Chapter 283

After a day of classes, what Harry looked forward to most wasn't the delicious food at the Great Hall table, but sitting in the library with Zhang Qiu to do homework after dinner. Though this week's assignments were just as heavy, clearly, the focus wasn't on the homework itself.

When Harry sat down at his usual spot, Zhang Qiu spoke with a slightly serious tone: "I've got results from the investigation."

"What investigation?" Harry blinked in surprise.

"About Aurelius Dumbledore. The classification of this information within the Magical Congress isn't very high—Donald told me everything easily," Zhang Qiu said. "He also suggested I verify all of it with Newt Scamander, meaning the information is almost certainly accurate."

"Alright, so what exactly is going on with Aurelius?" Harry grew serious. This man was tied to the Death Eaters' plot—they planned to use him to smear Dumbledore's reputation.

"He didn't know his origins at first. A Muggle adopted him and named him Credence Barebone," Zhang Qiu flipped through her notebook. "In his early years, he lived in an anti-magic community, which forced him to suppress his abilities so severely that he eventually developed an Obscurus."

"Anti-magic community?" Harry heard this term for the first time.

"His adoptive mother, Mary Lou Barebone, was the leader of the New Salem Benevolent Society, an anti-magic group in New York—a woman deeply obsessed with hatred for magic and mentally unstable," Zhang Qiu gave a sympathetic grimace. "Mary Lou knew his witch mother and constantly insulted and abused him because of it."

Harry unconsciously recalled his own experiences at the Dursleys' home; his emotions grew complicated.

"After one particularly brutal beating, Credence could no longer suppress his Obscurus. It erupted, killing his adoptive mother and causing massive destruction," Zhang Qiu recounted the poor boy's story calmly. "The incident caught Gellert Grindelwald's attention—he was then at the height of his fame—but he didn't believe Credence was the Obscurial. He thought no Obscurial could survive to that age."

"Grindelwald?" Harry recalled the memories he'd seen—he never mentioned Credence.

"Yes. He disguised himself as a Magical Congress official and approached him. Then, after misjudging him, he planned to abandon Credence. That triggered another Obscurus outbreak—this time nearly destroying half of New York, the event now widely known as the New York Obscurus Incident," Zhang Qiu said. "Some believed he died, but he didn't. He actively searched for his true identity until Grindelwald, wanting to use him, found him again and revealed his real name—Aurelius Dumbledore."

"But Grindelwald might've been lying just to manipulate him, right?" Harry frowned. "He isn't necessarily really a Dumbledore."

"He truly is of Dumbledore blood—he can summon a phoenix," Zhang Qiu said firmly. "Later, Dumbledore—meaning Albus Dumbledore's brother, Alastor—also confirmed his identity. He is Alastor's son."

"But given Alastor's condition, I can't imagine who his mother could've been," Harry felt the mystery had only deepened.

"No one knows. Albus once hinted vaguely that his mother was a girl from Godric's Hollow," Zhang Qiu shrugged. "The rest of the story is simple: after Aurelius and Alastor recognized each other as father and son, they lived together for a time—but sadly, he ultimately died from his Obscurus."

"Alastor said Aurelius's mother was a Muggle and died shortly after giving birth," Harry recalled what he'd overheard in the secret passage. "And that she was killed by Voldemort?"

"He's lying," Zhang Qiu said with certainty. "First, from the testimonies of his adoptive mother and neighbors, Credence's mother must've been a witch. Second, half-blood wizards rarely become Obscurials, let alone one as powerful as Credence. Third, when Credence wreaked havoc in New York, Voldemort had just been born."

"But why lie? Is Credence's mother's identity that special?" Harry didn't understand. "Something like a forbidden romance?"

"I have a theory," Zhang Qiu said mysteriously. "Or rather, Donald has a theory."

"What do you mean?"

"You know Alastor once tried casting an 'inappropriate spell' on a goat, right?" Zhang Qiu said. "What do you think he was trying to do?"

"Do what?" Harry knew nothing about the depraved sexual fetishes once popular in the Western world.

"Donald suspects Aurelius was born from Alastor and a goat," Zhang Qiu gave a strange, mischievous grin.

"A goat?!" Harry couldn't help covering his mouth. "That's impossible! Clara told me humans and animals have reproductive isolation."

"Magic breaks physics—why not biology too?" Zhang Qiu raised an eyebrow. "In any case, given Alastor's current mental state, I think this is a perfectly reasonable explanation."

"If the Death Eaters plan to use this to attack Dumbledore, it wouldn't really hurt him," Harry frowned, analyzing. "Even if Alastor is slightly perverse, it doesn't affect Albus's reputation. Besides, liking goats may be shocking, but he only does it behind closed doors—it doesn't harm anyone. Even if they target Alastor directly, I don't think it carries much weight."

"Better to be prepared," Zhang Qiu advised. "Alastor should brace for public backlash. Meanwhile, the Order of the Phoenix could subtly distance the two brothers in their public messaging."

"I'm worried about the readers of the Quibbler," Harry said, slightly uneasy. "What if the editor insists Alastor's taking the blame for his brother?"

"So what if Aurelius really is a Dumbledore?" Zhang Qiu dismissed it. "He was abused by Muggles until he became an Obscurial—how tragic. Yet Albus never turned against Muggles because of it…"

"Then why did he send Aurelius to that Muggle family?" Harry interrupted, his voice tinged with anger—Dumbledore never chose adoptive families arbitrarily. Why not send him to Tang Dun, where everyone was happy? Why send him to the Dursleys?

At this moment, Harry was still empathizing with Credence and overlooked the conditions required for the protective charm to activate.

"Uh." Zhang Qiu blinked. "Yes, no matter what, Dumbledore shouldn't have ignored this child—or sent him to an anti-wizard group."

"Exactly. Even if he couldn't raise him personally for some reason, he shouldn't have sent him there—it's like pushing a child into a fire pit." Zhang Qiu's eyes flickered with a new thought. "So it must've been intentional. Could we even consider this: since Grindelwald originally wanted a powerful Obscurial to serve him, could this have been his plan all along?"

"But you said earlier Grindelwald didn't think he was an Obscurial—he even planned to abandon him," Harry pointed out the flaw.

"True. But the result was that this very act triggered an even stronger Obscurus outbreak. So maybe Grindelwald was pretending," Zhang Qiu sat up straight. "Let's suppose I'm Grindelwald. I don't think I can defeat Dumbledore. I need a capable lieutenant. First, he must be powerful and harbor some hostility toward Dumbledore. Second, he must serve as a check on Dumbledore. Third, he should be short-lived—I have no intention of sharing the world with anyone after I kill Dumbledore."

"Ssshh—" Harry suddenly felt the puzzle was falling into place. "Looking at the third point alone, an Obscurial fits perfectly. And Albus is deeply attached to family—so if this Obscurial happened to be his relative, it perfectly satisfies the second condition. Plus, if he learns he was abandoned by Dumbledore and sent to a monstrous adoptive mother, the basic hostility is already there."

"Exactly. I just realized the truth might be this: Grindelwald decided it was better to cultivate an Obscurial than to recruit one," Zhang Qiu agreed wholeheartedly. "After he saw Alastor with the goat, I even suspect he played a major role in making the goat pregnant—which explains why Alastor never had another child."

"After successfully helping Alastor and the goat produce Aurelius—this also explains how Grindelwald knew his name so precisely," Zhang Qiu continued piecing it together. "He had already laid the groundwork to turn Aurelius against Dumbledore. When the time came and they truly broke apart, Grindelwald immediately stole Aurelius and delivered him to the monstrous adoptive mother, intending to manufacture an Obscurial himself."

"Though the ending remains the clichéd tale of love and family, when you look solely at Grindelwald's scheme, you can't deny he's clever and cunning," Zhang Qiu exhaled slowly. "So we can prepare two articles."

"The first goes to the Daily Prophet, clarifying Credence's identity," Harry rubbed his chin, thinking. "The second goes to the Quibbler, shifting public attention to Grindelwald's conspiracy?"

"Yes. And if we only publish these two articles, we probably don't need to mention the goat at all," Zhang Qiu admitted she found the goat business equally unappealing.