Edward smiled under his hood before saying: "This contract is not about you, but your brother--Albus."
"Of course it is," replied Aberforth. "Most dangerous things that occur in the wizarding world involve him one way or another. Nevertheless, please be more specific."
"Well, I lust after your brother's knowledge of magic. However, knowing him, he would rather die than willingly hand it over to me. So, I have to become creative in finding ways to acquire what I want."
"What don't you just say that you are not his opponent, so you are trying to use me to get to him."
"Unfortunately, you are wrong Mr. Aberforth. If there was a list of the most powerful wizards in this world, I would be first, your brother second, and Grindelwald third or fourth," replied Edward while thinking about Credence's power. This Obscurial might be ranked third given his ability and potential.
Aberforth frowned after hearing this as he could not tell where this person's confidence came from. Despite being estranged for many years, Aberforth knew how powerful his brother was; he knew despite his calm and nice persona, was a very terrifying wizard. And if it was not that because of the Blood Pact, his brother would have long stopped Grindelwald.
After a brief moment of silence, he asked: "How am I signing this contract going to help you get to my brother?"
"I could spend a lot of time explaining to you the power of bloodline, but I do not have a lot of time to spend, so, do we have a deal or not?" replied Edward calmly.
If it was not that his magical contract had the restriction that the user had to sign it of his own volition, Edward had many ways for him to force Aberforth to sign the contract. Whether it was to use the Imperius Curse, influence his mind, or even straight-up enslave his soul, he could do all that. Edward's morally grey character often shows up when it comes to magic and knowledge
Unfortunately, this contract had severe restrictions when it came to this; he had tried before, but the contract did not work.
After hesitating for a while, Aberforth asked for the contract and Edward handed it to him.
The first thing that the oldest of Dumbledore noticed was how beautiful this magical contract was. There were so many strange patterns on it--which were glowing with magical lights.
Then, he spent some time reading. The general gist of it was that his younger brother was to hand over all his magical knowledge, and in exchange, Edward will allow Aberforth to see his sister, Ariana for a few hours in the next three days.
Of course, there were clauses like to keep this contract a secret between the two of them, and other things.
After making sure that there was nothing wrong with the contract--Aberforth had to make sure as he was once played by the goblins of Gringotts due to a contract--he did not immediately sign it, but asked: "Why is the time duration so short?"
"You should have read The Tale of the Three Brothers?" asked Edward back instead of answering. Aberforth nodded. "Then, do you remember what happened to the second brother's wife after her soul was summoned from the afterlife?"
"...' She was sad and cold, separated from him by a veil. Though she had returned to the mortal world, she did not truly belong there and suffered,'" muttered Aberforth.
"That is correct. By using Soul Magic, I can summon your sister without having any problem, however, she cannot stay in the world of the living for long."
'At least without the proper anchor.' thought Edward to himself.
Aberforth then sighed before signing the contract--an act which greatly relieved Edward.
Little did Aberforth know that this contract was also signed by another person, his unknown little brother--Credence Barebone or Aurelius Dumbledore.
The purpose of Edward doing all of this was truly to get Dumbledore's magical knowledge, however, this plan was not that simple.
Edward knew that the headmaster would never willingly sign this contract. Edward's first plan was to go back in time when Dumbledore was young and easily influenced, then use the temptation of the Deathly Hallows to have him sign the contract.
However, even with the Philosophers' Stone powering his gate, he could not go back so far in time. So, after realizing that he was in 1926, he created another plan.
By using the power of Bloodline, he will have the headmaster's relatives sign a contract bound to the Dumbledore family's bloodline. Then, Edward will have him pay it.
And if the headmaster refused, although Edward could not force him to hand in his knowledge since it was not him personally that signed the contract, there are still major consequences.
For one, his brother Aberforth will be a backlash by the contract and die. As for Credence, given that Edward had never heard anything about him in his time, he imagined that he was either dead or hiding somewhere very hidden in the world.
Of course, Edward knows that Dumbledore is the kind of person that watched his brother die. To prevent Edward from becoming too powerful by gaining his knowledge, the headmaster might sacrifice not only his life but his remaining family.
However, Edward was prepared for such an occasion. According to the hidden clauses of the contract, if such an occasion was to occur, Edward has the legal right to all the souls of the Dumbledore family--including their dead parents, sister, and even Dumbledore's soul.
Of course, Edward knows that a powerful wizard-like headmaster has control of his soul after death; this was the reason that he could show up to greet Harry Potter after Voldemort killed him in the Forbidden Forest.
So, Edward's s plan for this situation is to summon the headmaster's little sister, Ariana, and tortured her soul right in front of him.
If the headmaster can harden himself to watch his family kill by not fulfilling the contract, Edward will not hesitate to become cruel and despicable. His plan was not just to call the headmaster's sister, but his mother and father too.
He will torture them until he gets what he wants.
Back to the current moment.
After Aberforth signed the contract, Edward fulfilled his end of the bargain and called Ariana Dumbledore's soul from the afterlife, and let her reunite with her brother.
Meanwhile, Edward was pulled into a dreamscape despite appearing to be just standing not far from these two.
The person who called was of course Death.
"You know wizard, you should not mess with time," said Death in a plain voice.
"Many people have done it before, I doubt that you gave them a visit, so why are you targeting me?" asked Edward calmly.
"None of these people had the wit or strength to be able to cause as much damage as you can. Messing with time can do irreparable damage to this frail universe."
Edward frowned after hearing this, then he said: " I can agree not to cause trouble, or at the very least, just be an observer, but you have to answer my question."
After a brief silence, Death said; "What is it?"
"Since you are the manifestation of the laws of Death, are there any other Gods like you? Like the physical manifestation of Life and Fate?" responded Edward.
Death became silent for a few minutes after hearing this question, then he answered: "There used to be. However, after the 'Cataclysm', all the others were forced to revert to the Laws of Nature to keep the balance and function of this Universe, and I am the only one left."
"What is this 'Cataclysm' you mention?" asked Edward who felt that he had come very close to the deepest secrets of this world.
"I have answered your question, wizard," replied Death. "Now, keep your word or suffer the consequences." After that, Edward was kicked out of the dreamscape and woke up to find himself still in the Hog's Head Inn, and only a few seconds had passed.
To all my Patre.o.n.s members, sorry I have not posted for a while. So, I owe you guys two chapters that will be posted tonight. Maybe I should be posting this message on the website instead since I doubt you guys read this.
Pickup Line: You must play Quidditch. I know a Keeper when I see one.
Title: Blackmail
