The stone statue sprang to life and leaped aside as the wall behind it split in two, revealing a section of ascending stone steps, like a spiral escalator. Grindelwald stepped onto the staircase, the wall snapping shut behind him. The stone steps quickly carried him to a gleaming oak door with a griffin-shaped knocker – compared to Hogwarts’ intricate staircases, he certainly preferred this direct elevator.

Before he could even raise his hand to knock, the oak door opened automatically. Grindelwald’s eyebrows twitched slightly, and he walked straight in.

The Headmaster’s office was dimly lit, the bizarre silver instruments on the desk standing quietly to one side, instead of buzzing and churning out wisps of smoke as they had during the previous meeting. The portraits of past Headmasters on the walls were all hidden behind gold and crimson curtains. Behind the door, a magnificent bird the size of a swan, with feathers of gold and crimson, was reluctantly pecking at the fish and rice in its feeding trough.

“Oh, I thought you were lost, Professor Apocalis… after all… well…”

Dumbledore sat in the high-backed chair behind his desk, a stack of densely written parchment documents beside him.

He had somehow changed into a snow-white nightgown, topped with a purple and gold-trimmed dressing gown, but he looked particularly energetic. His sharp blue eyes were fixed on Grindelwald, the solemn and serious look in his eyes in stark contrast to the casualness in his tone.

“Headmaster, our castle custodians were just exchanging some… uh, work experience.”

Grindelwald grinned, opening his hands and answering with a smile, “I heard some interesting things from Mr. Filch and Mr. Black about Hogwarts castle’s fascinating secrets, but they still need to be confirmed for now – and you, what are you waiting up for so late?”

“An explanation,” Dumbledore said softly.

The old man gently tapped the table, his gaze still fixed on Grindelwald’s face, his brow slightly furrowed.

“This is not in line with the initial plan. I hoped you could delay their progress and allow me to handle it, instead of…”

“…Overwhelmingly defeating the Ministry Aurors head-on?”

Grindelwald said, adding with a smile as he looked around the office at the portrait frames and shook his head, “You know, it’s always difficult for people to perfectly execute plans on paper, because reality isn’t the same as words written down. I think the core is to protect Quirrell and prevent him from being arrested and controlled by Ministry officials. As for the method—I thought I performed quite well, both in action and in teaching explanations.”

“Of course, the students and reporters are quite excited, obviously.”

Dumbledore said softly, interlacing his fingers on the edge of the desk, and sighed slightly helplessly.

“If our goal was simply to disrupt the arrest, Cornelius Fudge would never have been able to entangle me. As the Headmaster of Hogwarts, I believe I could have ended the battle faster than you. But the key issue now is not to demonstrate force, but to seek cooperation and trust—”

“No, no, no…”

Grindelwald shook his finger, walked to the armchair opposite Dumbledore, and leaned back comfortably.

“You never understand how to apply pressure – defeating an opponent with the unknown – it is far more threatening than seeing the process of defeat clearly. If you can’t make them feel threat and hope, then you can’t make them regard Hogwarts as a hypothetical enemy. That’s the real failure.”

After the Dark Lord finished speaking, he slowly summoned a cup of warm red tea and took a gentle sip.

His voice echoed in the air of the office, sounding somewhat triumphant, as if he were back in Nurmengard decades ago.

Dumbledore leaned back and stared at Grindelwald.

“So, what’s the reason, Gellert?” Dumbledore asked softly, not becoming angry.

“Well… isn’t it obvious, Albus,” Grindelwald focused intently on admiring the red tea in his hand – Dumbledore’s regression over the years has been quite significant, “I have to find a way to stop those arrogant, ignorant little guys. Five elite Aurors plus a mad woman—I don’t think reasoning with words will have much effect. Simple defensive magic can’t stop them from walking out—”

“You misunderstood,” Dumbledore’s tone remained calm, “I mean… you could have been stronger—hmm—if you decided to stop the secret arrest by defeating them, you could have ended the battle cleanly, instead of a cat-and-mouse… performance? Cornelius has only recently been wary of Hogwarts, but do you think Cornelius and Dolores are the ones who will really trouble us?”

The question was strange. Grindelwald’s smile faded slightly as he looked at Dumbledore meaningfully. He seemed to have heard these words before…

“Our troubles are everywhere,” Grindelwald said, “I certainly always remember that you and I are among the troubles.”

From the beginning, their real opponent was not Cornelius Fudge, nor Voldemort, but the rigid and stagnant wizarding world system represented by the Ministry. Changing the world is much more difficult than killing a few stubborn opponents and destroying a few government agencies.

And as the guardian of the wizarding world’s original order, Dumbledore is also the core of maintaining the remnants of the old days.

This has nothing to do with his current position. Even if he says nothing and does nothing, he will still influence and confirm the correctness of the past.

“That’s why,” Grindelwald continued, “I have to find a way to make them see that you have changed, even if you haven’t, and make them afraid that you are changing. We have to get the real enemy to the forefront as soon as possible, instead of wasting time in false politeness. We don’t have that much time. Are you as naive as that little girl, thinking you can open the door without sacrifices with knowledge and magic?”

The Headmaster’s office fell silent.

Dumbledore looked at Fawkes, who anxiously raised his head and looked around, and rubbed his brow, his tone slightly gentler.

“But this should be done by me. Don’t you think you’re too arrogant? If—”

“You’re too slow,” Grindelwald said unceremoniously, narrowing his eyes and sneering.

“Besides, you can’t handle that much pressure and expectation either. The current you… has never been prepared.”

He knew Dumbledore too well. Ever since that tragedy decades ago, this guy had lost the courage and vigor to rush into the unknown.

In Grindelwald’s view, the current Albus Dumbledore has considerable weakness deep in his heart, so much so that he is always hesitant and unwilling to move forward despite his impressive magical strength. Only when things develop to the point where they no longer give him a moment’s hesitation will Dumbledore be forced to take action with all his might—and by that time, it is less about saving the day and more about… a caged beast fighting.

“I know what you’re worried about. The Ministry of Magic, the wizarding world, will start investigating my identity, obviously.”

Grindelwald continued, suddenly standing up and walking to the window, looking at the shimmering surface of the Hogwarts lake outside.

“A year ago, when you knew that girl had rescued me from Nurmengard Castle, I met Kurt and the others after I woke up from the hospital, right? Those guys, besides having more wrinkles on their faces, were also much more troublesome and awkward than they were decades ago – according to what they meant, if there was another chance for trial and imprisonment, they definitely wouldn’t let this old guy monopolize it all… that’s arrogance, right?”

“Not entirely, after all, your strength has regressed a lot.”

Dumbledore said, answering Grindelwald’s jumping topic with perfect naturalness.

“If the International Confederation of Wizards finds out about your escape, perhaps I won’t need to take action. A tidal wave of Aurors and young wizards newly emerging in various fields will be able to bring you to justice. You don’t have that many followers now – of course, I might have to resign first.”

“Yes, times have changed a lot…”

Grindelwald nodded, looking out the window with his hands behind his back, sighing softly.

“In the era when I was called the Dark Lord, the pure-blood family supporters who supported me could fill the entire hall. They were all civilized people with normal rationality who could openly express their political pursuits and ideals. And as far as I know, decades later, Tom Riddle, who plunged the British wizarding world into panic, could only have his pure-blood followers stand in a small circle, wearing playful hoods, hiding themselves, with no ideals or civilized rationality to speak of – Albus, do you know what these changes mean…”

Grindelwald did not wait for Dumbledore to answer, continuing to answer himself.

“The end. The end of the pure-blood wizard era, the curtain of a world where pure magic is supreme has begun.”

“So you plan to…”

Dumbledore nodded thoughtfully, smiling wryly with some helplessness.

“Well, we have to speed up the pace and force them to make mistakes, instead of letting them deal with and keep up with the times at their leisure—”

Grindelwald turned around, his eyes, no longer clear, flashing with cruel and excited light, “I, you, or more people, we have to make the entire wizarding world, the entire old magical system, run madly – the collapse of the Muggle country last Christmas told me one thing, any large and indestructible world is disintegrated from within. Except for us, no one can pry the entire world.”

“More importantly, only in this way can the future of magic be protected…”

Dumbledore took a deep look at Grindelwald. He suddenly understood why Grindelwald had told him so much.

“Cornelius may not be a qualified politician, but he is definitely an excellent political operator.”

“I know him very well. His greatest wish is to maintain the delicate balance between the various forces in the wizarding world, and he doesn’t want anything that might cause trouble to happen… Therefore, your pressure tonight alone is not enough to make him have the courage to attack me, to attack Hogwarts – to achieve your request, the Ministry of Magic needs a very terrible mess…”

Dumbledore stood up and handed the stack of parchment on the table to Grindelwald.

“This is the Ministry of Magic’s resolution that Kingsley just sent back. Take a look. It’s crazy, so you must first promise me not to…”

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Yay!