Harry Potter and the Secret Treasures

“We can imagine that, in those days, Dumbledore and Grindelwald studied magic together, talked about their ideals, and each felt the other was the one destined to share his path. They even sneaked out to adventure in ancient magical ruins around the world,” said Evan. “When Sirius and I set out to find the giants and the key to Ravenclaw’s secret treasure, Dumbledore mentioned to me that he had been to Sicily with Grindelwald. In that environment at the time, such an adventurous behavior was very reckless for Dumbledore. Considering Ariana’s physical condition, even if Dumbledore was away for a short time, it was still very… It was inappropriate. But Dumbledore ignored Ariana because of Grindelwald, and Grindelwald might have regarded Ariana as a burden. We all know Grindelwald has never been a good person. He was a Dark wizard through and through. When he was still a student, he conducted a lot of Dark magic research that ordinary people could not imagine. His attitude towards Ariana, who was an obstacle between him and Dumbledore, can be imagined. Maybe he hoped she would die sooner. And Ariana’s condition at the time was that she could not do without human care, and she could not even withstand any stimulation. Under such circumstances, her physical condition was bound to deteriorate.”

“Didn’t Dumbledore realize all this back then?” Harry asked after thinking for a moment.

“I think he didn’t know, or perhaps he knew but ignored it. At that time, Dumbledore’s mind was full of how to achieve the great ideal he shared with Grindelwald ‘for the greater good,’ and neglected his sister. This was what he regretted most in his life,” said Evan. “In fact, I suspect Dumbledore didn’t fully understand Ariana’s situation back then. He probably didn’t know about the Obscurials yet and simply assumed Ariana’s magic was out of control.

“If you’ve read the biography of Mr. Newt Scamander — you know, the author of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, the one who helped Hagrid and us so much in the Buckbeak affair — you would find a very interesting account,” Evan continued. “As a magizoologist, the young Scamander once followed an old wizarding tradition and went on a round-the-world journey to study and rescue magical creatures. His first stop was the United States, which was exactly when Dumbledore had just returned to Hogwarts and Grindelwald was rising rapidly. During his travels in America, Scamander encountered Grindelwald. In fact, I think Dumbledore himself played a big part in Scamander’s decision to go to America.”

“Where did they go, and what did they do there?” Harry could hardly keep up with Evan’s jumping thoughts — one moment speaking of Ariana, the next discussing Newt Scamander’s adventures in the United States. Even so, he had to admit he was deeply intrigued by these astonishing revelations.

“Grindelwald was expanding his power. He was already powerful, but not strong enough to conquer the world. At the very least, he wasn’t completely confident of defeating his old friend Dumbledore, and he hadn’t found all three Deathly Hallows. So, Grindelwald began to hope for other powers,” said Evan. “I believe he must have witnessed Ariana’s magical unrest, and even the awakening of the Obscurus within her, and was deeply impressed. How could a wizard like Grindelwald ignore such an unimaginably powerful force? He conducted research and discovered the secrets of the Obscurus. When he went to America, he had surely learned of new Obscurials there and intended to find them. Dumbledore’s presence in America was precisely to stop him.

“Of course, with Mr. Scamander’s help, Dumbledore ultimately succeeded in stopping Grindelwald. They fought their way back from America to Europe and, in the end, faced each other in that legendary duel at Nurmengard. You can ask Mr. Scamander about all this yourself — I think it would be worthwhile to visit him. After all, Grindelwald occupied an extraordinarily important place in Dumbledore’s life. To truly understand Dumbledore, you can’t bypass this Dark wizard,” Evan went on. “If necessary, we could even visit Grindelwald himself in Nurmengard. He has been imprisoned there ever since his defeat.”

“That Dark wizard is still alive?” Harry asked in astonishment.

“Dumbledore only defeated him, not killed him. The two of them had a very good relationship, better than one could imagine. Rita Skeeter wasn’t wrong about that, but that doesn’t mean they won’t become enemies just because they have a good personal relationship. This is especially true for wizards like Grindelwald and Dumbledore, for whom ideals may matter even more than personal bonds,” Evan explained. “Okay, Harry, let’s get back to Ariana. As we were saying, it was because Grindelwald had witnessed the terrifying power unleashed when the Obscurus within Ariana awoke that he later went to America in search of other Obscurials. And that particular magical eruption from Ariana was triggered by a furious quarrel: when Dumbledore’s brother, Aberforth, came home during a Hogwarts break, he discovered that Dumbledore hadn’t been properly looking after Ariana. He and Dumbledore had a fierce argument. In fact, if I’m not mistaken, the quarrel that Auntie Muriel mentioned to us yesterday was the aftermath of that same dispute.

“In short, they had a fierce argument, Grindelwald got involved, and they probably even got physical. Ariana, who was nearby, was stimulated, and the Obscurus within her awakened. In the chaos, either Dumbledore, Grindelwald, or Aberforth’s spell struck Ariana, or perhaps the violent turmoil of magic was too much for Ariana’s body to withstand. Whatever the case, she died.”

Harry said nothing, and asked no questions. It seemed he found it hard to accept what Evan had just told him.

“Grindelwald believed it was he who had killed Ariana, so he fled right after that quarrel! And because Dumbledore felt he was the one who had caused Ariana’s death, he changed a great deal from that moment on. He never again held the same ambitions as before, but gradually became the professor we know,” Evan concluded. “All right, Harry, that’s the story of Ariana. We can blame Dumbledore for the mistakes he made in the process, but everyone makes mistakes — Dumbledore is no exception. What truly matters is what we do after we’ve made them. We all know what kind of man Dumbledore was; the slanders from Rita Skeeter and Auntie Muriel have no credibility whatsoever.”