"Among everyone you know, is there a wizard with higher magical attainments than you?"
Ares asked again, his tone as gentle as the breeze currently caressing the rolling lawns and the dark green lake surface. His eyes were curious, his smile bright, adopting the casual tone of small talk.
Cornelius Fudge twitched his reddened, round nose, his brow furrowing unconsciously, betraying a hint of impatience.
He wasn't particularly interested in this boring topic... he just wanted to steer the conversation toward matters he cared about.
However, he could understand Ares Delfino's persistence.
Young people...
They always had a bit of a competitive streak, more or less.
He probably wanted to hear some words of praise from the 'legendary wizard'—Albus Dumbledore himself. Something like—Oh, I'm afraid not, but given time, I believe you have the potential to surpass me, Ares...
Something along those lines.
Might as well give him a few compliments... to make the later conversation more pleasant?
Cornelius Fudge turned his face toward Dumbledore, signaling with his eyes for Dumbledore to 'play along'.
But when he noticed the expression on Dumbledore's increasingly irksome 'old face', confusion surfaced in the Minister's heart.
It was a... very grave and serious expression.
The peace and tolerance usually present in Dumbledore were gone, replaced by a sharp edge... He stared at Ares, his gaze deep.
Sharp indeed!
Ares silently praised Dumbledore in his heart—he knew his persuasive tone hadn't fooled Dumbledore...
Dumbledore had noticed... or guessed something.
"If the magical attainment you speak of is what I understand it to be..."
Dumbledore said in an even voice.
"My answer remains the same, Ares—Voldemort possesses Dark Magic powers that I could never possess (Fudge protested loudly)."
"You-Know-Who?"
Ares nodded, an understanding smile on his lips.
"Right, right—Dark Magic powers, exactly... How does he compare to Grindelwald?"
Grindelwald?
Dumbledore's expression grew even graver... even a bit suspicious.
"He... that is hard to compare, Ares."
"Oh, come on, Professor Dumbledore... We're just chatting, not writing a rigorous academic paper," Ares said lightly, asking with keen interest. "Just give me your impression—"
A moment of silence.
"If you must have an answer, Ares—"
Dumbledore spoke.
"Grindelwald favored Dark Magic, but mainly because he preferred the destructive power of Dark spells—he believed that causing more thorough destruction would shock people into submission.
Voldemort was also obsessed with Dark Magic, but he focused more on its cruelty, using brutality and violence to instill fear (Fudge protested again, his chubby frame trembling several times)."
"If the two of them... purely hypothetically, of course—"
Ares nodded in understanding, then asked, "Who would win?"
"I believe it would be Voldemort."
After a few seconds of silence, Dumbledore's eyelids fluttered slightly, and he spoke calmly.
Having said this much, Dumbledore didn't mind offering a few more comments.
"Grindelwald was too arrogant. Compared to him, Voldemort was clearly much more insidious... In a situation where their magical power was similar, perhaps Voldemort would be the one left standing..."
"Ah, I see."
Ares took it to heart and nodded with a smile. But then, showing a determination to get to the bottom of things, he asked, "Anyone else, Professor Dumbledore... besides those two?"
"If you insist on finding someone—"
Thoughts flashed through Dumbledore's bright blue eyes. He knew neither Grindelwald nor Voldemort was the answer Ares wanted... He pondered, hesitating.
"You already mentioned his name just now when praising my insignificant contributions to the wizarding world."
"Mentioned... Nicolas Flamel?"
"Ah—untold wealth and longevity!"
Fudge, who had been anxious about how to interrupt this topic, couldn't help but perk up with interest.
"Strictly speaking, Flamel is far more powerful than Voldemort or Grindelwald. Of course, he surpasses me as well—"
Dumbledore gave Fudge a cool glance, then turned to speak calmly to Ares.
"Flamel possesses the Philosopher's Stone... As the Minister said, he has a lifespan beyond the reach of others. In this long life, the magical knowledge Flamel has mastered through devoted research and study exceeds anyone else's."
"But he's not that formidable, is he, Dumbledore?"
Fudge clicked his tongue and asked casually.
"I met him twice after he settled in Britain for retirement... Oh, he's shockingly old, and his wife too—"
"Naturally."
Dumbledore stopped under a crooked willow tree, ignoring the swaying branches in front of him, and looked meaningfully at a thoughtful Ares.
"Even the Philosopher's Stone cannot truly grant eternal life... It merely keeps the bodies of Flamel and his wife alive.
However... I believe with your magical attainment today, Ares, you must understand—the soul ages with the passage of time... gradually losing control over the body and magic, eventually leaving this world.
No one can live forever... What do the Muggle scientists say, Ares? The planet we depend on for survival, and the entire universe, will one day perish."
"Life is brilliant because it is limited."
Ares nodded calmly, still pondering internally.
"I am glad we can reach a consensus on this point—"
Ares's conclusion lightened the shadow in Dumbledore's eyes considerably. Ignoring Cornelius, who was winking at him, he grew interested.
"Finally..."
Dumbledore smiled.
"Perhaps it is you, Ares?"
"Me? How so?"
"The magic you used to stop the train... Ah, of course, and that incident before—you know I refer to when you were in fifth year, reflecting the spells of dozens of attacking Slytherin students with a single spell—"
Dumbledore smiled faintly, with a look of praise.
"I didn't realize it back then, but after seeing the train... was that a derivative application of space based on the Undetectable Extension Charm?"
"To be precise—"
Ares nodded slightly, not hiding anything.
"It utilizes the strong interference effect of the Undetectable Extension Charm on space, as well as Gamp's Law's definition of [Spatial Energy], to perform refined, controllable transfiguration on space."
"Ah, understood... remarkable, Ares—"
Dumbledore's blue eyes shone brightly as he asked with great interest.
"Aside from an extremely profound understanding of the Undetectable Extension Charm and Gamp's Law, such controllable transfiguration demands even more from magical power—I mean control over magical power and... [Quantity]?"