Chapter 105: The Blood Pact Between Dumbledore and Grindelwald

“Thank you for your trust, Newt,” Dumbledore sighed softly.

“Then why haven’t you stopped Grindelwald’s schemes yourself? Whether it was ten years ago or today,” Eiven pressed, gritting his teeth as he finally asked the question Newt had avoided.

Hearing Eiven’s inquiry, Dumbledore shook his head and chuckled gently.

“At this point, there’s nothing left to hide,” he said, rolling up the sleeve of his right arm before raising his hand.

Eiven noticed several coils of silver chains wrapped around Dumbledore’s wrist. At the end hung a diamond-shaped silver pendant, its center set with a round gemstone that emitted a faint glow.

“Do you know what this is, Eiven?” Dumbledore asked.

“Not really,” Eiven shook his head honestly. “It looks like some kind of magical artifact?”

“This is a blood pact,” Dumbledore said softly, gazing warmly at the pendant in his hand.

“A blood pact?” Eiven was momentarily unsure of what that entailed.

“A blood pact is a magical bond forged by the mingling of two people’s blood. Its existence ensures that the wizards who establish it cannot act against one another,” Lemae, standing nearby, explained upon seeing Eiven’s confusion.

“So whose blood is contained in this pact?” Eiven furrowed his brow.

“Coincidentally, Theses asked me the same question,” Dumbledore smiled lightly.

“Who is Theses?” Eiven felt his mind spin; he didn’t understand why Dumbledore suddenly mentioned this person.

“Theses Scamander, my brother,” Newt suddenly spoke up. “He now leads the Auror Office at the Ministry of Magic in England. Dumbledore has explained the blood pact to him before.”

Eiven nodded and pressed again, eager, “So whose blood exactly is inside?”

He had an inkling of the vague answer and even suspected the reason Dumbledore hadn’t confronted Grindelwald himself. Still, he hoped he was wrong.

“My blood, and Grindelwald’s,” Dumbledore’s words shattered Eiven’s hope completely. “That’s why I cannot personally stop Grindelwald.”

Eiven’s mind went blank at Dumbledore’s revelation.

“But why?” he asked.

“I can hardly believe I have to say this again,” Dumbledore rubbed his brow and whispered, “Because of love, and the arrogance and naïveté of youth.”

Suddenly, Eiven recalled Sandrine’s warning: “Don’t get too close to Dumbledore, the head of Gryffindor. In his youth, he was closely tied to the Dark Lord Grindelwald—a dangerous black wizard. Be very careful not to be used by him!”

Sandrine’s words suddenly made perfect sense. Not only had Dumbledore been close to Grindelwald, but they had trusted each other enough to forge a blood pact binding their very lifeblood!

And Eiven’s own ordeal today was a direct consequence of Dumbledore’s manipulation—Sandrine’s fears had come true.

Dumbledore paid no mind to what Eiven was thinking. He continued to gaze at the pendant, his voice nearly a whisper: “I once tried to destroy it, but any rash attempt is sensed by the pact. It is always vigilant, ready to punish me for breaking the agreement.”

“Is there no way to break it?” Eiven asked.

“Perhaps, but I’m not confident,” Dumbledore shook his head slowly. “Soon, I will meet Grindelwald. I hope to find some clue to loosening the pact’s hold.”

“You’re meeting Grindelwald?” Lemae and Newt exclaimed in surprise.

“Don’t worry. Remember, the blood pact prevents us from opposing each other,” Dumbledore reassured them.

“In fact, it was Grindelwald who contacted me,” Dumbledore produced a letter and waved it gently. “I never expected the letter sent to Eiven would end up in Grindelwald’s hands—and that he would use it to reach me.”

Eiven smirked, suspecting Dumbledore had deliberately let Grindelwald have that letter.

A magical letter capable of transmitting messages—Dumbledore only asked Eiven to tap the lower right corner with his wand to notify him. Yet Grindelwald discovered its true function and wrote a lengthy note inviting Dumbledore to meet. What exactly he wrote remained a mystery…

…

Dumbledore carefully adjusted his appearance before the mirror and then stepped away from the frame. He was likely off to meet Grindelwald.

Eiven, Newt, and the Lemae couple remained in the safe house. After this ordeal, none of them dared to venture outside.

…

With several days left before the start of term, the Lemaes no longer attended opera shows and seemed somewhat subdued. Yet Eiven was quite the opposite—he was delighted to find himself with an entire afternoon free for study!

For the next three days, Eiven spent mornings learning the theory of alchemy with Lemae, afternoons studying weather charms and Vanishing Extension Charms with Newt, and evenings racking his brains over how to craft the suspension ring. His days were full indeed!

Yet he remained stuck in a bottleneck when it came to forging the suspension ring.

In Kamataki, Eiven had always focused on advanced spells and methods to stabilize souls. He had never paid attention to the fundamental principles behind forging a suspension ring. Thus, he could only reverse-engineer its structure and magical circuitry through alchemy and his own sensations when using it.

At this point, Eiven wasn’t even sure whether the magical runes inside the ring were ancient Nivian, Sanskrit, or seal script. It left him feeling utterly lost.

…

Morning of January 3, 1938—two days before Hogwarts term began.

Eiven arrived at Lemae’s workshop.

“You want me to help you create an alchemical product capable of remote location tracking and magical control?” Lemae asked with interest upon hearing Eiven’s request.

Eiven nodded. With the Hogwarts Express departing tomorrow, and having promised Sandrine he’d spend one night at home before school started, he needed to leave soon.

Considering the dozen or so hours’ journey from France to England, he had to set off shortly. There was no time to waste!

Lemae, puzzled by Eiven’s anxious expression, led him to another cabinet in the workshop.

When Eiven saw what Lemae opened inside, his eyes widened in astonishment!

…

…