A Professor of Magic at Hogwarts

Later that evening, Felix emerged from the infirmary, having obtained the information he was seeking.

His speculation was correct.

Grindelwald's magical powers were nearly completely suppressed, akin to being an unmagical Squib. After decades of confinement, his physical condition had deteriorated drastically, with Madame Pomfrey providing him with gentle nourishing potions.

Suddenly, a thought occurred to Felix: perhaps the blood pact between Dumbledore and Grindelwald had been broken — otherwise, they wouldn't have been able to duel — but there might exist another unknown magical contract between them.

The evidence lay in Dumbledore's words on the day he learned of Grindelwald's disappearance from Nurmengard:

"... he carries powerful enchantments of restraint, I can assure you those limitations are still in place, making it difficult for him to perform advanced magic... whatever he wishes to do, these conditions objectively set a barrier for him."

Why was Dumbledore so certain the enchantments hadn't been lifted? The only answer Felix could think of was that Dumbledore had been involved (or even led) in the International Confederation of Wizards' plan to confine Grindelwald after their duel.

As the sky darkened, Felix descended the spiral staircase, traversing the entrance hall.

To his mild surprise, there were already two familiar silhouettes on the grounds outside the castle, bathed in the golden hues of twilight. Squinting, Felix noticed that the edges of their figures seemed to refract iridescent rays.

"...There's plenty of time ahead, Miss Granger. You have all the time in the world to find your path. I believe — mastering magic and understanding oneself go hand in hand; it's about following your heart, where the treasure lies, so does the heart... don't forget, we are Gryffindors."

Hermione kept her head low, silent for a moment.

"Headmaster Dumbledore? Miss Granger?" Felix interjected.

Hermione startled, jerking back a few steps with a gasp.

"I-I'm sorry, I have something to attend to, I'll be going now." Without looking back, she hurried away.

Felix looked puzzled.

"What's wrong with her?"

"Miss Granger is a bit uncertain about her future path, it's a privilege of youth." Dumbledore smiled faintly. "She trusts me a lot and is willing to confide in me."

"Oh," Felix turned to gaze at the quiet entrance hall, murmuring with amazement, "I thought she had already set her goals early on. Amelia has high expectations for her, and she's been shown a lot of classified information."

Dumbledore blinked, saying nothing. His deep blue eyes reflected the last rays of twilight, and his long silver beard seemed to glow. As the golden edge on the edge of the Forbidden Forest vanished, the night enveloped the land, but soon, some scattered lights appeared.

"Albus," Felix broke the silence, choosing his words carefully, "I heard a term from Harry today, blood pact..."

"Ah, I've considered it, he may indeed seek your help." Dumbledore said calmly. "When I decided to speak about it, I no longer felt it could be kept secret. I also agreed to let Harry draw wisdom from others, just as Miss Granger sought advice from me."

"But that's a blood pact," Felix murmured.

A completely different meaning. This at least indicated that at some point in Dumbledore and Grindelwald's lives, they were willing to entrust a part of their fate entirely to each other.

"Yes, two clever, reckless teenagers made rash vows when they were closest." Dumbledore said, with a hint of resignation in his tone. "We were smarter than most, much smarter, so we were more reckless, believing unwaveringly in our ability to accomplish what our predecessors couldn't... But I must say, cleverness doesn't equate to wisdom, and certainly not a substitute for experience; we were just as ignorant in some areas."

He gazed into the distance, the twilight replaced by darkness, and the thin canopy of the sky appeared with stars.

"I've said before, Gellert's ideas intrigued me, inspired me; he spoke out what I had buried deep down, dissatisfaction with the current state of affairs. I was exceptional but confined to an obscure village, gifted but unable to provide protection for my loved ones... Felix, my father's experiences also influenced me. For a while, in the dead of night, I would ask myself: What would I do if I saw Ariana being bullied?"

"Sometimes I hate my own maturity. I kept telling myself, Muggles and wizards alike, both have good and bad, arbitrarily negating a vast group is foolish and despicable, but when my mother died tragically, and Ariana's condition worsened, I harbored resentment, blaming the heavens and humans..."

Dumbledore closed his eyes. After a while, he opened them again, speaking calmly and almost indifferently, as if narrating someone else's experience:

"At my most painful moment, Gellert appeared. We clicked instantly, and he told me, similar experiences didn't just happen to me, but to countless fellow wizards. We possessed power, yet faced misfortune, how absurd! He proposed a win-win solution — at least, that's how I saw it at the time — joining forces to establish a new order. From then on, wizards need not hide, Ariana need not hide, the tragedy that befell our family need not happen again."

"We boasted of our superior intelligence and power, hence, we also made bigger mistakes."

"I was intoxicated, completely immersed in it. Think about it, not only could we solve the troubles of our family, but we could also liberate countless wizards. This plan was simply too appealing to me, and I tirelessly perfected it, eventually deviating from the original intention, completely tilting towards one side — neglecting the family that should have been cherished and the once illustrious but now only existed in fantasy... You should guess the ending, my sister, Ariana... after my mother's careful care and nurturing... became the first casualty."

The sky was now completely dark, and Dumbledore was fully enveloped in darkness.

"Albus—"

"No need to comfort me, Felix, I've already got what I wanted." Dumbledore turned around, slowly walking towards the castle, while speaking softly, "Perhaps we are born with our own missions, and my mission is to correct the mistakes I once made. Felix, you also have your own mission."

Felix gazed at Dumbledore's retreating figure, sensing a different flavor.

Suddenly, he widened his eyes, the night-pearl-like gray-white pupils gleaming in the darkness, Dumbledore's footsteps paused slightly, then continued on. Felix couldn't help but inhale softly.

He had observed Voldemort with these eyes, Voldemort's soul was shattered, emitting ominous black mist all over his body. He had also seen Dumbledore, Dumbledore's soul emitted a faint glow like white jade, exuding a faint fluorescence.

But now, everything was different.

A pure light radiated from Dumbledore's body, bathing the earth like moonlight. Faintly, Felix seemed to see Dumbledore holding a little girl's hand, but they disappeared into the entrance hall in the blink of an eye.

Felix stood quietly in place, looking up at the sky, the stars reflected in his gray-white pupils.

He waited quietly, a beam of moonlight flashed past the window of the eighth-floor corridor of the castle, finally stopping at the tower of the Headmaster's office. Tonight there was no moon, but moonlight spread over Hogwarts Castle.

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