Chapter 121: Two Mad Months in Godric's Hollow

"I am sorry, Aurelius." Dumbledore looked at the frail Credence—or rather, Aurelius—and spoke softly. "I did not know you had been enduring such suffering all this time."

Aurelius stared blankly at the sky, remaining silent.

"Would you like to hear the story of our Dumbledore family?" Dumbledore, indifferent to the damp, muddy snow, sat down directly on the ground beside Aurelius and said gently.

Only then did Aurelius’s gaze regain some focus as he looked toward Dumbledore.

"I must tell you beforehand that our story can truly be called a tragedy," Dumbledore sighed heavily, looking at Aurelius. "If you wish to hear it, I can begin from the start."

"My father, Percival Dumbledore, and my mother, Kendra Dumbledore, had three children: myself, my brother Aberforth, and our youngest sister, Ariana. We once had a lighthearted and happy life, but unfortunately, when Ariana practiced magic, she was seen by a few Muggle boys..."

"Those boys chose to reject and persecute Ariana. This encounter caused her to resist using magic, and the constant repression of her power eventually made her unable to control her own surging magic, turning her into an Obscurial. Just like you."

Dumbledore looked at Aurelius, his eyes seemingly reflecting the image of Ariana.

"And then?" Aurelius finally spoke, his voice raspy.

"After that, our father, seeking revenge against those boys, cursed them with magic, for which he was arrested by Aurors. But he did not reveal to the Ministry of Magic his reasons for attacking the Muggles. Because once the Ministry learned that Ariana had become an Obscurial, she would have been taken away from her family for the threat her uncontrollable magic posed to the Statute of Secrecy. She likely would have been permanently institutionalized at St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries."

"Our father was imprisoned in Azkaban, while our mother moved our family to Godric's Hollow. Later, Aberforth and I went to Hogwarts, and we thought we could live in peace, but we were wrong."

"One day, while Aberforth and I were at Hogwarts, Ariana lost complete control at home and accidentally killed our mother. From then on, we two brothers took on the responsibility of caring for her."

"But you still haven't told me about my origins," Aurelius said with a touch of urgency.

"Do not rush, we are almost there," Dumbledore smiled at him and continued.

"In the summer of 1899, in Godric's Hollow, I met Grindelwald. Come to think of it, those were two truly mad months; his ideas captivated me. We dreamed of overturning the International Statute of Secrecy and establishing a new order—an order in which powerful wizards would be the benevolent masters of the world!"

Hearing this, Aurelius’s expression turned one of utter shock, and he asked in disbelief, "So you and Grindelwald were once friends?"

"We were more than just friends," Dumbledore smiled, a hint of nostalgia in his eyes.

"That’s right, Grindelwald told me that you abandoned me, just as you abandoned him, and that we are on the same side," Aurelius muttered.

"Let me finish the story first," Dumbledore shook his head noncommittally. "In truth, I had my reservations about his philosophy, but at the time, I was too immersed in our shared ideals, so I used hollow words to soothe my conscience—telling myself it was all for the greater good, and that any harm caused would be repaid a hundredfold."

"But I was ultimately different from Grindelwald. I wanted to establish a new order to protect those I loved from the cruelty and xenophobia shown by Muggles. He was different; he simply believed that wizards were superior and should not have to live hidden in the shadows of the world."

"Later, we wanted to leave Godric's Hollow to start our revolution. When Aberforth realized this, he was both worried and disgusted by my ambition, believing I had neglected my responsibility to Ariana."

"I always thought he wanted me to stay to take care of her because he couldn't let go of family ties, but it wasn't until I saw you that I realized there was another reason." As he said this, Dumbledore glanced at Aurelius.

Aurelius seemed to realize that his true identity was about to be revealed; his expression grew anxious and extremely tense.

"As it turns out, those two months were not just a time of madness for me and Grindelwald; Aberforth had his own story—he had fallen in love with a witch in Godric's Hollow!"

Aurelius’s eyes widened, and he asked eagerly, "So I am..."

"That's right, you are Aberforth's child," Dumbledore said softly. "Unfortunately, because of the strained relationship between Aberforth and me, he was unwilling to confide in me about anything. If I had better fulfilled my responsibilities as an older brother, perhaps your tragedy would never have occurred."

"Later, some time after Aberforth and your mother fell in love, she left Godric's Hollow for reasons unknown. There were rumors that she had given birth to a child, and Aberforth spent his life searching for that child. It wasn't until one day that he heard you had been involved in a shipwreck on a boat to America, sinking into the Atlantic..."

"You know the rest. On the ship, Leta Lestrange, annoyed by the crying of her own brother, secretly swapped you—who were quiet—with Corvus Lestrange V. You survived and were adopted by Mary Lou Barebone, receiving the name Credence."

Aurelius stared blankly at Dumbledore, trembling as he asked, "So, you didn't mean to abandon me, did you?"

"Never!" Dumbledore looked deeply at Aurelius and said gently.

Then, Dumbledore pressed his Deluminator, silently withdrawing the mirror dimension.

The two returned to the lightly snowing streets of Berlin.

Dumbledore stood up, bent down to help Aurelius up from the snow, and kindly brushed the snowflakes from his clothes.

"So, what happened to your sister, Ariana, in the end?" Aurelius suddenly asked.

Dumbledore fell silent for a moment, then patted Aurelius’s shoulder gently.

"You will know one day," Dumbledore said with a strained smile. "There are more important things for you to complete now, and I cannot stay too long."

Dumbledore stepped back a few paces, took one last long look at Aurelius, and turned to walk away down the snowy street.

"Wait, when can I see Aberforth?" Aurelius shouted before Dumbledore’s figure disappeared.

"Before long, we shall surely meet again!"