"...Using a magic school as your own weapons factory, lots of people have done that. For example, Voldemort, when he was first starting out."
"Or Dumbledore, now. Probably only someone like Grindelwald would ever look down on such a method and refuse to use it."
"I'm not as arrogant as him, so I relied on this approach to reach a cooperative relationship with Dumbledore, sharing partial control over a certain academic system."
"Originally, I thought that was already enough. After all, the other wizarding schools, as the most important institutions of magical education, are tightly controlled by others."
"But this time, the International Confederation of Wizards made a huge mistake!"
"They never should have used economic sanctions as a way to punish Durmstrang!"
"Those sanctions certainly hurt Durmstrang deeply, but at the same time, they cracked open what had once been a perfectly sealed fortress, creating a gap that allowed me to step in!"
"You have to understand, Durmstrang doesn't have anyone like Dumbledore! Which means the school board's power can be exercised to its fullest extent!"
"Given time..."
Link didn't continue speaking, but his eyes, already growing red, glowed even brighter in the darkness.
That made Beckman shudder involuntarily. He said excitedly, "Hogwarts, Durmstrang, and then the Flamel and Beckman families, such a great alliance would surely make Lord Grindelwald's glory shine once again!"
"Idiot!"
Link's cold voice cut through Beckman's fantasy. "This power isn't to revive Grindelwald, it's to fight Voldemort! Besides, whether it's Grindelwald, Dumbledore, or Voldemort, they're all relics of the past. This is a new era."
"Even if I had the ability to achieve what they did, why would I still support Grindelwald? I can make myself the new banner!"
Beckman trembled even harder.
At that moment, he was completely overwhelmed by Link's vision, unable to pull himself out of the shock.
Even in his wildest dreams, he had never imagined scenes like the ones Link was describing.
Replace Grindelwald? Surpass him?
That was impossible... No, if it were Link, then maybe, just maybe, it could happen. After all, he was a monster.
Beckman took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down, and asked slowly, "Why... are you telling me all this? Even though I'm your grandfather, our relationship isn't exactly close enough for you to reveal such a grand plan to me, is it?"
Hearing that, a faint smile finally appeared on Link's cold face.
He walked slowly over to stand before Beckman, looking him straight in the eyes.
"After I secure a seat on Durmstrang's Board of Governors, I'll establish a new course there, one just as important as Charms or Potions, Defense Against the Dark Arts. And you will go there to serve as its professor."
"That means I'll personally guide the minds of Hogwarts students, while you'll be responsible for doing the same at Durmstrang!"
"Before that, to ensure your work goes smoothly, I naturally have to tell you what I really want Durmstrang's students to believe!"
"Also, I must warn you..."
"I will not allow you to spread your so-called 'Saint' ideology among Durmstrang students. Grindelwald is the past. I am the true guide of the new era!"
"This isn't just for me, it's for the Beckman family as well."
"I'll include this matter in our Unbreakable Vow. If you violate it, not only will you be punished, the entire Beckman family will be destroyed."
"Don't doubt me. I'm Dumbledore's ally now, and you should understand that I have the right to propose, before the International Confederation of Wizards, the extermination of a family suspected of harboring 'Saint' sympathies."
"You... you despicable...!"
Beckman's eyes widened, his voice trembling with shock and rage.
For a "Saint" to be forced to betray his own faith, his reaction was not surprising.
But Link wasn't worried in the slightest that Beckman would refuse him, or even turn against him.
He was confident that he understood Beckman completely. And besides, he had never respected the man anyway.
Just as Beckman himself had once said, the real Saints, the ones with true conviction, all died decades ago in the Great Purge.
All that talk about "temporary surrender to fight another day"?
Nothing but an excuse for cowards to comfort themselves.
Do a few good deeds and think you can wash your sins away? Dream on.
At that crucial moment, they should have died with honor. Since they chose to live in shame, they've already doomed themselves to be nailed to the pillar of disgrace forever.
The only difference between Beckman and the rest of the cowards' alliance was that Beckman had a thinner skin, he just wanted to do something to ease his guilt.
And a man like that, faced with such great personal gain, could he possibly resist?
Link didn't believe it for a second.
Sure enough, even though Beckman looked furious, he still didn't turn on Link. He just panted heavily and asked, "Lately, the International Confederation of Wizards has been focused entirely on Durmstrang. They won't let you turn it into your weapons factory."
Link grinned.
"So that means you agree, then?"
Beckman didn't reply, still staring at Link with unblinking eyes.
Clearly, he wasn't going to answer until he got what he wanted.
Link just chuckled and shook his head.
"They'll soon have no time to pay attention to such small matters."
"Because of Voldemort? Impossible!" Beckman snapped, waving his arm.
"Everyone knows Voldemort's just a creepy, petty troublemaker. His ambitions are limited to Britain! The Confederation won't bother with that nonsense."
"Remember, when Grindelwald led us rampaging across Europe, Britain was the least damaged, and they've always been two-faced about our suppression! The other countries and the Confederation have hated Britain for years because of that!"
"This time it's different," Link said calmly. "This time, it's not just Voldemort who's returned, but another, far more terrifying and unknown force."
"For them, one Britain won't be enough."
"Just wait, my dear grandfather. It's only a matter of time before war spreads across all of Europe, and then, the entire world."
He spoke quietly, and when he finished, he ignored Beckman's ongoing shouts of denial. He simply lifted his head and gazed up at the crescent moon hanging in the sky.
He remembered the night years ago when he and Emily had watched the moon together, and now, it seemed to him that tonight's crescent was slowly changing shape, until it turned into a cruel, twisted smile.
At the same time, far away, the mysterious man known as "Number One", who had clashed with Dumbledore during the Triwizard Tournament and was called "No. 1" by Voldemort, was also gazing at that same moon.
His view was much clearer than Link's.
No branches blocked his sight, only the vast sea, a beach, rocky cliffs, and a steep precipice.
Standing there, cloaked in black, his face hidden, he seemed almost to melt into the misty night itself.
Only the faintly golden Dark Mark on his robes gleamed under the night wind, fluttering as if alive, its presence chillingly vivid.
No one knew how long he stood there before No. 1 finally came back from his moonlit trance.
He lowered his head slowly, and looked down.
Below lay a bloody battlefield.
A Death Eater, his body also branded with the Dark Mark, was leading a desperate charge toward a cliffside stronghold.
With their furious shouts, countless eerie green rays shot toward the cliff's entrance, like a storm of poisonous rain.
Moody, Mr. Weasley, Sirius, Hagrid, Lupin...
More than a dozen members of the Order of the Phoenix were defending the entrance.
Facing the Death Eaters' assault, they could only raise wave after wave of protective enchantments, like fragile boats in a raging storm, barely holding on.
As the strongest fighter on their side, Moody was one of the few who still had the strength to counterattack.
He hurled a thunderous explosion that blasted back another wave of Death Eaters, then turned and shouted angrily toward the cave behind him, "Dumbledore! We can't hold much longer!"
"We must hold!"
Sirius shouted back on Dumbledore's behalf. "There's a Horcrux hidden in here! We have to hold until Dumbledore destroys it, otherwise all of this will be for nothing!"
"You think yelling that makes it possible?! You brat! I've killed more Death Eaters than you've ever seen! And I can tell you with certainty, we can last three more minutes at most!"
"Any longer, and we'll be torn apart!" Moody growled, blasting another Death Eater with deadly precision thanks to his magic eye. "I don't mind dying here, but tell me, would that death mean anything?"
"All right, stop arguing! If we've got three minutes, then we hold for three minutes!" Lupin's hoarse voice tried to calm them. "I just wish Professor Snape were here. If he were, we wouldn't be in such a mess."
Hagrid, who was channeling his magic into maintaining the shield through his giant umbrella, raised an eyebrow.
"Don't count on it. Professor Snape went to Germany, to protect Link."
At that, Sirius's eyes widened in fury.
Images flashed through his mind, of Link tormenting him and Lupin, of those vicious-looking hunters who served him.
He roared, "I don't think Link needs his protection! That cowardly, greasy git just used it as an excuse to run away!"
"Severus is no coward. His mission to Germany was done with my approval."
Dumbledore's calm voice came from behind them, stunning everyone for a moment. Then Hagrid's face brightened.
"Professor Dumbledore! You did it?"
But Dumbledore's expression showed only regret as he shook his head.
"Unfortunately, no. Voldemort set far too many enchantments in place, and the time I had was far too little."
He glanced at Moody. "And I agree with Alastor. Though we don't fear dying here, such a death would be meaningless."
"So, retreat."
With that, Dumbledore swung his wand. A massive vortex of space opened before them, sucking everyone inside.
And just before he too vanished, Dumbledore looked up at the crescent moon hanging above the sea.
The moon he saw was thinner than the one Link had seen.
But like Link, he also thought it looked like a giant grinning down at him. The only difference was, that grin held a hint of mockery.
———
"Master, Dumbledore has retreated. Should we make our entrance now?"
On a distant cliff, a fully armored Death Eater bowed respectfully to No. 1.
But No. 1 said nothing, he merely nodded, and with a single flicker, he and the armored Death Eater Apparated to the deepest part of the cliff.
Contrary to what the Death Eater had imagined, it wasn't a narrow cave. It was an enormous chamber, dominated by a vast black lake.
The surface of the water, normally still, was now teeming with motion. Countless pale, waterlogged corpses floated up from below, thrashing and struggling.
But the moment No. 1 appeared, they all went still again, sinking quietly back into the depths.
Looking ahead, they could see a faint green glow flickering far across the lake, reflected eerily on the dead, black water. Other than that light, and the pale beams from two wands, there was nothing but absolute darkness.
A small, chain-bound boat was moored near them, but No. 1 had no intention of using it.
With a snap of his fingers, an invisible force lifted both him and the Death Eater into the air, carrying them toward the glowing center of the lake.
As they approached, they saw it, a huge stone platform, built entirely of black slabs. The green glow came from a stone basin at its center, filled with a shimmering emerald liquid.
No. 1 didn't hesitate. He reached directly toward the liquid, but no matter how hard he tried, his hand couldn't touch the surface, as if an invisible barrier blocked him.
"This is Number Four's work. Clever design, isn't it? As you can see, the only way to get what's beneath the surface is to drink all the liquid."
"And of course, the liquid itself is extremely toxic, and in a very special way."
As he spoke, No. 1 conjured a goblet and filled it with the green liquid, handing it toward the armored Death Eater.
The Death Eater flinched, he clearly didn't want to drink that stuff.
Fortunately, No. 1 seemed to be merely teasing him.
Laughing, he poured the liquid out into the lake.
But then, before their eyes, the liquid level in the basin, though it had gone down, quickly refilled itself.
"See? He even added a regeneration mechanism! How brilliant!"
No. 1 clapped his hands in delight. "Good thing I know him so well!"
Then he waved his wand, releasing a flash of green light identical to the liquid's hue, and in an instant, the liquid vanished, revealing the golden locket lying at the bottom of the basin.
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