Grindelwald Goes Looking for Trouble

Inside the office, a thin layer of frost flowers had formed on the two-story-high lattice windows. Although the campfire inside was burning brightly, the temperature was colder than a night in late November in Austria.

Grindelwald's wand trembled, as if it sensed its master's anger.

"Albus ..." Grindelwald said, "Your speculation doesn't seem very plausible?"

Dumbledore's expression was solemn, and his lips were pressed tightly together.

At first, although the two were anxious about Sean's disappearance, they weren't too worried. It was simple: Sean harbored the most terrifying demon within him, and if Sean died, the Sin known as ' Pride ' would wreak havoc across the land.

The Wizarding World has been peaceful these past few days, with no terrible disasters occurring, which, from another perspective, proves that Sean is not in any danger.

Dumbledore speculated that Sean might be trapped somewhere in the castle. For a thousand years, even wizards with the position of headmaster had not been able to fully unravel the castle's secrets.

Grindelwald was even quite relaxed, thinking that Sean might have stumbled upon some secret and was reaping some benefit from it.

But if they couldn't find anyone, that wouldn't work either. After discussing it, Grindelwald used his Seer abilities.

However, to their surprise, Grindelwald's Seer abilities revealed a scene of Sean lying on the ground covered in blood.

This is a huge mess...

Seeing that Dumbledore remained silent, Grindelwald snorted coldly, "Albus, it seems your headmaster isn't very competent either, not even knowing that his own student has been kidnapped?"

He waved his hand, and another scene appeared.

It was a hooded man whose face was obscured; he was barefoot and had a sinister expression.

"Gellert," Dumbledore finally spoke, his eyes deep and his expression complex, "We are still unsure about that person's relationship with Sean."

Grindelwald snorted heavily. "Albus, you've known me for so long, and you still can't understand the symbolism of Prophecy?! Sean is in danger, and that person is the source of that danger! Hmph, the greatest wizard of our time, Albus Dumbledore, use your brain!"

He walked up to the scene that appeared in mid-air. "Typical medieval ascetic wizard attire, hmph, I knew it, these old fogies are still up to no good—"

Dumbledore seemed lost in thought. He looked at the ground and said slowly, "It's still not certain whether Sean has been kidnapped by them."

"Yes, then tell me, how did a wizard protected by Phoenix Feather, a wizard with a group of terrifying magical creatures on his body, end up in this predicament?" Grindelwald said sarcastically.

He looked up at the hooded man, his gaze icy. "A bunch of utterly hopeless fools, still indulging in their stupid dreams. Hmph, a thousand-year scheme, what a grand scheme—"

Grindelwald raised an eyebrow, his tone sinister and icy. "I'd like to see what you can do after I've cut off all your arms and legs..."

Dumbledore frowned. "Gellert, don't be impulsive."

"Impulsive?" Grindelwald chuckled. "I was just going to chat with their descendants. Let me think—"

He gave a look of sudden realization. "What kind of expression would they have if I told them that their ancient ancestors, who died a thousand years ago, have risen up in another form?"

"I also have to tell them that among your descendants, some have carried on the wishes of the Ancients and have been acting in secret to save my successor— Albus, you don't like that word? Fine, then, for world peace and to prevent ' Pride ' from awakening, I must find that troublemaker in the shadows—"

"Unfortunately, as a wretched old man with one foot in the grave, I, Gellert Grindelwald, am too old to bother with any reasoning—so I have no choice but to arrest you all and interrogate you one by one with the Imperius Curse and the Cruciatus Curse."

"Albus, what do you think of this argument? Isn't it kind and generous?" Grindelwald smiled happily, but the anger in his eyes was still burning.

Dumbledore looked at him seriously. "Gellert, you are too impulsive. The person behind the scenes may not be among those people, and once you make a move, you will be making an enemy of the entire Wizarding World. You need to understand one thing: right now, the upper echelons of wizarding communities worldwide are still actually controlled by them."

Grindelwald chuckled dismissively. "Control? Albus, times have changed. What do those self-proclaimed nobles have besides magic and Galleon? A bunch of opportunists—if I were to stand up again and declare my intention to rule Muggle, they would still be willing to help me if I demonstrated my power; but if I were to humble myself and become a school principal, those guys would swagger to parent-teacher conferences—how boring..."

After the phrase 'rule Muggle ' came out, Dumbledore's expression became even more serious. "Gellert, put your mind to it."

Grindelwald smiled nonchalantly, "Albus, we were all so obsessed with power, don't you understand? Power is something that only becomes unrestrained when you reach the top."

Anger flashed in Dumbledore's eyes. "Gellert..."

Grindelwald chuckled, then raised an eyebrow indifferently. "Fine, since I've already promised, I'll keep my word—but the problem now is, what about Sean?"

Dumbledore did not speak.

"See? You can't do anything about it. Even the great Albus Dumbledore isn't omnipotent..." Grindelwald waved his hand, and the illusory scenes returned to the Crystal Ball like mist. His wand floated into his hand. "And the cruel, unruly Gellert Grindelwald always has some unpleasant but effective ideas."

With a loud "crack!", Grindelwald vanished from the spot.

Only Dumbledore remained in the office. He looked at the Crystal Ball, a look of doubt flashing in his lake-blue eyes.

In Greece, a figure suddenly appeared beside a fountain in a small village square.

That's Grindelwald.

He wandered around until he arrived at a townhouse, and after casually waving his wand a few times, he let out a cold laugh.

The narrow wall in the middle of the townhouse began to shake, and gradually, the houses on both sides started to move outwards, while the sleeping owners inside were completely unaware.

A new house appeared in the middle, Grindelwald casually walked up the steps, waving his wand as he easily pushed open the door.

He felt as relaxed and comfortable as if he were back home.

The room was decorated in a typical Ancient Greek style. After walking through a wide corridor, Grindelwald arrived at a bedroom.

With a loud "snap," a skinny, short creature appeared before them. It had large, protruding eyes, huge ears like bat wings, and was only wrapped in a tattered pillowcase.

It stretched out a long finger and mumbled a few words at Grindelwald in a menacing manner.

It was modern Greece mixed with some Ancient Greek words.

Grindelwald shook his head. "Your master doesn't even teach you English?"

The House-elves, seeing Grindelwald make no move, felt his body turn into a stone.

He collapsed stiffly to the ground, watching helplessly as the man who had suddenly barged in walked into his master's bedroom.

Soon, he heard terrified sounds coming from inside the bedroom.

He wanted to rescue his master, but the intruder's magic was ridiculously powerful, and even the House-elves couldn't break free.

Inside the bedroom, a middle-aged man with a full beard stared wide-eyed in surprise and horror.

He exclaimed incredulously in broken Greece -accented English, "Mr. Grindelwald?!"

Grindelwald smiled slightly, "Vlahos, it seems you still remember me."

Vlahos swallowed hard and said tremblingly, "Mr. Grindelwald, I don't know what brings you here. My father passed away more than ten years ago."

"Of course I know that old Vlahos was a good subordinate. He was shrewd and brave, so I generously granted his request when he wanted to leave the Saints. Oh, I regret not being able to attend his funeral, but we have more important things to do now."

"Please, please speak," Vlahos stammered.

His father had served Grindelwald, and after Grindelwald founded Newmontgard, the elder Vlahos believed that their leader had abandoned his original beliefs, so he chose to leave.

Vlahos also remembered his father cursing Grindelwald when he was drunk, calling him a cowardly, unprincipled traitor.

Of course, he only dared to say this behind people's backs. Vlahos had met Grindelwald when he was a child, and he would never forget the terrible magic that Grindelwald possessed.

The overwhelming thunderclouds became a nightmare for Vlahos —he watched helplessly as the three men were struck down to ashes by lightning bolts emerging from the clouds.

Why is Grindelwald coming to me now...? It's been discovered that my father spoke ill of him?! Am I going to have to bear the wrath because of this?!

Vlahos trembled slightly, which made him look even older than Grindelwald.

Grindelwald didn't care about the other person's attitude. He sat down in the living room chair in the bedroom as if he were a familiar person and crossed his legs.

"Vlahos, I need your help."

"Please speak."

"Vlahos ... I know who your ancestors were..." Grindelwald smiled, waved his hand, flames ignited, and a name appeared in the air.

Mopsus.

Vlahos's pupils contracted sharply. How did Grindelwald know?!

Mopsus, a famous Seer and sorcerer in Ancient Greek, and his Vlahos family, are the purest descendants of Mopsus after thousands of years.

Apart from a few families that were also descended from powerful Ancient Greek sorcerers and themselves, no one knew their true identities.

Grindelwald chuckled, shifting his weight slightly as he spoke softly, "Vlahos, my request is simple: take me to meet those people—those ancient families, like yours, who have inherited the traditions of ancient wizards. Ha, you've all been hiding very well. Luckily, I know you."

Vlahos swallowed hard. There was an agreement among these families that they could not reveal their true identities to each other, nor could they reveal their hidden addresses.

This agreement is witnessed by a spell, though not as powerful as those ancient spells, but if violated, the violator will still suffer considerable punishment.

Vlahos lowered his head, his eyes darted around a few times, and finally decided to answer honestly.

"Mr. Grindelwald, you should know that there are curses binding us ancient families. I cannot tell others about other families, let alone their addresses..."

He unconsciously adopted a pleading tone.

Grindelwald rested his chin on his hand and thought for a moment before saying softly, "That's true. I had thought about this before I came. It's definitely a considerable burden for you..."

Vlahos wiped the sweat from his brow and said with an embarrassed smile, "It would be best if you could understand..."

"That's not what I meant, Vlahos," Grindelwald interrupted him with a smile, but the coldness in his eyes was chilling. "I'm asking you to take me—at the cost of your life."

Vlahos's face turned pale instantly.

Hogwarts, the first basement level.

At the entrance to the Stone Chamber, Sean, who had been leaning against the wall, straightened up. To be honest, finding an excuse to cover up this experience was a bit difficult...

Professor Dumbledore is a shrewd man; even with Occlumency, Sean suspects that he could detect Dumbledore's lies even without Legilimency...

Hmm... this is a bit tricky...

Sean, who had a toothache, looked towards the entrance. At this time, there should be no one left in the Common Room, so he would probably not be discovered if he went out... But how could he make up an excuse?

Or, you could say you were unconscious and didn't know anything, and then you ended up inside the castle?

Isn't that excuse a bit too lame...?

With no better options, Sean decided to try anything, even if it seemed hopeless; if he were discovered, he'd just spill the beans...

He hissed at the wall, and after a flash of white light, the stone door opened again.

Sean poked his head out; it was already past midnight, Slytherin Common Room was indeed empty.

He tiptoed out and quickly slipped out of Slytherin Common Room.

Sean breathed a sigh of relief as he stepped back onto the castle's stone floor, then walked toward the professor's office.

Tsk, I wonder if this excuse will even work...