In the Harry Potter Without Harry Potter

Jon picked up the Elder Wand that was on the ground.

He could feel the great power contained in the wand, and it completely subjugated itself to him and was at his disposal.

Dumbledore smiled as he watched Jon pick up the Elder Wand.

"Don't forget what I told you before, there are times when one must be faced with a difficult choice when in fact the answer is quite simple."

Jon gripped the wand tightly in his hand, he knew what Dumbledore was talking about and nodded heavily.

And as if Dumbledore had completely finished explaining everything to Jon, he turned his head and looked at McGonagall and Flitwick as well.

"Going to say goodbye to a lot of old friends, a school with a Headmaster like me is a failure, and probably having professors like you is the luckiest thing these kids have ever encountered amid all the misfortunes that have befallen them."

McGonagall was sobbing uncontrollably by this time, and Flitwick turned his back to wipe away tears.

Finally, he turned his attention to Grindelwald who had been staring silently at him from right beside the hospital bed.

"As we talked before, you should have a long talk with Jon."

Dumbledore said softly.

Grindelwald's voice sounded like it was indifferent, but it took only closer attention to realise the tremor that was hidden behind the indifference.

"I have my own measure."

"You simply have too much measure sometimes." Dumbledore's voice had become prolonged, "It's hard to say if it's a flaw or a strength, but in any case, it's better than me, because, in a sense, I'm just a rotten old-fashioned person. You all want to innovate, and I'm afraid that changes would be too much of a shock to the world. But in reality, no history is set in stone, so I've never been one to point a finger at what you're doing after you came out of that High Tower."

Dumbledore glanced around at Jon and McGonagall left and right.

"Can you give the two old guys some privacy? I have some things I want to say to him at the end."

Jon and the others, though they were all saddened, heeded Dumbledore's words and walked away from this ward together, leaving him and Grindelwald alone in a private space.

Only after they had all completely left did Dumbledore slowly close his eyes, he already looked exhausted, like he was going to fall asleep at any moment.

"The promise I made you agree with me before, I will not force you to do it for sure, if it really comes to that time, just follow your own heart."

"I don't need you to say this, I know what to do."

"Ah~ yes, you're an assertive person."

A knowing smile appeared on his face, and the voice that seemed to be murmuring in a dream finally rang out.

"Say sorry to Aberforth for me, I'm going to go meet Ariana before him. If you don't want to see him again. Tell Jon to pass on the word."

This clearly sounded like an agreeable promise, but it left Grindelwald silent for a long time.

It was only when the stars lit up outside the window and the bright moonlight shone brightly on Dumbledore from high above, who he wondered if he had already fallen asleep, that he replied softly.

"I know."

Dumbledore fell into a complete and endless slumber.

As he had told Jon, this wasn't a death, but a well-traded journey, he had worked hard all his life, and now he really needed to have a little time for himself, to rest and relax.

McGonagall was discussing with Flitwick about whether or not to proclaim the news, to those within the Order of the Phoenix as well as the students of Hogwarts, everyone was concerned about Dumbledore's condition at this time, ever since Jon had returned with Dumbledore yesterday and his death had been announced on Voldemort's side.

Grindelwald didn't get involved in the discussion between them, he just took a serious look at Jon.

"What did Albus want me to say to you, do you know?"

Jon had calmed himself, and he tucked the Elder Wand into the cuff of his robes, meeting Grindelwald's gaze head-on.

"I can probably guess some of it, it's something to do with that abbey you used to take me to?"

Grindelwald was non-committal about this answer of his, he simply signalled for Jon to follow him and together the two of them made their way back into the Headmaster's office in Durmstrang.

The two men sat down opposite to each other just across the desk, there was no tea or dessert, and unlike Dumbledore, Grindelwald didn't look like he was prepared when it came to serious business.

"You already know what I once did."

Jon nodded, Grindelwald's previous exploits were actually a little better known to him than the vast majority of people.

"Albus in his younger days, he had shared my ambitions, but after that something caused us to go our separate ways, he became a Professor who teaches little children, while I continued on with that greater aspiration."

Grindelwald pointed to his eyes.

"I am a seer, it was a gift the world gave me as soon as I was born. And because of that I have always possessed a vision far beyond that of others, and it was at the beginning of this century that I saw the future of mankind."

"The Muggles were going to take a giant leap forward, their technology growing to the point where it was enough to destroy a city in an instant. It panicked me at the time; previously, when they hadn't mastered such powerful abilities, wizards were forced to shrink into a corner of the world and live like cockroaches; so now if they took control of such power, I concluded that there would be no more magic left to survive in this world."

"So I decided that the magical community itself had to be the one to strike first, to tear down the Statute of Secrecy, and to complete world domination over the Muggles before they could develop their technology to that point."

"The results were obvious, I failed, Dumbledore defeated me, completely crushed my plans and imprisoned me in a high tower. And the Muggles, as I saw them, worked on something extremely horrific, only because the Statute of Secrecy was maintained well enough by the current Ministry of Magic that a conflict between wizards and Muggles has yet to occur, and instead, a war has begun within the wizarding community."

Grindelwald's gaze held an unreadable depth.

"I actually thought about a lot of things in that tower, and I never doubted that I was wrong in my beliefs, that the conflict between wizards and muggles has always existed, it's just that the Statute of Secrecy hides this conflict like a fragile isolation barrier. But once that barrier is broken one day, then all the life in this world will face a test of life and death."

"Like what Voldemort is doing right now, the more frequent the wars between wizards become, the easier it is for magic to be exposed to the muggles, and even if this barrier remains maintained, there is no end to his desires, and the magical world is not equal to the whole of this world. At that point, the war I envisioned will inevitably break out as well."

"Then what exactly can be done to defuse such a war between two different breeds vying for world hegemony?"

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