"Oh... no, of course not..."
Dumbledore had a slightly sardonic smile: "Back then, Grindelwald said he was going to visit Fudge, not the Minister of the British Ministry of Magic..."
Vid vaguely understood something, and opened his eyes wide to ask, "And then?"
"And then?" Dumbledore's expression appeared somewhat subtle: "Just this afternoon, he did indeed go to visit Fudge himself..."
Vid was speechless: "Is that guy still alive?"
Dumbledore chuckled lightly: "Of course, our former Minister of the Ministry of Magic didn't lose a single hair, but..."
He paused, then said teasingly, "It might take a while for his courage to grow back."
Vid snorted: "So, the survival threat for the next minister was automatically removed, and the position of Minister of the Ministry of Magic has become a sought-after treasure again?"
"Exactly."
Dumbledore shrugged, looking pleased, his tone light and slightly self-mocking.
When the sword hanging overhead was removed, others began to compete for the minister position, and Dumbledore, previously the obvious choice, suddenly became an eyesore, with everyone hoping he would quickly disappear.
Therefore, Dumbledore was finally able to return to Hogwarts, and this time, other than a few people, the high-ranking officials of the Ministry of Magic no longer unanimously and resolutely tried to retain him.
The British Ministry of Magic did not have a fresh start due to Fudge's departure; in fact, it remained filled with a stale air and the shadow of bureaucracy. Those officials who once flattered Fudge are still like hyenas chasing fame and fortune.
—It's rather nauseating.
Vid wanted to sharply mock those people, to tear off their sanctimonious masks, but seeing Dumbledore's expression as if a burden had been lifted, he swallowed back his words.
Instead, he asked, "Grindelwald visiting Fudge... what did they talk about?"
Dumbledore tapped the table, and a cup of honey water appeared before each of them, then he said:
"It's said... upon meeting, Fudge was on high alert, but Grindelwald didn't say anything significant—just chatted about the weather, barbecue, afternoon tea, and such... then he left."
Vid: "He left?"
"Yes." Dumbledore laughed: "Fudge was worried he'd been hit with some terrible curse, so he promptly ran to St Mungo's for a checkup, and that's how the matter reached our ears."
Faced with this absurdly theatrical twist, a strange thought suddenly crossed Vid's mind—
This whole series of actions by Grindelwald seemed like paving the way for Dumbledore, forcing the British Magic World to elevate him to the ministerial seat.
However, after Dumbledore refused twice, Grindelwald withdrew with a simple gesture, as if it had all been a misunderstanding by the British Ministry of Magic, and his "visit" was merely a literal visit.
But soon, Vid dismissed this absurd idea.
Neither Grindelwald nor Dumbledore were the type for such "foolish plays." If Grindelwald really wanted something, he wouldn't assist in giving power to Dumbledore, who could obstruct him.
Just like his "timely" arrival, freeing Dumbledore from being trapped in a high position. It seemed benevolent, but also reflected Grindelwald's concern that Dumbledore might really be morally bound to accept the requests of others.
Creating a crisis first... then making it all seem like a joke.
Thus, he played the entire British Ministry of Magic in his hands, scaring the Minister into stepping down with a simple word—
Grindelwald, with an extremely strong stance, demonstrated his presence, making Fudge and others look like clowns, yet not arousing resentment or aversion from those in the know.
—Ultimately, it's because Fudge and the likes overthought and scared themselves; what did it have to do with Grindelwald, who had been clear from the start?
Yet such a turn of events laid bare the British Ministry of Magic's capabilities and weaknesses to Grindelwald, undermining the Ministry's authority bloodlessly, dismantling the official morale, and eroding trust in the establishment among the informed.
Now, the only way to counteract this weakness is to persist with previous decisions, allowing the one person capable of opposing him, Dumbledore, to truly assume leadership and reform the entire Ministry of Magic.
But that precisely is why it's absolutely impossible to achieve—
Even disregarding Dumbledore's personal willingness, those in power do not want such a strong opponent to take a large share of the benefits.
Moreover, they all actually understand: with the headmaster's style, once he becomes minister, many non-compliant benefits would face blows and suppression.
Foolishness, shortsightedness, corruption.
—That's the current British Ministry of Magic.
Vid coldly sneered in his heart but ultimately said nothing.
He didn't like to shout out his thoughts—saying the right thing felt unnecessary, saying the wrong thing seemed foolish, tolerance might invite contempt and covetousness, while harshness could draw distance and avoidance.
The young wizard lowered his lashes, lightly rubbing the edge of his teacup with his fingertips, appearing contemplative but with a detached expression.
He quietly lifted his eyes to look at Dumbledore, unsure of how the headmaster would view Grindelwald's actions.
However, Dumbledore merely drank his honey water quietly, without a ripple on his face. Seeing Vid watching, he asked casually, "Would you like some more honey water? Or juice?"
Dumbledore noticed that Vid's cup was still not empty.
"No, no thanks." Vid said, "I'm not thirsty."
"Alright then, enough chit-chat, let's get down to business."
Dumbledore set down his cup, as if also setting aside the Ministry's machinations and various troublesome affairs, he got up and retrieved the familiar stone basin.
"If you hadn't come to see me today, I would have invited you before curfew anyway."
Dumbledore placed the Pensieve on the table and poured the memories from the crystal bottle into it, asking, "Want to take a look? Horace's memories of Tom Riddle."
Vid approached the Pensieve, his fingertips touching the rim, watching the swirling silvery mist inside, and asked, "Not waiting for Harry?"
"Not yet time." Dumbledore gazed at the Pensieve, saying, "Some truths require enough steadfastness and courage to bear. I don't doubt Harry's courage, but... we'll wait a while longer."
Privately, he wished to maintain Harry's current happy and pure state as long as possible, not wanting him to bear those dark and heavy burdens, thus delaying the time to tell him the truth again and again.
As for Vid...
It's not that Dumbledore didn't want to protect Vid, but before he could intervene, Vid had already thrown Voldemort's Soul Artifacts into the fire to burn them repeatedly, so many times that the headmaster began to feel sorry for the unknowing Tom.
Sometimes, Dumbledore suspected that Vid knew much more than he did; he could only quietly restrain Vid's wild pace, fearing he might rush too fast and land himself in trouble.
Vid didn't react much to Dumbledore's words except to nod, then leaned forward, plunging into the darkness—falling into an office.
"Sir, I'd like to ask you something."
A boy asked in a polite, tentative tone.