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  He paused briefly before tinuing, "Not even a parent has that right. I know what you're thinking, and I strongly advise you to abandon suotions."

  Dumbledore's steady gaze met Snape's stormy one.

  Snape remained silent.

  After a moment, Dumbledore spoke softly, "He will hate you."

  S out a mirthless ugh. "Do you think I care?"

  "Severus," Dumbledore said, his voice den with the weight of wisdom, "if the long years have taught me anything, it's that we should never presume absolute correess. Trying to impose one's will on another's life is an act of profound folly."

  "No magiatter how powerful, undo the harm such as will iably sow." The glow of the desk mp reflected in Dumbledore's silver gsses, along with Sense figure.

  "We are all failures in one way or another. What gives us the right to decide what stitutes a proper life?" Dumbledore's words nded heavily, causing Snape's expression to shift like the rapid ges of a Si opera mask.

  "Don't call yourself a failure. You are the greatest wizard in this world, the headmaster of Hogwarts. Even now, many in the wizarding world fear your power," Snape shot back, his tone sharp. "Albus, excessive humility only makes you seem insincere."

  Dumbledore shook his head faintly, his demeanor uurbed.

  "In truth, Severus, I told you about him not so you could ge his life, but because I wao see how he might ge yours."

  "Severus, you need him. He does not need you."

  Dumbledore's words clearly struck a nerve, leaving Snape visibly irate.

  "You're talking nonsense!" Snape's voice rose several octaves, his frustration boiling over.

  Dumbledore responded with nothing more than a serene smile.

  "And I don't need you dictating my life, either!" Snape snapped, gring at Dumbledore with a fire that could scorch the room.

  "Whatever schemes you're cooking up, you o swear to me— make an Unbreakable Vow— that he isn't just another pawn in your pns," Snape demanded, his distrust of Dumbledore evident.

  "First, you, like many others, overestimate my ing. Sed, if it will ease your mind... of course," Dumbledore replied with a resigned shrug. He pulled out his wand, which had beeing nearby.

  In the magical world, the ''Unbreakable Vow'' was a binding magical tract. It required two people to point their wands at one another in the presence of a witness and speak their vows aloud.

  Ohe vow was made and accepted, it formed an unbreakable boween the partits. Any attempt to viote the vow would e at a steep and often fatal cost.

  "Are you satisfied now?" Dumbledore asked as he put his wand away, showing no trace of irritation.

  "I still don't uand why you'd let 'that man' into the school," Snape said, his voice sharp and filled with disapproval. "But regardless of your reasons, I expect you to fulfill your duty as the headmaster of Hogwarts."

  "I will protect every student."

  With the Unbreakable Vow in pce, Snape's expression softened slightly, though his dissatisfa and skepticism regarding Dumbledore's decisions remained apparent.

  "That is my responsibility," Dumbledore replied, his voice steady and authoritative, carrying an undeniable air of reliability.

  "When that maers the school, I will keep a close wat him," Snape decred, sweeping his robes dramatically as he turned and strode out of the office. His retreating figure quickly disappeared, leaving the room silent once more.

  Dumbledore turned his attention back to the replica of the ''Book of Admittance'' on his desk.

  "Dumbledore! That Snape has ged!"

  "He has bee spineless! He's a disgrace to Slytherin! Holy, I think he should've been in Hufflepuff from the start!"

  "I, for one, am curious about this child. Severus's Occlumency is formidable, yet a natural Legilimens has mao ule even him. Intriguing!"

  "Talented or not, no one surpasses my brilliance! Hogwarts has never cked gifted students!"

  The lively chatter erupted from the portraits of Hogwarts' previous headmasters hanging on the walls. Their animated discussion filled the room but did little to distract Dumbledore from his thoughts.

  Raising his haly, he flipped open the ''Book of Admittance'' once more.

  The name appeared again.

  And Dumbledore fell into the same deep ption.

  ''Aurrindelwald.''

  The first time Dumbledore saw this name in the Book of Admittance, he visited an old friend at Nurmengard. The surname unmistakably beloo the first Dark Lord: ''Gellert Grindelwald.''

  While the individual in the book was not a direct desdant of Gellert Grindelwald, they were a blood retive who had somehow ied his rare araordinary talents.

  In truth, the very philosophy Dumbledore had lectured Snape about earlier had been influenced by his visit to Grindelwald. That versation had subtly but profoundly reshaped his outlook.

  "Albus," Grindelwald had said during their meeting, "Our failures stem fr to ge too much— too many people, too mainies— without realizing that we are merely wizards, albeit powerful ones."

  "Wizards udge fate, but they should ry to dictate it. Now, all I wish is for this child to walk her own path as a wizard, guided by the lessons I've learned in refle."

  These were Gellert Grindelwald's exact words to Dumbledore.

  There was even a hint of pleading in his tone, making it truly difficult for Dumbledore to refuse him.

  A.

  The reason for Dumbledore's lingeriation and doubt was simple: he could not be sure whether Grindelwald's words carried a hidden agenda.

  Granted, Grindelwald might not lie ht, but he was certainly capable of misleading Dumbledore. No one in the world uood the art of nguage better than Gellert Grindelwald.

  Earlier, when Dumbledore cimed he was not as clever as others believed, it wasn't false modesty or a fa?ade of humility. He had, throughout his life, left a trail rets due to his overfiden his own intelligenbsp;

  For this reason, Dumbledore resonated deeply with Grindelwald's words.

  But it was also for this reason that Dumbledore worried Grindelwald might be plotting something again.

  It wasn't paranoia— it was caution born from experienbsp;

  After all, Grindelwald had ged signifitly during his years in Nurmengard, more so than Dumbledore had ever imagihe most notable ge occurred in a particur year that Dumbledore could never fet.

  "1979..."

  It was during that year, on a certain day, that the once-downtrodden Grindelwald seemed tain his old vitality and ambition. That was the first time in years that Dumbledore, stunned by the transformation, had rushed tard to see his old friend.

  "Dumbledore, I hope you will bear wito the ges in this world alongside me, rather than trying to stop them."

  "You stop me, stop many things, and even stop that om. But, Albus, her you nor I prevent the rise of legends."

  That was the year Grindelwald, seemingly reinvigorated, rearranged his living quarters, dined on steak, and spoke with the fidence of a man who had shed twenty or thirty years from his soul.

  And this year.

  This was the year the children born in 1979 would begin their jour Hogwarts.

  "The legend you spoke of... is it your desdant?" Dumbledore murmured softly, his haly trag the name in the ''Book of Admittance''. His words were barely audible, meant only for himself.

  (End of Chapter)