Harry Potter and the Secret Treasures-Chapter 1539: The Secret to be Revealed

Dumbledore’s most surprising secret!

Well, if Rita Skeeter’s articles were not so unreliable, Evan might actually be interested in this topic and want to buy a copy of the biography to take a look.

Undoubtedly, Dumbledore had many secrets, and the most surprising one among them…

What was it? The secret of the Deathly Hallows? His tragic family past? The lifelong feud with Voldemort? Or the love-hate relationship with Grindelwald?

Apparently, the last one was the most shocking to the public!

On the night of the trip to Nurmengard, Dumbledore had told Evan about his extraordinary friendship with Grindelwald when he was young.

Although he hadn’t said much, Evan could still glean some clues from it.

However, since he had never met Grindelwald in person, he couldn’t be too sure.

He was a little skeptical about how much of Grindelwald’s feelings for Dumbledore were real. He might just be trying to win over Dumbledore, or maybe they really appreciated each other, and the grudges between the two of them had created a bond beyond friendship. …

If such things were revealed in Rita Skeeter’s biography, Evan would definitely be interested in reading it.

He continued reading, hoping to find more information.

“Now, come off it, Betty, I’m not giving away all the highlights before anybody’s bought the book!” laughs Skeeter. “But I can promise that anybody who still thinks Dumbledore was white as his beard is in for a rude awakening! Let’s just say that nobody hearing him rage against You-Know-Who would have dreamed that he dabbled in the Dark Arts himself in his youth! And for a wizard who spent his later years pleading for tolerance, he wasn’t exactly broad-minded when he was younger! Yes, Albus Dumbledore had an extremely murky past, not to mention that very fishy family, which he worked so hard to keep hushed up.”

I ask whether Skeeter is referring to Dumbledore’s brother, Aberforth, whose conviction by the Wizengamot for misuse of magic caused a minor scandal fifteen years ago.

“Oh, Aberforth is just the tip of the dung heap,” laughs Skeeter. “No, no, I’m talking about much worse than a brother with a fondness for fiddling about with goats, worse even than the Muggle-maiming father — Dumbledore couldn’t keep either of them quiet anyway, they were both charged by the Wizengamot. No, it’s the mother and the sister that intrigued me, and a little digging uncovered a positive nest of nastiness — but, as I say, you’ll have to wait for chapters nine to twelve for full details. All I can say now is, it’s no wonder Dumbledore never talked about how his nose got broken.”

Family skeletons notwithstanding, does Skeeter deny the brilliance that led to Dumbledore’s many magical discoveries?

“He had brains,” she concedes, “although many now question whether he could really take full credit for all of his supposed achievements. As I reveal in chapter sixteen, Ivor Dillonsby claims he had already discovered eight uses of dragon’s blood when Dumbledore ‘borrowed’ his papers.”

But the importance of some of Dumbledore’s achievements cannot, I venture, be denied. What of his famous defeat of Grindelwald?

“Oh, now, I’m glad you mentioned Grindelwald,” says Skeeter with a tantalizing smile. “I’m afraid those who go dewy-eyed over Dumbledore’s spectacular victory must brace themselves for a bombshell — or perhaps a Dungbomb. Very dirty business indeed. All I’ll say is, don’t be so sure that there really was the spectacular duel of legend. The relationship between Albus and Grindelwald was not as simple as the world imagines. There was no ultimate duel. After they’ve read my book, people may be forced to conclude that Grindelwald simply conjured a white handkerchief from the end of his wand and came quietly!”

Skeeter refuses to give any more away on this intriguing subject, so we turn instead to the relationship that will undoubtedly fascinate her readers more than any other.

“Oh yes,” says Skeeter, nodding briskly, “I devote an entire chapter to the whole Potter-Dumbledore relationship. It’s been called unhealthy, even sinister, and beyond the relationship that should exist between a teacher and a student. Again, your readers will have to buy my book for the whole story, but there is no question that Dumbledore took an unnatural interest in Potter from the word go. Whether that was really in the boy’s best interests — well, we’ll see. It’s certainly an open secret that Potter has had a most troubled adolescence.”

And that’s not all. Skeeter mentions that Dumbledore’s abnormal interest in male students was not limited to Potter alone. There was another boy, recently just as famous, who also attracted Dumbledore’s favor.

“Yes, many people know Evan Mason. He arrived at Hogwarts a year after Potter, but quickly became Dumbledore’s prized protégé. Some even described him as the rising star of the Wizarding world. After displaying powerful spells a few times, some claimed he might be just as strong as Dumbledore himself,” says Skeeter. “I don’t deny it — Mason is undeniably a clever and powerful boy. Compared with Potter, who was in the chaos of adolescence, he knew better how to get what he wanted, and he got far more from Dumbledore. You’ll see it when you read the biography. I dedicated an entire chapter to him as well.”

I ask whether Skeeter is still in touch with Harry Potter and Evan Mason, whom she so famously interviewed last year: a breakthrough piece in which Potter and Mason spoke exclusively of their conviction that You-Know-Who had returned.

“Oh, yes, we’ve developed a close bond,” says Skeeter. “As you all know, Mason started a newspaper and he needed my help. It was I who helped him develop the newspaper from that obscure little paper into a media outlet rivaling The Daily Prophet. My bond with Evan Mason far exceeds that of anyone else. And poor Potter has few real friends, and he needs a mature and stable person like me to guide his confused life. I am probably one of the only people alive who can say that they know the real Harry Potter.”

Which leads us neatly to the many rumors still circulating about Dumbledore’s final hours. Does Skeeter believe that Potter was there when Dumbledore died?

“Well, I don’t want to say too much — it’s all in the book — but eyewitnesses inside Hogwarts castle saw Potter running away from the scene moments after Dumbledore fell, jumped, or was pushed. Potter later gave evidence against Severus Snape, a man against whom he has a notorious grudge. Is everything as it seems? That is for the Wizarding community to decide — once they’ve read my book”

On that intriguing note, I am to take my leave. But at the very end, I can’t help but ask: why did no one see Dumbledore’s body at his funeral? If so many people had witnessed Dumbledore’s death — his fall from the tower — then where did his body go?

“That involves a very profound and complex piece of magic — something Dumbledore cast before his death,” Skeeter suddenly lowers her voice. “You’ll understand once you’ve read my book. This powerful spell is key to combating You-Know-Who. Many of my friends in the Ministry believe that. I’ll say it again: Dumbledore’s death is far from as simple as it appears. As for that spell, I can’t say too much. The only thing I can tell you is that it has to do with Evan Mason. I’m certain Dumbledore shared the secret with him. And as Mason’s partner and close friend, I’ve written everything I can say about it in my book. …”

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