Before the young wizards of Hogwarts had recovered from the shock of the change of headmaster, Dumbledore easily unloaded his burden and slipped to the Hog's Head Inn under the cover of night.
"Well, Aberforth, are you ready?" Dumbledore asked impatiently as he entered the door of the Hog's Head Inn.
At this time, the Pig's Head Bar had been cleared out in advance, and the lobby and guest rooms were empty.
Aberforth was pacing back and forth in front of the fireplace on the second floor, rubbing his hands from time to time, and the nervousness in his heart was about to fill the entire bar.
"Albus, are you sure that the stone is useful?" Aberforth looked at Dumbledore who was walking up quickly from downstairs, and asked hopefully, "Can Ariana really come back to us?"
"Aberforth, I remember I told you very clearly that the Resurrection Stone cannot bring the dead back to life." Dumbledore walked up to the second floor, stood by the fireplace, looked at the portrait on the wall, and said softly, "It is just the projection we most want to see in our minds."
"I know... I know..." The light in Aberforth's eyes dimmed, and he nodded slowly, "I just still hold on to a little hope that the Deathly Hallows are really as magical as the legend says."
"I used to think so too. I thought that if I could find the Resurrection Stone with Gellert, we could bring back our deceased father and mother." Dumbledore wiped his eyes, his voice trembling. "But I didn't expect that it was because of the Resurrection Stone that Ariana also..."
Aberforth choked, and his eyes became even more lonely.
"Actually... I had my share of problems back then." He spoke word by word about a topic he had refused to admit for a hundred years. "I was avoiding the hassle of having to take care of Arianna alone... Even though I knew she was upstairs, I still got angry and started a fight with Grindelwald."
"If we had all been calmer at the time, maybe things would have been much better in the end." Dumbledore sighed, "It's no use blaming yourself so much now... Do you remember Credence?"
"Of course, if I hadn't been obsessed with a relationship with a girl during that time, I might not have been so angry." Aberforth said, "Albus, I still hope you can call him Aurelius. I owe him too much."
"Yes, Aurelius Dumbledore." Dumbledore said softly, "He became an Obscurial just like Ariana. We tried everything we could to stop the Obscurial from raging in him, although he had persisted long enough..."
"Now that I think about it, even if that hadn't happened, we wouldn't have been able to save Arianna." Aberforth said, "Arianna herself understood this, so she didn't hide, but chose to risk the Obscurus riot to come out and dissuade us from the duel..."
"Maybe she's already had enough of hiding in her room all year round."
Both of them looked at the portrait next to the fireplace. In the frame, the girl with golden hair was smiling at them quietly.
"Let's get started." Dumbledore stroked the ring with a black stone on his index finger and said gently, "It can be regarded as the fulfillment of a wish that has lasted for almost a hundred years. It can also be regarded as leaving Ariana a continuation in this world."
Aberforth nodded slightly, his eyes fixed on the childish face in the frame.
Dumbledore closed his eyes and spun the ring three times in his hand.
Soon, slight noises were heard all around, like some weak bodies stepping on the carpet of the Hog's Head Bar, which had been cleaned recently by Dracula's curse, making rustling sounds.
From Aberforth's perspective, a figure can be seen walking out of the fireplace as if appearing out of thin air.
He saw that this Arianna was neither a ghost nor a living person of flesh and blood, but more like a memory that had almost become a physical entity.
She was not as solid as a living person, but much more real than a ghost. She walked towards the two of them lightly, with a playful and lovely smile on her face.
Aberforth suddenly felt something stuffed into his hand.
He turned around and found that Dumbledore had opened his eyes at some point and handed the Resurrection Stone Ring to him.
Aberforth took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and imitated Dumbledore's movements by turning the stone three times in his hands.
Ariana's figure seemed to become more solid, like a living person, with a smile on her face, standing in front of the two of them.
"Long time no see, Albus, Aberforth, my two brothers..." She waved her hand with a smile, "Your beards are longer than my hair."
Dumbledore's eyes were filled with tears. He took off his half-moon glasses and wiped the corners of his eyes with his sleeve.
"Yes, we are old," he said softly, "and you still look the same as we remember, just like in the painting."
Aberforth also opened his eyes and said with some trembling:
"Arianna, I'm sorry..."
"I don't blame you, never." Arianna interrupted Aberforth's apology, with a warm smile on her face, "You are all so outstanding, you all have the right to pursue your own happiness and ideals, there is no need to give up everything for someone like me who is destined to leave soon."
"Also, I forgot to tell you. That summer, I left the room on purpose!"
"Instead of living in torment every day, it is better to be liberated in advance."
"I should be the one who is sorry for you. I made you feel guilty for so many years... It must be very hard for you, right?"
Dumbledore and Aberforth were both stunned, and then burst into tears at the same time.
"Don't be sad, my brothers, leave it to me from now on." Ariana turned around with a smile and looked at her portrait.
She waved to herself in the portrait, and the portrait smiled and pushed its hands forward as if pushing open a door.
Then, a row of steps magically appeared in front of the portrait, and one step after another fell next to the fireplace.
Ariana stepped on it and walked into the painting.
The two girls in the painting smiled at each other and hugged each other.
Under the gaze of Dumbledore and Aberforth, the two girls merged together into a vivid figure, smiling and sitting on a swing in the portrait, swinging their little feet lightly.
Gradually, satisfied smiles appeared on the faces of the brothers Dumbledore and Aberforth.
…
A few minutes later, sitting on the sofa next to the fireplace, the three siblings chatted happily.
"I heard that you resigned as the headmaster of Hogwarts. What are you going to do next?" Aberforth asked.
"Arianna has just returned, so of course I will stay here with her for a few days." Dumbledore said with a smile, "Let Minerva and Severus take care of the post-war affairs. After so many years, it's time for me to retire."
"What are your plans for the future?" Aberforth asked. "You can't stay here forever."
Dumbledore's smile faded and he was silent for a moment.
"Perhaps, I will fulfill a wish that I had unfulfilled many years ago." He said softly.
Now, the knot that had been weighing on Dumbledore's heart for nearly a hundred years was finally untied, and the thickest barrier between him and Grindelwald was also dissolved at the same time.
Perhaps, taking a spontaneous trip is a good choice
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