Fawkes gave another melodious cry in response, then spread its wings. Golden-red flames erupted from its body, and it vanished from the living room.
Now that the strange guest was gone, Aliya finally dared to stand up from behind the sofa and cautiously asked her younger brother, "Victor, what was that?"
"That was Fawkes, a phoenix. He's the current Hogwarts headmaster's pet," Victor replied, taking off his apron.
"He looked like he was delivering a message. Was it something important?"
"Mm… it's not a huge deal," Victor said, thinking for a moment. "I promised the headmaster something during the Grand Wizarding Tournament, and Fawkes came to let me know it's time to keep my word."
As he spoke, he hung his apron on a hook on the wall. "I've already made lunch. When Aunt Julie and the others get back, tell them I had to go out for some important business and that I might not be back until late tonight."
"Alright, good luck." Aliya agreed, not prying further.
Victor then went upstairs, changed into some comfortable clothes, and immediately used Spatial Magic to return to Hogwarts.
Under a clear blue sky, the ancient castle stood on a cliff. Lush green lawns connected to a wide lake. A gentle breeze swept over, causing the lake to shimmer. Countless birds circled around a tall treant in the middle of the lake, singing together. It was a picture of vitality.
Victor felt the gentle breeze and smelled the fresh air filled with the scent of grass and water vapor.
To be honest, he never understood why people used to call this lake the Black Lake. Although it was home to many ugly magical creatures and the water looked black, the pleasant and peaceful scenery alone deserved a better name.
"By the way, I forgot about those two lake clams I dug up the other day because I had to deal with Fred and George's shenanigans. Maybe I should get another one and try it?" Victor muttered to himself. Then, a familiar voice came from behind him.
"The things in the Black Lake aren't very tasty. I've tried them." Dumbledore walked over with slow steps. He looked at the shimmering surface of the lake and began to tell a story from the past. "I remember one Christmas, the leader of the Merpeople gave me a basket of fish from the Black Lake. I was curious and asked the house-elves to make me some fried fish. But the result…"
"What happened?" Victor asked, both anxious and curious.
"It was the worst fried fish I've ever had in my life. It tasted awful. And with that sweet and sour ketchup, I have no idea why such a thing exists. It tasted like a salted fish that had been fermenting in a sewer for a month." At this moment, Dumbledore's face showed an uncomfortable look. "Oh, my goodness. It's terrible just thinking about it."
"..." Victor was speechless. Are you sure that wasn't a biological weapon?
He was quite curious about what kind of food could make the old geezer, who could eat an earwax-flavored Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Bean without changing his expression, feel so disgusted. He tried to imagine the taste in his mind, and his face also showed a hint of disgust.
But he quickly threw those messy thoughts out of his mind and started to talk about business. "Professor, didn't you say I'm here to fulfill a promise? Don't tell me it's here. I guarantee that in less than five minutes, that castle will be flying into the sky!" He said, pointing at the Hogwarts castle.
"Of course not here," Dumbledore replied. His eyes suddenly looked to the east. "I know a place where we can unleash our powers. It's far enough away from civilization, it's very secluded, and it's also protected by special magic."
"You decide. I don't care," Victor said with a shrug.
And so, as soon as he finished speaking, before Victor could react, Fawkes suddenly flapped its wings, and a long, melodic shriek rang out. Golden-red flames instantly swallowed the two of them, and the shore of the Black Lake was empty.
This was the first time Victor had ever felt the magic of Apparition, and it was truly awful!
He felt like he had been stuffed into a high-speed washing machine. He could vaguely see some strange images flashing before his eyes, which was probably because of his high speed.
At first, Victor actually felt fine when he entered the Apparition. But a moment later, perhaps because of the long period of centrifugal motion, he felt like his eyeballs were being squeezed into his brain.
After an unknown amount of time, Fawkes finally landed with the two of them. Victor was swaying back and forth, and circles were drawn in his eyes.
"Professor, I strongly suggest you learn my Spatial Magic. This kind of long-distance travel is simply inhumane!" Victor said groggily, patting his head to sober up. His vision gradually cleared, and he looked at his surroundings. In the distance, there was a turbulent sea, and he was standing on a high cliff.
"Professor, don't tell me this is the carefully chosen place you mentioned." Victor looked at the person beside him in disbelief. "This place is even worse than Hogwarts. The Ministry of Magic will definitely come looking for trouble."
"Of course not here. It's just that the place we're going to is a bit far, and Fawkes can't take us all the way," Dumbledore said, walking forward. He then picked up a wooden toilet from under the cliff. "So, we'll need the help of this."
"A Portkey?!" Victor looked at the question mark and exclamation point above the toilet and guessed where the old geezer was taking him. "Professor, you're not trying to take me to that place, are you?"
Dumbledore didn't say anything, but his eyes were full of meaning. With the Portkey activated, Victor once again endured an ordeal that was even more uncomfortable than Fawkes's Apparition.
After all the trouble, the two of them finally arrived at their destination. Victor shook his slightly dizzy head and looked at the stone tower on the cliff.
Nurmengard.
Grindelwald's prison.
He knew Dumbledore was going to take him to this place.
"Professor, have you no shame?!" Victor looked at Dumbledore with contempt. "You're not planning to have a group fight with your old flame... your old friend, are you?"
"This place just happens to be suitable. And I promised him that I would visit him every summer," Dumbledore said, and then walked towards the tower. Victor had no choice but to follow him.
Dumbledore pushed open the groaning iron door and walked into the courtyard outside the tower. He looked at the surroundings. The ground was covered with broken stone fragments, but one could vaguely see the beautiful carvings on them.
"This must have been a nice place before it became a prison, right?" Victor asked curiously.
"For some people, it was a nice place. But for most people, it was a living hell," Dumbledore replied without turning his head, and then led Victor into the tower.
The tower was very dim but clean. A spiral stone staircase wound its way up to the top of the tower. They walked up the stairs and saw some old rooms along the way.
Through the decayed wooden doors, one could see that the furniture and items inside were still intact. One could even say that with a little cleaning, it would be a luxurious suite fit for a king.
When they reached the top of the tower, three ordinary, dim cells appeared before them. Victor walked up and tapped the iron bars of a cell. Some rust fragments fell to the ground.
"Professor, are you sure this thing can hold him?" Victor pointed at the figure inside. He felt that he could easily break the bars with a bit of effort.
"Long time no see, Gellert…" Dumbledore greeted him without any change in his expression.
"Not long. Didn't we see each other a little over half a year ago?" Gellert Grindelwald slowly got up from his bed and walked out of the darkness. "Oh~ There's a young wizard here. But I should call you the heir of Ravenclaw and Slytherin, Mr. Victor Dreyar."
"You know me?" Victor raised an eyebrow. At the same time, he carefully sized up the revolutionary who had once started the First Wizarding War. Although he looked skinny and frail on the outside, Victor could feel the vibrant spirit within him. This was a trait only seen in those with immense power.
"Albus Dumbledore, with his ridiculous conscience, sends me a copy of the Daily Prophet every single time it's printed. So that's how I know you exis,!" Grindelwald said with a sneer, giving Dumbledore a disdainful look.
"And I don't think that's all. Professor Dumbledore must have also told you a few things about me." Victor pulled out a bottle of ice-cold beer from who knows where and handed it to him with a smile. "Tell me, did this old geezer ever talk badly about me?"
"Hahaha… old geezer! That name really suits you, Dumbledore!" Grindelwald unceremoniously took the beer, used magic to open the bottle cap, and looked at Victor's eyes with admiration. "To be honest, you're more human than he is."
With that, he tilted his head back and chugged the beer until only some foam was left in the narrow opening.
"Haa…" Grindelwald let out a comfortable sigh and looked at the beer bottle covered in water droplets. "This taste is truly nostalgic, but compared to the beer brewed by the brewery near my home, it's still a bit lacking."
He then put the bottle aside. "Alright, tell me, why did you two come here? Don't tell me you really just came to visit an old man like me."
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