, Roy pulled his head out of the Pensieve and returned to the Headmaster's Office in the real world.

Dumbledore pondered for a moment, then finally sighed and spoke earnestly.

"When all was said and done, perhaps what worried me more was that you might become too much like me. Now you know that I am not as upright and kind as the world believes. Ariana was merely the first victim of my sins."

Dumbledore closed his eyes and repented for his actions.

"My hatred for Muggles kept me from seeing my true enemy. I hope you will not harbor such great hostility toward your Slytherin classmates either. After all, they are not your true enemies."

"Who else could it be?" Roy did not know who else could be his true enemy. It seemed that everyone with a grudge against him was from Slytherin—Aisling, Elliott, those two useless fifth-years, and, right, Snape.

Damn Snape. He really has no teacher's ethics at all. Thinking of Snape, Roy cursed under his breath.

Dumbledore shook his head and spoke that name to Roy with a grave expression.

"Voldemort, or rather, Tom Riddle. I know he will return someday. He is the common enemy of us all."

Roy clearly had many things he wanted to say, but Dumbledore gave him no chance. He took a book from his desk and handed it to Roy.

"I know you have many questions and much to say, but it is already very late. I think we should talk again next time."

Roy accepted the book Dumbledore handed him, and Dumbledore explained.

"This is a book about Ancient Magic. Unfortunately, I do not know Ancient Magic, so I cannot help you with the Hogwarts Vault. One of my seniors left this book behind many years ago. Only someone who knows Ancient Magic can understand it, so you must rely on yourself."

Roy had not expected Dumbledore to know he was searching for traces of Ancient Magic. It was like being handed a pillow just as he was getting sleepy. The moment he received the book, Roy's expression changed, and he thanked Dumbledore with delight.

"You're too kind, Professor! Don't worry. Once I master Ancient Magic, even if Voldemort comes back, I'll jump-kick him to death."

Seeing Roy change his face the instant he got something, Dumbledore could not help but laugh as he reminded him.

"Since you have taken my book, you are not allowed to fight with Slytherin students again. Understood?"

"Understood, Professor. By the way, your Dumbledore family's ancestral home has been empty all these years, and neither you nor your brother has children. Given our relationship, do you think there's any chance I could..."

Before Roy could finish, Dumbledore threw him out.

After Roy left, Dumbledore sat at his desk with a smile, shaking his head.

"This child really is... fond of money..."

A house-elf appeared out of thin air in the Headmaster's Office and respectfully bowed to Dumbledore.

"Honored Mr. Dumbledore, what may I do for you?"

Dumbledore spoke gently to the elf.

"Sorry for the trouble, but please notify Miss Grindelwald of Slytherin's first year to come to the Headmaster's Office. I would like to speak with her."