When Karl walked into the Headmasters Office again, he didn't see Dumbledore.
He looked around and quickly discovered a cracked bookshelf and a passage revealed behind it.
Karl walked over curiously, passed through the passage, and arrived at a dimly lit small room.
Dumbledore stood with his back to the door in front of a mirror. This mirror was quite impressive, with a gorgeous golden frame, reaching up to the ceiling, and supported by two claw-shaped feet at the bottom.
Undoubtedly, this was the Mirror of Erised.
"Albus, I'm back. Grindelwald is resting in the defense against the dark arts professor's office."
"Thank you for the trouble, Karl."
Dumbledore took off his glasses, wiped his eyes with his sleeve, put them back on, and turned to signal for Karl to come forward.
"What are you doing?"
"Looking in the mirror," Dumbledore pointed to the Mirror of Erised. "This is a magical mirror. Do you see the words on it?"
Karl squinted and began to read the long string of words, feeling it was very awkward. "Erised—Wohsi?"
"Actually, it should be read backwards. It means 'I show not your face but your heart's desire'. It is called the Mirror of Erised, and it can show the most urgent and intense desires deep within your heart. Do you want to try?"
Faced with Dumbledore's invitation, Karl readily agreed. This mirror was quite interesting.
"Mirror, mirror, tell me, who is the most handsome Wizard in the world?"
The Mirror of Erised clearly didn't have a voice function installed and couldn't answer Karl; it just displayed a family in the mirror.
Karl looked greedily at the face of every person, especially his mom and dad. But even though their appearances were already engraved in his heart, they felt a bit unfamiliar at this moment.
Noticing Karl's rapid, erratic breathing, Dumbledore patted his shoulder comfortingly.
"Relax, Karl."
"I'm fine."
"What did you see?"
"Um, I saw myself holding a pair of thick wool socks."
After his surprise, Dumbledore smiled with relief. "So we see the same scene."
Karl curled his lip. "Don't start. I already gave you many wool socks for Christmas. Didn't you wear them?"
"I did, but they often scream loudly, which makes me need to change them frequently."
Karl rolled his eyes at the distressed Dumbledore. "That means it's definitely time to change them!"
"Actually, they don't smell that bad—"
Dumbledore muttered as he turned and walked out. "Karl, are you interested in hearing the past of an old guy?"
"Of course, I'd be happy to."
After taking two last looks at the family in the Mirror of Erised, Karl followed Dumbledore out.
Returning to the desk and sitting down, Karl refused the black tea and cockroach clusters, starting to eat Fizzing Whizbees instead.
When in a bad mood, eating a little something sweet is very effective, and this candy even makes people float.
"You must be wondering why I asked Grindelwald to be the Defense Against the Dark Arts Class professor."
Karl nodded. "That's right. And if he leaves Nurmengard, won't something go wrong if he's discovered?"
To be honest, the commotion Grindelwald caused back then was far greater than that of Lord Voldemort.
Unlike Lord Voldemort and his Death Eaters who only carried out terrorist attacks in Britain, Grindelwald led the Wiccan Purity Party to attack everywhere, affecting the entire Europe except for Britain, and even the United States was not spared, triggering a global Wizard war.
Would such a dangerous person suddenly escaping from prison not cause panic?
"Don't worry. So many years have passed; except for those who experienced it back then, few people remember him now."
"And the Austrian Ministry of Magic will not let the news of Grindelwald's disappearance spread among ordinary Wizards."
"The most critical point is that if the Ministries of magic of various countries become vigilant because of this, it is a good thing for us."
After listening to Dumbledore's words, Karl actually felt it made a lot of sense.
As expected, the older the ginger, the spicier it gets. Dumbledore, this old sage, even his farts are extraordinary.
"Alright, then what do you want to do?"
"It's a bit troublesome to explain because the story is very long. I need to start from a long time ago—"
Next, Dumbledore told Karl about his past.
His voice was very soft. Even though he was right in front of him, it seemed to come from a very distant place.
Entwined with memories, traversing time, there were tears and laughter, happiness and grief intertwined.
Dumbledore spoke in a flat tone about how his sister Ariana was attacked by three Muggle boys, which damaged her spirit and emotions, turning her into an Obscurial from then on.
His father, out of anger, used magic to teach the three boys a lesson, but to protect his daughter, he was eventually taken away by the Ministry of Magic and died in Azkaban.
And his mother, in later days, was killed by the magic Ariana could not control. This tragedy plunged the already broken family into deeper suffering.
"Later, in Godrics Hollow, I met Grindelwald and became friends, however—"
Speaking of this, Dumbledore showed a sad expression. He lowered his eyes, and his voice became even weaker.
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