Harry flipped through the photos, wondering what Luna was getting at. All of the photos were of wizards, some rather unpleasant looking ones at that. Each of them looked like they were arrogant and cruel. Grindlewald's photo had him twirling his wand around with a cruel smirk upon his face. Wait a second, thought Harry. That wand was rather distinctive. He quickly flipped through the rest of the photos again to confirm his suspicions.
"They're all posing with the same wand. At least, I think it's the same wand," said Harry.
"Yes, it's definitely the same wand," said Luna. "It's quite a distinctive wand if you notice, look at the styling, those multiple carvings of elderberry clusters. Now..." Luna skipped over to the large mirror placed over her dressing table. "How do I pull up the recording from earlier? When Dumbledore was standing outside our gates."
Harry walked over to the mirror and helped Luna access his security system. The surveillance system he had put in around his house had a memory capable of recording several weeks' worth of footage. He quickly pulled up the footage from earlier and under Luna's direction froze it at the instant when Dumbledore was attempting to break down their wards. He zoomed in to get a better look at Dumbledore's wand and was amazed to see the very same wand that Grindlewald and the other wizards had been holding.
"It's the same wand," he said wonderingly. "But... what does that mean? Does it... mean anything?"
"Harry, each of the wizards whose portraits and photographs I showed you - They were all rumoured to be masters of the Elder Wand. The Death Stick," said Luna.
"The Death Stick... but that's just one of your Dad's stories. The Hallows aren't real," said a stunned Harry.
"Aren't they?" asked Luna. "The Death Stick has a well documented, rather bloody history which fits quite well with the story of the Deathly Hallows. None of its masters has ever been defeated in a duel if they were using it and most of them have been killed by treachery, ever since Antioch Peverell, its first master, was murdered in his sleep."
"Except for Grindlewald you mean. Everyone knows that Dumbledore defeated him in a duel," said Harry.
"Exactly," said Luna beaming away like a proud parent whose child is taking its first steps. "Everyone knows that Dumbledore defeated Grindlewald in a duel. That's why Dumbledore was always so respected in England. The problem is that the Master of the Elder Wand can never be defeated in a straight duel. So..."
"So how did Dumbledore do it?" asked Harry. "There has to be some explanation. Maybe it isn't the Elder Wand. Maybe Grindlewald didn't manage to master it. I mean, come on, there were witnesses to the duel. Weren't there?"
"Harry... come on, you know that witnesses don't mean much when it comes to the magical world. Memory charms, illusions, polyjuice potions and glamours. There are just too many ways for people to be fooled," said Luna.
"But we know that he did defeat him. Grindlewald was imprisoned in Nurmengard. That, at least, is established historical fact," said Harry.
"Yes, Dumbledore managed to defeat Grindlewald and took the wand from him. It would have been impossible to do it in a duel though. Which means - which means he probably just seduced Grindlewald or something," said Luna.
"Oh come on," blurted Harry. "Dumbledore and ... I just can't believe that."
"Why not?" asked Luna. "Daddy interviewed Bathilda Bagshot once, quite a few years back. She was quite convincing in her stories about how Dumbledore put ideas in her beloved nephew's head. She was Grindlewald's aunt, you know. It seems that Dumbledore and Gellert Grindlewald were, ahem, exceptionally close when they were younger. Dumbledore probably knew that he couldn't defeat Grindlewald in a straight duel so maybe he, I don't know, dipped his beard in a powerful sleeping potion that works on skin contact and then once he had seduced Gellert all he'd have to do is rub his beard all over Gellert's naked..."
"Stop, stop, please stop," pleaded Harry. "I could really do without that mental image. Thank you very much."
Luna stared at Harry who had managed to turn a rather impressive shade of green. "That colour really doesn't suit you," she said.
"Okay, so is that the only reason you don't trust Dumbledore? Because you think he lied about how he managed to defeat Grindlewald."
"Not just that - Back when you were living in England, you probably bought a wand from Ollivanders, right? Remember how he used to describe his wands. This wand is good for charms, that one is good for transfiguration, etc. etc. The Elder Wand is good for just one thing Harry - killing! That wand is responsible for more deaths than any other wand in history. Would you use a wand like that? Would I? What type of person is comfortable with such a wand? Someone who doesn't mind using a wand that positively drips with the blood of its victims. Someone who wants power above all other considerations, that's who. Does that sound like the Dumbledore you think you knew? Can you really trust someone like that?"
...
....
Join my P*atreon for 100 premium chapters ahead of the public release.
Link: pa*treon.com/MysticVerse (Remove the *)
Free members also get 2 advanced chapters for free.