So he began trying to train Harry, yet hesitated about whether what he was doing was right.
As he grew older, he also started to become a bit more anxious and insecure.
The old man hesitated for a long time, until William appeared in his vision.
He had a feeling, as if the situation seemed to have taken a turn? Could Voldemort defeat William? Old Bee wasn't sure, even though he had fought directly against Voldemort, he hadn't truly battled with William, and William's legend was already a matter of a century ago…
That period was probably the most conflicted time in Dumbledore's life. He not only had to try to train Harry and guard against Voldemort, but was also wary of William. Old Bee even had a thought flit through his mind: how was he any different from Fudge, who was afraid of being ousted?
Yes, just like Fudge, who had been silently testing him, he began probing William with matters like "prophecies," "Soul Artifacts," and "immortality."
This situation continued until William had an open and candid half-night conversation with him and Grindelwald, which finally allayed most of it.
It was Dumbledore who was candid, William who was open, while Grindelwald merely served as a "topic."
And he was put on a leash.
There was no choice; in modern society, those with a criminal past are treated this way. If you don't want to go back to Austria to eat cold gruel, even a powerful Dark Lord must obediently accept such oppressive conditions.
So, after that day, Dumbledore changed his mindset. Since it was too cruel to place such a heavy burden on Harry, it might as well be given to William. After all, this old headmaster stayed at Hogwarts to oversee that treasure known as the "Secret Vault."
Hmm…
What nonsense!? How can this be called using someone? This is called a win-win cooperation!
As for prophecies… just consider them to be nonsense. Although true prophecy masters do exist in the Magic Realm, it is exceedingly difficult to fully conform to a prophecy. Dumbledore still decided to follow his inner thoughts and leave this mess of Voldemort for William to solve.
Of course, he's not someone who would just leave after finding a successor. Since relying on William, he can't let other external factors affect him. Therefore, Dumbledore has made plans to eliminate these mundane obstacles for William. There are still many forces under Voldemort. If William is meant to stop Voldemort, he must not be distracted by these trivial matters.
Hmm, Dumbledore's plan is quite good, but if William knew, he'd probably just tell him not to plan—
After all, William hasn't been idle since he arrived more than a year ago. Capturing a bunch of fence-sitting Death Eaters was nothing worth mentioning. Under his suggestion, the Starry Sky Circus began touring throughout Europe and started recruiting "new employees."
Oh, new employees specifically refer to werewolves. Due to the unlimited Wolf Poison Potion, the Starry Sky Circus has become the largest werewolf sanctuary in the world.
On the edge of the Forbidden Forest, William, having returned to human form, reached out to catch an owl descending from the sky and removed a letter from its leg.
Hmm, it was sent by Mundungus, who hadn't appeared for a long time. The tour throughout Europe had now reached Eastern Europe, and the problem lay there. A hundred years ago, the poaching forces William eliminated only started spreading outward from the United Kingdom. Consequently, it was inevitable that Eastern European poacher families started clashing with the circus.
Seeing the complaints Mundungus spelled out between the lines, William couldn't help but tug at the corner of his mouth—this bastard was purely seeking a sense of existence. The technique he left him for arming werewolves could easily flatten the Magic Realms of those small Eastern European countries given enough werewolves, not to mention the poachers. Why should this kind of issue need instruction?
Of course, if not necessary, he certainly didn't want to see war.
It seems indeed necessary to take a trip to Eastern Europe. Hermione, after all, had found clues about the Seik Crystal pointing to those Eastern European families… So should he take time out these two Saturdays? Or wait for Christmas?
Hmm, he might still be busy with the follow-up matters of Animagus recently, after all, Professor McGonagall knew about his study of Animagus.
So, it had to wait until the Christmas holidays.
He didn't dwell on it too long and casually wrote a few replies under the letter, then sent the owl, which had flown across half of Europe, to rest at the Hogwarts owlery—without exhausting it too much, lest it collapse into the sea halfway.
Seeing the owls lining up to await inspection because of his arrival, William stopped for a moment, finally choosing the most familiar-looking Snowy Owl, "Hedwig?" Was that its name?
Upon hearing William call it, Hedwig joyfully hopped off the perch, affectionately landed on William's outstretched arm, and let him tie the letter to its talon.
"Can you do it?"
Crossing half of Europe is a challenge for any owl. William stuffed a treat from his hand into Hedwig's beak, asking slightly unsure.
Hedwig, however, nodded, affectionately nipped William's finger, then flapped its wings, soaring through the window reserved for passage in the owl tower, into the leaden clouds above.
Seeing the owl leave, William nodded in satisfaction, turned around, and went downstairs. The effort of brewing the Animagus potion had drained much of his mind and energy. Thus, he planned to return to the Room of Requirement to rest, as for Dumbledore's matters…
Hmm, just let Old Bee worry about them himself.