"Ariana…"
At the sound of that voice, Dumbledore's eyes went unfocused for a second, but soon lit with excitement.
He looked around, and at last saw the figure he had longed for.
Dumbledore knew at once that Ariana, as she was now, was neither a ghost nor a living person of flesh and blood.
She was more like Marvolio after he had gained life force. Her body appeared flawless from the outside, but within, she was hollow, as though only a perfect shell remained.
But this was Ariana. The little sister he had thought about day and night…
She was still wearing the clothes she had worn when she died. Her figure and face remained frozen at that moment, but the timid smile on her face was gone, replaced by a sweet, beaming expression that seemed almost relieved.
But when she saw the Resurrection Stone in Dumbledore's hand, she seemed to understand everything.
"You shouldn't do this," she said reproachfully.
"The Resurrection Stone is useless. You should look forward, Brother. Dwelling on the past will only waste your talent and ability."
"No. I would rather trade all my talent and ability, even my life, if it meant bringing you back…" Dumbledore shook his head bitterly, unable to meet his sister's bright eyes.
"I won't allow it!"
Ariana puffed out her cheeks, pretending to look stern.
"There's no way to bring the dead back. You know that better than I do. And even if there were, I wouldn't allow you to desecrate my life!"
"Besides, my life ended long ago. You should have accepted that, Brother!"
By the end, her tone had truly become stern. It was a side of her Dumbledore had never seen before.
Or rather, ever since her magic had gone out of control, she had never again shown this innocent, lively, vivid side of herself…
At that thought, Dumbledore's grief surged up like wave after wave, rushing from his heart to his mind.
"You're right. It was my fault. I failed to protect you. I failed to take proper care of you…"
"?"
Seeing Dumbledore sink into self-blame, Ariana blinked in confusion. When had she said anything to blame her brother?
"No one in this world cared about me more than you did. You did nothing wrong!"
"What about Aberforth?"
"Er…"
Seeing her brother look almost jealous, Ariana choked for a moment, but that hesitation soon vanished.
"You two were the people who cared about me most in the world. I'm absolutely certain of that."
"But back then, it was because I brought Grindelwald into our home that the argument began…"
"No buts."
Though her tone was firm, a flicker of sadness still passed through Ariana's eyes.
"We all knew that from the moment my magic went out of control and I became an Obscurial, the countdown to my death had already begun ticking."
"If it hadn't been that day, it would have been some other foreseeable moment. If it hadn't been you, it would have been the Obscurus inside me…"
Did she resent them?
Of course she had. She had only wanted to show her muggle playmates her wonderful abilities, yet what she received in return was bullying born from misunderstanding.
But was it all in the past?
Naturally, it was…
When people saw something incomprehensible, something beyond common sense, it was only natural for fear to erupt.
She could not punish others simply because she had done something she should not have done. Besides, her father had already been punished for acting on impulse.
That chain of hatred was the last thing she wanted to see.
As if sensing Ariana's peace, Dumbledore's emotions gradually settled as well.
"What's past is past, Brother. Would you mind talking to Ariana about the future? I really want to know whether you've been living well!"
Ariana spoke excitedly, then trotted over and sat in the chair opposite Dumbledore. She propped her chin on her hand against the desk, looking adorable and ready to hear a story.
Dumbledore gave a helpless laugh.
Ariana had only ever shown gestures and expressions like that to Aberforth. Somehow, it gave him the strange feeling that he had won back a point.
"I'm afraid I may disappoint you. My life has hardly been that exciting…"
"How could that be!" Ariana pouted unhappily.
"You're a genius of the wizarding world. You must have experienced all sorts of things over the years. At the very least, your story with Grindelwald must be fascinating!"
At the end, she even raised her eyebrows teasingly.
Seeing the expectant look on his sister's face, Dumbledore smiled helplessly.
Perhaps he did not want to disappoint her, or perhaps he simply wanted someone to confide in. Bathed in the sunlight, he slowly began to tell her, bit by bit, everything that had happened after Ariana passed away.
Ariana proved to be an excellent listener. From time to time, she gasped softly, offering her own reactions, sometimes reproachful, sometimes delighted.
There were moments when Dumbledore felt he could not go on, and Ariana would quickly ask about something that interested her.
"You really didn't mind falling out with Grindelwald back then… all right." Seeing her brother show her a rare stern look, Ariana stuck out her tongue. "I just think it was a bit of a pity."
"Grindelwald's view of this world was fundamentally wrong. I had a duty to protect…" Dumbledore paused. "To protect children like you, and many more innocent people…"
"Even though I always fail to do it well…"
"You've already done very well!" Ariana said encouragingly.
"As long as I stayed by your side, Ariana always felt completely safe, because I knew the most powerful wizard in the world was right beside me!"
"But I'm still a little unhappy. Very unhappy!" She planted both hands on her hips in anger.
"I've listened to you talk for so long, but all I see is a First Wizard who has trapped himself in place!"
"What happened to your ambitions? You clearly had so many great ideals, but I don't see even the slightest drive in the person you are now!"
"The Albus Dumbledore I want to see, the one who made me feel completely safe, is proud and confident. Not a brother who drowns himself in guilt and gives up on himself over a mistake that was never truly his fault!"
Hearing his sister's reproach, Dumbledore opened his lips in panic. They had gone dry from speaking for so long.
"I… I only… I only wanted…"
To make it up to you…
As if sensing Dumbledore's thoughts, Ariana smiled, both comforted and sad.
"You're the best brother in the world, and Ariana doesn't want to say goodbye to you either. But Brother…"
Ariana cupped Dumbledore's tear-streaked face in her hands, her eyes smiling as she spoke in a gently coquettish tone.
"The truth is, this world needs you far more than Ariana does. So I suppose I can only lend such a wonderful brother to everyone else."
"Ariana hopes that the next time we meet, she'll see a brother smiling brightly, proudly telling Ariana…"
"That because of you, the world has become a better place…"
"Yes…"
As Ariana disappeared, only Dumbledore remained in the Headmaster's office, sobbing uncontrollably.