William didn't express much, after all, Professor Jerard is still on his side for now. She just didn't want them to fight, but she clearly underestimated Dumbledore's energy cultivation techniques. Facing William's almost nose-pointing questioning, he was only briefly surprised before figuring out the crucial point and smiling slightly...
"You can still laugh? This kid is already pointing at your nose and cursing you! If I were you, I'd have already pulled out my magic wand and taught him a lesson mmph mmph mmph mmph..."
A voice suddenly boomed from the left wall of the office where Phineas Black was hanging. He glared at Dumbledore with a look of iron not turning into steel, but before he could finish speaking, William suddenly raised his magic wand and gently waved it. A piece of tape appeared over Blake's mouth, and before he could raise a hand to tear it off, the tape grew wildly, binding the man head to foot, sealing his mouth completely shut.
"Hehe, brilliant magic..."
"Stop the nonsense."
William frowned, interrupting Dumbledore's next words, and Dumbledore was not annoyed either. He nodded and then stood up, the smile on his face receding as he spoke seriously, "I brought Gellert here for many reasons, some because of you, and some, for my own personal reasons."
Then, Dumbledore's expression softened again. Without waiting for William to ask further, he began to lay out the journey of his thoughts after meeting Grindelwald in Nimangard, including his own worries, Grindelwald's changes, and even events from decades ago...
"... Dumbledore."
Hearing Dumbledore even wanting to talk about the past, Grindelwald frowned and opened his mouth to interrupt somewhat unwillingly.
And at this point, Dumbledore, speaking to the point of a dry mouth, finally paused. He blinked somewhat dazedly, a rare trace of confusion appearing in his usually clear and bright blue eyes. Being able to pour out his heart to someone else was a long-missed feeling for Dumbledore—
So long that he couldn't even remember...
He had thought he would never have the chance to say these things in this life, that he would take those secrets with him to the grave, but the release at this moment uncharacteristically relaxed his mood, even causing his hunched back to straighten somewhat.
"... you think about this a lot."
By this time, the cold look in William's eyes had completely disappeared, replaced by a feeling of... speechlessness.
It was truly speechlessness. He had guessed that Dumbledore was wary of him, but he hadn't expected the wariness to be this heavy—clearly, he had underestimated the psychological trauma inflicted on these survivors by Voldemort. Although to William, the other man was just a terrorist, even low-level terrorist attacks are accompanied by casualties.
Dumbledore was unwilling in any way to see that bastard make a comeback.
So, to ensure William was not a danger, he was even willing to introduce a potentially "explosive" uncertain factor.
He used to think this Old Bee was rather steady...
Rubbing his temples, William managed to refrain from letting his speechlessness show on his face. He was silent for a moment before finally asking, "So, are you sure now?"
"...Yes, that kind of reaction can't be faked."
Dumbledore nodded. He had just smiled because of William's earlier move. He could see that the other was genuinely protecting a treasure known as the "Secret Vault," and not fabricating a fictional excuse for some ulterior motive.
Because he had never confirmed all of this with his own eyes, Dumbledore maintained a skeptical attitude towards most of what William said.
But it's not that he didn't want to believe, he couldn't help it, William wasn't like Harry or Hermione—he was too powerful.
So powerful that Dumbledore had to be on high alert because if he ended up cooperating with Voldemort...
He couldn't imagine such a scene.
"Very well."
William nodded. He didn't dwell on Dumbledore's terrifying defensiveness any longer, instead, he turned his gaze to the old man behind him, "Now that you trust me, shouldn't we discuss the placement of this outlaw? Should we send him back to Nimangard?"
A certain outlaw: "?"
Why is it back to me again?