Chapter 387

Noon

Dumbledore brought Harry, and Grindelwald also came together to the safe house where they were

Grindelwald kept observing John, or rather Yaomei, with interest

A few days ago, during John's ritual to restore his physical body, he was not present

So, after hearing about John's situation, he was full of curiosity

Having a single body with two souls is already rare enough

I didn't expect that they could freely switch the dominant consciousness

Yaomei felt a bit uneasy being stared at

Dumbledore cleared his throat, interrupting Grindelwald's gaze: 'Let's get down to business first'

Only then did Grindelwald withdraw his gaze

'John, can you hear me?'

'Can you come out?'

Dumbledore spoke toward John inside Yaomei's body

Yaomei merely blinked, but immediately her gaze shifted from lively to steady, and John took control of the body

'Headmaster, Harry, you've arrived'

Looking at the two before him, John nodded slightly, his gaze falling on Grindelwald

'And Mr. Grindelwald, what a rare guest'

Grindelwald gave a light chuckle, but did not speak

He simply followed Dumbledore today to watch the excitement

Dumbledore also spoke at the right moment, staring at John and asking: 'Is your condition stable now?'

'It's quite stable, except that my soul is still somewhat weak and cannot sustain my long-term control of the body'

'Hermione should have told you as well; during this time I will let Yaomei keep consciousness in charge, while I hide inside the body to recover'

'And then occasionally I come out like this to handle some matters'

Upon hearing this, Dumbledore nodded; although this situation was unheard of, he was an old wizard who had lived a century, with an astonishing ability to accept

Harry also breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing that

Seeing that John could return, his hanging heart finally let go

'Then let's talk about Voldemort'

Dumbledore spoke again, turning his gaze toward Harry

Harry understood, took a deep breath, and looked earnestly at John

'John, I have made my decision'

'I will go face Voldemort directly'

'During this time I have thought a lot; I am grateful to you for making the decision to spend a lifetime opposing Voldemort for my sake'

'But that is not the future I want'

John listened quietly to Harry's words, a flash of 'as expected' crossing his eyes

Harry then continued speaking

'I want to completely end all of this, not just for everyone, but also for myself'

'These years I have suffered greatly under Voldemort's torment; I do not want to live in the shadow any longer'

'So now there is an opportunity to end Voldemort, and I will not shrink back'

Dumbledore looked at Harry, his eyes filled with a complex mixture of relief and pride

He gently patted Harry's shoulder, his voice soft yet firm: 'You've grown up, Harry'

Harry also returned a smile

'Alright, I should have guessed that earlier'

'How could the protagonist of a story possibly choose to hide behind someone else?'

'Harry is, and John is as well'

'These years since crossing over'

'His mindset has undergone quite a few changes, more or less'

'Before, he only thought that the protagonist's story had nothing to do with him; he only needed to live well his hard-won new life'

'But after so many years have passed'

'He can no longer regard himself as a mere bystander'

'He takes pleasure in seeing the protagonist's growth and transformation'

'He cannot bear to see innocent people harmed'

'He also wishes to live another life, to live out his own brilliance'

'After all, people are always this greedy'

'Then let's finish this battle together'

'Boldly carry out your choice, no matter what the final result'

'I assure you, Voldemort will surely be completely ended'

'Not just for everyone, but also for you'

John looked at Harry, smiling as he spoke

His tone carried an unquestionable certainty, as if he had already seen the ending

Harry nodded, his gaze firm as iron

The matter among a few people was settled.

After that, they discussed how to have Harry appear before Voldemort in the most suitable way and take a Killing Curse.

Only the Killing Curse will work; nothing else will do.

Even after taking it, they must not be subjected to corpse whipping.

If they can be reasonably restrained, leaving only Harry to face Voldemort, that becomes the key.

"Voldemort is not someone who will give up easily."

"John's accident this time is proof."

"So my current plan is to wait and see, make all possible preparations, and wait for Voldemort to take the initiative."

"Even so, we also need to cooperate with Voldemort, proactively stepping into his trap."

Dumbledore spoke slowly.

Hermione beside him furrowed her brows worriedly: "But, is the risk of proactively stepping into the trap too great?"

"The risk is indeed great," Dumbledore acknowledged, his gaze sweeping over everyone present, "but we have all prepared ourselves to sacrifice at any moment, which is how we got here."

Hearing this, Harry was somewhat moved.

Because he always thought this plan only needed to throw him out to die.

Unexpectedly, Dumbledore had prepared to proactively step into the trap to make Voldemort believe it.

This is not what he wanted.

"No," Harry's voice somewhat tense, "I cannot let you die for me."

Dumbledore gave a slight smile: "Harry, death is not frightening, especially for an old man like me who has lived over a hundred years."

"Moreover, how could I let you face it alone?"

Harry shook his head, still wanting to say something, when Grindelwald also spoke.

"Little brat, do you perhaps look down on us too much?"

"Although we are old bones, we are not something just anyone can easily handle."

His tone carried dissatisfaction, along with a carefree confidence.

"Although Voldemort's mind is not sharp, he is not a fool; he knows he cannot beat me and Albus combined, so if he truly wants to set a trap, there are only two possibilities."

"One is like last time, luring one of us over to pick them off one by one."

"The other is to use some means to trap us."

Voldemort's goal from beginning to end has always been to kill Harry and break the prophecy from years ago.

Harry is his primary target.

Dumbledore, Grindelwald, and even John are merely obstacles in his path to the goal.

And obstacles need not be eliminated; they can also be bypassed.

"So what we truly need to do is not to confront Voldemort head-on, but to make him think he will succeed," Dumbledore took over the conversation, speaking slowly.

At this point John also spoke.

"That's right, and now there's good news: Voldemort thinks I'm dead."

"So I can hide myself nicely, letting Voldemort only think about dealing with the Headmaster and Grindelwald."

"When those two are trapped, and Voldemort comes looking for you alone."

"Then I can appear at any moment, control the situation, ensure Voldemort can use the Killing Curse on you, or if you are hit, immediately eliminate Voldemort."

The news of John's resurrection spread only among the core members of the Order of the Phoenix.

When he was resurrected at Hogwarts back then, it was also during a holiday, and basically no one witnessed John's resurrection.

Nowadays, the only thing the outside world has seen is a newspaper image from a few days ago of Dumbledore holding his charred corpse.