This power was not so easy to master, and Ethan was already mentally prepared, so he wasn't anxious. He still had the mood to learn other things each day and occasionally guided Snape in potion brewing. Snape had already regarded himself as an apprentice and showed no dissatisfaction at all.
Dumbledore was aware of this situation, but it was certainly a good thing for a wizard to gain more profound knowledge.
Moreover, no one trusted Snape more than Dumbledore did, and Snape growing stronger meant their side also grew stronger.
After quietly watching Ethan fiddle with the Time-Turner for a while longer, then put it away with a flick of his hand, Dumbledore finally withdrew his gaze.
"What do you think of Tom Riddle?"
At the mention of this name, Dumbledore recalled Ethan's previous comment, saying that comparing him to Tom Riddle was giving Riddle far too much credit.
At the time, his first reaction was that Ethan was too arrogant. But now, Dumbledore no longer thought so. He had to admit Ethan had been telling the truth.
"Not much."
Ethan still spoke honestly. He genuinely didn't think Voldemort was any threat, which was why, even though he knew what all of Voldemort's Horcruxes were, he had never once considered collecting and destroying them.
To him, whether Voldemort was alive or dead didn't matter at all. Even if Voldemort were to return and lead his followers into a global wizarding war, as long as it didn't interfere with Ethan, he could pretend Voldemort didn't exist.
If he did interfere, then Ethan would simply take some time to get rid of this small fry.
Dumbledore silently thought, as expected. For beings at this level, Voldemort really was just a weakling that could be eliminated at any time.
"Are you hesitating about whether or not to let Voldemort return?"
Dumbledore didn't speak and hadn't left, so Ethan knew the old man must be wrestling with something and wanted to talk but hadn't yet made up his mind.
After a moment of thought, Ethan guessed what he was struggling with.
For the wizarding world, Voldemort's resurrection might actually be a good thing.
Voldemort would draw out the most radical and extreme wizards, forcing them out of hiding.
More importantly, once those people chose to side with Voldemort, they would naturally be treated as enemies by the majority of wizards. At that point, many methods and tactics that were previously restricted could be used against them freely.
Maybe this purge wouldn't be completely thorough, and pure-blood supremacists and wizard supremacists would still remain. But after suffering a crushing defeat and losing their allies, they wouldn't dare cause trouble for a while.
By the time a new generation of young wizards grew up and further squeezed the space those people occupied, the wizarding world would finally be stable.
This was Dumbledore's plan. It was also the future he hoped for.
Looking back at the entire Harry Potter story, the plot had indeed developed in this direction. Of course, this didn't mean Dumbledore was some cold-blooded schemer. He truly gave everything, including his own life, for the future of the wizarding world.
This was completely different from those who claimed to act "for the future" but were unwilling to sacrifice anything themselves.
It was just that Dumbledore didn't want too many innocents to be caught up in the coming storm. The members of the Order of the Phoenix may have had the resolve and preparation to die for their cause, but Dumbledore hoped they could play more important roles in the future instead of perishing in this conflict.
"So you're worried that Voldemort's resurrection will lead to too many innocent casualties?"
"Yes."
Ethan pursed his lips. Dumbledore was indeed clever. He had accurately predicted most of what was to come, and he had judged correctly—Voldemort's resurrection would definitely result in the loss of many innocent lives.
From Dumbledore's perspective, the solution was simple: if he didn't want people to die, then just don't let Voldemort come back.
But Voldemort's return wasn't something that could be stopped just because someone wanted to stop it. With the extensive and hidden preparations Voldemort had made in advance, even if Dumbledore wanted to intervene, he wouldn't know where to begin.
But now things were different. Ethan's presence gave Dumbledore another option.
He believed that as long as Ethan was willing, he could completely prevent Voldemort's resurrection.
"I do have a way to stop Tom Riddle from returning, but in that case, how do you plan to deal with the rats in the wizarding world?"
Dumbledore let out a long sigh. The idea of letting Voldemort return was mainly born out of helplessness. He had no way to prevent it, so he had chosen to guide things toward a better outcome.
He had even prepared himself for sacrifice, and had predicted that many friends and companions would also fall.
But now, when given the chance to choose, Dumbledore found he still couldn't bear to watch those people die.
Ethan looked up at the night sky outside and casually spotted Lupin bouncing around like a fool on the balcony, gazing at the moon—completely unaware he was being watched.
"I think compared to all that, it's more important that your friends get to live."
Dumbledore finally made his decision. At most, he would hang on for a few more years, continue to wrestle with the rats in the shadows, and protect the new generation of young wizards. When they had truly grown, he would pass on the responsibility of making the wizarding world better.
"Maybe the process will be slower and the trouble constant, but I believe the wizarding world will continue to improve."
Outdated ideas like pure-blood supremacy, wizard supremacy, Muggles being inferior beings, and Muggle inventions being worthless would eventually be eliminated from the wizarding world.
"Just for that sentence, I'll help you with this."
If Dumbledore had chosen to sacrifice his friends for some so-called greater future, Ethan definitely wouldn't have given him any more respect.
Fortunately, although Dumbledore was a clever old fox, he was a kind-hearted one with strong moral values.
Although Ethan sometimes felt people like him were too soft and inefficient, it didn't stop him from respecting them.
"Actually, things aren't as troublesome as you think."
"Oh?"
Dumbledore's answer had satisfied Ethan, so he didn't mind putting in a little extra effort to help resolve the wizarding world's problems.
"If Voldemort wants to resurrect, then let him. The rats hiding in the dark have probably been suffocating for a while. Even if he doesn't return, they'll still jump out eventually. So we might as well use the existence of Voldemort, the universally recognized dark lord, to draw out and deal with those who choose to stand with him."
"But... if Voldemort returns, he'll definitely try to stir up chaos. How do we prevent anything from going wrong?"
"I can only guarantee nothing will happen to anyone at Hogwarts... as for those in the Ministry of Magic..." Ethan spread his hands. He couldn't manage them, and he didn't want to.
"That's enough."
The two stood in silence for a while longer, no longer discussing Voldemort or any future plans.
To Ethan, his strength in this world was overwhelming. Any kind of scheme or plan was meaningless.
If he wanted to solve something, he just had to walk over, fix it, and walk away.
Dumbledore, after receiving Ethan's promise, finally felt some relief. As for the Order of the Phoenix and the professors, he planned to give subtle hints to a few trusted companions. If anyone didn't want to be part of this 'operation,' they could withdraw early to avoid the storm.
For some time afterward, Dumbledore spent most of his time reaching out to members of the Order of the Phoenix.
As he had expected, none of them showed fear or panic upon learning that Voldemort's resurrection was inevitable. Nor did anyone back away. All of them were ready to stand firm on the front line.
After they had reached a unified stance internally, just as Dumbledore was preparing to ask Ethan more about Voldemort, he received word that Peter Pettigrew, who had just been thrown into Azkaban, had escaped.
This incident caused great embarrassment to many at the Ministry of Magic. At the same time, they were grateful that they hadn't publicly cleared Sirius Black's name or spread news about Peter Pettigrew, so only a few people knew what had happened.
The outside world didn't know that another prisoner had escaped Azkaban. In fact, it wasn't just one prisoner who had escaped?
Taking advantage of Peter's escape, Dumbledore strongly pushed the Ministry to conduct a full investigation of Azkaban. Minister Fudge, though initially unwilling, had no choice but to agree given the continuous prison breaks.
And it would have been better not to investigate. Once they did, they found a major problem: nearly half the Death Eaters imprisoned in Azkaban were missing. No one knew when or how they had escaped.
Now Fudge was under fire from all directions. If he couldn't come up with a proper explanation, his time as Minister of Magic would be over.
Dumbledore, meanwhile, hurried back to Hogwarts and found Ethan again, who was sunbathing at the top of the tower.
"Peter Pettigrew and a large number of Death Eaters have escaped from Azkaban. That means the day of Voldemort's return isn't far off, right?"
Ethan sat up and saw Hermione flash by in a distant window... and then, moments later, saw her running back in another direction.
"They're still preparing... The formal resurrection will wait until the Triwizard Tournament."
That's when they would tamper with the events to bring Harry Potter to Voldemort.
(To be continued.)
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