Good or bad, does it matter?

Gloucestershire.

The next day, as agreed, Albus, apparated from the school straight to Grid's house, appearing in front of the gates, which almost immediately began to open.

"Welcome, my master is waiting for you, follow me," an elf greeted him, appearing in front of him in a black tuxedo, to which the elderly wizard was not very surprised and only nodded silently, following him towards the four-story, white building.

At the same time, in the living room, "Amon" sipped tea and watched the old man on the screen, in whose gaze a slight excitement was still visible, although he tried to seem completely calm.

"… maybe he wants to ask for help in dealing with Voldemort?" Nagini put forward another suggestion, to which the Prince shook his head.

"He can handle him himself, and things aren't so bad that he needs help."

"Then I don't understand why he needs it," the snake finally gave in, lowering her head onto Amon's lap, causing a smile to appear on his face.

"I think he needs help with some kind of research," he lazily said, putting the cup aside, tapping his finger on the top of her head, "Crawl to the second floor, I'll create a second screen so that one curious, lazy snake can watch everything."

"Okay." raising her head, she looked at him slightly displeasedly and disappeared.

No, of course, the snake did not learn to use magic and transmigrate, Grid only added her to the owners of the "House, like an artifact" and therefore she could move anywhere on the territory of the mansion and now he even regretted a little that he did this, because she had become completely lazy and now only teleports when she needs to go somewhere, she was too lazy to even crawl a couple of metres, but what was already done cannot be corrected and he had to come to terms with it.

Taking another sip, he pulled a mask of indifference over his face and did not even glance towards the entrance, where Dumbledore stood, accompanied by a house-elf, and with slight surprise studied the sitting old man in a black robe, from whom the headmaster could not feel even a weak fluctuation of magic, as if in front of him stood not a powerful wizard, but an ordinary person and perhaps, if he met him somewhere on the street, he would not even pay special attention. - You wanted to meet me just to look at me? - a sharp, dispassionate voice sounded from which at that very moment the temperature in the house seemed to drop by several degrees, and a chill ran down Dumbledore's back and for a moment he remembered how the wizard sitting in front of him playfully dealt with magicians who were perhaps almost as good as himself. - I'm sorry, I'm just surprised that I don't feel any magic from you... - he answered with an awkward smile, feeling himself in the shoes of the school students when they stood in front of him. - Only an idiot would show it off, there are wizards who can predict the level of their power and direction based on the vibrations of magic around the target, - he measured him with an indifferent look, - Tell me what you wanted, I don't have much free time to waste on empty talk. - Yes, I apologize, - and while the old man was approaching the chair, the house elf bowed and disappeared, - And I am grateful that you found the time to meet me ... - sitting down opposite him, he added, but noticing that "Ichiros" frowned, his smile became a little crooked, after all, for the first time they behaved with such disrespect, as if he was not the most powerful magician in Britain, but that same annoying, unpleasantly buzzing fly, constantly flying on the periphery. - Closer to the point. - Yes ... - taking a deep breath and returning his usual expression, a stone slab appeared in his hand, which he extended to "Amon", - I discovered it several decades ago and I would like to ask you to take a look at it. - Hm? - Grid's gaze, for the first time since Albus's arrival, lit up with interest when he took it and began to study the symbols. Dumbledore also noticed this change, which made his expression a little sour, but he still decided to keep his thoughts to himself. Finally, after a few minutes, Snape lowered it and thoughtfully began to stroke his beard. - Where did you find this thing? - Do you understand what is written there? - Albus asked impatiently in his voice, because no matter how much he and Flamel searched,so they couldn't find anything about those symbols. "I know," the "old man" nodded calmly, letting out a tired sigh. "And I would advise you not to get involved in this matter," he said, throwing the stone slab back. "What's written in it will bring far more problems than it's worth, and you, as I understand it, already have enough problems." "What do you mean?" "The founders of your school… tell me, do you know how they died?" Such a question and an abrupt change of topic puzzled the director. "Yes, there are records about all this in the library." "Are you sure of their authenticity?" For the first time during their conversation, an almost imperceptible smile appeared on "Amon's" face. "Have you ever heard such a phrase as "history is written by the victors"? It wasn't hard to understand what "Ichiros" meant, especially for Dumbledore, since it wasn't for nothing that he took the post of headmaster, and for the last ten years or so he had been stewing in the cauldron called politics. "You mean that their..." the elderly man looked at him skeptically, not believing that the founders, who were stronger than him, which he had no doubt, could simply be killed. "No matter how strong a wizard is, we are all mortal, even I, everyone has a weakness..." he answered indifferently, taking a mug from the table and taking a sip, he continued, "What is written on the slab will bring nothing but problems, and if it ever comes to light, it will put an end to both your life and the lives of all those close to you, are you ready for that?" "And you yourself...?" "I can protect myself." "And Severus?" - And him, and this will never come to light, - he answered with a serene smile, but at the same time his icy gaze penetrated to the very bones and an incredible pressure fell on the old man's shoulders, from the force of which, he was pressed into the sofa and he could not even raise his head to look at his interlocutor, - And of course, without an oath, you will not leave here, did I make myself clear? - Y-yes ... - Albus said with difficulty, for the first time in his life experiencing fear, in front of another wizard and he completely agreed with Moody that he was a real monster and the worst thing was that it was not pressure with the help of telekinesis or wind magic, but magic itself, the density of which increased a hundred times in an instant. - Glad to hear it, - and the pressure disappeared, - As a thank you for the ingredient, I can tell you in my own words what is written on the slab, without going into details, do you want to hear? - If it is not too much trouble... - the old man nodded slightly pale, adjusting his glasses that had slipped down a little, no longer daring to look this... monster in the eyes after such a demonstration. - Well, to put it simply, it tells of an evil sealed on this earth and that one day it will break the shackles holding it back, break out of confinement and destroy this world, in general, nothing new, - Ichiros drawled with some kind of boredom on his face, but Dumbledore did not share his feelings, real shock was clearly visible on the old man's face,- What's wrong with you? - A-are you sure...? - Albus asked him dryly, swallowing, simply not believing it, because it was not written by some unknown person, but by the founder of the Ravenclaw faculty herself, whom he simply could not help but believe.

— I swear by my magic, — Amon waved his hand weakly, a magical wave escaping from his hand, which meant that the magic itself confirmed his rightness, which made the elderly wizard's face even whiter. — Then why are you so calm? — Hm? Why should I worry? — Taking another sip, he closed his eyes peacefully, — Since such a fate is destined for us, then why do anything? — Why don't you fight, with your strength…? — Our ancestors were hundreds of times stronger than us and they could only seal them, and what can we do? — and then, putting the cup aside, he added in a more serious voice, — Of course, I will fight, but we cannot win, this is already a losing battle, so just enjoy this life, and I doubt that it will happen in this century, the barrier is still quite strong. — Y-you know where it will happen?! — the old man asked sharply, catching on the last words, jumping up from the sofa as if stung. — Yes, I know, but it's pointless, if I almost died at the hands of one of them, the weakest one at that, and only because they were behind the barrier I was able to escape, what will happen to wizards like you, you won't even have time to squeak, as you will become their slaves, and maybe even food, who knows what their preferences are ... - Then why don't you want to tell the whole world about it ?! - the old man did not calm down. - More problems than benefits, people are very complex creatures, there will still be individuals who want to ruin everything or even obey them and the end of the world will come much faster, and some are already solving this problem, but if he can't do anything, then this world can no longer be saved. Dumbledore just fell on the sofa and did not understand how to comment on this, and in general, what to do. Deep down, he completely agreed with him and even scolded himself a couple of times for his frozen stupidity. Previously, he thought that his main problem was Tom, whom he created with his own hands, but now the wizard realized that it was nothing compared to the whole world. Of course, Albus thought that it could also be a lie and "Amon" simply lied, somehow forging an oath of magic, but he understood that he was simply trying to convince himself otherwise. And even several times, the professor regretted that he had decided to ask him about this slab at all, why he had not asked a question related to the riddle of the founder, why he had asked about this. And Dumbledore simply could not disbelieve him, because there was no point in him lying. But he did not understand one thing: - Why did you tell me all this ...?

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Thank you for reading.