Chapter 284: Outmaneuver

In the following days, as expected, the Daily Prophet dug up old stories about Dumbledore, and several neighbors from Godric's Hollow came forward to recount the Dumbledore family's history.

Early Tuesday morning, while still eating breakfast, Ron eagerly flipped to the second page of the paper and began reading Rita Skeeter's new column, "The Life and Lies of Albus Dumbledore."

"Throughout the story, the central figure is Ariana Dumbledore, Albus's youngest sister and the source of his lifelong regret and guilt," Ron read.

That's right, Harry silently nodded—Albus had fallen into Voldemort's trap on the Resurrection Stone precisely because he was desperate to see Ariana again. From Grindelwald's memories, it was highly likely that the curse which killed Ariana had been cast by Albus himself.

"When Ariana was very young, she accidentally unleashed magic in front of three Muggle boys, who then did something 'terrible' to her, triggering her Obscurus. Albus's father, Percival Dumbledore, angrily punished those Muggles; his impulsive act led to his imprisonment in Azkaban."

"So what?" Ron paused reading. "The Ministry is being utterly heartless."

"It's more complicated than the paper makes it sound," Hermione interjected, holding a thick book. "If Percival had revealed Ariana's condition, she would have been forced to undergo Ministry evaluation. Once the Obscurus was discovered, she'd have been confined to a hospital for life. So after his rage subsided, Percival told the Ministry he simply disliked those Muggles."

"How do you know all this?" Ron asked curiously.

"You didn't know?" Hermione closed the book, revealing its cover: a photograph of Albus Dumbledore, his blue eyes filled with sorrow. The title was "The Life and Lies of Albus Dumbledore." The newspaper column was merely an excerpt from the book.

"Rita had already finished the book last Saturday," Hermione said. "The newspaper serialization was just advertising for it."

"Alright, I hope you'll lend us the book," Harry said. "It relates to the Order's strategy."

"The Order? Is Diggle part of the Order?" Hermione said. "The prologue mentions he made significant contributions to the book's writing."

"Yes, but I don't think Diggle would do something like this," Harry said suspiciously, reaching to flip to the prologue. After all, he had only suggested to Sirius that they place a cushion beneath the altar on Sunday.

"Do you know Diggle well?" Hermione asked curiously.

"You don't understand Rita," Ron said with a chuckle. "For a book this damaging to Dumbledore, all Rita needed from Diggle was his silence. That alone counts as a major contribution."

"More likely, Rita finished the book long ago," Ron continued. "She only got Diggle's approval last Saturday."

"No, Rita doesn't take orders from Diggle," Harry said sharply. Whether the Death Eaters decided to smear Dumbledore or the Order decided to play along, both decisions were made on Sunday. At this critical moment, the only person who could have already prepared such a scheme was William—or rather, William and the White Palace behind him.

"What is the Ministry planning?" Hermione became alert. "But this book doesn't seem to take a clear stance—it neither glorifies nor vilifies. Rita actually wrote something fair for once."

"It's just setup," Harry nodded. "She wants the public to become interested in Dumbledore and learn some basic facts."

"What happens next will depend on how the Order and the Death Eaters respond," Harry said grimly as he took the book from Hermione. He could guess what came next: exposing Aurelius to the public.

"You can read it first," Hermione said, gathering her textbooks. "I'll read it this weekend."

After a mentally heavy Charms lesson and a Transfiguration class, Harry welcomed his lunch break and Muggle Studies, giving him and Ron ample time to fully understand the legendary wizard's family affairs.

After her husband's imprisonment, Kendra Dumbledore moved her children away from Mould-on-the-Wold to Godric's Hollow, publicly claiming Ariana was too unwell to attend school.

At that time, Albus had just graduated and was preparing to travel Europe with Diggle, leaving him powerless to prevent the tragedy at home: during a magical outburst, Kendra died. The responsibility of caring for Ariana fell to Albus's brother, Aberforth.

"No wonder the book says Ariana was always timid—she directly caused her mother's death," Ron said sadly. "If it were me, I'd have broken down long ago."

"But the book also says Aberforth was the only person she trusted—he could calm her when she lost control and make her smile even when she was depressed," Harry said. "Perhaps it was only after Ariana's accidental death that grief turned Aberforth into such a grumpy old man."

The next part of the story, Harry felt he had read before in Grindelwald's memories: Albus abandoned his travel plans and intended to return to Godric's Hollow to care for his siblings. But just then, he met Grindelwald, who was visiting his aunt's home. The two hit it off immediately and quickly became close friends.

Many readers might be stunned by this revelation, but for those who lived through that era, the relationship between Albus and Gellert was no secret. Two friends parting ways over ideological differences was not uncommon. Moreover, Rita wrote fairly: "For justice and righteousness, Dumbledore dared to duel his misguided former friend. Regardless of any hidden secrets behind it, the outcome was noble—he restored a clear sky to the wizarding world."

As Ron read smoothly through this passage, Harry sharply realized Rita had already hinted that "some hidden secret" lay beneath it.

During that summer in Godric's Hollow, while Albus and Gellert were inseparable, the accident that haunted Albus for life occurred. It was said to have begun when Aberforth blamed Albus for failing to care for Ariana; they argued, drew their wands, and Grindelwald joined the fight. The duel ended abruptly when Ariana rushed out—someone's curse struck her, killing her.

Grindelwald fled in haste and never returned. At Ariana's funeral, Aberforth broke Albus's nose—a violent brawl. Then Rita shifted focus, beginning to recount Grindelwald's rise, as if all the beauty of Godric's Hollow had ended that summer. The full truth, and whether deeper secrets lay beneath, were buried forever with Ariana.

As expected, after quickly reading chapters four through five—on Grindelwald's dark empire, his prophetic abilities, and Dumbledore's Wall Strategy to oppose him—Harry reached the true purpose behind the scenes.

"... fter a brief duel in the Bhutanese mountains, Albus and Gellert realized their relationship was beyond repair and each began preparing for their final confrontation. Meanwhile, Aberforth brought back the mysterious young man. According to some Holy Ones' accounts and private admissions by the Dumbledore brothers, we can confirm that the youth once known as Credence was, in truth, Aurelius Dumbledore—Aberforth's illegitimate son. What followed remains unknown, but we can guess that perhaps Aurelius ultimately could not overcome his Obscurus and died tragically young."

This passage ended the second-to-last chapter. In the final chapter, Rita did not continue with Aurelius's story. Instead, she offered a highly summarized account of Dumbledore's achievements after his legendary duel, even directly labeling a passage "excerpted from a Chocolate Frog Card." The writing dripped with obvious indifference.

"That's it?" Ron flipped irritably through the last page. "I still want to know what happened to Aurelius."

"Maybe not just you," Harry said grimly. "Everyone wants to know. And that's the prelude to their attack."

"What attack?"

"An attack on Dumbledore's reputation," Harry fiddled with his quill. "Readers are growing curious about Aurelius—and he's full of suspicious points. If Dumbledore has any vulnerability to exploit, Aurelius is the most obvious one—far more so than his relationship with Grindelwald."

"His relationship with Grindelwald?" Ron frowned.

"Exactly. Think about it—for people who lived through Voldemort's era, Dumbledore was the protector of Muggle-borns, the embodiment of virtue and wisdom," Harry said dismissively. "If they learned he once conspired with Grindelwald to seize power and build a wizard-ruled world over Muggles, their faith would shatter."

"I'm fine with it—I guess I'm just too low-level," Ron sighed. "What do you think?"

"Dumbledore was never perfect. No one is. For us in this era, he was good enough—that's all that matters," Harry sighed. "But for those in the previous generation, the core loyalists of the Order who worshipped him, this would be a crushing blow."

"What do we do?" Ron looked worried.

"This is still just a probe and setup," Harry's worry ran deeper than Ron's. "The White Palace's move is still relatively objective and neutral—they've merely stated facts. But the Death Eaters are preparing to strike. What comes next in the reports—whether true or false, how shocking—remains to be seen."