"Ah, yes." Kael responded, quickly saying, "I've always liked 'Magic History'."
"Not bad, a child with a good eye." Bathilda said, "'Magic History' is something I created after spending over a decade, during which I visited countless people. It is also my proudest work."
She smiled at Kael, the wrinkles on her face piling up as if they were going to cover her eyes, making her look like a cabbage cut in half.
Kael nodded in response.
Although Dumbledore had dispelled most of the odors in the room, Kael could still smell a distinct mustiness and the scent of spoiled food.
These smells seemed to have fused with the house itself, and couldn't be cleaned unless the place was blown up.
"So, what did you come to ask me?" Bathilda walked past Kael, untying her moldy, moth-eaten headscarf to reveal a sparsely white-haired head.
Kael instinctively looked at Dumbledore, but the latter slapped his forehead, "Oh, I almost forgot there's something I need to tell Minerva. Wait here for a moment, I'll be right back."
Saying this, he hurried out of the house, leaving Kael bewildered and standing there.
"Sit down, don't just stand there." Bathilda said, and only then did Kael carefully sit on a sofa that looked like it might collapse at any moment.
"I guess he didn't actually have anything to tell Minerva, but went to see Ariana." Bathilda suddenly said.
"Every time he comes here, it's to visit Ariana, though he occasionally stops by my place. I know this."
"His sister, Ariana Dumbledore?" Kael asked, following up on Bathilda's words, "Is she also here?"
"Just two miles away, near the church." Bathilda said, she glanced at Kael, "I didn't expect you to know that name, has he really told you about her? That's truly rare."
"I saw a picture of a girl in his office." Kael said.
"That's right, that's Ariana." Bathilda murmured to herself, "But what is it worth, for that poor child…"
It seemed that she hadn't talked to anyone for a long time and finally met someone willing to listen to her stories, especially someone brought by Dumbledore, so Bathilda opened up and talked a lot about some things from Dumbledore's youth.
She even dug out a few severely faded old photographs from a worn-out box.
The photos showed two high-spirited young men, and Kael quickly recognized one of them as the young Dumbledore.
He had seen the middle-aged Dumbledore in the Pensieve, and the young man on the right in the photo looked very similar, the other was of a similar age, slender, handsome, with sharp eyes, looking vibrant.
"This is a nephew of mine." Bathilda said, "But regarding Ariana's matter, he was just as much of a scoundrel as Albus."
"Look, that's Ariana." Bathilda pointed to a corner of the photograph.
It was the attic of a house, with a small figure inside, peering out at them through the attic window.
Under the effect of the Developing Potion, the photograph was divided into distinctly different parts, the most prominent of which were the two vibrant youths.
The other part, however, was Ariana, who was neglected, confined in the attic, longing for sunshine and friendship.
The contrast made Kael uncomfortable, and he couldn't help but have a bold thought that he wanted to beat Dumbledore up.
Now, without a wand and with one arm out of commission, maybe he could really land a blow or two.
At this thought, Kael quickly shook his head, once again focusing his gaze on the photo, more precisely, on the person on the left side of the photo.
Gellert Grindelwald, Dumbledore's once close friend and greatest rival, currently studying at Nimongard.
Kael remembered that Bathilda Bagshot seemed to be his great-aunt.
Just as Kael was about to take a closer look, the photo was put away.
"I never dare to look at this, it always reminds me of some sad memories." Bathilda said.
Kael wanted to ask something about Grindelwald but thought about it and abandoned the idea, choosing instead to continue, "Back then, Professor Dumbledore didn't seem to care much about his sister."
"Yes." Bathilda nodded, "When he was younger, he was completely different from now. He always felt there were worthier things to do than staying home day after day to care for his Squib sister. To me, he even considered Ariana a burden."
"Squib?" Kael paused for a moment.
"Oh, I shouldn't have said that." Bathilda said, "In fact, the Dumbledore family claimed to the outside world that Ariana was ill, but no one ever saw her at St Mungo's Hospital."
"Alright, forget these things, whatever the truth may be, it no longer matters.
"In any case, Ariana's death changed Albus into a different person, but it also caused a complete rift between him and Abeforth, his nose was broken at that time."
Bathilda hobbled over to the table, put the photos back into the box, and rummaged through it for something.
"Would you like to see the manuscript of 'Magic History'? There are many interesting things that didn't make it into the record."
"Of course." Kael said.