"How I did it?" said Dumbledore slowly. "Simple, with practice."

"Practice?"

"Yes, practice. The magic core is similar to a muscle of the body. With repeated practice and training, it will eventually get stronger--even to the point of breaking the first Limiter.

"Wouldn't that take a lot of time?" asked Edward.

"Not really," replied the professor who placed a piece of cake in his mouth. "With the right method, the time can be greatly reduced."

Edward nodded, but he did not say anything further. He could guess that the professor wanted him to ask so that he could use his method instead of the bloodline modification one. However, he would not ask.

Edward--as a transmigrator who has read all the Harry Potter books and movies--knew that it was not a simple thing to be in favor of Dumbledore. Whether it was Newt Scamander or Harry Potter, both of them went into a lot of trouble just because of being Dumbledore's protégé or something similar.

No one that is truly close to Dumbledore has ever had a 'good' fate. Let's look at Snape.

The poor guy spent more than six years looking over and protecting the son of the person he loves most in the world, and the person he hates most in the world. All under Dumbledore's order.

Of course, this could be argued that it was Snape's decision after all, however, the man has done so many things against his will while working as a double agent for Dumbledore.

Edward will never forget the scene in the movie when Dumbledore told Snape that Harry Potter had to die, and Voldemort had to be the one to kill him. He was both angry and devastated. No matter how eloquently people argued for Dumbledore, it does not change the fact he used Snape's love for Lily to force him to protect Harry Potter.

Then there is the Flamel couple. Although according to the canon timeline, they decided to give up the Philosopher's Stone, Edward did not believe for a second that Dumbledore did not take any part in convincing them to do so and doing it so easily.

So, it does not matter whether the professor was hinting at him to ask him about the way to break the Limiter. He did not want to owe him any more debt after all the Alchemy knowledge that he thought--even though he was just trying to prevent him from studying the dark arts.

Despite his rejection of this offer, Edward still lusts after Dumbledore's knowledge; and not just the ones about the Limiter, but all of them. He wanted to sign the same contract he did with Voldemort and acquire all the knowledge of the greatest white wizard of modern time.

And not just him, but Grindelwald's too.

However, he knew that this was not an easy task. Dumbledore was a man of great will and would never sign such a contract--especially when he was wary of Edward being the third generation Dark Lord after Grindelwald and Voldemort.

Even if Edward were to try to threaten him, he could see that the headmaster would not budge an inch. As a person who is willing to sacrifice anyone and even his own life for the greater good of the wizarding world, Edward did not believe that such a person would be willing to bend their ideologies and beliefs.

This is one reason that he did not try to make a deal with the professor with the bargain of bringing his sister back to life.

Of course, Edward has not given up trying yet. He just has to find the right way. And he also will try to get Grindelwald to sign the contract first before trying with Dumbledore.

However, he will only do so after he finishes his body modification. Without being on the same level as these powerful wizards, he will not easily try to make deals with them.

. . .

"So, professor, why did you call me to your office," asked Edward to change the subject.

Although Dumbledore was a little disappointed that Edward did not ask for his help, he did not show it on his face.

"Well, Harry told me that he lent you an invisible cloak during Christmas break, and he asked me to get it back for him if you are finished with it," replied Dumbledore with a calm look on his face.

"Oh, thank you for the reminder, professor, otherwise, I would have forgotten," replied Edward calmly, Then, he took out the fake cloak that he made from his bag and gave it to the professor.

After taking the Invisibility Cloak, he gave it a quick check. He could tell that some of the mysterious power inside of it had greatly diminished, but he guessed that it must have been due to Edward's research.

"So, did you figure out what it was?" asked the professor.

"Of course. As a Grand Alchemist, I can easily notice the difference between a regular Invisible Cloak and a Deathly Hallow."

"So, what do you think? About Death?"

After pondering for a brief moment, Edward responded:

"A truly powerful being and unimaginable being. If one day he decided to do something to the wizarding world, I doubt that even if Merlin were to be alive, he could do something to stop him; we would be like helpless children."

"There is no need to worry about such a thing. Death is nothing but a natural part of this world--just like ancient magic.

Edward nodded, but he did not agree with Dumbledore's words. According to his last discussion, he could tell that Death has human emotions. As long as someone has emotions, then they will have desires.

If one day Death decided that he had enough of following the rules that restricted him if he decided to find a way to either break those rules or find a loophole on them, what is to stop him from doing so?

No one.

So, Edward will not let his guards down when it comes to Death and continue to study him until he can create a contingency plan for him in case he decides to go rogue.

If all his plans go right, Edward can foresee that he and his family will live a long life. So, he might live to the day that Death decided to go rogue.

After handing the cloak to Dumbledore, they chatted for a while before Edward left. As for Dumbledore, he continued to study the cloak and make sure that there was nothing wrong with it.

After all, he had it for many years before he gave it back to Harry.