Hello, Newmontgard

On the Seventh Floor of Hogwarts Castle, at the end of the stone corridor, further inside from the Headmaster's Office, lies an extended terrace.

The terrace was sparsely decorated, and the cold winds of England winter night kept howling past. The two bare chairs looked rather cold.

However, there are now two people sitting in the chairs, and they don't seem to be in any discomfort. If you look closely, you'll notice that the cold wind always seems to take a detour when it blows past them.

The large mugs of Butterbeer in their hands were radiating warmth.

"Oh, there are only two things to praise about England: the great Albus Dumbledore and Butterbeer in winter." Grindelwald took a large sip of the pale yellow liquid, some beer foam clinging to his short beard. He wiped it haphazardly with his hand, looking pleased and content.

Dumbledore sat in another chair, his Butterbeer still untouched, while his other withered hand seemed to have come to life as he toyed with a metal plate engraved with runes.

Seeing that he didn't speak, Grindelwald took another sip of his drink and casually said, "Albus, it's time to relax—you should relax instead of thinking about how to save this decaying world, ha!"

Dumbledore glanced at him sideways, then silently took a sip of his Butterbeer, and after a long while said slowly, "Gellert..."

Before he could finish speaking, Grindelwald waved his hand and said, "I know you too well, Albus. I know what you're going to say the moment you open your mouth—something about teaching Sean to be good and to learn to love."

He looked straight at Dumbledore: "Albus, there are some things that you don't understand, and I don't understand either. Only Sean himself can learn them—of course, we should also learn these things."

Dumbledore, then changed the subject. "Let's talk about Sean."

Grindelwald showed no displeasure and obediently began to talk about Sean: "Look at that kid's performance, though it's awkward and seems pretentious, he's really like me—before I was fired by Durmstrang, do you know how much my friends adored me?"

"Friends? Gellert, your methods of winning people over are not sincerity, but eloquence and power."

"At least they consider me their friend, and that's enough... Of course, the word 'friend' only exists between equal souls, like you and me," Grindelwald said with a smile.

"If this is what you're going to teach Sean, then I think he'd better not go to Newmontgard," Dumbledore sighed.

"No, no, no," Grindelwald shook his finger. "Just as I promised you, I will not interfere with Sean's conduct. I will not teach him how to 'make friends.' I will only teach him how to make reasonable use of the forces that are available and worth his time."

Dumbledore took a deep breath, a rare look of uncertainty flashing across his face, but in the end, he nodded in agreement.

"That's right, Albus," Grindelwald smiled smugly. "Sean will get his due, and his friends will benefit as well—just like they do now."

He gestured toward what Dumbledore was holding. "If it weren't for my friends, your hand would be completely useless in another six months."

Dumbledore seemed to want to blame the other party, but having already received tangible benefits, he was speechless.

Finally, he just sighed, "Gellert, you should be a little softer."

Grindelwald casually crossed his legs, sipping his Butterbeer with a relaxed air, and said leisurely, "I was originally going to look for someone, but it turns out Sean wasn't kidnapped by them. Anyway, since we're already here, those ancient families do have some good things left behind."

He saw the Dumbledore's eyes, spread his hands, and explained, "Please, my old friend, I spent the entire night visiting those families! Do you know how precious sleep is for a man over a hundred years old? Coincidentally, my friend, that is, you, need something from their families to sustain your own life, which is also over a hundred years old, so borrowing something from them is perfectly reasonable, isn't it?"

"Gellert ...you're even more unruly than you were when you were young," Dumbledore said with a sigh.

"Don't say that, my friends. They are precious wizards. I didn't kill anyone. I even apologized before I left!" Grindelwald shouted, but a smug smile was on his face, like a naughty old man.

Dumbledore rubbed his temples, his head aching. His left hand had been cursed in the accident a while back, and the Potions Grindelwald brought could only stop the situation from worsening; he didn't know how long it would take to recover.

In the case of Sean's disappearance, Grindelwald went to confront an ancient Greece family. He obviously didn't find the killer, but he did discover something left behind by one of the families.

Grindelwald offered a friendly apology, then raised his wand, 'borrowed' the item, and handed it to Dumbledore.

"Once I've recovered, I will personally visit you to express my apologies," Dumbledore concluded.

"Oh, whatever," Grindelwald said nonchalantly, looking up at the starry sky. "In another ten years or so, I really won't have the strength to come and borrow things anymore. You'd better think it through."

"Of course—and, Gellert, death is merely the beginning of another journey," Dumbledore said earnestly.

Grindelwald smiled. "I agree—but before embarking on another journey, we still have a mission to complete. Sean will be the next me."

"No," Dumbledore corrected, "Sean will not become you, nor will he become me; he is himself."

"Of course, of course—I mean, if by the time I'm too old to move, Sean will be able to," Grindelwald laughed heartily, "Be able to go back to them and borrow things again."

"... You're hopeless."

"Thank you for the compliment, Albus, hahaha."

Christmas was over, and after returning to London to reunite with his family, Sean arrived at Hogwarts a day early.

The selected students should prepare themselves, as they will go directly to Newmontgard the next morning.

After Sean's somewhat childish but effective performance, everyone at Hogwarts was full of energy. Moreover, after returning to the castle, many of them did not enjoy the afterglow of the holiday with their friends. Instead, they either spent their time in the library or practiced dueling in classrooms specially granted by the professors.

This is probably one of the admirable qualities of students: they are easily swayed and prone to rashness, but equally, their passion is burning and pure.

However, Sean did pay the price for what he said that day—now, a whole bunch of people are lining up to spar with him...

With a mix of tension and fulfillment, the students gathered early on the playground the next morning.

"Does Hogwarts have any transportation? It's not mentioned in the books." Hermione covered her face with her scarf, leaving only her eyes showing.

Sean shook his head. He was also quite curious. Beauxbatons had Winged Horse Carriage, Durmstrang had a large underwater ship, and Hogwarts should also have some kind of Magical Item for group travel.

Although there is a simple and straightforward way to move Portkey, there is still a need to maintain appearances between schools. Even someone as pragmatic as Dumbledore would feel embarrassed if a group of people showed up in Austria with a worn-out shoe or hat.

Sean glanced toward the Forbidden Forest, where a large herd of Thestral lived. He'd heard that before the Hogwarts Express, many students used Thestral to get to and from school.

However, while Thestral are undeniably cool, the weather doesn't seem quite right for them... Besides, most people won't be able to see Thestral, so the students of Newmontgard will just see a bunch of students flying down from nowhere—not very impressive...

After confirming that everyone had arrived, Professor McGonagall took out her wand, had everyone stand on one side of the playground, and then waved her wand facing the direction of the castle.

"Boom!" A tremendous sound rang out, and to the students' astonishment, the tower of Hogwarts closest to the Forbidden Forest began to shake.

The tower has peeled away from the main body of the castle, the spire and bricks on the walls are arranged in an open and closed manner, the ground at the bottom is raised high, the soil has jumped to all sides, and the foundation under the tower has also climbed out of the ground.

Yes, they climbed out. The main body of the building kept changing and moving, and finally, a huge stone statue appeared before everyone's eyes.

"Merlin's beard..."

The students were all dumbfounded.

The entire surface of the statue was made up of the huge stone bricks of the tower's main body. After it took a rumbling step, the gaps between the stone bricks disappeared, and the surface of the statue became a seamless whole, as if it had been carved.

It held a shield and a stone spear; the shield was covered with the Hogwarts emblem, and the spearhead was jet black, seemingly made of some kind of Philosopher's Stone.

The stone statue moved around the castle and finally arrived at the playground.

Sean's mouth gaped slightly as he stared at the enormous object before him.

Wow, what a prestigious reputation... a thousand-year-old school like this still has a rich history...

The stone statue knelt on one knee, resting its stone spear on its shoulder, the spearhead touching the ground, and an entrance appeared before everyone's eyes.

"Everyone, enter in one order," Professor McGonagall directed.

After going up a flight of stairs, Sean and his group arrived at a huge Common Room. It seemed to be inside the head of a stone statue, with the huge arched window at the far end serving as the statue's eyes.

"Hogwarts really does have a lot of hidden things..." Sean exclaimed as he looked around the room.

This place must have been enchanted with Undetectable Extension Charm, making the entire space extremely large, with several entrances leading to the dormitories in the far corner.

The students were excitedly whispering among themselves. Professor McGonagall was the last to step forward. She waved her wand, and the statue slowly lifted its feet and then walked into the Black Lake.

"Is this thing for diving? "Sean scratched his head.

Beside him, Percy Weasley seemed to have guessed Sean's thoughts and said, "I heard that the statue used to be able to spread its wings and fly, but it was later canceled because it was too big and easily spotted by Muggle. The headmaster at the time invited an alchemist to modify the statue, and it has been able to travel underwater ever since."

"I see..." Sean Liao nodded in understanding, then asked with a puzzled look, "But Austria doesn't have a sea, does it? Newmontgard is next to an inland lake?"

"I don't know about that, but all the vehicles in the schools have magic, such as invisibility. I've also heard that the vehicles can be connected to Portkey, which can give them the ability to Mobiliarbus."

"It's amazing... Percy, why do you look so serious?" Sean noticed Percy's tightly clenched fists and even his lips were a little pale.

Percy took a deep breath and said seriously, "We bear the honor of Hogwarts on our shoulders, and we absolutely cannot lose face in Newmontgard!"

"And," he patted his bag, "Professor McGonagall gave me something to use when I enter the Newmontgard Great Hall, and I... I'm a little nervous."

"What is it?" Hermione asked curiously from the side.

"Anyway, it's some kind of prop. The other three colleges also had their Prefect get it."

"Special effects for the entrance? "Sean blinked, wondering curiously.

The stone statue sank directly to the bottom after submerging into the water, and the students all crowded to the window to watch the scene outside. However, the statue moved extremely fast as soon as it entered the water, and waves surged outside the window, quickly pushing aside aquatic plants and animals.

After the initial novelty wore off, the students quickly lost interest and began discussing the topic in pairs with excitement and nervousness.

In this atmosphere, after a day of travel, they stopped.

The stone statue began to rise, eventually emerging from the water and landing on the ground.

"Have we arrived at the castle?" Sean leaned closer to the window and then noticed that the area around the statue was a desolate, uninhabited mountainous region.

Immediately afterward, the statue trembled, and Sean immediately sensed a fluctuation of magical energy in the surroundings.

Is it a stealth spell? Does the statue lead directly to Newmontgard?

The moment Sean's thought crossed his mind, the massive stone statue crouched slightly. With a whoosh, the statue began to run!

"That's too wild!" Sean stared dumbfounded at the smoke and dust outside the window. Luckily, there was magic in the Common Room, otherwise, just running like this would have shaken their brains to their core.

Nestled among the mountains, a massive castle stands at the foot of the mountains. At this moment, all the students are standing on the playground outside the castle.

They all stood ramrod straight, with their hands crossed behind their backs, heads held high, looking straight ahead.

At the very front, an elderly man with silver hair and a short beard waited for the guests with a slight smile.

"Thump!" "Thump!" "Thump!" A tremendous rumbling sound came from afar, and birds in the mountains suddenly took flight, darkening the sky.

The students of Newmontgard's pupils contracted slightly; they could feel the stone slabs beneath their feet vibrating together.

Then, their eyes widened.

It was a huge, awe-inspiring stone statue, holding a shield in one hand and a gun in the other, its massive body rushing towards them with an earthquake-like commotion.

"Ha—" Grindelwald's smile widened.

His voice reached everyone's ears clearly.

"The guests have arrived, my children. Greet them with the pride of Newmontgard."