Support me and be 20 chapters ahead of webnovel:
patreon.com/Draco_
For every 4 new paid patreon I get irrespective of tiers I will mass release 15 chaps of this book.
******
"Perhaps I don't need to worry too much about Voldemort resurrecting through me?"
Grindelwald's last words made Harry's eyes light up. Though his perception of Voldemort shifted after what Grindelwald said—after all, Voldemort was a genius in dark magic, even acknowledged by Grindelwald—Harry still didn't believe that a mere fragment of Voldemort's soul could destroy him.
'I can't lose to just one-seventh of Voldemort, can I?'
Harry thought to himself, and he even started looking forward to the moment Voldemort would attempt to resurrect through him. When their souls clashed, he was sure he'd grab the noseless freak and pin him to the ground with some good old-fashioned wrestling.
If he could fight Voldemort without using wands, Harry reckoned he could easily take on ten of him, and that's without even completing the magical body-training Hagrid had mentioned. If he finished that, no ordinary human would stand a chance; only thick-skinned magical creatures would be able to withstand his punches.
"Who knows?" Grindelwald shrugged. He was a Seer, yes, but he didn't claim to know everything. "But in the worst case, if Voldemort realizes that his fragmented soul can't defeat you and that you're about to consume him entirely, he won't just sit there and wait to die. If he drags you down with him, there's a good chance you might end up a mindless fool."
"Alright, alright, I'm not taking that risk." Harry had no desire to be part of that. Soul battles? There was probably no reference in the entire magical world. If things could be solved smoothly, it was better not to take the risky route.
"By the way, Professor, what was Dumbledore's original plan? Since he intended to guide me, what exactly did he want me to do to resolve all of this in the end?"
Too much had changed in this world, and Harry couldn't quite grasp what Dumbledore had planned.
"Well," Grindelwald said, "Albus's plan was for you to die at Voldemort's hands. Of course, this wouldn't have been a true death, but rather a way to destroy the soul fragment inside you through Voldemort's killing curse."
"But I understand now that this was never really an option for you. It might have worked with another child, but you're different. You didn't need Albus's guidance to have the courage—courage beyond his expectations. You simply couldn't meet Albus's need for calm acceptance of death when facing Voldemort."
"In our earlier conversation, it seemed like you don't really respect Voldemort, do you?" Grindelwald said calmly. He had already noticed that Harry harbored no fear of the name Voldemort, and deep in Harry's eyes, there was even a hint of disdain. Dumbledore's plan was doomed from the start.
"Albus wasn't a Seer, so he couldn't see the future. But he was very good at reading people. Many who interacted with him often felt as though he was using Legilimency all the time, but that wasn't the case."
"Albus was the most insightful man I've ever met when it came to reading people, yet he was also the one who least understood them."
"He foresaw that once Voldemort tasted failure through you, he would come for you again, and he would covet the power within your body—your mother's protection that had deflected the Killing Curse. Voldemort was a pitiful soul lost in the pursuit of power, and Albus saw right through him."
"He even figured out the methods Voldemort would use for his resurrection. There are many dark magics that could restore a body, but Voldemort would surely choose the one that maximized his strength. And in dark magic, hatred is the most powerful ingredient. No one in the world hates you more than Voldemort, so your blood and flesh are what he most craves for his resurrection."
"When all the conditions were met, Voldemort would no longer be able to kill you. The magic your mother left in you would create a new bond between you and Voldemort after he steals from you. As long as he lives, he can't kill you. Even if his Killing Curse strikes you, it will only destroy the fragment of his own soul hidden within you."
"And you, while protected by this bond, could freely fight him. If you were unlucky enough to be hit by another Killing Curse, the scene from ten years ago would repeat: the curse would rebound and destroy his body once more."
"If you were any ordinary child, Albus's plan wouldn't have been perfect, but it would have had a high chance of success. He calculated everything, from ten years ago to decades into the future. But even a man who could read hearts so well couldn't foresee the changes in them."
"You were the first variable, and the second... was Voldemort."
Grindelwald's gaze turned sharper. "Do you remember what happened on Halloween?"
"Yes," Harry nodded. "But wasn't the mastermind already caught?"
"That was a scapegoat. Or rather, that person was a puppet being controlled. He was deliberately exposed. Otherwise, how could that foolish Weasley boy have caught him?"
Grindelwald frowned slightly. "I used Legilimency to take a look at that kid's memories. The reason he got caught up in this mess is entirely because he got lost in the castle. He was originally trying to head to the Great Hall to stuff his face with chicken legs, but he couldn't remember the changing staircases. He tried to take a shortcut but lost his way halfway. I've never seen such terrible memories before. Was he a pig in his last life? All he knows is eat, eat, eat! He didn't even think to ask anyone for help. For those two months from Halloween to Christmas, he was either eating or wandering around looking for food."
Harry's brow twitched slightly; he really hadn't expected to hear such news. But given this behavior, it was indeed very Ron-like.
Without Hermione's guidance and without Harry around to cause trouble, Ron completely let himself go, lounging about with no cares in the world.
"However, how did Ron manage to knock that guy out with a table leg?"
"Oh, about that." Grindelwald rubbed his nose, his expression hard to describe.
"It wasn't that Ron noticed something was off; rather, when that guy came out of the secret room, he was knocked over by Ron, who was running without paying attention. That dark magic book fell out, and he pulled out his wand to teach Ron a lesson. Fortunately, that kid wasn't dumb enough to run away; he dashed into a storage room and grabbed a broken table leg, smashing it down as the guy was opening the door."
"So, it was all just a coincidence?"
"Not entirely. While I haven't discovered any memory modifications on that Weasley boy, guiding someone to do certain things isn't that complicated. For example, a diluted Confundus Charm can help avoid detection. Wizards often use it against trolls; those brainless fools have low resistance to mental magic, making it much easier to send them home than to beat them up."
"Regardless, since the scapegoat has been found, the matter seems to have reached a conclusion on the surface. We can't continue investigating so openly."
"How about you take care of this?"
Grindelwald tapped the table as if pondering something.
"Of course, there's a reward for this. How about a Philosopher's Stone? Although it's almost out of magic, it's still a treasure. It wasn't easy for Albus to get it from that old miser, and I'd say he's used up most of his favors."
"What do you think? Isn't that a decent reward for the trade?"
Suddenly, a red stone appeared in Grindelwald's hand. With a casual toss, he threw the Philosopher's Stone into the Mirror of Erised, causing a ripple on the surface.
"You'll agree to this."
Grindelwald spoke with confidence. "I've gathered all the conditions from the prophecy. Now, all I need to do is witness the scene of blood flowing like rivers."
He fixed his sharp gaze on Harry, and deep within his eyes, there seemed to be a hint of vague anticipation, an expectation that was difficult to decipher.
(End of chapter)