"Gellert," Dumbledore said quietly, his voice grave, "I don't think you should be telling Will these things."
"Al, we're only talking."
"How could you tell him about the Saints and—"
"Al, let the boy choose for himself, all right?" Grindelwald's tone remained mild. Will even detected a hint of shamelessness in it—after all, there really wasn't anything Dumbledore could do to Grindelwald now.
Then Dumbledore and Grindelwald both stared at Will...
Anyone else might have burst into tears from sheer fright.
But Will leaned back in his chair and looked at Grindelwald across from him, feeling neither nervous nor intimidated.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Grindelwald," Will said calmly, as though he had decided on his answer long ago. "That isn't where my ambitions lie."
Grindelwald studied Will with his mismatched eyes, seemingly a little surprised by his decisiveness.
"What I want to pursue is magic," Will said.
"Magic?" Grindelwald narrowed his eyes, repeating the word as though savoring something.
"Magic." Will nodded, a fire seeming to burn in his silver-gray eyes. "What I want isn't to shape an era, but to pursue magic.
"What I want is to understand the rules of the world, explore the limits of magic, and pursue its ultimate heights.
"I've spoken to Professor Dumbledore about this before. I don't want to change the times or drive social reform. That should come from more people awakening and making their own choices. Let the majority of wizards decide such things for themselves."
Grindelwald stared at him for a long time, his expression shifting. Then he laughed, his voice a little hoarse. "Hahaha—"
After laughing for a while, he turned to Dumbledore, a certain light flickering in his mismatched eyes.
"Albus," he said, his voice still tinged with amusement, "you said he was like me, but I think he's