A Certain Hogwarts Magician Professor

"Just a projection of Godric's Hollow?" Harry asked. Dumbledore nodded happily.

"So... Voldemort's last Horcrux disappeared?" Harry breathed a sigh of relief.

"It's there," Dumbledore stretched out his finger in one direction, and Harry was startled, a scarlet baby-like monster curled up in the grass, looking terrifyingly terrifying. "Voldemort's Killing Curse brought it here with you, I was one step ahead of you and I walked around. You're here after a while, it's a bit noisy to be honest, let's go, let's go to the other somewhere to go."

Dumbledore took the lead and left, and Harry followed immediately.

They were walking on a country dirt road lined with wanton green bushes and wildflowers, unattended but lush. As they descended from the heights, the buildings in the village were unobstructed. Harry became more and more certain that this was a fictional scene—the more modern houses he and Sirius had seen when they visited the grave were gone.

Dumbledore pointed his finger in a direction that Harry was surprised to find covered in a white light.

"What is that place?" he asked.

"You know," said Dumbledore, smiling, "you've seen it many times."

Harry couldn't see what was in the white light, but he could roughly judge based on the location. He widened his eyes: "Your home?"

"That's right, we'll be parting there," Dumbledore said solemnly.

"separate?"

"Oh—sorry, Harry, you'll have to go back alone. My life has come to an end, and I think I'll go on," said Dumbledore, looking thoughtfully at the white light in the distance. Harry didn't know if he saw something he couldn't.

"The end of life? You, Professor Dumbledore, you—"

"I'm glad you finally realized that I'm going to die, oh, probably already," Dumbledore said, looking at Harry's wide-eyed expression and smiling slightly: "Don't feel sorry for me, Harry, yes I chose this ending myself and made it happen step by step. My life has been long and wonderful, especially the last year, which made up for a lot of regrets."

They walked some distance, and Harry was so distraught that he summoned the courage to ask, "Yes—is it because of me? To settle the fragments of my soul."

Dumbledore stopped, stopped, and looked at Harry, "Of course, including this reason."

"I'd rather die myself," Harry muttered.

Showing great tolerance and understanding, Dumbledore said reassuringly: "I just so happen to think so. And—Harry, you're one of the reasons I did it, and I would have done the same without you. decision, but it would be more cost-effective for me if I could solve your problem by the way."

"But what about school?" Harry said sullenly.

"You forgot? I've handed in my resignation," said Dumbledore, blinking. "Minerva and Felix will take care of the school. I'm sure they will do well."

"Speaking of Professor Hepp-" Harry suddenly thought of another reason, "He thinks that the exposure of the wizarding world is inevitable. Sirius and Ms. Burns also agree with this view, and everyone is preparing for it."

"You're quite right," Dumbledore agreed.

"Only you can reassure everyone—I mean, when it's out," Harry said bluntly.

"I don't dare to take this reputation," Dumbledore shook his head. "In fact, I'm as helpless as you are in the face of that future. Felix, Amelia, even you will do better than me. ."

"Me?" Harry said in surprise.

"Yeah, would you tolerate wizards mistreating Muggles?" Dumbledore asked.

Harry shook his head.

"And in turn, let Muggles enslave wizards?"

Harry shook his head again.

"You see, isn't this very good?" Dumbledore said with satisfaction, "Remember your choice at this moment, even if this road is not easy, it will never make you regret it, because you are doing the right thing."

Harry was a little confused, he followed Dumbledore into this somewhat familiar village. Then he discovered the 'abnormal'.

"Albus," greeted warmly by a pudgy middle-aged Muggle woman in an apron, whose eyebrows Harry thought looked a bit like Mrs Weasley.

"Mrs. Brenda," Dumbledore stopped and said with a smile.

"Little Bart wants to eat at your house. He likes magic too much," the woman said.

"Welcome!" Dumbledore said happily, the wrinkles on his forehead stretched out. "Ariana likes children very much, and she has prepared a lot of programs for the bonfire party."

"Well, I know, she's always so kind, but I think it's too much trouble for you..." Mrs. Brenda said a little embarrassedly, and she took two apples from under her apron and stuffed them to Dumbledore and Harry. "I baked some honey biscuits and asked Bart to bring them over at night."

"You're too kind, Mrs. Brenda," said Dumbledore politely as they parted, and he and Harry moved on.

Harry found it strange, but Dumbledore was clearly in a good mood, and could feel the overflowing joy in him. He took a bite of the apple and hummed some sort of funny country tune. Many people came to greet him along the way, both wizards and Muggles, but they all knew the existence of magic without showing any surprises.

On the way, a wizard dressed as a hippie leaned against a fence and performed magic tricks for a group of children.

"Professor Dumbledore?" After listening to a complete tune, Harry put down the half-eaten apple and asked impatiently: "Are these people also dead souls?" He clearly remembered Dumbledore saying, here is the Between life and death, in theory, only wizards should be able to get here, right?

"I don't think so," said Dumbledore.

"Then—" Harry paused, was it Dumbledore's fantasy?

"When I first got here, there was fog all over the place. This environment is obviously not suitable for conversation. The moment I thought about it, it automatically became like this." Dumbledore said, "Maybe it really has something to do with me. ."

They chatted like friends, and Dumbledore spoke of the prophecy he had seen from Grindelwald, "Skeet played an important role."

Speaking of Felix again:

"I like him - young and promising, not greedy for power, and clear-headed. Of course, he's very assertive since he was a child, and sometimes I think he is too mature. I can't teach him like you teach him - only Can use other people to contain him, such as you, Severus, Miss Granger, that Sniff, Sirius, Remus, Neville... There are already a lot of people before you know it."

Afterwards, Dumbledore refers to the prophecy he heard at the Ministry of Mysteries Division.

"I think I'm the lion of prophecy - brilliant, but now old. I'm a Gryffindor."

"Why can't it be Firebird?" Harry asked, holding his breath. "Phoenixes are immortal, aren't they? And you have Fox, and maybe the prophecy suggests that you'll be like a phoenix in fire, and be born again..."

Dumbledore smiled.

"Oh Harry, you can't expect a dying old man to love the world more than his young contemporaries, I did dream of changing it, I left all the passions, longings, fanatics and longings of my life for that summer , stay in my time. You are more willing to make the world a better place than I am, and I—see, they are waiting for me!"

Harry looked up, and they walked unwittingly to where the white light was. He couldn't see anything before, but now his eyes caught some figures, Dumbledore's father, mother and sister, arm in arm. Hands on, eyes soft.

"Is it real? Are they real?" Harry said quickly, trying to remind Dumbledore that way. Perhaps his family, like the visions he'd seen before, existed because of Dumbledore.

"I know I'm going on my own, but I won't refuse to fill my stomach before embarking on a new adventure," Dumbledore said softly, and Harry knew that Dumbledore was awake and determined. It was decided, he watched Dumbledore walk towards the white light and towards his family.

"Good health, Harry."

Dumbledore finally spoke, and the white light engulfed him.

...

Principal's office. In the mirror, Felix saw Harry open his eyes and his face had changed back to his own. Felix let out a small breath, knowing that Dumbledore had succeeded. Fox let out a short and sad cry, Felix stood up, dragged half of his 'crippled' arm to Dumbledore, he seemed to be asleep, and the resurrection stone ring on his hand flashed, as if breathe.

"Crack!"

Clear cracking sound. Like a black gemstone, there was a crack on the surface of the resurrection stone, followed by a dense rustling sound, the cracks were like spider webs, and at a certain moment, the resurrection stone turned into fragments.

Countless firefly-like light spots gathered in the air and danced gracefully. Felix seemed to see a vague figure, but it was fleeting. Dumbledore's hand fell, and Felix grabbed the cold hand and placed it on Dumbledore's knee.

A wand fell from the cuff.

It's the Elder Wand.

Felix hesitated for a moment, then shoved his wand back into Dumbledore's hand.

"Harry," he said clearly, turning to face the mirror.

At the same time, Fox spread his wings, looked back at Dumbledore, who was sitting quietly, and flew into the mirror. The mournful Feng Ming sounded in Felix and Harry's ears at the same time, Harry struggled to sit up, he was in pain everywhere now, but after hearing the professor's cry and Fox's cry, he grabbed it and crooked it. The glasses on the side were put on, and he looked up at the flamingo circling above his head.

Professor Hepp's voice seemed to come from the whole sky:

"Harry, Dumbledore left you with Voldemort, can you handle it?"

Harry looked not far away, Voldemort's fingers moved, and he was about to wake up. "Leave it to me," he mumbled. He stayed where he was, quietly watching Voldemort rise from the ground, watching the expression on his face go from shock to surprise, hatred, and finally to panic.

"You disguised as Snape and destroyed my last Horcrux?" Voldemort screeched, clutching his wand, looking nervously from side to side, and shouting into the air, "Dumbledore! Hype! You guys! Where? Get out!"

Harry looked at the hysterical Voldemort and lowered his eyes.

"Stop shouting, it's just me here."

"Only you?" Voldemort looked at him in astonishment, then understood in an instant, "They asked you to kill me? How dare you, how dare they—" He stopped suddenly, a trace of pity in Harry's eyes .

"Voldemort, you are alone, and behind me are all those who love me," Harry said, but his words only made Voldemort more angry.

"Harry Potter!" Voldemort called the name in the most venomous tone.

"Tom Riddle," Harry said quietly.

There is not much to say, by this moment, everything becomes clear. The same thought flashed through their minds: Only one can get out of here alive. The red light and the green light collided, and golden flames shot out from the intersection of the spells, and both of them tried their best.

The high-pitched chirping of the phoenix, like the drums of war, gave Harry a boost of confidence. The red light completely overwhelmed the green light, reflecting Voldemort's face green, his eyes shining with fear, the green light was forced back to the wand, Voldemort's body froze, the fear on his face condensed.

His wand was thrown into the air and swirled towards Harry, but instead of reaching out to catch it, Harry let the wand fall to the ground. He stared at Voldemort, knowing that it was all over.

Felix closed his eyes. After a while he opened his light blue eyes and said, "You're tired, Harry, Fox will take you to the school hospital and let Madam Pomfrey examine you. And—" He hesitated, "first Do not reveal Dumbledore's death to the public, keep it strictly confidential. I will find time to explain it to you tomorrow."

The mirror in front of him disappeared, Felix stayed in the dark, and for him, the night was far from over. He kept dismantling the magic power that belonged to Dumbledore entrenched in his arm, and the charm passively resisted, but under Felix's suppression, he could only tremble slightly.

...

The horizon was a grey-green tinge, heralding dawn in a few hours.

Nurmengard Fort.

A rigid body was thrown into the cell.

Grindelwald slammed on the ground like a tattered bag, without the slightest heaving.

"He won't die, right?" a member of the law enforcement team asked.

Then Grindelwald heard the rustling of shoes on the ground, a pair of feet stopped beside him, and a finger dipped under his nose. Grindelwald let out shallow, well-proportioned breaths.

"Dizzy."

The footsteps completely moved away from him, and Grindelwald waited silently. The door was locked, and then there was a 'zzz', the sound of the cell's defensive magic being activated; then the footsteps and voices faded, but he waited, holding his breath, After any small echoes—finally, there was a sound of the door closing from far away.

Grindelwald raised his head blankly. There was no one in front of him.

He grinned, laughed silently, and then let out a louder, louder laughter that echoed through the cramped cell, and finally retched. He coughed, retched, his expression was in pain, and the tears flowed uncontrollably. finally--

A bloody speculum was vomited and rolled on the ground.

"Thank you for your kindness, Longbottom, for not destroying that hair."

Grindelwald said in a hoarse voice, he took out the "Tales of Bedouin the Poet" from his arms and put it in the farthest corner. Now is not the time to look at it. He returned, picked up the looking glass from the ground, and wisps of magic power poured out of the looking glass, and then the magic power turned into a flaming blue flame, igniting him into a burning torch.

Suppressed groans of pain came from the cell.

I don't know how long it took, there was a low chanting sound from the blue flames, and a blue firebird rose into the air.

...

Tonight is destined to be a long night.