After settling Amandine, Dumbledore began to address another troublesome matter.
"Rosier came out of loyalty, but what about Burke? As far as I know, the Borgin family has no connection to Grindelwald."
Edward Burke shook his head with a smile.
"I am merely the second son of the family and cannot dictate the entire Borgin Family's stance—to be precise, my idiot older brother expelled me from the family last month."
"I represent only Edward Burke, and I pledge my loyalty to Adelaide Grindelwald, the future leader of the Wizarding World!"
Dumbledore's sharp blue eyes glinted behind his spectacles as he asked curiously, "I recall your Borgin family places great emphasis on unity. Why would he expel you?"
"Fear, of course! I am more powerful and intelligent than he is. His only advantage is being two years older, so the moment he inherited the family headship, he couldn't wait to find an excuse to expel me!"
At this point, Edward became agitated, tugging at his own hair, all traces of his earlier gentlemanly elegance vanishing.
"My elder brother inherited the Borgin Family's wealth, shops, and connections. My sister married into the MacFusty Family, that wealthy clan raising dragons on the Hebrides Islands in Scotland."
He fixed his bloodshot green eyes intently on Dumbledore, like a gambler who had staked his entire fortune on the table, desperately hoping for a comeback.
"They all have bright futures... Only me! All my efforts in the first half of my life have paved the way for others. Nearing forty, I have achieved nothing—yet I am clearly the most talented Wizard of my generation in the Borgin Family. I cannot accept this!"
"Calm down, Edward!"
Seeing Edward's emotional state deteriorating, Dumbledore quickly spoke up to soothe him.
It seemed the unrecognized talent Edward had been driven to the brink of collapse by his elder brother. He had placed all his bets on the future head of the Grindelwald family.
Dumbledore considered this a rather good thing for Adelaide. With Edward having no other support, they needn't worry about his betrayal.
"As your Principal, I recognize your talent in magic and am quite willing to take you in on Adelaide's behalf."
Dumbledore said gravely, "But you must understand, the current situation in Europe is extremely severe: the missing Lord Voldemort and the leaderless remnants of the Death Eaters, the Wizengamot remnants clinging to life in the gutters, and the extremist opposition to the Wizengamot... You will face countless difficulties and trials in the future. Are you truly prepared?"
Edward Burke replied resolutely, "I am prepared. Even if it costs my life, I will not regret it!"
Dumbledore drew his wand. Although he was confident Edward wouldn't betray them, necessary precautions still had to be taken.
"If you have decided, then do not resist."
The wand traced a complex pattern in the air. Edward Burke felt a powerful magical force surging chaotically near his heart. Suppressing his instincts, he gave up resistance, allowing the magic to attach itself to his heart.
It was a very domineering curse. From now on, whenever he harbored ill intent towards Adelaide, he would feel agony akin to ten thousand ants devouring his heart, until his heart burst and he died.
Under normal circumstances, Dumbledore neither approved of nor condescended to use such cruel means to intimidate others.
But Edward's loyalty concerned Adelaide's safety and his own next steps; there absolutely could be no slip-ups.
After completing the spell, Dumbledore's expression softened as he lowered his wand. Only now did he regard Edward as a trustworthy individual.
"At present, I happen to have an important and arduous task that requires a clever and powerful Wizard to complete. Edward, are you willing to accept it?"
Just having pledged allegiance and already being entrusted with an important task, Edward happily agreed.
"Very well. May I ask, how much do you know about the Muggle World?"
The Muggle World?
Edward looked utterly bewildered. During his school years, to make his transcript more impressive, he had taken all elective courses, even scoring an 'O' in Muggle Studies in his N.E.W.T. exams—but what did Dumbledore mean by this?
"Let me rephrase. Without using magic, can you skillfully operate electrical appliances, bake pastries, or perhaps drive a car?"
Edward thought for a few seconds before replying cautiously, "May I ask, what is a 'car'?"
Dumbledore shook his head somewhat disappointedly. It seemed he would have to ask Arthur Weasley to come and give Edward a crash course.
——
Adelaide sat dumbfounded in Amandine's arms, allowing this seemingly aloof older sister, her eyes sparkling, to fuss over her.
"Little mistress, you are so adorable, just like a doll!"
Adelaide didn't know how to respond, so she just turned her head, pretending to be interested in the car engine on the living room table.
A slightly plump, Middle-aged man with red hair was excitedly explaining something to another man with vacant eyes, occasionally pulling various car parts from a sack on the floor.
How strange. She had only slept, yet so many unfamiliar faces had appeared in the house?
And these three people all seemed a bit... not quite right in the head.
Adelaide wriggled free from Amandine's embrace, pattered over to Dumbledore's door, opened it a crack, and saw Dumbledore sitting at his desk with a worried frown, writing something.
"Hiss—"
Adelaide drew in a sharp breath. Was she still dreaming?
This, the world's greatest Wizard, had always maintained an air of serene detachment. This was the first time Adelaide had seen Dumbledore stumped by something.
"Little mistress, you mustn't disturb Dumbledore while he's writing letters~ Let's go play outside."
Seizing the opportunity, Adelaide put on an innocent, adorable expression and pressed, "Sister Amandine, who is Dumbledore writing to?"
Amandine picked Adelaide up and hoisted her onto her shoulder, saying excitedly, "He's writing to our great leader. Now that the two most powerful Wizards in the world are on our side, we absolutely cannot lose!"
Adelaide's head was filled with question marks. Were they even on the same wavelength?
She couldn't understand a single word of this!
Before Adelaide could get a clear answer, she was carried out of the house by Amandine and forced to chase butterflies in the yard.
Inside the room, Dumbledore, completely unaware of this minor interlude, remained immersed in his tangled thoughts.
Last night, Amandine had been cautious. She hadn't gone to bed immediately but had sent a message to Nurmengard.
Just this morning, she received the latest instructions. The leader had taken a very firm stance on the matter, demanding Dumbledore respond within three days regarding the 'imprisonment' of the Grindelwald future head, or else he would organize a Nurmengard riot.
The instructions also specifically emphasized that the response must be written in Dumbledore's own hand; otherwise, it would be treated as no response.
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