"Professor Snape?"

In the deserted hallway, Snape and Maca paced one after the other. On the way, Maca only shouted, and seeing that Snape did not mean to respond, he said no more, but followed his footsteps.

Judging by the route of travel, Snape was supposed to take him to the headmaster's office.

As the two of them reached the door of the Headmaster's office via the revolving escalator, Snape paused, then drew his wand and tapped the closed crack in the door.

Soon, with a soft sound of mechanism, the door to the principal's room, which was obviously locked, opened leisurely.

Seeing Snape take a step inside, Maca immediately followed. It was only as soon as he stepped on the floor of the headmaster's office that his eyes were drawn to a flaming crimson.

It was Phoenix Fawkes, who was standing on the bird's shelf as usual, casually bowing his head and gently arranging the feathers under his wings with his pointed beak.

Maka, who was usually used to Fox, stared at it a few more times this time, and a strange look appeared on her face.

"Professor Snape, we're all here, so let's talk about what's going on, right?" Maca turned her head to Snape, who was standing at the headmaster's desk with her back to him, and said, "It's going to be a busy few days, you know. ”

"Hmm."

Snape snorted, then turned and handed the small glass tube to Maca.

"Dumbledot, I'll give this to you."

Hearing this, Maca reached out and took it, and put it in front of her eyes to look at it.

In that small glass tube, some pure silver flocculent was stored inside, tangled in a ball.

"It's ...... Memory? ”

He had never seen such a materialized memory, so he seemed a little hesitant.

"Probably!" Snape said lightly, "Dumbledore didn't leave any explanation. ”

"Professor......" Maca shook the glass tube as she shook it, then looked up at Snape, "what happened to Dumbledore's death...... No, I'm trying to ask, is Dumbledore dead or not? ”

"Didn't you check it yourself?" Snape did not give a positive answer.

"But—" Maca said with a frown, looking at the Phoenix Fawkes on the shelf, then at the glass tube in her hand, "Before that, I had a vague sense that Dumbledore had taken another step forward on the path of magic...... How could he be so ......"

"I know the reason for his death, it is nothing more than to convey the news of his own death to the outside world." Snape said casually, "You're not stupid, you should be able to figure it out, right?" ”

Snape said this, and Maca nodded thoughtfully.

Dumbledore's death seemed quite abrupt to everyone. This is true for oneself, and of course the same is true for outsiders.

Don't look at Voldemort's words in the stone chamber so easily and proudly, but if someone asks him, do you dare to attack Hogwarts Castle now? He might have killed the stupid guy who asked the question as soon as he could.

Whether Albus Dumbledore is dead or alive, he is enough to make people dare not move, and this is the power accumulated by the greatest white wizards of our time.

Seeing that Maca was lost in thought, Snape waved his hand, then pointed to the glass tube in his hand.

"As for what he really thinks, I haven't been able to figure it out anyway. If you want me to say...... Let's take a look at what he left you behind! Maybe there's a clue in there, isn't it? ”

In fact, whenever the subject of Dumbledore is mentioned, Snape becomes rather impatient.

Although he was indeed a double agent planted by Dumbledore on Voldemort's side, the relationship between him and Dumbledore was only maintained through a certain transaction.

Now that Dumbledore is dead, Snape's thoughts are even more complicated.

“…… Also. ”

Maca tossed the glass tube in her hand, sighed softly, and walked straight to the cabinet where the meditation basin was placed.

"Come back to my office when you're done," Snape said, walking to the door, "I'm not comfortable talking here." ”

Watching the door of the principal's office slowly close, Maca shook her head slightly, and then reached out to open the cabinet door.

The silvery light of the meditation basin soon diffused from the cabinet. Maca pulled the oak stopper from the glass tube, poured the pure silver floc inside, and reached out to shake her palm over the shallow basin.

The flocculent matter quickly and silently dissolved under the influence of magic.

Seeing this, Maca immediately lowered her head and poked her face into the silver like a mist.

……

Hazy.

The first thing Maca felt was a haze like being in steam, or in a thick mist.

I can't see anything, I can't touch anything.

He doesn't feel his own weight, he doesn't have feedback from all his senses, and only by "feeling" can he clearly discover his own existence.

Suddenly, he felt as if he had "seen" something—a looming figure slowly approaching him.

Step by step, unhurriedly, as if on a journey without a destination.

With each step of that figure, the "haze" around him flowed and converged into an actual scene.

In Maca's "vision", it is like seeing an extremely wide oil painting, slowly approaching him. In that dreamlike oil painting, every touch of oil paint is constantly extending and spreading.

As the scene became more complete, Maca soon discovered that it was a western street covered in a thin layer of snow.

It seemed to be nighttime, and the street lamps along the streets were lit up, and the faint light was much brighter in the reflection of the snow.

On both sides of the street, most of the houses are closed with their doors and windows closed, and the curtains are not even opened.

As Maca looked at the more complete scene in front of her, the illusory figure gradually became clear.

Long white beard and white hair, silver-gray floor-length dressing gown, wrinkled and vertical vicissitudes of life...... And the pale blue eyes that are always hidden behind the half-moon lenses.

"Professor Dumbledore?"

Maca tried to speak, but found that she couldn't even find her mouth.

Dumbledore came slowly, standing still in front of Maca's consciousness.

"Maka, you're here......"

He smiled and opened his mouth, but Maca's side only realized that Dumbledore's voice was directly in his consciousness.

"How's that, isn't this place wonderful?" Dumbledore said gently, "You don't have to speak...... Because you can't say it, I can't hear it......"

"I know you must have a lot of questions, but none of them matter...... Well, at least for me, it doesn't matter anymore......"

"Because of your bonds with everyone, and your efforts for those bonds, I can be myself again, the self who knows how to be 'selfish'."

The meaning of Dumbledore's words, Maca understood it.

Because of Maca's existence, Dumbledore finally had time to continue to comprehend the true meaning of magic, and went one step further smoothly.

"This irresponsible old man!"

After thinking this out, Maca couldn't help but want to roll her eyes and show him.

"You must be a little angry when you hear me say that, right? Of course, then......" Dumbledore paused with a mischievous smile on his face before continuing, "So, I'll tell you one of the things you most want to figure out right now......"

"Well, don't blame me if I'm mistaken......" Dumbledore laughed, "yes, I'm 'dead' for you, I'm 'dead' through." ”

"But for myself, I'm obviously not 'dead' yet...... In other words, there is still a long way to go before the real 'death'! ”

Maca was stunned when she heard this, and then immediately "looked" around. But the surrounding scene is no different from the "real" in his cognition, and he can't see anything famous at all.

"Limbo?"

In Maca's mind, a strange and familiar word flashed.

In the wizarding world, there has been no such word since ancient times, it is a complete Muggle coin. The so-called Spiritual Prison can be interpreted as "the edge of hell", which is the closest place to death.

But Maca didn't know that the concept itself actually originated from the wizarding world.

"It doesn't matter if you don't understand, I'm calling you here to introduce you to this place......," Dumbledore said softly, "Remember what I kept emphasizing?" For a wizard, death is just another great adventure. ”

"I've been looking for the door to 'adventure', but I have some past memories in my heart that I can't let go of......"

Dumbledore said, looking over to him as if he could see Maca.

"But Marca, your appearance has made me gradually understand that the slightest bond is just me bothering myself. Watching every step you take, watching you go all the way without hesitation, I know where I went wrong. ”

"So now, I'm back on my path - I'm no longer dwelling on my past mistakes, I'm no longer blamed for Ariana's death, I'm no longer taking Ariana's wishes as my own......"

"So, I can finally retire."

The "Ariana" in Dumbledore's mouth was his sister who had long since died.

Although Maca also knew that Dumbledore had been regretting what happened back then, she didn't expect that strong and deep self-reproach was the direct reason why he became the headmaster of Hogwarts.

"Ariana and I are deeply in love with the whole world, but I have always understood that my 'love' with her has never been the same form."

When he said this, Dumbledore looked so radiant, as if even his old face was dozens of years younger.