On the eighth floor of Hogwarts Castle, along the wall lined with portraits of former headmasters and headmistresses—
Soft chattering voices rose and fell without pause.
A witch with long, cascading silver curls asked in disbelief, "Phineas, are you certain Albus will be joining us soon? Are you sure he's already…?"
A sallow-faced wizard with short black bangs chimed in from the side, "Yes, what if it's another false alarm like last time?"
"Absolutely not—I swear it!" Headmaster Phineas Black said solemnly, rubbing what little hair remained on his head. "In the Room of Requirement, I saw it with my own eyes—Albus sacrificed his life to save that girl…"
"Ah…" Headmistress Dilys Derwent let out a long sigh, lowering her head as if observing a moment of silence for the "departed" Albus Dumbledore.
"And then?" Headmaster Everard pressed, still unwilling to believe it.
"After that…"
Phineas shook his head.
"Jon carried Albus's body out of the room. I couldn't see anything after that, so there was nothing more I could do. I don't know what happened next… but the dead don't come back to life, do they?"
The Headmaster's Office fell into utter silence.
All the headmasters and headmistresses—regardless of era or origin—bowed their heads in collective mourning for the "departed" Albus Dumbledore.
"There's no need to be so somber!" Phineas continued. "That sort of grief is for the living. For us, this should be a joyous occasion—we ought to welcome Albus into our ranks!"
"Quite right!"
Headmaster Armando Dippet nodded in agreement.
"If we're commissioning a portrait of Albus, I recommend Violetta Bulstrode of Essex. She painted my portrait back in the day, and I was very pleased with it—assuming, of course, that Violetta is still alive."
As he spoke, Dippet coughed weakly a few times.
"I might as well go look for her right now!"
Before anyone could respond, Headmaster Armando Dippet vanished from his portrait.
"I have an empty spot below," said Headmistress Phyllida Spore, who rarely spoke. She was a witch with her hair swept up into a high bun. "Albus's portrait could hang there."
"Let Jon decide," Dilys Derwent said, lifting her head now that she had finished mourning. "If Albus truly has passed on, then he is already a Headmaster of Hogwarts. We should all obey his wishes."
As soon as her words fell, footsteps echoed outside the Headmaster's Office.
"Oh—he's here!" Phineas exclaimed excitedly.
...
Albus Dumbledore had just reached the corridor on the eighth floor.
It had taken him some effort to come up with an excuse to fend off Daphne Greengrass's persistent questioning.
Along the way, he encountered no small number of students and staff, forcing him to return greeting after greeting. It suddenly dawned on him why the former Albus Dumbledore rarely walked through the castle at all, usually relying on Fawkes to Apparate him instead.
At long last, he reached the "hideously ugly" stone gargoyle.
Just as Dumbledore was about to pass it and enter the Headmaster's Office—
The stone creature suddenly lowered its head and gently clamped onto the collar of his purple suit.
Dumbledore stared at it for a moment, then realization dawned. "You mean I need a new password, don't you… Let me think…"
He paced beside the gargoyle, muttering to himself.
"It has to fit the persona… what would work best… maybe…"
"Syrup Tart," he announced. "Yes, 'Syrup Tart' will do."
As he spoke, he reached out and patted the gargoyle's head.
The stone creature nodded eagerly, and Dumbledore stepped past it onto the moving staircase behind.
...
When he grasped the griffin-shaped brass door knocker and stepped through the gleaming oak door—
The Headmaster's Office, which had been buzzing with noise moments ago, fell instantly silent.
But as Albus Dumbledore walked forward step by step—
"Yow!" Phineas Black let out a strange yelp, as though he'd just been bitten.
All the headmasters and headmistresses stared at him in disbelief.
"What is it?" Dumbledore asked, glancing around in confusion. "Is something wrong?"
"Albus—you're alive! That's wonderful!" Everard said, wiping tears from the corners of his eyes, his face lit with excitement.
"That foolish Phineas," Elizabeth Burke snorted coldly. "I knew he couldn't be trusted. You can't expect sense from his mouth."
"I—I—I…" Phineas Black looked utterly flustered. "That's impossible… I saw it myself… wait…"
"You're still trying to argue?" Phyllida Spore snapped, turning on him angrily as her hand moved toward her wand.
Phineas looked deeply aggrieved, then suddenly seemed to realize something.
He pointed at Albus Dumbledore and shouted, "Jon—was it you? Did you deliberately disguise yourself as Albus?"
...
"So you figured it out?"
The white-haired old wizard began to change, his features shifting bit by bit until he became a young man with black hair and gray eyes.
"Hmph. As if I wouldn't recognize you," Phineas said smugly, casting a defiant glance at Phyllida Spore and Elizabeth Burke, who had just been glaring at him.
"But Professor Dumbledore isn't dead," Jon said casually as he settled into the Headmaster's comfortable chair.
"What?" Phineas's face changed at once. "But I clearly saw—"
"What you see isn't necessarily real," Jon waved him off.
"So Albus is still alive? Then where is he now?" Dilys Derwent asked eagerly.
"Professor Dumbledore is off on a spontaneous journey," Jon shrugged. "Which leaves this whole mess for me to deal with."
"So… Albus Dumbledore's portrait won't be appearing here anytime soon?" Phyllida Spore asked, disappointment creeping into her voice.
"Of course not," Jon replied without hesitation.
As the discussion continued in the Headmaster's Office, Headmaster Armando Dippet reappeared in his portrait.
"Oh, Jon, you're here," Dippet said between coughs. "Unfortunately, Violetta Bulstrode has already passed away. However, her niece, Christabel Bulstrode, is still alive—and they say her painting skills are no worse than her aunt's."
"?"
Jon stared at Dippet, completely bewildered.
"I've already spoken with Miss Bulstrode," Dippet continued cheerfully.
"The original price was twenty Galleons, but since I'm an old client, I managed to haggle it down to fifteen. She's preparing her supplies now and will be setting out for Hogwarts within the hour. Please make sure to receive her properly when she arrives."