will be deducted 
"Scamander, huh." Grindelwald mused.
When the warden notified him that someone with that surname had come to visit, he had thought it would be Newt.
"Professor Dumbledore wanted to create a wizarding identity that came from homeschooling, so he had no choice but to convince him," Tom explained.
To have a wizarding identity meant being able to open a Gringotts account, and only then could the Slytherin inheritance be deposited.
"Considering the blood on your hands, it's fair to say he had a little part in it, so why not?" Grindelwald remarked, yet didn't understand why Tom had come to see him.
Tom rambled, "He originally wanted me to take the surname Dumbledore, but then he thought it would be too conspicuous."
Grindelwald silently played along. "That makes sense. If a wizard’s surname is randomly made up, there would be no source of ‘homeschooling.’ If a Muggle-born wizard never attended a magic school, the story wouldn’t hold up."
Tom said, "I originally wanted to ask if you had any close relatives, but the professor firmly refused to let me take your surname."
Grindelwald replied, "I cut ties with my family long ago. I don’t even know if they’re alive or dead."
Tom asked, "Why?"
Grindelwald thought for a moment and said, "The closer people are, the more they want to change each other’s views.58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoFJTKiZOpg
Even though I could persuade many people, those closest to me hurt me the most."
These vulnerable moments of Grindelwald only made him more charismatic—making people want to understand him more deeply, to help him, even though they knew it was a trap.
Tom continued, "The professor told me I should make some friends and forbade me from staying in the Chamber of Secrets studying Dark Magic.58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6KK3iDySnq
I don’t know where to go, and I can’t find any leads on the other Horcruxes.58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡB6nGV5hJog
Honestly, I was thinking… if you don’t mind, could I stay with you for a while?58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdabPNfxAZW
There’s still so much I want to learn from you."
Grindelwald laughed so hard he almost choked. "You just left school and already want to go straight to prison? What’s wrong with your brain?"
Tom, flustered, turned red. "Haven’t you voluntarily stayed here for fifty years? That’s what I don’t understand."
Grindelwald’s smile faded. "I just haven’t moved on from my emotions yet. I didn’t stay here on purpose."
Tom boldly asked, "But… isn’t Lockhart your puppet? I’ve gone through his books—every single deed in them was done by 'himself.' The villagers, the bartenders, and every person who was rescued, all recognize 'your' face. The publishers who printed his stories aren’t fools either.
Yet you deliberately lied to Harry and the others. To be honest, when you first started teaching at Hogwarts, even I was completely fooled by you. Why go to such lengths?58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrFGNOOHa0Z
For Professor Dumbledore? Ruining your own reputation again and again?"
The Imperius Curse had no strict time limit, but cases lasting over ten years were unheard of. The level of strength and precision required for such long-term, high-intensity Dark Magic was something only Grindelwald could achieve.
Which was why Tom knew—Lockhart’s mind was permanently broken. His damage was not just from a simple backfired spell.
Grindelwald sighed and said, "I just happened to feel tired—like Muggles playing video games." What he did wasn’t to save the world or seek fame or fortune, he was simply bored.
Tom asked, "Besides Professor Dumbledore, do you see anyone else in this world as 'real'?"
Grindelwald thought for a moment. "Are you trying to persuade me to make a comeback? Sorry, I don’t feel guilty about my followers. At that time, I just happened to want to do those things, and they happened to want to join me. If they still want to continue, like you, they can start their own movement.
And yes, I’ve always appreciated your work, so I have no interest in getting involved in the war between you and Albus. You’re free now—you don’t need to worry about me getting in the way."
Tom said, "No, I’m not planning to fight the professor. Even if you decide not to continue, I just think it’s a shame."
Grindelwald asked, "Then what exactly are you here to learn from me? Or are you just too afraid of failing again to pretend to be obedient? Honestly, I think… you should explore life a little more before deciding whether to continue destroying your life's work. Isn’t it too early to give up?"
Tom lowered his gaze and sighed. "What I want to ask you is… how should I put it... Recently, while searching for how to merge my other Horcruxes, I’ve been reading a lot about souls. When I found the ring you left for me, I suddenly… realized something.
The seven Horcruxes correspond to the Seven Deadly Sins. I was originally 'Greed.'58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMDsXnAsLsd
Because I wanted both Basilisk’s friendship and to break its promise.58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRHbyHLEUOr
Luckily, my conflict with Ginny taught me 'Contentment,' so I accidentally broke my own curse.
And the ring represents 'Pride.' 'Voldemort' denied me, and I denied 'Voldemort.'58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgAnl07Z31l
Because we both saw each other as failures. Yet, fortunately, again someone made me realize that she didn’t care about my past or my future.
She saw 'me in the present' as enough. So I was able to humbly acknowledge my shortcomings. When I took the ring and properly 'repented,' I regained the memories I lost in my seventh year in Hogwarts—I grew one year older spiritually."
Grindelwald patiently asked, "So? Are you here for spiritual advice? To help you deal with 'Wrath' or 'Lust' or whatever that comes next?"
Tom said, "Yes. You have a wealth of life experience and fully understand my background. Can I take advice from you?"
Grindelwald was irritated. "I’m just an old man who ultimately accomplished nothing.58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxBje2NAyj9
What is there to learn? Go find Albus, he loves teaching people."
Tom said, "The professor and I… I respect him, but we often can’t deeply communicate." He wore a pitiful expression.
Grindelwald sharply asked, "Did Albus send you to torment me?"
Tom answered, "I don’t know. The professor never gives direct orders, but everything ends up under his control, doesn’t it?"
Grindelwald sighed. "Albus doesn’t understand what you’re thinking.58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFiX0xoL4mt
Besides, if I knew how to deal with negative impulses, why would I still be in this prison? I just suck at handling those things."
Tom pressed on, "But aren’t you atoning now? Even the professor doesn’t blame you anymore. Maybe he really did hire you to teach Defense Against the Dark Arts sincerely?"
Grindelwald said, "He mustn’t think that way. He just recognized me from those books. Thought that I was stirring up trouble again and came to stop me. And In the end, I simply played along, giving this identity a proper conclusion so he wouldn’t keep up on my ass."
Tom asked, "Aren’t you being too negative?"
Grindelwald concluded, "Albus is the kind of person who sacrifices everything for 'the greater good.' Everything he does is just to maintain world peace."
Tom didn’t comment and pulled the topic back to his practical problems.
"Last year, at Hogwarts, I made a friend. Even when I was disguised as Ginny, she always recognized me. She was never afraid of me and pulled me back every time I wanted to give up on myself.
But… I might have said something that hurt her, and she probably won’t return to school this year. I’ve been thinking all summer about writing to her, but… I don’t know what to say. I keep wondering, if you were me, what would you do?"
Grindelwald sighed. If he knew what to say, he and Albus wouldn’t have ended up like this. "Maybe you should just go find her. The words will come naturally." He suggested it with no good intention in his heart.
Tom thought for a moment. "That really seems like the only solution. After all, you’ve waited fifty years here just for the 'one more meeting.'"
Grindelwald scoffed.
Tom said, "I’ll come back and tell you how it goes. If it doesn’t work, this is all your fault."
Grindelwald waved him off. "Don’t drag me into this."
As Tom left, he called back, "Knowing that you’re always here, easy to find, makes me feel at ease. I think the professor feels the same way."
Grindelwald just sneered. "Don’t sweet-talk me."
Tom smiled mischievously. "Maybe it’s true. But you won’t know unless you step out and see for yourself."
After Tom left, Grindelwald stared at the blank wall, took a deep breath, and couldn’t help but mutter, "Hmph, little punk."
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"I remember when we were little, during Christmas, you would roll over for a piece of cheese just to make us laugh."
Ginny had stolen Scabbers while Ron had dozed off in the middle of his summer homework.
"When Tom told me who you really were, I couldn't believe it at first."58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzlmCgq1Lx0
She didn’t move far from Ron, just sat at another table in the hotel.
She asked the waiter for two small dipping dishes, filling one with water and the other with peanut butter.58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2ZuHQKy7mx
"Everyone has their reasons, even if their actions may not be forgivable. But..."
She pushed the two dishes toward Scabbers and whispered to him so softly that no one else could hear.58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3eZF6YoZIV
"Maybe I can understand you, as one human to another."
Peter’s stomach growled—he was starving. But he refused to surrender to the Dark Lord. He knew that "Tom" was the Dark Lord because he had been by Ron’s side, listening to Harry’s stories about the diary.
Peter wondered how Ginny, raised in the Weasley household, could have been brainwashed by the Dark Lord.58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcGhbnWkL1q
And that night—the young man had also said he could plead his case to Dumbledore...58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVywoqT3LNG
How did it happen? Suddenly, people from both sides — good and evil — recognized his true identity?
Peter was too weak from hunger to think clearly.58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHc0nJDXA7y
He didn’t want to talk.58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfD8rEIfckq
He just wanted to sleep and never wake up again.
Ginny gently stroked his head, massaging him.58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcvaSSpJaYw
Peter closed his eyes.
She said, "A few months ago, I almost became a traitor myself. I understand the feeling of wanting to do anything—absolutely anything—to end it all.58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7MHoFHsUZY
Back then, I had had enough. I thought talking wouldn’t change anything.58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHsDCO1tN36
Because so much had happened that I convinced myself this world would never be fair to me."
Peter listened in silence, numb inside.58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIWKzwyhJEn
He thought: He had no interest in being lectured by this brainwashed little girl.
Ginny sighed, "But somehow, through luck and sheer stubbornness, things turned out unexpectedly well. Though… maybe you never even thought the same way as I did. Maybe you simply betrayed your friends for glory, living in our house just to gather information, then sell them all at a good price later on." She withdrew her hand.
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"Every time I suspect you of that, it hurts me. I really want to know—why did you come to our house and live with us? If you could tell me, I’d listen. No matter what it is—your complaints, your hatred, anything. I just want to know why."
Ginny had spent a long time thinking before this private conversation.58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0UQZDDATuX
She couldn’t bring herself to ignore his starving.58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjbDVgHXjtL
Letting him silently waste away felt like she was the one killing him.
She didn’t want to be a bad person.
Even though, rationally, she knew Peter had the blood of at least twelve Muggles on his hands.58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJ9AXjwU6BP
Even though, in the middle of the night, he might feel so bitter that he could transform back into a man and kill her...58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8mjYSndPAs
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She just couldn’t connect Scabbers with the Peter Pettigrew she had heard about.58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPe9dMuQBom
She was self-aware enough to know this was her weakness. She always wanted to talk to dangerous people, seeking mutual understanding and help. But this time, she had reported it to Dumbledore. And He had approved of her action.
So... was this worth it?
Under Ginny’s expectant gaze, Scabbers still didn’t respond.58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ54m65UGkyH
Peter sank into sleep, breathing faintly.
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