The meeting had dragged on for a long time, with many plans to lay out. Since Su Er had left the Ellison family home that morning, it had already grown close to dusk.
Even as momentous changes unfolded in the world, the setting sun remained the same, its light streaming resolutely through the windows and falling across the backs of those facing away from it, casting long shadows over the table and floor.
Everything Dumbledore said pointed to one fact-
The war had begun.
Throughout the meeting, Dumbledore never mentioned Su Er once. People kept receiving assignments and hurrying away, while others whom Su Er had never met, or had only seen once or twice, kept arriving.
From beginning to end, Su Er remained silent, listening to every word of Dumbledore's plans. A chessboard quietly took shape before his eyes. This was a grand game.
Yet Su Er felt that Dumbledore was not the one moving the pieces. Rather, he seemed more like a sword-wielding vanguard, and each arrangement he made sounded like he was leaving instructions-
Instructions for what? Su Er could not say.
At last, the crowded dining room emptied out. Hagrid left too, tasked with contacting his beloved, Olympe.
"Oh, finally, we've reached the end." Dumbledore looked at Su Er and said softly, "I think I know why you came here so suddenly."
"I've already found the answer I wanted, Professor Dumbledore, but there's still someone I need to ask about-" Su Er looked into the blue eyes behind Dumbledore's half-moon spectacles.
"Amelia, correct?" Dumbledore interrupted Su Er. "She was injured."
Su Er was startled.
"But fortunately, she was still a long way from death. She simply cannot meet with you for the time being, Su Er. She told me you once sent her a letter warning