Glorious young leaders of the revolution.

“Oh, I had a few scruples. I assuaged my conscience with empty words. It would

All be for the greater good, and any harm done would be repaid a hundredfold in benefits

for wizards. Did I know, in my heart of hearts, what Gellert Grindelwald was? I think I

Did, but I closed my eyes. If the plans we were making came to fruition, all my dreams

Would come true.

“And at the heart of our schemes, the Deathly Hallows! How they fascinated him,

how they fascinated both of us! The unbeatable wand, the weapon that would lead us to

power! The Resurrection Stone – to him, though I pretended not to know it, it meant an

army of Inferi! To me, I confess, it meant the return of my parents, and the lifting of all

Responsibility from my shoulders.

“And the Cloak . . . somehow, we never discussed the Cloak much, Harry. Both

Of us could conceal ourselves well enough without the Cloak, the true magic of which, of

Course, is that it can be used to protect and shield others as well as its owner. I thought

That, if we ever found it, it might be useful in hiding Ariana, but our interest in the Cloak

Was mainly that it completed the trio, for the legend said that the man who had united all

three objects would then be truly master of death, which we took to mean ‘invincible.’

“Invincible masters of death, Grindelwald and Dumbledore! Two months of

Insanity, of cruel dreams, and neglect of the only two members of my family left to me.

“And then . . . you know what happened. Reality returned in the form of my rough,

Unlettered, and infinitely more admirable brother. I did not want to hear the truths he

Shouted at me. I did not want to hear that I could not set forth and seek Hallows with a

Fragile and unstable sister in tow.

“The argument became a fight. Grindelwald lost control. That which I had always

Sensed in him, though I pretended not to, now sprang into terrible being. And Ariana . . .

after all my mother’s care and caution . . . lay dead upon the floor.”

Dumbledore gave a little gasp and began to cry in earnest. Harry reached out and

was glad to find that he could touch him: He gripped his arm tightly and Dumbledore

Gradually regained control.

“Well, Grindelwald fled, as anyone but I could have predicted. He vanished, with

His plans for seizing power, and his schemes for Muggle torture, and his dreams of the

Deathly Hallows, dreams in which I had encouraged him and helped him. He ran, while I

Was left to bury my sister, and learn to live with my guilt and my terrible grief, the price

Of my shame.

“Years passed. There were rumors about him. They said he had procured a wand

Of immense power. I, meanwhile, was offered the post of Minister of Magic, not once,

But several times. Naturally, I refused. I had learned that I was not to be trusted with

power.”

“But you’d have been better, much better, than Fudge or Scimgeour!” burst out

Harry.

“Would I?” asked Dumbledore heavily. “I am not so sure. I had proven, as a very

Young man, that power was my weakness and my temptation. It is a curious thing, Harry,

But perhaps those who are best suited to power are those who have never sought it. Those

Date: 2015-12-11; view: 527