For Albus Dumbledore, recent events had left him feeling rather exhausted.
He felt like he was constantly putting out fires—no sooner had he extinguished the flames in one place than another blaze would roar to life elsewhere!
Only he knew that he'd just endured one of the most anxious and conflicted summers of his life.
Externally, there was Voldemort and the Death Eaters, stirring up trouble with sporadic terrorist attacks while trying to recruit more factions to their cause.
Internally, there was the perpetually worrying Jane Yu, always causing explosions—sending Pettigrew packing while nearly taking herself along for the ride.
And simultaneously—
There was another highly unstable factor, someone who had given him heart palpitations at the ripe age of one hundred and ten-plus, roaming free.
This person acted with complete recklessness. Ever since their brief encounter at Azkaban, he seemed to have entirely abandoned any pretense of hiding...
Reporters would occasionally snap photographs of Grindelwald swaggering across the European continent and throughout Britain:
Sometimes buying a newspaper, sometimes purchasing a mug of butterbeer...
This resulted in Dumbledore constantly receiving increasingly stern capture requests from various Ministries of Magic—each letter more demanding than the last, like handling a red-hot potato.
Even good-natured Dumbledore couldn't help but want to curse:
Did they really think wizards of their caliber could be caught on command, or that Nurmengard could contain them if they chose to leave?
He understood that Grindelwald's decision to end his self-imposed imprisonment and leave Nurmengard must have been driven by some new purpose.
Though after their brief encounter at Azkaban, he'd sensed genuine remorse from Grindelwald for his youthful actions...
Even though half a century had passed since that final duel, time had gradually helped him find peace...
Even though the Flamels had confirmed that Grindelwald's behavior and motives were vastly different from before...
He still couldn't help but suspect the worst:
Was this apparent atonement merely another conspiracy disguised as repentance?
But his most cherished child and student, Jane Yu, clearly held views that ran counter to his own.
In fact, not only had she not tried to stop it, she had repeatedly and actively encouraged him, creating opportunities for him to meet with Grindelwald.
First, she'd used her foresight about Voldemort'sAzkaban break-in as a rescue pretext to arrange their meeting;
Then, through Umbridge's actions, through Commissioners, Death Eaters, and graduates' testimonies, she'd made him witness firsthand the serious consequences of poor Defence Against the Dark Arts instruction, expressing her desire for a quality professor to teach the subject.
Did he not understand her intentions?
"Defence Against the Dark Arts" meant defending against that dark wizard who had studied the dark arts so extensively!
She was simply using others' voices to repeatedly hint that he needed to keep Grindelwald under control—within the school!
Originally, he hadn't understood why she wouldn't speak directly...
But upon reflection, he realized why she couldn't name her preferred candidate...
—Because that was the name of a Nurmengard fugitive who shouldn't be spoken aloud!
—Because she believed speaking frankly might hurt his feelings!
He knew Jane Yu's clear-headedness, her precise judgment of situations, her sharp insight—
Her strategy of inviting Grindelwald to teach perfectly aligned with their interests...
First, with the Death Eaters rising again, she clearly understood they absolutely couldn't allow a wizard of Dumbledore's caliber to remain at large!
Such a powerful wizard, as an enormous wild card, could single-handedly change the war's outcome...
She needed to ensure there was no possibility of him joining the Death Eaters or profiting while both sides suffered losses!
Second, she knew that during wartime, every improvement in Defence Against the Dark Arts meant one less risk of death.
She deeply cared for her classmates, hoping they could learn to protect themselves against dark wizards.
Therefore, anyone who could be recruited to protect and teach her classmates how to handle danger was worth fighting for!
Thinking of this, Dumbledore couldn't help but sigh.
He'd watched her grow at an alarming pace—
In just one summer, she'd first used subtle hints to convince him to ally with the fugitive Grindelwald; then established deep friendships with the Minister for Magic, recruiting talented wizards for magical equipment development; and successfully induced the enemy's leading Malfoy family to become informants...
And this was only the first day of term, yet she'd already begun mobilizing children from neutral families!
Such initiative and courage left him deeply moved.
But what touched him most was her ability to control everyone's emotions.
She'd seized upon Grindelwald's guilt and remorse, understanding that only if the teaching invitation came from Dumbledore himself would Grindelwald possibly accept.
She'd also grasped what Dumbledore had longed for since his youth—family—and given it to him.
This made it nearly impossible for him to refuse any of her requests.
He understood he truly had no choice.
Jane Yu's strategy was most suited to the current situation and their interests, greatly improving their chances of victory...
After all, the wizarding world couldn't withstand another round of bloody terror and upheaval.
And her weighty expectations became the final straw that pushed him to make his decision—
He finally extended that invitation.
...
The speed with which that invitation was accepted was faster than he could have imagined—so fast it made Dumbledore uneasy.
And Grindelwald's additional condition regarding Jane Yu's presence at school made his unease climb even higher.
This made him question himself:
Surely one can't—shouldn't—keep stumbling over the same person, right?
Surely his judgment wasn't that poor?
Lost in thought, he shook his head, his gaze suddenly returning to Hogwarts'Great Hall, feeling his headache intensify.
On this first day of term, he'd barely had a moment's rest.
He'd just finished arranging comprehensive 360-degree castle defenses with the professors, expertly handled an explosion incident, and was about to return to the hall to preside over the delayed opening feast...
When Jane Yu presented him with a grand gift—though he couldn't tell if it was a pleasant surprise or a shock.
He was pleased she'd initially won over those neutral family children... but alarmed by the fanaticism in those students' eyes.
He was all too familiar with this kind of collective fervor...
Because the last time he'd seen such fervor, it had come from his old friend sitting beside him!
And when he turned to look, Grindelwald's "keenly interested gaze" was a glaring reminder of his intense fascination with Jane Yu's actions!
This made Dumbledore sit bolt upright!
He knew Grindelwald well—when he wore that expression, nothing good usually followed!
That vague unease immediately took root, rapidly fermenting in Dumbledore's mind, making him worry:
Though he'd indeed managed to control both significant unstable factors within Hogwarts...
The older one had sworn an Unbreakable Vow before Nicolas, making it unlikely he'd harm students or help Death Eaters...
The younger was his most cherished child, whose guardianship he'd claimed early on...
But—
If these two unstable factors were put together...
If they conspired behind his back to incite the students...
Would they end up blowing the thousand-year-old Hogwarts to smithereens?
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