"...Alright, it seems I'll be more concerned about your reputation than yourself."
Seeing William still in the mood for jokes, Dumbledore didn't know what expression to make, but he was relieved—
Dumbledore could fully anticipate the public opinion tomorrow. Before (excluding the late 19th century), at least in the past two and a half years, William had been completely low-key in the Magic Realm—from Dumbledore's perspective, at least.
This was also the main reason he agreed to have William serve as a referee for the tournament, or even become the project designer.
With the promotion of the magic TV meant for profit, Dumbledore intended to have William make an appearance before the citizens of the Magic Realm, hopefully showcasing his strength—
In doing so, Old Bee naturally had his considerations, for example, if something were to happen to him one day, and with the threat of Voldemort, the British Magic Realm would need another banner.
Throughout history, wanting to gather and "utilize" the power of the masses always requires a "banner"—just like in ancient times one's primary goal of establishing achievements and joining the dragon's ranks was to find a "dragon."
Once that banner was Dumbledore himself, and he believed he did quite well.
But now, Old Bee wasn't sure how long he could stand firm on this shaky tower, so he needed to find a new "banner."
And the person or organization able to become this "banner" must have sufficient strength, fame, and ideas that aren't easily swayed by others—
Dumbledore initially believed the chosen one was Harry, being "Savior of Little Britain," the boy absolutely had enough fame, and Dumbledore had been cultivating the remaining two qualities in him since his enrollment in first grade.
The plan started smoothly, the boy showed courage and wisdom that didn't belong to his parents—
However, often Old Bee would start to ponder—whenever he was in the hall, looking at Harry's emerald green eyes, identical to those intelligent ones of the little girl from the past, the old man would fall into self-doubt—was he perhaps being too cruel, considering having a child who lost his parents take on such a big responsibility—
Because of his own decisions, the boy didn't have a happy childhood, and now he wasn't even intending to spare his teenage years, was it too unfair to this child?
And just as Dumbledore was torn between humanity and the bigger picture—a situation arose where power was adequate (even slightly excessive), thoughts were clearly not easily swayed by others (even needing to be cautious that he might sway others' thoughts), only his conduct was somewhat... lousy (Old Dumbledore couldn't think of a better, more fitting adjective) and William appeared.
He was simply lacking some fame—although he wasn't short of it before, clearly, recalling the fame from a hundred years ago would only be a side effect to Dumbledore's "raise new banner plan."
What?
You're saying I have to choose loyalty between a homicide-prone Black Wizard and someone who kills Black Wizards like it's nothing?
Then I choose to fuck this damn world.
What's more, for matters that haven't affected one's own life, most people's understanding of them tends to be superficial, Dumbledore believed that most people see the effects of these two names as somewhat similar, just as he once was wary of William, simply because he had repeatedly heard about his "bad" reputation in his youth.
In such circumstances, establishing a good reputation for William is what he needs to strive for, and throughout this long interaction, William's character has been summarized by the old man—a righteous person who doesn't care what means are used to uphold his principles.
"Righteousness" carries many interpretations, combating evil is clearly among them, but after learning about the "Secret Vault," "Ancient Magic," and a series of other things, Dumbledore saw that William could resist taking the power when it was easily within reach and decided to return it—
Rather than accepting magic power and going on a rampage, setting fire and plundering around the world, establishing his own Wizard Empire, William is practically a saint!
After all, magic can achieve much more than the aforementioned, putting himself as a seventh-year in such circumstances, Dumbledore couldn't guarantee he wouldn't be tempted, or when he was overwhelmed by grief from losing loved ones back then, perhaps he would gladly accept that power and proceed with some "experiments"—
If the experiments succeeded, perhaps it would be all joy... But if the experiments failed, or resurrecting Ariana required certain conditions to "survive," like other people's souls.
Dumbledore didn't know if, in that situation, he might make the same choice as Isadora (creator of the Secret Vault).
It's just that he knew William was essentially a good person, but others wouldn't care about this; they probably would only see William's rampant killing, disregard for the law, and in such circumstances, a banner could never be raised—but the plan hadn't even started before encountering something that could cause it to rot.
If public opinion this time cannot be controlled... recalling Fudge's decisive attitude, Dumbledore couldn't help but frown.
Across the desk, watching Old Bee's tightly furrowed brows, William gently stirred the tea in his cup, after adding a lethal amount of sugar and orange slices, he pushed it to the old man—then he saw Dumbledore subconsciously take a sip and suddenly wrinkle his face, William laughed joyfully.