.Chapter 12.

With a sombre expression unsoftened by any hint of nostalgia, Dumbledore continued his story. "Right from the start," he said, his voice edged with a curious flatness, "Lux envisaged all the great things that his gifted sons would achieve. He had, as I mentioned, very rigid ideals, and valued discipline and morality above all things. He saw everything in black and white, which is as you know a dangerous thing in a world made up of so many shades of grey.

Now as a boy, my brother was always the quieter one, the shier personality. He intensely disliked the fame that was forced upon him by his special magical inheritance. More than anything, though, he hated trying to live up to the demands our father made on us. At first, we both tried to live up to all his expectations, Aurorus and I, but it seemed that no matter how hard we tried, nothing we achieved was good enough to please him.

As the years passed, Aurorus grew more and more resentful of this, and more and more rebellious. While I concealed my dissatisfaction and continued to seek my father's approval, my brother began to defy him. Subtly at first, then brazenly as his frustration mounted. Finally, late one night, they worked themselves up into a blazing row, and I was barely able to keep them from Cursing one another into oblivion. My father demanded that Aurorus leave the house and never come back. And that's exactly what my brother did. He marched out of the room, out the front door, and my father never saw him again.

Not long after that, Lux was killed. The Dark Wizard, Grindlewald, was gaining power at a frightening rate, and for all that Lux was a great wizard, he was also an old man worn down by a lifetime of misplaced pride and deep regrets. Grindlewald tricked him into a duel for which my father was unprepared, but the Dark Wizard still only just managed to defeat the older man. He then made it his business to come after Aurorus and I. Destroying the entire Dumbledore line would, of course, be a great victory for Dark Magic, and Grindlewald was determined to claim it.

At this time, I had not seen or heard from my brother for several years, and had no reason to believe that he was aware of the danger he was in. Desperate to warn him, I began a race against time to track him down before Grindlewald could. I finally located Aurorus in a small wizard community in rural France - but he did not seem particularly pleased to see me. His estrangement from our father had driven a wedge between us, too. I saw his rebellion as childish and unnecessary, and he saw my acceptance of the old man's tyranny as cowardly and favour-seeking. The news of Lux's death only seemed to carve the wounds deeper. The closeness we had shared as children had long-since dissolved, and I realised then that it was never going to be recovered." Dumbledore seemed to brood on that thought for moment, his bright eyes hooded and dim. But his lapse was brief, and with a quick shake of his head he threw off his melancholy and pressed on.

"Nevertheless, we were very civil with one another, and he introduced me to a shy, pretty little French witch named Sabrina, explaining that they intended to marry before the summer was over.

Though I was happy for him, this news only increased the urgency of my warning. The moment we were alone, I told him about Grindlewald's determination to see the Heirs Of Dumbledore eliminated.

Aurorus was horrified, of course, but not on his own behalf. He was confronted with the shattering realisation that his magical inheritance would put Sabrina in mortal danger - not to mention the children they one day hoped to have. Devastated, he begged me to leave him alone for a while so that he could compose himself for the ordeal that had been placed before him – telling Sabrina that he had to leave her forever.

I complied, and left the room to sleep off the exhaustion of several weeks relentless searching. When I awoke the next morning the room was bright with sunshine but the house was silent. I found a letter next to my bed, signed by my brother. In it, he explained that Sabrina had come to him during the night. Knowing at once that something was wrong, she had goaded him into telling her what I had warned him of, and what he intended to do about it. But she had refused to let him leave her, and in the course of their ensuing argument Aurorus became convinced of the futility of his resolution to part from her. Instead, they eloped that very night, and Aurorus's letter spoke of their intention to leave the wizarding world behind them forever.

I wished them luck, burned the letter, and returned to my own life.

Well, for several years, that was that. I heard nothing from him. Grindlewald was defeated, but Aurorus and Sabrina did not emerge from hiding. I did not know if they were alive or dead. Then finally, one morning out of the blue, a rather weather-beaten little owl swooped down on my breakfast table and delivered one tiny, travel stained envelope. Inside was a note, which read simply,

"A son born last night. 'Brina and I both ecstatic. Only heard this year that Grindlewald was defeated – we don't get much in the way of wizard news out here. Well done, anyway. We discussed returning to your world now that the threat of G. is gone, but decided against it. Perhaps you will wonder at this choice – or perhaps not. Perhaps you of all people will understand that among wizards, my son is the Heir of Dumbledore, and subject to all the responsibility, pressure and danger that goes with the title. I don't want for him the life that I had. I don't want to become our father. 'Brina and I are happy where we are, and happiness is all the inheritance we wish upon our son. Hope you are well. A." "

There was another pause.

Then Dumbledore remarked in an almost conversational tone, "I still have that letter, you know. There was no return address, though, and it was the last I ever heard of my brother, my sister-in-law or my nephew."