Dumbledore was not a man who cared much about pride.
Many people called him an old madman, and there were no doubt countless others who cursed him behind his back. With his ability, if he had chosen to make an example of just a few of them, then like Voldemort, he could easily have made people so afraid that they would not even dare speak his name.
Because the complaints and slanders of those people could not truly affect him.
But it was different when it came to certain important people.
Tom was one of them.
Dumbledore still wanted, as much as possible, to preserve the image of a reliable elder in Tom's eyes, so that he could guide the child away from the path that would drag the entire magical world into suffering.
Although he could tell Tom's words had been teasing in tone, the Dementors' actions still represented a direct loss to Dumbledore's credibility.
This time, he had confidently guaranteed that the Dementors would never appear on school grounds.
That had now turned into an empty boast.
And what about next time?
Once a crack of doubt appeared, it would take countless times more effort to mend and heal it afterward.
That was the real reason for Dumbledore's anger.
Newt had not expected that one simple sentence from Tom would come so close to breaking Dumbledore's composure. Since no one had actually been harmed, he would normally have considered that the best possible outcome. While the two men were talking, Tina came into the sitting room with fruit and tea, and after listening in, she understood the whole chain of events.
"Hogwarts really has declined badly. A whole swarm of Dementors got into the school grounds and only got noticed once they reached the Quidditch pitch, and then our Tom had to step in and clean it up. Dumbledore, your staff have grown far too lax."
Serving tea was simply proper hospitality.
The cutting sarcasm, however, was Tina's real attitude toward old Dumbledore.
And the worst part was, every word she said was true.
Dumbledore looked slightly embarrassed, yet he had no room to argue back. In the end, Newt was the one who changed the subject and offered him a way down.
"Dumbledore, has the Congress side found any news about Grindelwald?"
At the mention of that, Dumbledore felt even worse.
He slowly shook his head and sighed.
"If Grindelwald intends to hide, then there are almost no people in the world who can lock onto his location. The Aurors and Hit Wizards MACUSA sent out have not brought back any useful clues."
"I wanted to investigate the Picquery family, but unexpectedly, I was refused."
Dumbledore gave a helpless smile.
"Tina, what exactly is MACUSA hiding? I get the feeling they have many secrets they do not want me to know."
"I'm retired. I don't know anything," Tina said flatly. "That dead Sam Picquery belonged to the radical faction. Those few families were never on good terms with me. Dumbledore, you're asking the wrong person."
"Fair enough."
Dumbledore had not really expected a different answer.
He did not like prying too deeply into the hidden workings of official organizations, but he had not forgotten Ilvermorny's little moves last year either. He had already long since become suspicious of MACUSA.
"I don't think MACUSA itself should have any major problem," Newt said uneasily. "Perhaps it's simply because of the Picquery family's special position."
Newt truly did not want the world to gain yet another source of chaos.
One Grindelwald was already enough to give anyone a headache.
"Let us hope so," Dumbledore said, neither agreeing nor disagreeing. Then he shifted the subject. "But no matter what, the threat is right in front of us. Newt, Tina, the two of you know him very well. If we were to track him..."
"Oh, right."
Tina interrupted him, suddenly wearing an expression of realization.
"Look at me. I almost forgot to tell you the good news."
Dumbledore paused. "What good news?"
The elderly witch smiled broadly and took hold of Newt's hand.
"Newt and I both agree that North America is no longer safe. There will only be more trouble and more frustration in the future. We've also lived here for decades and grown tired of it. So next week, we'll be returning to our old house in Dorset for a while."
Dumbledore's surprise was plain to see.
He looked toward Newt, and Newt nodded shyly.
"Dumbledore, we're old now. We can't keep running about like before. Tina hasn't been feeling very well recently, and she needs rest."
This was hardly about rest.
It was simply that they did not want to be dragged into the struggle between these two Dark Lords any longer. It was the same idea Nicolas Flamel had adopted, to retreat to Britain and seek some peace and quiet.
Dumbledore understood that as well.
Originally, he had wanted to ask Newt to track Grindelwald again, just as he had done decades ago. But now it was obvious that would not happen. He could only nod regretfully.
"If there is anything at all I can help with, please make sure to let me know."
"Thank you for the kindness, Dumbledore," Tina said with a smile. "What would you like to eat later?"
Dumbledore rose to his feet.
"There's no need to trouble yourselves. I still need to visit a few old friends. If I still find no clues, then I can only return to Hogwarts and wait for his next appearance."
"Then we'll see you out."
They watched Dumbledore disappear down the street.
Then Newt suddenly sighed.
"Dumbledore must be very upset right now."
"Newt, Dumbledore is only disappointed because he couldn't find someone to help him deal with Grindelwald." Tina looked at her husband sternly. "Have you thought about me? About Rolf? Do you want us to end up grieving because we've lost a husband and a grandfather?"
Newt hurriedly waved his hands in denial.
"I... I didn't mean it like that. I just think that even if we hide in Britain, Grindelwald may still come for us. Before, when you didn't fight back, didn't he still get dragged into this mess?"
"That was my misjudgment."
Tina let out a quiet sigh as she walked with Newt through the garden.