I, the Dark Lord, will definitely be a good principal!

But Dumbledore didn't continue.

“You did a really good job. I think you started your performance right from the Malfoy Manor, which is why you ran away from home... I don’t know exactly what happened, but I think you must have made some kind of deal with Lucius and Narcissa.”

"The Philosopher's Stone, the Basilisk, Scrimgeour, even Sirius Black... I can't be sure exactly what you did in all of this, but at the very least, I think you were involved to some extent."

"So, teacher, do you regret it?"

Dumbledore smiled and shook his head: "I have no regrets. I'm even glad I took you in as a student when you were a first-year student."

"Just like I said before, you did a great job. If it weren't for your final role, I can't even imagine how we would have ended up killing Voldemort."

“I don’t know what your initial plan was, nor do I know why you started plotting at such a young age, but at least, taking you in as a student has had some influence on you.”

"You will be an excellent principal."

In the portrait, Dumbledore raises his cup to Ingres.

"I will not reprimand you, nor will I pry into your true purpose. What a person really thinks is not important; what matters is what he does."

"If we only look at a person's inner thoughts, then there are no good people in this world. Even I, who am called the greatest white wizard of the twentieth century by countless wizards, still have dark thoughts in my heart."

"If I had to pinpoint anything that makes me sad... it would probably be the people you sacrificed."

“If I had known your ambition and your abilities beforehand, I think I would have stopped you from killing them, but I would still have been your teacher. I have never seen anything like Tom in your eyes. You are indifferent to other people’s fears... Compared to that, I think you prefer to watch other people make fools of themselves.”

Dumbledore's smile was tinged with self-deprecation: "Many times, I've felt that I'm not a... white wizard."

"If it were Harry, I believe he wouldn't give up on any life that could be saved. He's always passionate and kind. He would sympathize with Voldemort's mother, and he would also feel distressed because of Snape's experiences as a student when he was learning Occlumency."

"But in my opinion..."

"In the vast epic of survival, individual lives are like fireflies that flicker and fade in the cold night. The collective will to survive is an undercurrent that sweeps everything away, overriding the joys and sorrows and life and death of individuals, turning countless fleeting lives into bubbles on the crest of a wave."

"No man can step into the same river twice, and the torrent of collective destiny does not even grant the leisure to pause and gaze at the bubbles—each individual is merely a ripple that occasionally bursts forth as it surges forward, leaving faint ink marks on the long scroll of history."

"This is not the emptiness of life, but an allegory of the essence of existence. When the yellow sand of the ancient Roman Colosseum was soaked with blood, when the villages swept by the medieval plague were reduced to ruins, the cries and struggles of individuals were nothing more than inaudible tremors in the grand narrative of the survival of the group."

“I will pause to listen to these voices, but I will not actually stop.”

Angel nodded slightly. He had known for a long time that Dumbledore was such a person.

In the face of the survival of the group, the life of an individual seems insignificant, even if that individual is himself.

Dumbledore suddenly said, "If you'd like, you can hang me back on the wall of the Headmaster's office."

"Don't worry, I won't say anything... There's no need to ruin this hard-won peace. We've already paid too high a price to defeat Voldemort. If we keep bringing up what you did before, then another war will break out."

Angel shook his head without hesitation: "The risk of doing so is too great for me, but you are right about one thing, teacher: I am indeed willing to maintain the current peace in the wizarding world."

“My audience doesn’t need those ignorant people. They just need to remember that I—Angol Malfoy—am the greatest headmaster in the history of Hogwarts. That’s enough!”

At this point, he suddenly winked, a sly look of delight on his face.

The eighteen-year-old youth had completely shed the obedient and innocent feeling of his childhood. He stood in front of the black window frame and turned to look at him.

The morning sunlight shone on him, his long golden hair was combed into a loose braid, adorned with a long metal chain inlaid with gemstones, and warm golden light danced among the fine strands of hair. His slanted bangs just covered his abnormal eye, and the faint curve of his lips carried a touch of nonchalant elegance.

"Teacher, does this count as a peaceful breakup?"

Dumbledore: "?"

Isn't that an incorrect adjective?

Angel shrugged: "We've peacefully severed our master-disciple relationship. You seem satisfied with what I'm doing now, and I'm very grateful for your guidance."

"But teacher, I still prefer to call you that... I think I need to move you to another place now."

"Teacher... there is no end to learning."

A few minutes later, Dumbledore's portrait was hung on the wall of the Angle Science Park.

“I have prepared some other portraits here. The magic that Snape cast on your portrait has been modified. You can go to other portraits. At least you are free in this park.”

Let's create a new era together!

A few minutes later, Dumbledore stared at the portrait of Grindelwald in deep thought.

What is this called?

Since we've laid our cards on the table, why not just use him openly and honestly, and even give him a little something extra?

"Teacher, haven't I been a good friend?"

Dumbledore: "..."

They killed them both, then took their portraits and hung them together, even wanting them to work for them together...

Is that what you call being generous?

Ingres stood before the portrait and raised his wine glass to the two figures in it.

"Don't you want to see the new world I've created?"

"So."

"To the future——"

…………

…………

…………

(End of text)