Harry Potter: From Muggle Cousin to Conceptual Wizard

Chapter 472 It's not wise to force yourself to endure hardship! Show your heroism in the duelin

A dozen minutes later, in the Hogwarts Headmaster's office.

Through Dudley's account, Old Deng learned of Grindelwald's entire thought and plan, and also learned that Grindelwald had disguised himself and left Nurmengard.

"Sigh~" Old Deng got up and paced back and forth, sighing, "I really didn't expect that he would still... have illusions."

"Isn't this perfectly normal? Let's not even talk about him; don't you have similar thoughts?"

Dudley said in a calm yet slightly teasing voice, "When we were talking about cultivating the Love Protection Magic, didn't you slip up and say the word 'love' once?"

You just stopped yourself in time and didn't say Grindelwald's name.

Just because I didn't discuss this topic with you at the time doesn't mean I ignored what you said.

Upon hearing this, Old Deng's face, which had regained its youthful appearance, couldn't help but flush slightly.

But then, his expression turned forlorn and regretful: "Dali, it's really impossible between him and me."

Even if things develop as Gellert envisions, and the white wizarding community pardons him for his past crimes because of his betrayal of the world's dark wizards, the sins he left behind...

"Stop!"

Dudley suddenly spoke up, interrupting Dumbledore's dejected mood, "Although I don't understand your kind of love with Grindelwald, if you really have no feelings for Grindelwald anymore and don't want to be with him anymore, then it doesn't matter, just dump him."

But! If you force yourself to go against your truest desires and feelings because of public opinion pressure, moral values, sins, or mistakes, then there's really no need!

We now have the ability to ignore these factors, so why should we wrong ourselves?

There's still affection between you two. If Grindelwald is willing to compromise, you can absolutely get back together. Don't overthink it!

"But..." Old Deng's expression clearly showed hesitation and struggle.

"You have no 'buts'!"

Dudley continued, "To put it bluntly, don't you have sin? Don't I? Don't Snape? Don't Sirius? Don't I, Uncle James, have sin?"

But would you resist the people I'm talking about in the same way you resist Grindelwald now?

You might say that Grindelwald's sins are far greater than those of these people.

Indeed, Grindelwald has killed many good people in the past, and even if I have now resurrected them, Grindelwald's sins cannot be erased.

Without your connection, I would definitely have eliminated Grindelwald after using him, in order to maintain the stability and order of the wizarding world.

Just as I would sit idly by or even manipulate those corrupt pure-blood wizards who killed white wizards in the past to fight each other to their deaths.

But now, isn't there this connection between us?

Based on this relationship alone, I can treat Grindelwald differently.

As long as he doesn't disrupt the new magical order we've created, having him by your side is perfectly fine.

"This...this is..."

Dumbledore had actually accepted Dudley's fallacious logic, but he still had some reservations.

Upon hearing this and seeing this, Dali immediately looked disgusted:

"This is double standards, this is lawlessness, this is abuse of power for personal gain, so what?"

Haven't you done similar things a lot in the past? Now that you're doing something big, you can't get over that mental hurdle?

We've known each other for so long, and what I dislike most about you is your indecisiveness.

If you want to be a completely rule-abiding person from beginning to end, that's fine. But don't do things that break the rules and then discuss matters big or small, taking on and changing minor matters at will, while feeling stifled and compromising on major matters.

Many of your past regrets and pains were caused by this personality trait.

You've become younger, and you need a completely new attitude towards life to face this new chapter.

Why not be bolder? It's not like you can't control the situation or make up for the damage Grindelwald has done to the world in the past.

If one can achieve both the individual and the greater good, then there's no point in talking about sacrificing the individual for the greater good; that's just making things difficult for yourself!

Upon hearing this, Dumbledore pondered for a long time, and the struggle on his face subsided.

Perhaps Dudley is right. He has sacrificed his personal interests for many years in order to maintain order in the magical world and for the greater good. It's time for him to be selfish for once and indulge his own desires.

But Dumbledore couldn't help but remind Dudley in the end:

"Dali, don't let that extraordinary power make you lose yourself."

"Don't worry!" Dali's tone returned to calm. "I know what I'm doing."

Moreover, if I were to lose myself because of power, I could simply use a conceptual restoration charm to fix the stubborn ideas of those obstinate students, make their obstinacy disappear, and then use magic to instill rational ideas in them.

I want the White Wizard faction to be full of enterprising energy and enduring good intentions. There's no need for any sharpening stone project. Just use a conceptual repair spell to remove all the White Wizards' laziness and let their good intentions be constantly repaired, so that they can always maintain their peak state.

I didn't do that because I didn't want to use such unreasonable and unconventional forces to invade the core consciousness of my own people.

I still respect the personal autonomy of my personnel, and I have not acted arbitrarily just because I have invincible power.

I have always been the controller and user of power, not its slave.

Dumbledore was speechless for a long time after hearing Dudley's words.

He had overestimated the power of the conceptualized repair spell as much as possible in the past, but he still underestimated it.

He was extremely grateful that this power had been obtained by Dali; anyone else, even himself, would have found it difficult to resist the temptation of doing whatever he wanted.

"That puts my mind at ease."

Dumbledore paused for a long time, trying to calm himself down, before giving this answer.

“That’s how it should be. You should also let me worry less.” Dudley pursed his lips and said, “Then let’s proceed with Project Whetstone.”

Old Deng nodded.

……

A few days later, the first Hogwarts Professors' Duel Tournament was officially held.

The new and veteran professors engaged in a fierce debate while maintaining a proper balance, attracting students from across the university to observe and learn.

The venue was chosen in Dudley's Practical Magic Skills Enhancement Classroom, which has a spacious indoor space and a ready-made magic arena.

The dueling tournament determines the opponents by drawing lots, with a points system for each round, and also includes a loser's bracket to determine the detailed rankings.

The competition was not fast-paced or rushed. Some professors also intended to provide practical guidance to their students, so the competition lasted for more than a week before it came to an end.

Dali and Lao Dengtou did not participate in the competition, but served as judges.

Final results: Snape first, Professor Flitwick second, Professor McGonagall third, Newt fourth, Professor Joseph Carmaux fifth, Professor Moody sixth...

Lockhart was second to last, and Professor Trelawney was last.

Yes, Lockhart did not come in last place.

Although Dali provided him with many ideas for becoming stronger, a month of intensive training was still too short to allow his strength to make a qualitative leap.

However, Lockhart had a crooked trick up his sleeve. Before the competition, he used his charm, affability, and eloquence to talk to many professors on the non-combat side and persuade them to sign up for the competition as well.

As a result, only Professor Trelawney, a drunkard, couldn't resist Lockhart's flattery and persuasion and signed up in a daze.

Lockhart was a man of great stature, and it wasn't easy for him to persuade Professor Trelawney.

During this period, Lockhart was sentenced to death more than fifty times by Professor Trelawney, who made wild predictions about all sorts of bizarre ways to die.

Lockhart didn't die, but he was heartbroken. Yet, he maintained his smile until the very end.

Finally, Professor Trelawney had a moment of clarity and, based on the arrangement of some tea leaves, predicted that Lockhart would suffer a bloody disaster.

And that was indeed the case.

During the dueling tournament, the other professors only made light of Lockhart's movements, without injuring him, at most leaving him somewhat embarrassed.

Until Lockhart faced off against the dazed and drunken Professor Trelawney.

Professor Trelawney was casting a spell when, unexpectedly, she summoned a crystal ball for prophecy from her pocket.

As soon as the crystal ball left the pocket, it flew toward Lockhart at an extremely fast speed, and it grew larger and larger as it flew.

Lockhart couldn't dodge in time and was directly hit in the chest by the crystal ball, shattering his armor shield.

Lockhart immediately spat out a mouthful of blood, barely managing to withstand the blow thanks to his strong will not to finish last. He then cast a forgetting spell on Professor Trelawney, making her temporarily forget that she was in a match and walk off the ring to find some drinks.

In this way, Lockhart, by fulfilling the prophecy of the bloodshed, managed to surpass Professor Trelawney in the rankings and avoid being at the bottom.

This left Dudley unsure whether to admire Lockhart or laugh at him.

Dudley found Dublin's current state, while Snape's current ranking as number one in this dueling tournament, somewhat unexpected yet entirely logical.