94 Diagon Alley

arm, the old man slowly controlled himself.

"Then Grindelwald escaped, as anyone but me would have expected. He disappeared with his plans for power, his plot to abuse Muggles, and his search for Dreams of the Deathly Hallows and I had encouraged and helped him in those dreams. He escaped and I stayed to bury my sister and learn to pass the day in guilt and deep grief that was the price of my shame ."

"Many years have passed. I have heard some rumors about him. It is said that he has obtained a wand of great power. At that time, the position of Minister of Magic was placed in front of me, more than once , but many times. Of course I refused. I already knew that power could not be given to me."

"But you're better than Fudge and Scrimgeour, much better!" Harry exclaimed.

"Really?" said Dumbledore solemnly. "I'm not so sure. The way I acted when I was young was proof that power was my weakness, my temptation. Strange, Harry, perhaps the best people to hold power are those who never play the game, like you, forced to take on the role of leader, put on the shirt when the situation forces you to, only to be surprised to find out that Dress well."

"And I'm safer at Hogwarts, I think I'm a good teacher—"

"You are the best—"

"—you're very kind, Harry. While I was busy raising young wizards, Grindelwald rallied an army. People say he's afraid of me, maybe, but I think I'm more Afraid of him."

"Oh, not afraid of death," Dumbledore answered Harry's inquiring look, "not afraid of his use of magic on me. I know we are evenly matched, maybe I'm slightly better. I The fear is the truth. You see, I never knew who cast the spell that killed my sister in that horrible melee. You'd probably call me a coward, and you'd be right. Harry, What I fear most from the bottom of my heart is knowing that I caused her death, not only because of my arrogance and stupidity, but because I delivered the fatal blow to her."

"I think he knows, I think he knows what I'm afraid of. I put off seeing him until at the end, it's shameful that I don't show up. People are dying, he seems unstoppable, I have to do my best."

"Well, you know what happened after that. I won the duel. I won the wand."

Silence again. Harry didn't ask Dumbledore if he knew who killed Ariana. He didn't want to know, and he didn't want Dumbledore to have to tell him. He finally knew what Dumbledore would see when he faced the Mirror of Erised, and why Dumbledore understood the attraction of the Mirror to Harry that way.

Finally, Harry said: "Grindelwald tried to stop Voldemort from chasing the wand. He left sarcastic words in prison - I mean, he had a chance to tell Voldemort the Elder Wand. belong."

Dumbledore nodded, looking down at his knees, tears still glistening on his crooked nose.

"I heard he showed remorse when he was locked up alone in his Nurmengard cell in his later years. I hope this is true. I hope he can feel how horrible what he did And shameful. Perhaps, he wanted to make amends...to prevent Voldemort from getting the Hallows..."

"...or keep him out of your 'grave'?" Harry interjected, and Dumbledore wiped his eyes. "I don't think he knew that your death was fake."

There was another brief silence, and Dumbledore blinked.

"I'm proud of you, Harry. Facing the temptation I couldn't resist, you made the right choice. You know the world, and you still love the grass and trees—this is an oriental friend of mine said."

Dumbledore patted Harry's hand, Harry looked up at the old man with a smile on his face. He couldn't help it. How could he be mad at Dumbledore now?

Harry left the principal's office.

A figure appeared from behind the complicated cabinet.

"When did you hide there?" Dumbledore asked without looking up.

"From when you started repenting," he said.

The portraits held their breaths, staring intently at the rare sight of the office, although they still could not hear the content of the conversation.

After a long silence, the visitor spoke.

"What are your plans for me, Albus?"

"What are your plans?" Dumbledore asked rhetorically.

The old man sat carelessly on the chair opposite the principal, looking at the candy wrappers and sequins all over the place with disgust. Whether joking or seriously, he said, "I will go back to Nurmengard and spend the rest of my sinful life."

Dumbledore finally looked up and shrugged. "You know, I was going to pretend that I didn't know about escape. But since you're all about repenting..."

"Shut up, you sly old fox." Grindelwald interrupted him and found Dumbledore's treasured zizi honey candy, and threw it into his teeth. mouth. "False, nasty old fox."

Dumbledore's beard moved, and after a long time, he quietly moved the honey candy on the table to him. "I'll give you a present every Christmas, Gellert."

"Are you really going to do that?" said Ron. He looked at the elder wand in Harry's hand, and there was a hint of reluctance in his voice.

"I think Harry was right," Hermione said softly.

"This wand is more trouble than it's worth," said Harry. "And, let's be honest." He lifted the fallen statue, thinking only of the four-poster bed that was waiting for him in Gryffindor Tower, and wondered if Dobby would bring him a sandwich , "I've had enough trouble in my life. Wait...shhh, be quiet!"

He suddenly put the invisibility cloak over his body, stopped Ron and Hermione, and walked towards the window next to the principal's office.

"…I shouldn't be so happy, George, but we won! And we, our family, our friends are all right—"

"Gwen darling, I know there is a way to express our feelings at this moment." Ron's brother's voice came from his dating sanctuary. "As it happens, we're back here again. And there's no peeking peeks from the peeking water-mouthed stone beasts."

Harry did see a tall, red-haired wizard "having a good time" with his fiancée.

Yes, he meant lingering kisses.

Thinking back to how George scared himself and Ginny at the Burrow one morning in sixth grade. Harry's anger came from his heart, and his wickedness turned to courage. He crept to the side of the couple.

"Good morning." Under the pink morning sun, Harry in the Invisibility Cloak greeted them cordially.

【Extra】Christmas Extra

A new house at 94 Diagon Alley on December 25, 1998.

"Good morning, Mr. Weasley." Gwen lifted George's overly long bangs and touched his nose.

"Good morning, a beautiful lady who has not yet become Mrs. Weasley." George didn't open his eyes, put the quilt over their heads, and refused to get up for anything.

"Stop making a fuss..." Gwen was a little itchy and giggled. "Get up, we have a lot to do today."

"Oh—" George whimpered, "this is the only day I don't have to go to the store."

"That's why I didn't call you until ten o'clock." Gwen quickly pecked the man's lips, and then pulled the curtains involuntarily. "Get out of bed, George. Come and unwrap the Christmas presents."

George yawned heavily, climbed out of the bed with bare feet, and stepped on the thick carpet.

Gwen was already waiting for him under the Christmas tree in the living room on the second floor.

"What's the weather like?" George sat down beside her and opened his most familiar package. "Mum knitted us two more sweaters—come here."

Gwen put on a **** sweater knitted by Mrs Weasley. "It's a rare sunny day." Then she looked at herself, then at George. "The two of us are like a pair of gingerbread men."

"Mom wrote a note to let us take Garrick there at noon." George took out a corner of parchment from under the collar of his sweater.

"She's so nice, I invite my grandpa to celebrate the festival." Gwen got up and looked at Ollivander's wand shop across the street. All shops in Diagon Alley are closed today. "Garrick is awake. I see smoke coming from the chimney. We'll go over the fireplace over there in a minute."

"This is the first Christmas after the victory, of course everyone has to be reunited." George opened the second package. "Harry and Hermione will come too."

"Happy festival, I'm still amazed that Hermione chose to go back to Hogwarts to finish school - Ha, Bill and Fleur sent us a pack of lavender seeds and I'm getting ready to take care of the yard Woolen cloth."

"I advise you to be careful," George flipped through the card inside the package. "It says these lavenders have amazing hypnotic properties."

Gwen also looked over, "It's okay, as long as I don't let the dog out."

"What did we give them?"

"A pair of baby shoes." Gwen thought about it. "Silver, with Fleur's hair."

"Bill said he dreamed of a little daughter," George said.

"Does your family have prophetic blood?" Gwen reached for a small box with blue wrapping paper and yellow ribbon, "Merlin, Cho and Cedric are getting married next January. !"

"I'm not sure, before Ron was born, his mother was sure that he would be the first girl in the Weasleys." George glanced at the letter in Gwen's hand, "We'd better Hurry up and send the invitation letter to everyone, there are too many people who are going to have a wedding recently