Chapter 287: The Alchemy of Life

"If the child is Albus's, then who is his mother?" Xenophilius lifted his teacup and took a sip with evident pleasure.

Harry didn't want to mention the goat outright; he needed to think, to fabricate a story that wouldn't hurt anyone. So he too lifted his cup and sipped the so-called Gordigian tea. His intention may have been merely to buy himself time to think, but the drink tasted like crushed Pepper Imps turned to juice—it shattered his thoughts and plunged him into existential doubt.

"An unpopular Muggle girl," Sirius shrugged, beginning to weave a lie, "she was banished from the magical world after becoming pregnant, so the child was left behind."

"First, the British magical community at the time did not oppose wizard-Muggle marriages; it was the Magical Congress that enacted laws banning them. The child's mother could not have fled from a welcoming magical world to one that rejected her. Second, according to interviews with Aurelius's childhood neighbors, his mother was a witch, and his adoptive mother often used this fact to humiliate him. Third, if all this were solely his mother's doing, Grindelwald could not have known Aurelius's true name."

Sirius drew a sharp breath and fell into thought. At that moment, Harry recovered from the dreadful Gordigian tea and added, "It's all Grindelwald's fault—he secretly killed Aurelius's biological mother to artificially create a powerful Obscurus capable of opposing Albus, then stole the child and delivered him to the anti-wizard Mrs. Baribon."

"That's a Mianqiang plausible explanation, but you must consider a crucial timeline: Ariana's death," Xenophilius adjusted his posture. "If the child was born while Ariana was still alive, Albus Jr. had no grounds to question Albus for neglecting his sister—because he himself was out chasing women. But if the child was born after Ariana's death, Grindelwald had already left and could not have sneaked back to steal the child, nor could he have even known the child had been born."

"And more importantly—if all this is truly Grindelwald's doing, why did the Dumbledores conceal the mother's identity and treat the entire episode with such silence?" Xenophilius said seriously. "I can help you publish an article of uncertain truth—but it must first be logically sound."

"Indeed." Harry recalled Xenophilius's earlier analysis of "Lovegood's Political Persecution"—though it sounded like trivial nonsense, the article's logic was flawless, the only flaw being lack of evidence.

"If Albus Jr. is Aurelius's father, to avoid making him seem hypocritical, we must assume his romance and fatherhood occurred after Ariana's death," Sirius nodded slightly. "Perhaps he was comforted by some young girl in his grief."

"But then how do we explain why the child ended up with Mrs. Baribon?" Harry rubbed his temples. "Why won't the Dumbledores speak of his mother's identity? And how did Grindelwald learn Aurelius's name and background?"

"Let's assume Grindelwald was closely watching the Dumbledores and stole the child—all part of his scheme to cultivate an Obscurus to fight Dumbledore," Harry continued his speculation. "And the Dumbledores' attitude… does seem strained."

As Harry scratched his head, Sirius suddenly slapped his thigh—a revelation struck him: "What if Albus Jr. isn't Aurelius's father at all?"

"So Albus Jr. is just taking the blame for Albus? But Albus having a bastard child is still a scandal," Harry frowned and shook his head.

"It's Ariana's child," Sirius exclaimed. "Ariana bore a child out of wedlock—that's a scandal, but not a terrible one. A naive girl tricked by a cad; she's the victim. And this pushes the timeline back to when Grindelwald was still in Godric's Hollow—so his knowledge of Aurelius's name becomes natural."

"Of course the Dumbledores would keep the mother's identity secret—Albus Jr. was willing to take the blame, but they hadn't yet settled on a story. And after the child vanished, they may have even breathed easier—he was living proof of the scandal. Only when Grindelwald exposed him did Albus and Albus Jr. hastily devise a plan to make Albus Jr. the father."

"Highly reasonable!" Xenophilius clapped his hands happily. "And this also explains why Ariana died accidentally in the duel—she was a very young mother, weakened after childbirth, and a simple curse took her life."

Harry nodded. This was another plausible angle—after all, in a three-way duel, they wouldn't have cast Avada Kedavra at each other. Ariana's death largely stemmed from her already fragile health.

"And Aurelius lived to adulthood as an Obscurus; Ariana was an Obscurus too, and she lived past ten. Had that accident not happened, she might have lived longer. So perhaps an Obscurus who survives past ten… is a hereditary trait…" Sirius continued piecing the story together, but Harry interrupted him.

"Wait—I just remembered something," Harry said, frowning. "If Albus Jr. is willing to take the blame for Ariana, surely even now he wouldn't want her reputation tarnished. Will he agree to this?"

Though Harry spoke these words, he privately believed Aurelius was Albus Jr.'s child with the goat—he knew Albus Jr. would never allow his sister to bear the blame.

"Ah, you're right," Sirius's expression darkened. "But then we're stuck—Albus can't have a bastard, Albus Jr. can't be a hypocrite, Ariana's reputation can't be damaged."

"Wait," Xenophilius suddenly said, "why can't Albus have a bastard?"

"Because it would damage his reputation—and that's precisely what we're determined to protect," Harry replied instinctively.

"Then make him a legitimate son," Xenophilius blinked.

"But the Dumbledores never married! The only one who ever loved was Albus—and he loved Grindelwald. Two men can't have children…" Harry's voice trailed off as he remembered this was the magical world, where biology didn't apply. "Do you mean… say Aurelius is Albus and Grindelwald's child?"

"Why not?" Xenophilius said. "It explains everything. Grindelwald took the child with evil intent, but the Dumbledores never suspected it—they assumed the father wouldn't do anything so cruel. And when Albus learns of Aurelius's suffering over the years, will he tell the boy that the Dark Lord who used and harmed him is his biological father? For the boy's mental health, Albus Jr. playing father is far more suitable."

"That's a decent theory," Sirius said, baffled. "But how exactly did two men produce Aurelius?"

"Magic," Xenophilius shrugged indifferently. "They were the two greatest wizards in centuries. Creating a child with magic? What's so strange?"

"The Philosopher's Stone!" Harry's eyes lit up. "Voldemort once sought to use the Stone to forge a resurrection body—meaning the Stone can create physical forms."

"Yes, the Homunculus," Xenophilius added. "Creating artificial life through alchemy was indeed researched jointly by Dumbledore and Nicolas Flamel."

Suddenly, a great weight lifted from Harry's heart—everything made sense now. He had found an explanation that harmed no one: Albus had been deceived by Grindelwald, committed no other sin, and tried to make amends; Albus Jr. acted out of compassion and kindness, earnestly playing father to the child; Grindelwald was vile beyond measure—but everyone already thought him that way, so it didn't matter.

"Excellent. I'll compile today's conversation into a new article to replace Craster's submission," Xenophilius nodded to the two. "I can never refuse a tightly reasoned argument wrapped in a tear-jerking emotional tale—I'll do my best to write it well."

"Are you in a hurry to leave? Stay for dinner—try my freshwater Colorball Fish Soup. Everyone asks for the recipe." Mr. Lovegood beamed. "I'll go catch a few."

"Perfect, thank you for the hospitality," Sirius said, clearly in good spirits—they'd just solved a difficult puzzle together. Or perhaps it was simply because he hadn't drunk the Gordigian tea, and thus had no vivid, firsthand understanding of Lovegood's cooking methods.

Perhaps the Colorball Fish Soup recipe was what the Poison Ward doctors at St. Mungo's were after, Harry thought gloomily as he wandered the room. Before stepping out with his net, Xenophilius permitted him to tour upstairs—he hesitated whether to go up, feeling it would be impolite to enter Luna's room uninvited.