A Professor of Magic at Hogwarts-Chapter 607: Mr. Bagshot - (1)

Chapter 607: Mr. Bagshot

When Felix returned to Hogwarts Castle, the sky was completely dark.

He strolled along the edge of the Forbidden Forest, casually taking out a pocket watch. With a crisp sound, Valen the Niffler sniffed and poked his head out, running out from inside.

"Sorry for keeping you inside, Valen. No matter what Jim and Rebecca think of you, you're definitely not a creature that belongs in reality."

"Squeak (It's okay)."

Valen ran ahead, waving to Felix behind, swiftly running onto a sturdy, upright piece of wood in front of Hagrid's hut. Hagrid, robust and busy in the clearing in front of the hut, looked pleased. Holding an oversized shovel, he surveyed the surroundings.

"Hey! Felix, Dumbledore's back. I know you've been keeping an eye on that." He shouted loudly, "But he looks a bit worn out, tangled up with those foreigners!"

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"Got it, Hagrid." Felix waved from a distance, looking towards the illuminated tower protruding from the castle's heights.

A few minutes later, Felix knocked on the door of the Headmaster's office.

Dumbledore sat on the sofa, not even having had the chance to take off his traveling cloak, looking quite exhausted. He sat up straight, "Felix? I was just about to look for you. I just got back, and my mouth is terribly dry... Tea? Coffee? Juice? If you want to try something new, I also have some wine in my collection."

Felix smiled, "I haven't tried anything from your wine cabinet yet. Um, can I take a bottle as a gift?"

"Don't be polite, go ahead. I don't find many occasions to enjoy them." Dumbledore said, then curiously asked, "Lucius?"

"Taking care of an empty house for an old man." Felix humorously replied.

"Wonderful choice of words, maybe I should remember that for later use—oh, probably not, it's hard to come across someone older than me." Dumbledore pouted, but didn't dwell on it for too long. He then casually said, "Many of your ideas don't align with others, Felix. Perhaps your childhood experiences prompted you to start thinking independently at a very young age... Oh, sorry."

Felix shook his head slightly and took out a bottle of wine from the cabinet. The glass door reflected the twinkling stars outside.

Dumbledore flicked his fingers, and two empty high-footed glasses appeared out of nowhere. The two watched as the red liquid poured into the glasses, each raising their glasses for a small sip. Dumbledore, satisfied, smacked his lips, "But Syphilus doesn't seem old at all."

Felix raised an eyebrow, "But his life is quite dull, to be honest... probably even more boring than mine."

At least, he had left room in his schedule for entertainment.

He placed the high-footed glass aside, eyes fixed on Dumbledore, and said, "Albus, my research has hit a standstill. The soul is already a rare and forbidden field, with scarce related materials. We have to take some risks. Think about it, even if Voldemort's mind is messed up, it's not a big deal—"

Dumbledore stared at the high-footed glass in his hand, noncommittal. After a moment, he said, "Wait a moment." He bypassed the desk, walked through the magical barrier, and ascended the spiral staircase to the second floor. In no time, he came down with a stack of parchment.

"What is this?"

"Some of my personal thoughts on the 'soul'." Dumbledore nodded slightly, explaining.

Felix, somewhat surprised, took it and quickly flipped through a couple of pages, simulating it in his mind. His eyes sparkled, and his tone couldn't help but carry a hint of excitement, "This information is very useful. Some parts align with my research, but it needs to be more comprehensive and delve deeper—"

As he spoke, he stared at Dumbledore strangely. When did Dumbledore start delving into the aspects of the soul? Could it be that the older he got, the broader his knowledge became?

"I received a message today; Grindelwald is missing." Dumbledore said in a deep voice.

"Disappeared?" Felix repeated, processing the news in his mind. He raised his hand, "I had nothing to do with it, and I know nothing about it if that's what you're asking." He explained nervously, "At most, it was through a few letters."

"I know," Dumbledore said shortly.

As Felix pondered the meaning behind Dumbledore's words – whether he 'knew' that Felix wasn't involved in Grindelwald's escape or 'knew' about Felix's correspondence with the dark wizard – Dumbledore continued, "I urgently contacted some old friends who still maintain contact with certain core members of the Order, but there's been no news."

"Even after all these years, there are still people loyal to Grindelwald?" Felix was genuinely surprised.

If that were the case, why did these people allow Grindelwald to be imprisoned for half a century?

"It's hard to encapsulate Grindelwald's influence in a few words," Dumbledore shook his head slightly, his expression serious. "His power was once formidable. When I was teaching at Hogwarts, he had already assembled a wizarding army powerful enough to overthrow any magical ministry in the world. I had to use all my wits to shake the foundation of his followers and corner him..."

He shifted the topic, "Even though Grindelwald made such a grave mistake, in the minds of many, he is still the most fitting leader for them."

Real history is far from the bland words on paper.

It's vivid, lively, and things happened as they did, with a few sentences in a history book hardly summarizing a person's full traits and charms.

Especially for later researchers, the words 'talented and attractive' could be used to describe more than one person. But it must be admitted that people are different.

"For now, he is still contained," Dumbledore said softly, "there are powerful enchantments on him. I can ensure that these restrictions remain in place, making it difficult for him to use advanced magic. Whatever he plans to do, these conditions objectively set a threshold for him."

"What I fear is that losing power may prompt him to think, to hide in the shadows, propagate his ideology, recruit an army, or provoke conflict with another set of theories. That would be too dangerous. I even worried he might have influenced you."

"Hmm." Felix pondered, hoping he hadn't been influenced.

Dumbledore smiled slightly, "I only realized recently that exceptional people often share common traits. But the difference is, you dislike trouble, prefer simplicity, which prevents you from getting too entangled in power. Because power is complex, and the more power, the more complexity."

"What kind of person is Grindelwald, really? His personality, appearance..." Felix asked.

"No, Felix, you can't understand. Those things don't matter at all. Ideas, ideas! You can't imagine how his ideas attracted me, motivated me. Muggles forced into submission, wizards rising to dominance."

"I once longed to stand by his side, to see him as the young leader of this revolution. I got completely immersed, filled my mind with cruel dreams. I did think about how much harm our dreams would bring to the world, but in the end, I convinced myself with hollow reasons, all for the greater good. If I could gain power, I could protect my family, let them live in the sunlight. I could shelter more people. But I was wrong. My desire for power led me astray from my original intentions, neglecting the ones I should have valued the most."

Pain appeared on Dumbledore's face, tears glistening in his eyes.

"I think I understand a bit," Felix said gently, "in times when people are generally lost and dissatisfied with the status quo, ideas can be deadly."

They talked for a long time, and Dumbledore no longer hid the fact that he and Grindelwald were once close friends. Perhaps it was the sense of security brought by the night, and he openly admitted to being tempted, contributing many ideas to Grindelwald's dark cause.

Felix poured him a glass of wine, comforting, "You don't need to blame yourself for this, Albus. You never put your thoughts into action. Who, in their youth, doesn't have noble or ignoble ideas? Talented and wise people often make greater mistakes because ordinary matters pose no challenge to them – ruling the world and such, I've thought about it too."

Dumbledore looked at him in astonishment.

Felix shrugged, "I did consider it seriously. The conclusion was, it's not worth it. Too much effort for too little return."

Dumbledore smiled.

Then he looked down at the goblet in his hand, sighed, and said, "But what if your ideals can only be realized through power? Those persistent, beautiful visions, when you relentlessly yearn to reach them, hoping they become reality... that extreme obsession, maybe only a colder reality can awaken people, but what's the use? It's too late for everything."

What each person values may be completely different, even opposite.

Felix understood this, so he didn't mention his 'so-called ideals' because he knew Dumbledore's ideals were fundamentally different. He hoped for the integration of the wizarding world and the real world, but it was just a 'hope'. He could wait, and he was willing to leave it to others. If it couldn't be done, he could retract all his tentacles without hesitation and wait patiently for the right moment.

Dumbledore's sudden awakening must have come at a great cost. Just the thought of his past ideals would pierce his heart with pain, filled with disgust and regret.

Felix thought of the rarely mentioned original intention – Dumbledore's 'family.'

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