Are You Dumbledore's Favorite Student?

Li Weide's heart sank.

It seemed there would be no peaceful resolution today.

The fact that the other man had come up behind him without him noticing at all was enough to prove that his strength far surpassed Li Weide's.

That meant that no matter what the man wanted to do, Li Weide had no room to resist.

Sure enough, while Grindelwald spoke to Li Weide, Vinda had already begun brazenly untying the Wizarding Supremacists who had just been bound.

"Who are you..." Li Weide asked routinely, though he had already guessed the man's identity.

Who else could silently come up behind him while possessing such distinctive features, other than the current Dark Lord, Gellert Grindelwald?

"You know Dumbledore, don't you? I'm Dumbledore's friend, Gellert Grindelwald," Grindelwald said with a smile.

Li Weide glanced at Vinda, who was treating the Wizarding Supremacists. "Clearly, these people are yours... As far as I know, Dumbledore's friends don't send people to attack us."

"Well... we should say we were once friends. We simply parted ways over a few minor differences," Grindelwald said, utterly unembarrassed at having his words exposed.

"Why did you attack us?" Li Weide asked bluntly. "And how is Professor Hicks?"

"If you had paid attention, you would have noticed that none of our people used Lethal Spells tonight... As for the Professor Hicks you mentioned, if she did not escape, then she must be perfectly safe now." Grindelwald removed his hand from Li Weide's shoulder and slowly paced around to stand in front of him.

"As for why we attacked you..." Grindelwald looked at Li Weide with a peculiar gaze. "In truth, I was merely curious why Dumbledore valued you so highly, so I wanted to have a proper talk with you."

"Has it occurred to you... that if you merely wanted to talk, you could have knocked and come in properly instead of blasting a huge hole in our house?" Li Weide said helplessly.

Grindelwald looked up at the sky, then shrugged. "You have a point, but... I'm used to it. This has been the way we interact with Dumbledore's people in recent years..."

By then, most of the Wizarding Supremacists had been revived.

Their injuries might have been serious for Muggles, but for wizards, a single healing spell could cure them outright.

Someone had already awakened Tom and Toby inside the house and brought them out.

Toby's eyes were filled with despair. He had failed to rescue his master and had even allowed his master to be surrounded! Tom, meanwhile, coolly surveyed the people around him. No one knew what he was thinking.

Vinda walked over. "The other child is still here as well. But Hicks escaped... We need to hurry."

Grindelwald's gaze passed straight over Toby and settled on Tom.

Tom fearlessly raised his head and met his eyes.

A pleased smile gradually appeared on Grindelwald's face.

Under normal circumstances, any other eleven-year-old Young Wizard who did not burst into tears on the spot would already have been considered brave.

Yet these two children—one had single-handedly taken down all his men, while the other did not panic under his stare, remaining calm instead.

Grindelwald did not know what Tom was capable of, but he had just witnessed Li Weide's abilities in full.

People of the same kind were drawn to one another. Since the two had always stayed together, it meant that even if Tom was not as capable as Li Weide, he could not be much weaker.

It could only be said that these two children truly possessed exceptional character and talent. No wonder Dumbledore cared so much about them.

Li Weide exchanged a glance with Tom, then said, "All right... now that you have gotten your wish and met us, how exactly do you plan to talk? And what will you do with us afterward?"

"If I'm not mistaken, you must be Dumbledore's favorite student, right?" Grindelwald asked Li Weide softly.

Li Weide frowned. If he remembered correctly, the last person who had been asked that question seemed to have been Newt, and the next second, Grindelwald had sentenced him to death...

"Actually, we have not even officially enrolled yet... We do not even know what subject Professor Dumbledore teaches. So Professor Dumbledore's favorite student must be someone else," Li Weide calmly denied Grindelwald's claim.

Dumbledore's favorite student? No, I'm not...

Especially in front of you, I absolutely can't be! Grindelwald silently watched Li Weide, then suddenly laughed again. "If that is the case, how about you come with me? As long as you do, I can show you sights you would never have the chance to see at Hogwarts... and allow you to easily obtain the power you have always dreamed of."

"If you crave power, I suggest you do not let this opportunity slip away..."

"Since you know Dumbledore, you should know that there is much magical knowledge he would never allow you to touch."

There was no doubt that Grindelwald had seen through the desire in Li Weide and Tom's hearts... their longing for power.

Why could Grindelwald attract so many people willing to serve him unto death?

Because, at least on the surface, he was someone very willing to help make your wishes come true, and he truly possessed the power to fulfill them.

That created an illusion, making people feel that he was a savior sent by heaven itself, tailor-made just for them.

When people encountered such a savior, one willing to help them out of their difficulties and fulfill their wishes... they would naturally find themselves drawn to him.

How could he possibly lack followers, then?

And now, Tom was already deeply tempted.

For him, staying with Dumbledore meant keeping his head down.

But under Grindelwald, he could completely let himself go, without suppressing his nature, and even learn magic he had been unable to learn before! The current Tom no longer had the same pride that refused to live beneath anyone else.

There was nothing to be done about it. He would have to live beneath someone at Hogwarts anyway... beneath Li Weide...

Yet just as he was about to agree, Li Weide firmly shook his head, causing Tom to swallow the words that were about to leave his mouth.

After spending so long with Li Weide, he knew very well that Li Weide was someone who absolutely refused to suffer losses.

If following Grindelwald offered benefits, Li Weide would never refuse! Therefore, although he did not know why Li Weide was rejecting Grindelwald, Tom rationally chose to trust Li Weide's judgment.

Of course Li Weide could not join the Wizarding Supremacists.

After all, according to the course of history, Grindelwald would be defeated in 1945, and it was already 1938.

Knowing they were destined to fail, what was the difference between joining the Nationalist army in 1949? Since he knew who the eventual victor would be, why would he not follow the victor instead? Besides, even without the system's support, he could grow stronger through his own efforts!

There was no need to risk his neck following Grindelwald! To put it plainly, Grindelwald and his followers were nothing more than a group of terrorists...

Unless he could truly realize his ideals and successfully clear his name, but in Li Weide's view, his ideals could never be realized.

"Thank you very much for your favor, but please allow me to decline," Li Weide refused Grindelwald's invitation.

"That truly is a pity..." Grindelwald narrowed his eyes. "However, you will still have to come with me. I believe that once you see the cause we are pursuing, you will certainly change your minds."

"No, they are not going anywhere." Dumbledore slowly stepped out from the shadows.