Author's Note: Will recommend reading Chapter 768 and 769 again before this chapter (for the most dramatic effect)
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Dumbledore couldn't receive guidance from the Phoenix.
The Half-Deep One had gone quiet and refused to shed light on his questions—questions that he needed answered direly.
Even then, Dumbledore could guess why the Resurrection Stone had affected him so.
The Stone itself held no curse or charm, other than materializing the dead people's souls, he believed.
However, he, as Lord Black Phoenix, was also affected by it.
Technically, he was indeed alive—a living, breathing wizard.
Yet, only Dumbledore knew how many times he had already died at the hands of Yellow Warlock, over and over, across many pasts.
That's how he had become this strong, to begin with.
Otherwise, Dumbledore had no doubt that the re-resurrected Voldemort would have ended him and Darcie right there and then on the new year, giving Hogwarts two more people to mourn for.
Using Time Turners, Dumbledore had gone to the moment when Yellow Warlock had killed him during his attack on Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in America.
He had done it so many times that he had all but exhausted the limited supply of the magical objects, emptying the secret vaults of the Department of Mysteries' Time Room.
It hadn't been because of some sick fetish.
Dumbledore had done it because if he were killed by someone he deeply hated within the Black Phoenix Bounded Field—the magic bestowed upon him by the Phoenix and fueled by his Despair—then he would only resurrect, getting stronger.
That's how he had truly become the Lord Black Phoenix he was now.
So, regardless of the technicality, he had not only died, but had died multiple times, resurrecting right after… cheating death.
The Resurrection Stone was sensing the cheater within him, Dumbledore guessed.
As a Deathly Hallow crafted by Death himself—which was not a children's fable—it was pulling all the dead souls within him, bewildering even his thoughts, actions, and reasoning.
If it hadn't been for Darcie's timely intervention, then he would have already lost himself, succumbing to the Resurrection Stone's vast influence on him.
As he stood within the Gaunt Shack, barely held together by his Spell, Dumbledore knew that the best thing to do right now was to annihilate the Horcrux using Darcie's help. And if that didn't work, he must use the Sword of Gryffindor to ensure its destruction anyway, uncaring of what would happen to the Resurrection Stone later.
Yet, Dumbledore couldn't do it.
He couldn't take that final step.
Not with Grindelwald's face flashing across his eyes, jolting his mind.
He still remembered it as clearly as anything. He could see it happening right before his eyes. He could feel it in his bones. It was the day when he had lost himself in despair. It was the day when he had accepted Despair. It was the day when Yellow Warlock had not only stolen the Philosopher's Stone, but also summoned Grindelwald… letting Voldemort's ghost possess him.
Since then, not one day had gone by without Dumbledore wondering what kind of abominable magic it was.
Grindelwald had been a master Necromancer. It was a grave mistake to assume that he wouldn't have ensured he didn't become an Inferius after his death. Given how far his old friend had liked to think, he would certainly have considered his death, and beyond, too.
Strangely, the person Yellow Warlock brought to Hogwarts hadn't been a ghost, either.
No.
Dumbledore admitted he had been taken by surprise that day.
But it had only happened because he had seen the truth in Grindelwald's eyes.
That thing… whatever it was, and however Yellow Warlock had created it… had been his friend—Gellert Grindelwald… in some way.
Now, with the Resurrection Stone suspended midair in front of his eyes, Dumbledore couldn't help but recall looking at Grindelwald that day, looking into his friend's eyes.
Suddenly, Dumbledore also recalled the ghost of his dead sister from only moments ago.
Their eyes…
Their eyes had been the same, Dumbledore realized.
Neither of them wanted to be here in this world, forcefully tethered by the use of some ancient magic.
Ariana seemed to have survived that cursed fate.
His friend… Grindelwald… had already succumbed to it… years ago.
And, with that realization, Dumbledore's heart sank, a part of his soul torn apart by the mere thought of Grindelwald's soul crying, chained within an inescapable prison.
Grindelwald had committed unthinkable crimes, true enough.
But he had also remained imprisoned most of his life, atoning for those sins.
It had happened late, but Grindelwald had changed, as proven by his friend's willingness to resist Ekrizdis' offer, instead choosing to contact him, Dumbledore remembered.
In the last moments of his life, Grindelwald had again risen to the ranks of legendary wizards by not killing others this time, but sacrificing himself for the Greater Good.
And… he had done all that… for what?
To get his soul imprisoned in a shell for eternity?!
Anger, from the depths of his heart, came boiling out of Dumbledore's dark, terrible eyes.
With that anger came a far-fetched, insane, but most sensible, realization.
Dumbledore looked at the Resurrection Stone and knew… he knew what he must do to free his friend's soul from the shackles that Yellow Warlock had put on him.
He looked at a shocked Darcie.
He would need to explain it to her for… what came next would make him look weak in her eyes.
But he must do it anyway.
He must do it because he knew that… Grindelwald would have done it for him.
"Forgive me, Ms. Malfoy," Lord Black Phoenix said clearly, grabbing the ring again. "But I must use it one last time… for… love."
Then, even as Darcie lunged to stop him, Dumbledore put on the ring, embracing the corruption.
Simultaneously, the resurrected Grindelwald, seated next to the Lord of Azkaban at the Dark Alliance headquarters, MACUSA, shattered, becoming flakes of paper, shocking even the Lord of Azkaban.
Simultaneously, at Hogwarts, Harry, Ron, and Draco entered their dormitory after lunch…
… and found Black laughing his ass off, as if he had gone crazy!