"Because of my arrival?"
Avada's brows were tightly furrowed on the surface, but inwardly he already understood.
Most likely, it was because he—an outsider from beyond this world, carrying a head full of plot knowledge—had plunged straight into it and smashed the original course of fate into utter chaos.
"At first, I didn't know it was you."
Grindelwald's voice was low.
"When the original result of the prophecy first shattered, I realized with some alarm that I seemed to have lost the power of prophecy. No matter how I tried to reconnect with time and fate, they gave me no response at all. After a while, though, I got used to it. I was already a prisoner who had lost everything, so what was there to fear in losing prophetic power as well? I didn't even care much about losing my life anymore."
"But gradually, I discovered that I seemed to be able to commune with fate again, and use prophecy once more. Yet that only made me more frightened. Because I found that it was not merely the prophecy concerning myself—rather, it seemed that all fate had shattered into fragments, leaving me able to see only scattered pieces…"
"At that moment, I realized something enormous had happened."
"The entire world, at its most fundamental and most profound level, had undergone an unprecedented change. When I confirmed that point, I nearly rushed out of this cell to find Albus, or someone else… until another fragment of prophecy suddenly leapt into my mind."
"Another fragment of prophecy?"
Only then did Avada truly grow curious.
"What was it about?"
"The Deathly Hallows."
Grindelwald's smile seemed somewhat bitter.
"If I'm not mistaken, that name should hardly be unfamiliar to you."
"…"
Avada said nothing, only nodded silently.
"The fragment of prophecy I saw was this: a child of ten or so, inside a shabby house, carefully hiding a ring inside a box."
"And that ring—even if it had already been turned into shards, I still would have recognized it. It was the ancestral ring of the Gaunt family, and also one of the Deathly Hallows—the Resurrection Stone."
"And that child… was me?"
Avada pointed at himself.
"That's right."
Grindelwald sighed.
"At that moment, I realized I had probably, by accident, found the culprit behind fate's shattering—or at the very least, someone closely tied to it. Otherwise, nothing could explain why a child would be able to locate the Resurrection Stone with such precision, recognize that it carried both Horcrux magic and a curse, and even bring along a box specifically designed to seal away dangerous objects."
"So, if I could find that child, the problem would already be half solved. And at that time, the child was carrying a wand, dressed in proper robes, able to use all sorts of magic far beyond his years, and capable of obtaining an expensive sealing box… He was clearly closely connected to wizarding society, not some wild wizard wandering outside it. Which meant his movements were traceable."
He continued, "And the shattering of fate also brought an additional benefit. From then on, no one could make a complete prophecy ever again, but seeing simple fragments of possibility became much easier. And as the vice-headmaster of Nobby Leach University, I could make use of the school's enormous intelligence network to gather information and cross-check it against the fragments I saw…"
"So it became very easy for me to identify which fragments best matched reality, and then observe how those futures continued to develop."
"That is how I quickly learned your identity—especially since our university also has alumni within the Department of Mysteries."
"Wait."
After hearing all that, Avada was startled.
"You mean all Seers can sense the effects of fate shattering? Does that mean… I've already been exposed to every Seer in the world?"
"That should not be the case."
Grindelwald shook his head.
"To begin with, Seers are an extraordinarily rare profession. Whether there are even more than ten genuine Seers in the entire world is hard to say. Otherwise, why do you think I alone was able to directly shape an era through prophecy?"
"And in order to prophesy your existence, there has to be some prior point of contact. I was only able to observe you through the fate of the Resurrection Stone because I had pursued the Deathly Hallows in my early years. As for everyone else… that is another matter entirely. So there is no need for you to worry too much. Just keep it in mind in case something unexpected happens."
"That's good."
Only then did Avada let out a breath of relief, before continuing along the line Grindelwald had raised earlier.
"And then you sent Professor Baker to Hogwarts in order to observe and test me?"
"Exactly. Though a few unexpected things happened during the process."
Grindelwald nodded.
"Originally, the task I gave Benjamin was simply to observe you, to uncover as much of your true nature as possible, and judge whether you would pose any danger to wizarding society. But I must say, Benjamin truly deserves his reputation as one of the finest students of the past thirty years—through an almost insane plan, he exceeded my expectations, and in the process also brought me one extremely important piece of information."
His eyes narrowed, and suddenly, from those cloudy old eyes, there flashed a sharp gleam utterly at odds with them.
"You can see magic directly, can't you?"
Avada's pupils contracted violently.
The hairs all over his body stood on end as though they had exploded outward.
Even though he had long been mentally prepared for this, and already knew that at least some people had their suspicions… the moment that secret was openly, directly exposed to his face, he still felt as if his reason was about to drown in an overwhelming tide of unease.
Fortunately, at the very least, he now possessed the strength to protect himself. He no longer had to live every day fearing that some powerful figure might suddenly drag him away one day and cut him open.
"Relax. I have told no one about this, and I also ordered Benjamin to swear a strict secrecy oath."
Grindelwald seemed to see the unease Avada was struggling to suppress, so he offered an explanation.
"However, you should also prepare yourself mentally. With Albus's insight and experience, and given how much attention you've already drawn to yourself, he will inevitably have his own suspicions about you."
"…I know."
Avada swallowed hard.
He had practically revealed that to Dumbledore himself.
At the time, in order to ask for his help in protecting Harry and Baron, he had had no choice.
Although in the end the matter had not been fully exposed—Dumbledore had supposedly gone to London, though in hindsight he had probably deliberately stepped away and waited for Voldemort to jump into the trap—that still gave Avada room to maneuver, allowing him to tack on the excuse of an "American adventurer"…
But that probably was not enough to fool Dumbledore. The fact that he had simply handed over Nicolas Flamel's alchemy notes to him already said a great deal.
"And you needn't worry that I will use this to coerce you."
Grindelwald was still trying to ease his unease.
"From that observation, and from the things you later did, I concluded that you are no threat to wizarding society. On the contrary, you may even be of great benefit to it, and the risks you bring are not beyond control… That is also why I wished to meet you in person."
"The risks I bring? Not beyond control?"
Those two phrases caught Avada's attention.
"What do you mean by that?"
(End of Chapter)