Even the wisest could make a mistake, and one wrong step could lead to a lifetime of regret.
The corner of Zhang Xiao's mouth twitched. With a lineup like this, what was his job? Standing on the sidelines shouting, "Awesome"?
So he was decorative furniture plus some nameless cameraman?
The smile on Dumbledore's face grew brighter. Clearly, he had also remembered Zhang Xiao's earlier remark about being decorative furniture.
But teasing one's own student was hardly something a good headmaster should do, so Dumbledore reined in his smile and sat down at the long wooden table.
Touching his fingertips lightly together, he said calmly:
"Now, then-let us discuss in earnest how to breach Gringotts, the goblins' pride and joy."
Beside the long wooden table, Grindelwald let out a hoarse laugh.
"Al... Dumbledore, I know why you think I excel at this sort of thing. Is it because I once disguised myself as Graves, a senior Auror at the American Ministry of Magic, and fooled the entire world?"
Dumbledore nodded and said gently:
"That was indeed part of my reasoning, Gellert..."
Something flickered in Grindelwald's eyes. That form of address, reaching across fifty years, seemed to stir a great many memories at once.
He fell silent for a while, then drew a deep breath with difficulty, trying to bring a little more vigor to his withered body.
"If we want to steal something from a Gringotts vault, we must first learn what defenses protect the single-digit vaults.
"Only then can we find ways to counter them."
Dumbledore and Nicolas nodded in agreement. They had been thinking along the same lines.
Only Newt kept his head tilted, absently playing with his Niffler and Bowtruckle.
He traced circles in the air in front of his eye with one finger.
"Er-couldn't you-er, use your