John had come to Hagrid to commission the search for some materials.
Although he was the famous owner of Silverhand Johnny's, when it came to sourcing magical materials, Hagrid was the very best.
"Bistheim? I don't understand what you want the horns of those nasty creatures for."
Hagrid accepted the small card John handed him. His hand trembled, and the card unfolded into a list more than two metres long.
Some of the items were common enough, but others included magical creatures such as Bistheims, known for their aggressive nature.
Bistheims were giant magical creatures covered in scales and crowned with deer-like antlers. They were enormous and highly combative.
"I think they're too rare. You'll probably have to look in some shady places to find them," John said.
Hagrid never refused a friend's request for help.
He rolled up the two-metre-long list and poured a cup of tea from the boiling kettle before handing it to John.
"The international situation's pretty tense these days. Things you could've bought easily before now have to be smuggled in."
As soon as the words left his mouth, Hagrid covered it with his hand.
His big mouth had let slip something he probably should not have said.
John smiled helplessly.
"You don't have to treat me like a child, Hagrid."
"But you are a child," Hagrid said, shaking his head in disagreement. "You're still at school. I mean, no matter how famous you are, you're still young."
"Thanks, Hagrid. You're always so thoughtful."
John patted Hagrid on the arm and lifted the teacup to drink it.
Hagrid looked at him oddly.
"That was just boiled."
"You forgot? I'm a dragon."
John shrugged and opened his mouth, breathing out a small fireball.
"How do you do that?"
Hagrid's eyes lit up as though he had just discovered a fascinating magical creature.
"Every Animagus can only transform into an ordinary animal."
"Well, people are different," John said casually. "Besides, the animals Animagi become aren't really ordinary."
"Professor McGonagall's cat is far more agile than a normal cat. It has a cat's agility and a tiger's strength. I guarantee that if she transformed and charged at you, she could knock you flying, Hagrid."
Back when he attended Hogwarts, Hagrid's Transfiguration grades had been fairly good. He had once managed to give Dudley a pig's tail.
In the field of human transfiguration, Hagrid possessed considerable skill.
Even after John's explanation, Hagrid remained doubtful.
John gave him another example.
"Just like you, Hagrid. No offence."
"You're a half-blood with both wizard and giant blood. Animagi, on the other hand, infuse an animal form with a wizard's soul and magic. Their shape changes, but at their core, they're still wizards."
"A wizard's body is already subtly different from a Muggle's. After transformation, magic alters the body into a form capable of accommodating a different soul."
Hagrid still looked confused.
He scratched his head, feeling as though he was about to grow a brain from all the thinking.
John shrugged, set down his teacup, and patted Hagrid on the arm.
"In short, it comes down to one thing."
"The materials I need are related to Animagi and Patronuses," John said as he walked to the doorway. Squinting at the setting sun, he added, "A completely new and powerful form of protection."
Stepping outside, his voice drifted back through the doorway.
"I'll be waiting for good news, Hagrid."
"Leave it to me."
Even though he had not understood much of it, Hagrid still confidently made the promise.
Turning around, he noticed that the fireball was still floating in the air with no sign of dissipating.
Hagrid cautiously grabbed it with a pair of fire tongs.
The tongs, which normally needed to sit in a fire for a long time before turning red, immediately became golden-red.
He placed the fireball beneath the fireplace grate.
The golden flames continued burning endlessly, showing no sign of going out.
...
John was actually a very dangerous person.
A casual action from him could cause tremendous damage.
Just like the Eternal Fire he had released so casually.
It was a flame far more terrifying than ordinary Eternal Fire.
Similar to Grindelwald's Fiendfyre Shield Protego Diabolica, John's flames combined the Dark Magic of Fiendfyre with Gubraithian Fire.
Dumbledore had never been wrong.
The more he understood John, the more he feared the consequences of him going astray.
Dark Magic was not some martial arts manual without good or evil.
Dark Magic was called Dark Magic because it possessed the terrifying ability to corrupt the mind.
John could easily bring death upon the world.
That was what Dumbledore truly feared.
What frightened Dumbledore even more was John's seemingly limitless potential.
Every time he thought he understood the young wizard well enough, he would discover that what he had seen was only the tip of the iceberg.
"He is more terrifying than Riddle and Grindelwald, Severus."
This was what Dumbledore had said to Snape, and it was a statement Snape could not help but agree with.
"What we know is only the tip of the iceberg," Snape said.
"Yes, Severus."
The old guardian of Hogwarts, Dumbledore, placed his memories into the Pensieve and allowed Snape to view them.
He saw how that white-haired wizard had captivated the young Grindelwald, and how he had left the equally young Dumbledore utterly overwhelmed.
"No one has ever used Time Magic without paying a price."
"And yet he did. We don't know how he appeared in that era, nor how he returned to the present by means other than a Time-Turner." Dumbledore glanced at his two blackened fingers.
He had not forgotten how John had died beneath Voldemort's most vicious curse, only to rise again from the flames.
Time.
Soul.
Death.
The taboos this student had touched surpassed those of any other wizard.
That also meant the corruption his mind had to endure was dozens of times greater than that of an ordinary wizard.
"You don't trust him?" Snape looked at Dumbledore. "He killed Voldemort. When there was no possibility of his return, why were you willing to help him?"
"I do trust him."
The wise Dumbledore rarely appeared so uncertain.
"But I cannot gamble the entire world on that trust, Severus."
Snape shook his head coldly.
"You cannot stop his rise."
"His youth, his talent, his strength," Snape said. "There is nothing you can do, unless the greatest wizard personally takes action."
"But would you do that, Dumbledore?"
The question struck directly at Dumbledore.
He could not do it.
Whether it was the Yorl of the past or the John of today.
He had no grounds to oppose him, nor any reason to distrust him.
That was the contradiction.
The source of Dumbledore's dilemma.
"We need someone who, in the future, when everyone else is gone, can bring him back to his senses if he ever loses his way."
Dumbledore looked up at Snape and said,
"Harry Potter."
"Harry Potter?" Snape smiled in front of Dumbledore for the first time.
"You don't seriously believe he can stand alongside the King of Hogwarts and the Wizarding World, do you?" Snape said with the sharpest mockery. "Or perhaps you think John Wick will spare his life out of consideration for their former friendship?"
"Yes, that is what I think."
Dumbledore did not deny it.
He nodded and said, "Harry helped John during a certain period of his life. John would show him mercy."
Snape's breathing grew heavier.
Such shameless words had actually come from Dumbledore's mouth.
"What you need is not an heir."
"You need a Muggle psychologist, Dumbledore," Snape said coldly. "You've gone mad."
"You're gambling with Harry Potter's life, just like..."
"Just as I originally intended to use him against Voldemort?" Dumbledore let out a sigh. "Even you haven't noticed it. Our recognition of him has, without us realising it, turned us into followers of the King, Severus."
Snape froze.
He opened his mouth, unable to refute it.
"I cannot see through John, but I can understand the other one." Dumbledore looked at the figure within the Pensieve. "Grindelwald. I know him. During his years in Nurmengard, there was nothing unusual about him. His return carries with it the intention of changing the Wizarding World."
"He will not repeat the mistakes of the past. Every action he takes is laying the groundwork for the final outcome."
A trace of weariness appeared between Dumbledore's brows.
"To make magic great again. There is something he could never accomplish alone. And there is only one person who can help him achieve it."
"John Wick."
Dumbledore voiced his suspicion.
Snape staggered back in disbelief.
Then he stepped forward again, his face turning livid as he ground out the words through clenched teeth.
"I will not continue serving you, Dumbledore."
With that, Snape turned and walked toward the door.
"Then do it for Harry."
Dumbledore's words made him stop.
Several seconds passed before Snape finally opened the door and left.
Dumbledore continued gazing at Grindelwald's sinister face within the Pensieve.
A while later, Harry knocked on the door.
"Dumbledore, what is it?"
Harry entered, confused.
Dumbledore looked at him intently.
The only thing capable of restraining a king was emotion.
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