"He won't believe you, even if you have something he's very interested in." Dumbledore bluntly pointed out the naivety of Victor Wick's idea.
Although Voldemort was indeed a madman, being a madman didn't mean he was brainless.
"Of course, talking to him directly wouldn't work... That's why I still need to make some preparations." Victor paused, then suddenly asked out of the blue, "Professor, you've said before that the Dark Lord doesn't understand what love is. Is that really true?"
Dumbledore nodded slowly. "When he was at school, the persona he put on made everyone like him, but... I knew, I could see that there was never a shred of sincerity in his words or deeds. Those he claimed were his so-called friends back then... they were merely his servants. Even if there were a flicker of love in his heart, it was long ago completely blinded by his desire for power, longevity, and authority."
Victor nodded. He had to admit the Dark Lord was quite a character. Severing all emotions and desires—he was practically the perfect candidate for immortality! Too bad this was the wizarding world.
"I understand. I'll go prepare now. By the way, I'll return the fake Philosopher's Stone in three days. As for Harry's side, I don't have the energy to manage it for now. You handle that. Get the fake stone into Quirrell's hands as soon as possible."
With that, Victor left the Headmaster's office.
Dumbledore watched his receding figure with a hint of helplessness. Ever since Victor learned that the Dark Lord's secret to longevity was Horcruxes, he felt that the boy's motivation had waned significantly.
Previously, Victor had tirelessly guided Harry himself, but now he had simply dumped the responsibility onto him.
However, he didn't say much. Victor had already done enough...
By the time Victor handed the fake Philosopher's Stone back to Dumbledore, he met Regulus again.
This was his second time meeting Regulus. Compared to their first encounter, Regulus looked much more haggard now, and there was a very conspicuous bruise around his left eye, as if he had been punched by someone.
Because he had destroyed a Horcrux and provided proof of his loyalty, Regulus had successfully earned Dumbledore's trust.
Dumbledore reciprocated by immediately acting as his guarantor under a different pretext.
Thus, the current Regulus could openly come to Hogwarts to find Victor, no longer needing to hide in the shadows.
"You don't seem to be doing too well? That injury..." Victor asked curiously, eyeing his haggard state.
"I fell," Regulus said flatly.
Victor's gaze turned a bit strange. "I'm curious, what kind of posture does one have to fall in to end up with a bruise like..."
"I forgot." Regulus's eye twitched. It seemed he didn't want to mention the matter at all.
"Oh..." Victor hummed meaningfully. "As expected of you, even your fall injuries are quite unique."
"That's enough..."
"Fine, I'll stop teasing you. You didn't come here today just to bring me bad luck again, did you?" Victor poured himself a cup of tea and took a sip.
"I'm here to apologize. And also..." Regulus pulled an elderly house-elf from behind him. "Kreacher!"
Kreacher the house-elf stepped forward very reluctantly and bowed slightly toward Victor. "Apologies, Kreacher took the liberty of twisting Mr. Wick's meaning, leading the Master to misunderstand Mr. Wick all this time..."
"Oh... so you came here today to apologize to me." Victor nodded.
"Yes. I, Regulus, admit when I am wrong... I only hope you can forgive my past mistakes." Regulus was quite honest, not the type of stubborn fool who would stick to a wrong path to the bitter end.
Then, the scene fell into a period of silence.
The two looked at each other for a long while before Victor asked in surprise, "That's it?"
Regulus was stunned. "I've finished speaking..."
"No... who goes to apologize empty-handed?" Victor laughed in exasperation. "Do you have any idea how much useless work we did because you were so late in telling that secret?"
This guy understands nothing of social graces; he's far worse than Sirius.
"How much? I'll pay." Regulus rubbed his forehead, already feeling a headache.
"Tsk, what's with the money talk? It's not about the money! Your brother knows—am I someone who lacks money?" Victor shook his head.
The Black family might be rich, but could they be richer than him? He had the Philosopher's Stone in his hands!
"Then what do you want me to do? Just say it, I won't refuse..." Regulus frowned.
Victor stood up and began pacing around Regulus, sizing him up from head to toe.
That blunt gaze made Regulus feel uneasy, and his expression gradually became unnatural.
He had heard that this fellow was still single and treated the beautiful women who threw themselves at him with total disregard...
Thinking of this, Regulus's heart suddenly jumped in shock, and his handsome face twisted.
Dammit, this guy couldn't be...
"No! Absolutely not!"
"What's no? I haven't even said my request yet." Victor looked at him with a frown.
"I have my limits too!"
"No, I haven't even said the request. How do you know if I'll touch your limits?" Victor asked, bewildered.
Regulus's face was pale, but he eventually gritted his teeth. "Then say it..."
Victor looked at him suspiciously. Why did he look like he was about to face death when the request hadn't even been made?
Unable to figure it out, Victor continued, "You probably don't know this. When I was undercover with the Death Eaters, I contacted you frequently because I saw you still had a bit of a conscience and thought about flipping you. But... before I could act, you went missing."
"Professor Dumbledore told me about that." Regulus nodded.
"I really do think highly of your abilities, and I still do. In fact, your previous suspicious and paranoid personality is perfect for helping me with one thing..." Victor said as he stuffed a note into Regulus's hand.
Regulus nervously opened the note and looked at it; his expression relaxed visibly to the naked eye.
"Just this? No problem."
Now it was Victor's turn to be surprised. "This is very dangerous... you're agreeing just like that?"
"I know what's going on. Don't worry, the preparations I've made over the years can be put to good use." Regulus easily set the note ablaze.
"Something's not right... what did you think I wanted you to do just now?" Victor looked at him sternly.
Regulus didn't answer. Instead, he took out a two-way mirror and placed it on Victor's desk.
"I'll go back and prepare. Contact me when the time comes."
For the wealth of the Black family, a two-way mirror was not a rare thing.
Regulus quickly left Victor's office as if there were a thousand Inferi chasing him.
Christmas arrived.
Victor had always found it strange.
As wizards who had been persecuted the most by religion, why did they celebrate Christmas? And they celebrated it so extravagantly, too...
Victor found the business of sending and receiving gifts very troublesome, but things were different now.
When he was living in seclusion, he didn't need to care about social obligations, but now that he was out working, he had to take them into account.
So, he drew up a list and handed the glorious task to Fleur and Shafiq.
He let them deliver the gifts according to the list he had drawn up and the relationships he had marked.
Of course, for the few people most closely related to Victor's interests, he still chose the gifts himself.
Even Grindelwald, far away in Nurmengard, was not left out.
Although he still didn't know what the old man was up to, he had to admit that the Acolytes he sent over were very useful.
Sending a few Christmas gifts was nothing.
Thus, on Christmas Day.
Grindelwald, in his cell at Nurmengard, looked bewildered at the package he had just opened.
The package was stuffed with photos of a young Dumbledore, even photos of Dumbledore and himself.
And... several of the Headmaster's worn pajamas...
Of course, there was also a small note. On it was written: "Old man, I did my best. I could only get you a few sets of pajamas at most."
"Tsk... that little brat. When did I ever ask you to do something so indecent!" Grindelwald's face turned black.
With a flick of his hand, a ball of eerie blue Fiendfyre appeared in his palm, but... for some reason, the fire did not descend.
After a long moment, the Fiendfyre dissipated.
Grindelwald silently stuffed the pajamas back into the package and tucked it under the bed.
He left only the photos...
He looked at the smiles in the photos, lost in thought.
Hogwarts.
Snape looked at the grooming kit in front of him, his face equally dark.
Looking at the hair tonic, shampoo, face wash, masks, toner, perfume, sunscreen, lip balm...
Snape really wanted to shove all these things into the fireplace and burn them!
However, a note in the package kept piercing his heart.
'You wouldn't want a certain person to see you with greasy hair and a sallow complexion after they return, would you? A man should know how to love himself... PS: Don't worry, it's not the Potter brand.'
Snape's fingers tightened on the package until they turned white. He wanted to shove this pile of garbage into the fireplace several times, but in the end, he couldn't bring himself to do it.
The Headmaster's office.
Dumbledore opened Victor's gift with great interest.
An exquisite picture frame appeared before his eyes.
Inside the frame was a portrait.
A beautiful young girl holding a bouquet of flowers was standing in a garden, her smile as bright as spring, the way she looked at him just like it was years ago...
Dumbledore froze. His fingers trembled as they brushed over the portrait, and his eyes gradually grew moist.
"Ariana... Merry Christmas."
At the same time, a note appeared before him as well.
'As long as someone remembers her, she will never truly be gone...'
"Alas..." Dumbledore's sigh was long and sorrowful. "Victor... why make things so sentimental during the holidays?"