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Chapter 1094: Dumbledore's Past
🕑 Added 2024-04-27 19:27:25 +0000 UTC'For the Greater Good!'
This sentence seemed very reasonable and profound, but what exactly was the Greater Good?!
No one could answer that; for different people, at different times, the greater good meant different things.
For Dumbledore in his early years, the greater good was to prove his talents; exalting the glory of the Wizarding World.
For the present Dumbledore, the greater good was to maintain the peace of the Wizarding World and repent for his past actions.
For Voldemort, the greater good was immortality and conquest.
For Minister Fudge, the greater good was the power in his hands.
For Snape, the greater good was his love for Harry's mother Lily.
For Barty Crouch Jr. and Bellatrix, the greater good was their master's trust.
For a pure-blood Wizarding family like the Malfoys, the greater good was their family’s power and pure-blood supremacy.
For Evan, the greater good was to protect the ones he loved.
Different people had different goals and needs, of course. But when compared overall, one could argue that most of them ultimately boiled down to personal selfish desires.
Putting aside whether these ‘goods’ were really great, after setting the goal, what needed to be done next?
There was no doubt that for the sake of the greater good, everything else could be sacrificed, could be abandoned.
But was this too extreme? How many people could really do it?
"For the Greater Good," said Dumbledore softly, looking at the letters on the mottled stone wall.
He looked nostalgic, and the deep wrinkles on his face made him look older than usual.
"Grindelwald carved it here and regarded it as truth. He gave a beautiful excuse for his actions and despicable behavior, hoping to prove to the world that his ideas and practices were correct." Dumbledore closed his eyes and sighed deeply. "But this phrase is actually wrong. It is just an arrogant slogan of a young and energetic fool, used to deceive and blind his own conscience so that he can fall on the path of depravity, walking further and further, and ultimately pay a painful price for it..."
Evan was not sure how to answer; he knew that this phrase had been originally proposed by Dumbledore himself.
And the young and energetic fool he just mentioned referred to himself.
Unlike the usually wise headmaster, Dumbledore's current appearance was too abnormal.
Many things tonight had touched the deepest secrets hidden deep in his heart, awakening long-buried memories.
At this moment, he looked extremely old, with severe mood swings.
The Resurrection Stone, one of the Deathly Hallows, Ariana who was summoned, Nurmengard where Grindelwald was imprisoned, and the slogan he raised when he was young, representing his dreams and regrets, were all the weakest points in Dumbledore's heart.
When they all came together, one could imagine Dumbledore's current state of mind...
Especially with the appearance of one of the Deathly Hallows, the Resurrection Stone, Dumbledore's dream for many years was completely extinguished.
His wish to resurrect his sister was in vain, and the summoned dead only made him sadder.
Not surprisingly, Dumbledore would be tempted to use the Resurrection Stone again after returning.
Once someone experienced the separation of life and death, no one could resist that temptation; it was human nature.
In each cycle, he would become even sadder, and finally end himself and fall into the arms of death.
Looking at the old headmaster, Evan suddenly felt the need to remind Dumbledore of this, and it was best to put the Resurrection Stone with him for safekeeping.
He had no dead to remember, and the stone had no use for him...
Though Dumbledore didn't elaborate on his own story, Evan felt it necessary to talk about it.
"Shall we go in, professor?" said Evan, looking at the tightly closed gate.
"No, Nurmengard is a Wizarding prison, and we have no permission to enter," Dumbledore explained. "Wait here, he will come out in a moment."
"Professor, can you tell me, what kind of person is Grindelwald?" Evan nodded, finding the right point to start the conversation.
"A radical revolutionary, but it is undeniable that he was also a notorious Dark wizard, an extremely evil and dangerous person."
"But he seems different from Voldemort?" Evan continued, pointing to the words on the door, "’For the Greater Good,’ Voldemort would never say such a thing, even if it is an excuse. He wouldn't seek excuses for his actions."
"Compared to Voldemort, he has indeed not lost his humanity or fallen into purer evil," said Dumbledore with a sigh, looking at the top of the highest tower. "I heard that he showed remorse when he was alone in a cell in Nurmengard in his later years. I hope this is true. Really, I hope he can realize the horror and shame of what he once did, I hope he can atone in repentance..."
"Professor, haven't you seen him?"
"No!" Dumbledore shook his head. "We have never met since he was imprisoned. I am afraid of meeting him. Even during the duel between me and him, we never talked to each other.”
"You're afraid of Grindelwald?" Evan blinked; this was indeed unexpected.
"Yes, people say he is afraid of me, but I think I am more afraid of him," Dumbledore replied. "It sounds incredible, doesn't it? I am not afraid of death, nor his use of magic against me, but afraid of the truth?”
"The truth?"
"This involves my past with him. If you are willing to listen, we can talk about it. There is nothing to hide, although I rarely talk about this past with others," said Dumbledore. "You know, Evan, my sister Ariana was frail and sickly, not by birth, but due to an accident. When she was using magic when she was a child, she was attacked by three Muggle boys who did terrible things to her. Since then, she lost control over magic, and it drove her insane. My father Percival was imprisoned in Azkaban for seeking revenge, and eventually died tragically there. My mother also gave up her own life to care for Ariana..."
Although Dumbledore said it simply, the truth was much more brutal and far from glorious.
His father killed the three Muggle boys with his own hands in order to avenge Ariana.
Tortured mad, Ariana became an Obscurial, unable to control the magical power within her body.
In the end, she killed her mother by herself due to an accident.
At this point, with both parents dead, the family’s reputation plummeted, and the task and responsibility of taking care of Ariana fell upon Dumbledore.
