"It doesn't exist to measure time," Grindelwald continued. "It exists to measure the dark energy from another world and hold it back."
"But now the sundial is damaged and failing?" Julien said. In the memory image, he could see some of the concentric circles had stopped rotating—or were spinning in the wrong direction.
Black mist seeped from those stalled areas, condensing into vague, shifting shapes—Dementors.
"It's not the mechanical structure that's failing," Grindelwald corrected. "It's the alchemical instrument itself. The Sundial of Eternal Darkness needs a tuner to stabilize it—not to control it, but to harmonize with it. Like…"
He paused, searching for the right words. "Like a marriage that requires balance between both sides, not one person dominating the other."
"Does Headmaster Dumbledore know?"
"He knows. But he can't fix it. His solution was to reinforce the outer defenses, using Dementors as a 'buffer.' He feeds them fear so they consume negative energy instead of transforming it. It's just… delaying the inevitable."
"What happens if there are too many Dementors?"
"Then we have to find a way to destroy them. That's why the ancient wizards created the Patronus Charm—it was originally designed to eradicate Dementors. Of course, Dumbledore is one of the best at using it. But…"
"I get it. That approach is too passive. Eventually the Dementors will multiply faster than any wizard can destroy them."
"Exactly. The irony is that the British Ministry still tries to use them. They're raising tigers to guard the house—playing with fire and expecting not to get burned."
"So what's your idea?"
"Julien, when our world collided with another, the incoming energy gave birth to wizards. But that same energy also created dark creatures like Dementors and drove many witches and wizards mad."
"You're saying the energy has both positive and negative aspects?"
"We can classify it that way for now," Grindelwald said with a slight shake of his head. "My method is to complete the alchemical cycle. Not to expel the darkness, but to transform it."
He paused. "Dementors themselves are a form of energy. The Sundial of Eternal Darkness was meant to convert negative energy. After it broke, the Dementors became the physical manifestation of that energy stuck in the 'blackening' stage."
Grindelwald stepped closer, his movements carrying a ceremonial weight. "I want you to enter the core of Azkaban. Not as a repairman, but as a tuner. You will connect with the Sundial of Eternal Darkness—not to dominate it, but to listen to it. Then—"
His fingers lightly touched Julien's right wrist. The totem flared with blinding silver light on contact. "You will complete the transformation. Bring those Dementors—those solidified fragments of darkness—back into the cycle."
"Of course, it's dangerous."
"Extremely dangerous. You could be swallowed by the darkness and become another Dementor—or worse, become another me, another Dumbledore, another person imprisoned in Azkaban by their own 'righteousness.'"
Grindelwald stepped back. "But you have something we never did."
"What?"
"The bloodline I keep mentioning, and your companions."
The old man's voice dropped to a sigh. "That Rosier girl. She will stand beside you—not just as an assistant, but as an anchor. Her bloodline has an ancient connection to the Sundial of Eternal Darkness. The Rosier family were once descendants of the Silent Ones, though they themselves may have forgotten."
"Also, do you remember what I told you is most important in alchemical transmutation?"
"Flow."
"Correct. So don't forget—you have another companion."
"Liriya?"
"Yes. In all of Europe, perhaps only the Vilakati clan of the North has stronger conduit abilities. That's what I discovered when I was in the North."
"So I say again—you are the most suitable person for this. Northerners don't make friends easily. And they certainly don't form friendly ties with the Rosier family."
"I thought Northerners only had special nature magic. I didn't realize they could also…"
"Nature magic originally comes from sensing ley lines," Grindelwald explained. "The Sundial of Eternal Darkness is essentially a device that converts negative energy from another world into positive energy through an alchemical cycle. It needs to connect with the deep energy currents of the earth. Liriya can sense the flow of those 'ley lines' and help the sundial find the right energy nodes."
"And…" Grindelwald's gaze fixed on the Tear of Evernight hanging at Julien's neck. "In a place like Azkaban, whether it's resisting the despair of the Dementors, protecting your mind, or maintaining your sense of self against the corrosive negative energy from another world, nothing is better than the Tear of Evernight for purification."
---
On the final day of lessons, Grindelwald gave Julien a gift.
It was a small alchemical device, no larger than a pocket watch, made from the same black stone as the Sundial of Eternal Darkness. Miniature concentric circles were carved into its surface, with a motionless gnomon at the center.
"Shadow Dial," Grindelwald said. "I made this resonator from a fragment of the Sundial of Eternal Darkness. When you approach Azkaban, it will guide your direction. When you stand before the sundial itself, it will show you exactly what needs repairing."
Julien took it and felt a dormant pulse inside— the same pulse he had sensed in Nurmengard, in Starfall Cove, and in something ancient within his own blood.
"And this," Grindelwald took out the star-chart tablet once more. "I'm not giving it to you yet. But when you complete the tuning of Azkaban—when you prove you can understand rather than merely control—it will be yours."
"You seem to trust me too much. I'm not the kind of person who…" Julien thought of Dumbledore's fate. "I'm not someone willing to sacrifice myself to save the world."
Grindelwald smiled, the expression carrying a weary kind of release. "Actually, I'm starting to understand what Dumbledore meant by choice."
"I don't trust you—I trust possibility. You could be the one who opens it. You could be the one who seals it. Or you could become something neither of us has ever imagined. And possibility—"
He turned toward the window. "—is what my generation lacked the most."
Grindelwald turned back, blinking with rare playfulness. "Anyway, I've made my choice. The rest is up to you."
The rose-key trembled, pulling him back into the starlight of Bavaria.
He stood in the garden, Shadow Dial in hand, as Elizabeth's voice called his name from a distance.
Summer vacation was almost over. Third year at Hogwarts was waiting. But Julien knew the real lessons had only just begun.
The Sundial of Eternal Darkness waited in the North Sea mist.
Seven chimes rang from the castle clock. In the Star Chamber beneath the crystal dome, Ophelia Rosier turned her chair to face south—toward Azkaban.
"He passed the test, didn't he," she murmured, speaking to no one in particular. "Lord Grindelwald, have you decided? This boy—this not-quite-pure-blood—is a tuner…"
Her thin fingers brushed the star fragment on her ring, feeling the faint resonance with distant Nurmengard.
"He will choose to open it. Not today. But that day will come."
Outside the window, another shooting star streaked across the Bavarian sky. This time its trail pointed north.
Ophelia smiled, the same weary smile Grindelwald had worn.
"And we will live to see that day. All the withered roses, all the entwined stars, all the ghosts who have waited a thousand years…"
She closed her eyes, letting the prophetic exhaustion wash over her.
"…will finally see what lies beyond the door."
End of Volume Two