Twenty-Six Years

In this life, he only wanted to protect the people he was meant to protect. Whether Acolytes or Death Eaters, he wanted nothing to do with either.

Even if he had sided with her for the time being, it was only because Anna was now capable of protecting Lily and sheltering the Prince family.

That was right. They were only using each other.

Even if, as the magic mirror had shown, she would not exist in the future...

At that thought, Snape stopped, clenched his fist, and slammed it into the wall beside him!

When he returned to the Slytherin Common Room, a group of students gathered around the sofa immediately stood up and asked him about Anna.

"His Excellency just came to see her. She should be all right now, but she still needs to rest in the Hospital Wing for two more days.

"If you want to visit her, it would be best to go tomorrow."

Since they all knew Anna was Grindelwald's daughter, there was no harm in telling them. It would also strengthen her position in their eyes.

After answering mechanically, Snape turned and went back to his dormitory.

His Excellency?

Riley and the others looked at one another, their faces full of disbelief.

Gellert Grindelwald had come to Hogwarts???

Although they had heard the news from Snape, none of them dared sneak into the Hospital Wing to find out more.

Judging by his final warning, His Excellency was still in the Hospital Wing, and none of them was about to ask for trouble.

After all, the person they wanted to follow was Anna, not the Grindelwald of the past. Every one of them was perfectly clear on that.

Meanwhile, in the Hogwarts Hospital Wing, Grindelwald sat beside Anna while Dumbledore expressed his apologies.

"I'm very sorry, Anna. I shouldn't have said such things."

The white-haired old man looked a little tired. Bringing Grindelwald to Hogwarts with him had, in fact, put him under considerable pressure.

"No, Headmaster Dumbledore, what you said was right. An alchemical body is forbidden Dark Magic to begin with.

"The reason the magic inside me ran wild was just as Father said: I was thinking too much.

"I'm sorry for making you worry."

Anna shook her head from where she sat on the bed, with no intention of blaming the headmaster. This was a psychological problem she had buried deep inside for a long time.

It was fortunate that it had erupted in front of Dumbledore. Had it happened elsewhere, probably no one could have suppressed the outburst so quickly with such powerful magic, and it might have caused serious harm to the people around her.

"By the way, Father, how did you get out of Nurmengard?"

To divert the two men's attention from her, Anna brought up the matter again.

"Albus brought me out, all because of you, little one."

Grindelwald had been caught a little off guard by it himself.

Without any warning, the man he thought about day and night, whom he could only glimpse in the Daily Prophet, had suddenly appeared in Nurmengard that afternoon. He was still shaken, all right!

"Oh, but Father, I'm fine now, and I'm a little sleepy. Why don't you two go talk in the Headmaster's Office?"

The girl on the bed wrapped the blanket around herself and gave a small yawn. She looked drowsy and did not seem to be lying.

The two men standing beside the bed exchanged a glance, then quickly looked away.

"Then go to sleep. If this happens again, I might not be able to get brought out to see you like I was today. Take care of yourself and stop letting your thoughts run wild all day.

"If something comes up, discuss it with the Acolytes. Don't shoulder too much yourself.

"I'm leaving."

With that, he strode out of the room without hesitation. Dumbledore offered Anna a few words of comfort, telling her in essence to rest well for the next two days and not worry about classes for the time being. Getting better was the most important thing.

Only then did the old man and the young girl wish each other good night. After the headmaster had also left the Hospital Wing, Anna, who had closed her eyes, immediately threw off the blanket and sat up. She took the slightly warm Two-Way Mirror out of her storage ring. The other end of the mirror was already open, but its surface was pitch-black, and she could only hear voices.

"Gellert, I think we should have a proper talk."

Dumbledore's voice came from the mirror, and Anna's eyes lit up.

Just as she had thought, her old father had deliberately mentioned the Acolytes. Having finally been brought out, with such a rare chance for the two of them to spend time alone, Grindelwald would certainly use the opportunity not only to catch up but also to sound out Dumbledore's opinion of the new Acolytes for his daughter.

Ah, and if I can get some juicy gossip while I'm at it, even better.

Anna thought to herself.

"Would you like to take a walk by the lake with me?"

The Headmaster's Office at Hogwarts was clearly not a good place to chat. After all, portraits of the former headmasters hung on the walls, and it would be troublesome if word of Grindelwald's whereabouts got out.

"Of course. I can never refuse a request from you, Albus."

Ew~

Anna thought her old father sounded a little flirtatious. Had he forgotten the Two-Way Mirror was still on?

Dumbledore did not respond to the remark. The two men walked out of the castle, one after the other. It was almost time for the students' curfew, and apart from the teachers patrolling the castle, there was hardly anyone else in sight.

During the day, the shore of the Black Lake was always full of students laughing and playing. At night, apart from the occasional chirp of an insect, there was no other sound, and it was utterly peaceful.

The full moon was still a few days away, but tonight's moonlight was already bright enough to illuminate the ground. The trimmed, soft grass looked as though it had been covered in a thin layer of silver frost. The silver moon reflected in the Black Lake swayed gently in the breeze, its light breaking into fragments.

"How many years has it been since we last saw each other, Gellert?"

After a moment of silence, Dumbledore spoke.

"Only twenty-six years."

While serving his sentence, Grindelwald had always felt that time passed especially slowly. After Anna was born, he had felt that there was not quite enough time.

Only when Dumbledore said those words did it suddenly strike him that so many years had passed since that duel.

It had only been twenty-six years. When Dumbledore suddenly appeared before him today, Grindelwald had realized that those twenty-six years had passed in the blink of an eye.

"Why...

"Was Anna born because of your obsession, Gellert?"

Dumbledore had originally wanted to ask why he had created an alchemical puppet, but remembering the child's tear-streaked face today, he unconsciously changed the question.

"At first, I did have that thought.

"But the moment she opened her eyes for the first time, I realized that Anna was a real person. She should not be my obsession. She has a life of her own."

The two stopped walking and stood side by side at the lakeshore.

Their youth had been colorful and passionate, their middle years marked by forced enmity. All this time, moments when they could talk so calmly had been rare.

"But she has now taken over the Acolyte forces you left behind, Gellert. She's only eleven!

"Do you want her to end up like you, shut away in Nurmengard for the rest of her life?"

Remembering the scene at the Slytherin table yesterday, the old man demanded sharply.