Grindelwald was a seasoned old hand, exceptionally good at reading people. He'd easily gotten inside Voldemort's head, and Anton found him a real pleasure to work with!
Of course, he wasn't deliberately trying to rile up Old Voldy just for something to do.
Was that the kind of person he was?
Grindelwald, Dumbledore, and Voldemort all had things they wanted to accomplish. So did Anton.
It was just that he didn't care for power or profits, which always made those big shots think he spent every day doing nothing worthwhile.
But just as they believed that what they were doing served the "greatest good," Anton had his own "greatest good."
The biggest difference between him and those three was that he wasn't all that fond of fighting and killing. He cared more about magic.
Magic wasn't some rootless duckweed, or some ethereal cosmic truth beyond the world. At least, that was what magic looked like to Anton.
It was closer to everyday life.
On an individual level, magic was the power of the mind. On a collective level, it was the gathering of people's hearts and minds.
Magic like that ought to serve humanity—and all intelligent beings—even better.
In a way, those people liked dividing up groups and carving up territory, while Anton wanted to expand that territory. For example, they could use more powerful magic to develop the Moon, or even Mars.
Magic wasn't supposed to be this inconvenient!
Whether it was the Floo Network, Portkeys, or the Knight Bus's transformation into Apparition, weren't these forms of magic more useful than some "wormhole travel" that Muggles could only dream about?
Open a door—hey, I'm on Mars.
Take one step back—hey, I'm back on Earth.
Open the door—Mom, I'm home!
Take one step back—wow, what a spectacular view from the