Back in Geneva.
Tver still had no idea that his teacher was shifting the trouble onto him, but the moment he heard that voice, he knew who was speaking.
Dumbledore!
Of course, with Tver present, there were only a handful of people who could hide inside the conference room without anyone noticing, even if he had not checked carefully. Dumbledore was one of them.
Sure enough, he stood and looked toward the voice. Dumbledore, dressed in ordinary clothes, slowly rose from a remote corner and walked step by step toward the center of the conference hall. Walking beside him was his teacher, who was winking and making faces at him.
But the ones even more surprised than Tver were the ambassadors and the Secretary-General present.
"Who are you?" the Secretary-General asked, standing up in alarm.
From the way Dumbledore tapped his wand and had suddenly appeared, this old man was clearly a wizard.
And a powerful one.
When they thought of how this meeting's decisions were aimed at the dark wizards of the magic world, the Secretary-General and the ambassadors assumed the news had leaked, and that dark wizards had come knocking.
Seeing that the conference room was about to fall into inexplicable panic, Babajide quickly stood and loudly reassured everyone. "Ladies and gentlemen, allow me to introduce him."
He strode toward Dumbledore, the friendly smile on his face calming the people present considerably.
"This is the former President of the Wizards' Confederation, the greatest pillar of security in the magic world, the First White Wizard, Albus Dumbledore!"
Although Dumbledore had many dazzling titles, to the ambassadors present, none inspired more respect than "First White Wizard."
Moreover, the Joint Operations Office was under the jurisdiction of the Wizards' Confederation, and whenever the Aurors of the Office mentioned the Confederation, Dumbledore's name was absolutely unavoidable.
So some ambassadors with good memories immediately recalled this powerful wizard, whose name had only slipped out in fragments during Auror conversations.
Those ambassadors excitedly explained their shallow knowledge to the people around them. No matter what, the people present were no longer panicked. Instead, they became so excited that they wanted to approach Dumbledore and make his acquaintance.
What felt wrong to them, however, was that this old man was not as kind as the descriptions had said. Instead, his face was stern as he slowly walked up to Tver and stopped before him.
"For the past half year, I have indeed spent most of my time thinking about the relationship between Voldemort and Harry. But I trusted Babajide and your ability even more, believing you could manage the Confederation's affairs properly."
"And the result? You have actually treated the Confederation as a path to destroy The Statute of Secrecy! Do you know that the Wizards' Confederation exists to uphold The Statute of Secrecy?"
Babajide: ∑(O_O;)
What had he just heard?!
Tver actually wanted to drive the Confederation into overturning The Statute of Secrecy?!
Although Babajide had indeed been carrying out many policies Tver suggested, and had even asked him to help handle many difficult matters, he had always thought this came from Dumbledore's instructions.
It was precisely because of his trust in Dumbledore, and because the policies Tver promoted seemed beneficial to both wizards and Muggles, that he had pushed them so forcefully.
And now, it turned out Tver wanted to overturn The Statute of Secrecy?!
Babajide's eyes widened. His shocked expression made him look even more at a loss than the ambassadors.
But Tver, standing at the center of the storm, was unusually calm.
Although he did not know why Dumbledore had suddenly decided to lay everything bare, it was not as if he had never anticipated this day.
To be honest, the fact that he had managed to hide it until now was already because Dumbledore had been excessively indulgent.
"Although I've spent far less time in the magic world than you have, I think you've mistaken the means for the end, Dumbledore."
His voice was not loud. Only the few people at the central conference table could hear him.
"The Wizards' Confederation was not created to uphold The Statute of Secrecy. Or rather, our predecessors enacted The Statute of Secrecy and established the Wizards' Confederation in order to protect wizards!"
"So what?" Dumbledore frowned. "The Statute of Secrecy is protecting wizards…"
"It is also harming wizards!"
"Do you think I trust them? Do you think I trust the regimes they represent?"
Tver swept his arm out and turned to face the ambassadors present.
"No. No one understands the greed and filth in their hearts better than I do!"
While the ambassadors were completely bewildered, he turned back to Dumbledore.
"That is why, before they act, I must use every possible means to protect wizards!"
Sensing the sincerity in Tver's words, Dumbledore's question lingered on his lips, but in the end, all that came out was a sigh.
"But you don't need to overturn The Statute of Secrecy. I can choose to support you in establishing the Joint Operations Office, and I can support your negotiations with Muggle governments."
"No." Tver shook his head. "It is necessary. It is absolutely necessary, Dumbledore."
"If wizards cannot appear openly before Muggles, then tragedies like Ariana's will continue happening again and again…"
"You should not mention my sister!"
The mention of painful memories made Dumbledore instinctively uneasy.
"Why shouldn't I mention her?" Tver gritted his teeth, frustrated by his refusal to face it.
"Because you were powerless to fight against the tragedy of your sister and your family, does that mean you can let yourself watch in peace as more innocent children are dragged into troubles that should never exist?"
Back then, Dumbledore had wanted to overturn The Statute of Secrecy precisely because his younger sister, Ariana, had displayed magic and been bullied by Muggle children who knew nothing of the truth. It was because of that that Ariana had ultimately become an Obscurial, destined not to live long.
To a certain extent, that lack of understanding from those Muggle children was the origin of the Dumbledore family's tragedy.
Yet now, Dumbledore had become a defender of The Statute of Secrecy. In Tver's eyes, rather than a righteous hero, he was a coward who had been unable to fight fate and had chosen the most passive way to lick his wounds.
"You are a coward, Albus Dumbledore!"
Tver's words were like a knife, and like a pair of tweezers, tearing open the scars Dumbledore had buried deep in his heart.