Chapter 681: Music of the Night
Neither Felix nor Professor McGonagall showed up for dinner, and they discussed the situation intensely in the office but were unable to reach a decision. The division magic Felix had learned from the North Pole is not without its flaws; he has only one Book of Runes, and that is the equivalent of his wand, which will allow him to use his battle powers to their full potential.
If Grindelwald is determined to make the news of Dumbledore’s death public, there is really very little they can do.
The original plan was based on the premise that ‘Dumbledore’ would fade from the public eye and only make occasional appearances in the future to prove that he is still alive. The entire wizarding community would slowly adjust to the fact that he had ‘retired’, and even if the wizarding community would be forced to go public in a few years or a decade, his name would serve as a significant deterrent.
All that is needed, after all, is a deterrent.
With Felix at the forefront to show his strength, Dumbledore, who became famous a hundred years earlier than he did, a man of great popularity and merit, and widely regarded as the greatest white wizard of all time, would become an unpredictable presence in the minds of ordinary people.
No one would want to provoke such an old man and force him into battle.
Moreover, the subtlety of the plan lies in the fact that even if some wizards had doubts, they would not have the guts to question them, much less dare to publicly ‘curse’ Dumbledore dead, even making assumptions about it would drown them in spittle: an old man who had dedicated most of his life to the wizarding world has the right to enjoy his later years without any need to take care of official business. Felix could also go along by having ‘Dumbledore’ show up and say a few words of advice in public, without affecting the bigger picture at all.
The benefits are considerable, the cost is near zero, and the only one who will suffer is Dumbledore himself.
It’s a pity Grindelwald jumped on board.
Felix isn’t arrogant enough to think he can rival Dumbledore in his mastery of Transfiguration, and if one second ‘Dumbledore’ appears and the next Grindelwald asks him to fight, it is highly possible that their actions will be punctured on the spot in full view of the public.
In the short term, all Felix could think of to do would be to make up the excuse that Dumbledore was injured and accept to fight in his place instead.
But the viciousness of Grindelwald’s scheme lies in the fact that even if they solve the immediate dilemma, it does not signify the end of the problem altogether, rather it is the initiation of a series of troubles – because even the most subtle of lies cannot withstand the repeated glances of scepticism.
A magic trick, when first seen, will be memorable and unforgettable. But if it is performed countless times, even if the trick is not detected for a while, the public will subconsciously accept the fact that it is ‘fake’, and the magician’s hard work will only attract more suspicion and critical looks, causing things to get completely out of hand.
“Felix, let’s each go back and think it over, and we’ll discuss it tomorrow.” Professor McGonagall said wearily, “I’ll send the students to bed first.” She left, and not a moment later the reluctant shouting of students who all wanted to know the truth was heard, but Professor McGonagall’s attitude was firm, stating that it was too late to discuss this today and that everything would have to wait until tomorrow.
She turned back to Felix and exchanged a complicated look, knowing that this couldn’t be kept from them for too long and a convincing statement had to be made. In the corner, Snape stood like a silent plant growing in the darkness, his face expressionless, and not far from him Sprout and Filius stood, Filius’ sharp voice stammering out something.
Felix was a little sad and a little tired of the fact that the magic he prided himself on was completely helpless in this kind of situation.
He couldn’t help but think of Dumbledore, how many times in his long life had he truly felt this sense of powerlessness?
As the castle grew quiet, Felix climbed up the grand staircase to the corridor where the Headmaster’s office is located, the Gargoyles did not block him as he pushed open the door to the Headmaster’s office.
This place remained pretty much the same as it had been when he first entered.
He could recall almost every detail of his interview.
The finely wrought silverware rustled comically on the slender-legged desk, emitting puffs of white smoke in the darkness; behind the beautiful brown Headmaster’s chair a personal collection of Dumbledore’s books lay silently on the compartment along with the Sorting Hat; the Pensieve lay hidden behind the black cupboard door; the Gryffindor sword encased in a clear glass cabinet; and the golden perch on the back side of the room was empty, where the Phoenix had originally been.
The portraits of the Headmaster on the wall had an extra golden frame, with Dumbledore sleeping quietly and peacefully.
Felix gazed at the portrait of Dumbledore.
“It will take him a while to wake up.” The old wizard with curly grey hair and short fringes whispered from the wall, “In order to be connected with the whole castle so that we can be around for a long time.”
Felix nodded at him and silently turned to leave the Headmaster’s office.
He suddenly thought of classroom seven, where there is a seventeen-year-old Dumbledore, and as he crossed the long corridor, he stopped abruptly, his thinking room released instantly, but it was stopped as if there is an invisible barrier in front of it.
Felix hadn’t been able to see the man’s face, and in fact, there is no need to, there is only one person in the world capable of doing that.
“Grindelwald,” he said pleasantly, “I’ve been expecting to meet you for a while, I didn’t think you’d show up at this current point in time, aren’t those acolytes afraid you’re trapped here.”
A figure cloaked in a black coat slowly stepped out of the shadows, a white rose pinned to his chest.
“They are not children and will not worry needlessly. And weren’t you expecting me, so here I am.” Grindelwald said with an expressionless face, looking out the window at the view directly over the forbidden forest, the moon glowing brightly. “It’s only been a few days, and you’ve changed the protective magic outside the school – Flitwick’s handiwork, I guess. Is it to guard against me? Too bad it didn’t work.”
“I don’t need to tell you to figure out the deeper meaning, which is that you are no longer welcome here.” Felix said.
“That makes me a little sad – apart from that cold, damp room, this is the place I’ve stayed the longest. Not even the houses in Privet Drive could get on the list, though I’ve been paying rent for it for a year … Where are you taking me?” Grindelwald asked with sudden interest.
As he spoke, the walls around them became blurred and seemed to mist over, and the landscape began to overlap as if they found themselves in both Hogwarts Castle and a very different place at the same time. The sound of the night wind whimpering and the wailing of crows came to their ears.
“A graveyard, it’s empty enough,” Felix said without moving, “for talking about things.”
Grindelwald tsked, “Talk about things? After we talk? I didn’t come here today to fight.” He tapped his wand against his withered hand and the castle regained its clarity. The two men’s eyes fell on the corridor windowsill, where silently an extra branch appeared as if out of thin air, and a team of ants crawled along it to the cold wall.
“If you prefer, it’s no different in here – I thought you’d find me first.” Felix said.
His heart sank. Grindelwald wasn’t weak enough to test any further, the school really isn’t a place to fight at full strength, and the charm in his wrist didn’t respond even a little bit when the two got this close.
“Oh, I did indeed consider doing that.” Grindelwald said with a smile on his face, rubbing his chin, “But then I changed my mind. Although I despise Babajide Akingbade, he is the one who stands at the top of the wizarding order, at least on the surface.”
“You value him for what he is?” Felix said sharply, “To use him for your own agenda?”
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Grindelwald’s eyes twinkled brightly.
“I could certainly come out publicly, but then why should I? His word is far more persuasive than mine, and no wizarding newspaper will refuse to print his statement when all I have to do is tell some truth – you know what, Felix? Akingbade is an orphan from the last wizard war, and he has every reason to hate me, but the truth is he compromised and agreed to negotiate with me, for a sense of false peace. I only recently found out about it.”
“Sounds a bit of a con, so you tricked him?” Felix was taken aback, Babajide couldn’t have believed his bullshit that easily, could he?
Grindelwald shook his head slightly and grinned menacingly. Felix waited for him to stop, and Grindelwald sighed.
“Do you think I can only convince people by deception? I made him an offer he could not refuse, a temptation so great that he lost the ability to think calmly – and without me wasting any more words, he convinced himself to act on my ideas.”
“I am very curious about that. Can you hint at it? Maybe I’ll have a chance to use it too.” Felix said indifferently.
Grindelwald sized him up for a moment, grinned, and made a wordless gesture.
Felix’s eyes widened.
“Unbreakable vow?” He lost his tone. The shock in his heart is immense. His eyes subconsciously glanced over to Grindelwald’s wrist, and he looked slightly stunned at the sight of his left hand turning charred and black before shifting his gaze to the one holding his wand.
“Of course, it hasn’t been signed yet,” Grindelwald glanced at him curiously, “the statement he made today is a prerequisite for the vow, but – well, I’ll go over to him after I talk to you, and maybe I’ll even run into that little female minister of yours too. A whole bunch of magic ministers and representatives as witnesses – I’m sure Akingbade will do that – and the vow will be incredibly restrictive and strong that way.”
Felix pursed his lips and glanced at him.
“Oh, I understand.” Grindelwald said slowly, “People like us are not used to leaving our fate in the hands of others, but it’s more convincing that way, don’t you think? For example, even if I tell you now, will you be able to stop this?”
“What vow are you going to make?” Felix spoke somewhat gruffly.
“It is probably something about not being able to kill people casually or actively start a wizard war.” Grindelwald said vaguely, acting carefree as if he thought this matter is of little concern.
Felix raised his eyebrows.
“You found a way to break the ‘Unbreakable Vow’?”
“…” Grindelwald was silent for a moment and asked curiously, “What makes you think so?”
Felix fell silent as well.
Is this line of thought incorrect?
Did Grindelwald really intend to take a vow? Is he out of his mind? An idea flashed through Felix’s mind, and he prodded tentatively, “Do you want Dumbledore to get a funeral worthy of him?”
Grindelwald immediately shrugged his nose like he had sniffed rotten meat with a look of disgust.
“You have reminded me,” he said maliciously, his smile hidden in the shadows, “where you have buried him? I can only say some things to his tombstone, don’t tell me he’s reclusive and hiding from everyone, I know everything – but it would be nice for him to be alive, I would like to see the look of regret on his face.”
There was a moment of silence. Felix raised his left hand and the emerald ring on it lit up, from which letters flew out and flapped in the air before him.
“What is this?” He asked carefully, and Felix seemed to sense a heartbeat coming from the opposite side, but Grindelwald’s eyes looked like a deep, dry well, overflowing with no emotion.
“If you still remained in Nurmengard at this moment, you could receive one of these every two or three months, which would last for about twenty years. But you won’t need it now.” Felix said, letting the letters fly like doves towards Grindelwald, who held out his hand, and they have instantly taken away by him.
There was another moment of silence. Felix suddenly asked, “By the way, if I go to classroom seven now, will I be able to meet a-”
“No need to say that!” Grindelwald barked flatly, his nails sinking into his flesh, but immediately he regained his composure as if the momentary lapse of composure had not just occurred. “Felix, there’s something lacking in you, you have a lot of shackles, so you can’t fight me freely or stop me. I can teach you a trick:” he said coldly, “you have to burn the hell out of it.”
Grindelwald disappeared.
Felix lapsed into contemplation and returned to his office with heavy feet, when he looked up he saw a huge dark figure leaning against the doorway.
“Hagrid? What are you doing here?”
Hagrid was startled awake. His face is wet with tears, his eyes are red, and he is clutching a large, dirty handkerchief unconsciously in his hand.
“I … I’ve been waiting for you, Felix.” Hagrid said, a little confused, then his eyes grew fearful, and his voice choked, “I read and saw in the newspapers that … Dumbledore … please tell me it’s not true.”
Felix hesitated, what is he going to say in reply, keep telling the lie all over again? The matter could not be hidden when Akingbade and Grindelwald rely on an unbreakable vow to form a strong link.
He stood on tiptoe and patted Hagrid’s shoulder.
Hagrid’s expression froze, and he suddenly let out a beastly howl, tears rolling down in great drops and seeping into his shaggy beard. He threw himself around Felix, who let out a muffled hum and put a humanoid shield charm on himself, the charm wavered at first; he then cast a Muffliato Charm to avoid Hagrid waking the whole castle.
When Hagrid was tired of crying, Felix looked as if he had been fished out of the water. He took Hagrid to his office and put him to sleep on the sofa. The following morning, Valen and Felix, who had been sleepless all night due to the deafening snores, left the office and found Professor McGonagall to tell her what had happened last night.
Professor McGonagall was shocked to hear that.
But it didn’t take long for Ms Bones to deliver the news that it was all true. Just last night, hundreds of Aurors stood at attention, and the Ministers of Magic from over ten countries were present to witness the signing of the vow between Akingbade and Grindelwald.
The following morning, Professor McGonagall sadly (and relieved) announced the news of Dumbledore’s death to the entire student body and faculty.
The students were overwhelmed and drowned with great sadness as Professor McGonagall hastily announced Headmaster Dumbledore’s last wishes and then hardened her heart to prepare Dumbledore’s funeral, as it was no longer a secret, she wanted to honour Dumbledore’s memory by having them attend the funeral before the students left for the holidays.
Hogsmeade was flooded with wizards from all over the world almost in the blink of an eye, people who had actually heard the news previously announced to the public by Akingbade in advance arrived for the final farewell to Dumbledore’s body.
That night the rain poured down and the lightning thundered.
Everyone’s hearts were heavy and seemed wet with rain. The next day, the skies cleared and the gates of Hogwarts opened wide as men and women wizards poured into the school from all over the world. Felix’s eyes darted through the crowd, looking for someone, he knew Grindelwald would surely show up.
All of Grindelwald’s plans would be revealed today.
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