Learning

"Albus, it turns out that my approach to raising Sean was more suitable."

"It's not your teaching method; it's Sean's own brilliant idea."

"I certainly don't deny that Sean has a bright little brain—but you have to admit that he has already learned things that many people can't learn in less than six months in Newmontgard."

"Accumulating knowledge and experience before unleashing it, and assessing the situation carefully—this has always been Sean's style."

"Ha! In the end, you're just denying my contribution, old friend."

"This isn't a merit, it's a risk—don't you think it's too dangerous to let a second-grade child infiltrate a Dark Wizard organization?"

Standing before the roaring fireplace, Dumbledore of Butterbeer, feeling a bit of a headache.

Across from him, Grindelwald was pouring red wine into a glass; he seemed to have just finished a large glass, the alcohol giving his face a flush.

"I just told him how to utilize the resources available to him," Grindelwald said with a smug smug swirling of his drink. "Ultimately, how to implement it, the specific strategies—that's all Sean's decision—I only provided some transportation and covert protection. But then again, this kid really likes having someone behind him when he does things; I quite like that cautious style, haha~"

Dumbledore shook his head helplessly. "You're like an old man who indulges his juniors' mischief."

"This is no joke," Grindelwald smiled, pointing to the coffee table in front of them. "Look, he's only just started, and he's already made such a big haul."

Beside the wine bottle on the coffee table, a golden goblet lay upon it. The Golden Cup had two finely crafted solid gold handles, and its surface was adorned with symbolic and exquisite carvings.

Hufflepuff's Cup, which Sean brought back from the Malfoy Manor that night.

Because of the shift in the timeline, Sean himself wasn't sure if Voldemort had actually created those Horcrux he was familiar with—at least he hadn't seen the diary.

However, out of a sense of caution and to test the waters, he used conversation to trick Bella into revealing that Voldemort had entrusted her with something. After returning it to its rightful owner, Sean received the Hufflepuff's Cup.

He wasn't sure if this thing had actually been used as Golden Cup, but just to be on the safe side, Sean handed it over to Grindelwald. In case there was some strange or terrifying magic on it, he wouldn't be able to handle it right now.

Dumbledore's expression turned serious. He picked up Hufflepuff's Cup, rubbed his fingers on the pure gold handle, and said with a sigh, "Speaking of which, this is indeed a major discovery, which confirms our previous guesses."

Even when it came to serious matters, Grindelwald seemed nonchalant. "It's just a Horcrux... Our dear Tom Riddle is probably still fretting over a new body, haha, do you think he might end up residing in some strange creature?"

"Gellert, this is a very serious matter. We previously only speculated that Riddle had split his soul, but now it seems that he may have created more than one Horcrux," Dumbledore said solemnly.

Grindelwald downed the red wine in his glass in one gulp, swirling it with one finger. "Albus," he said, "This is something to take seriously, but not something to agonize over—you're always too lenient, too merciful. Murder is a condition for creating Horcrux, and you're unwilling to believe that someone would commit such a crime, even repeatedly. But that's the reality. Throughout history, there have been far too many mad wizards who have followed the path of immortality."

He scoffed dismissively, "A bunch of idiots—"

Dumbledore was somewhat displeased with his disdainful look. "Gellert, you know Riddle's talent and strength better than I do. Now is a crucial time for Prophecy, and he may do something that will cause big trouble."

While saying, "Oh, don't worry, I'll keep an eye on him," Grindelwald picked up Hufflepuff's Cup and filled it with red wine.

"Gellert!" Dumbledore called out solemnly as he looked at Grindelwald shaking the red wine.

Grindelwald smiled, "Albus, you're still too conservative—or rather, you've forgotten who I am..."

He laughed as he drank the red wine from the Golden Cup, then with a flick of his right hand, a sharp tooth flew between the two of them.

Grindelwald grabbed the tooth and, without any hesitation, plunged it into the Golden Cup in his hand!

"Ah————" A shrill and terrifying scream rang out wildly, and thick black gas, like smoke and mist, rose violently from the Golden Cup, while a black smoke skeleton struggled and crashed in the room.

Grindelwald pulled out his strange twig wand and then grabbed the wine bottle on the coffee table.

He sipped his red wine recklessly while casually waving his wand.

The screaming, charging skulls were gathered together by the spell, and as Grindelwald slammed the bottle heavily onto the table, with a slightly comical "pop," the contents of the Golden Cup completely vanished into thin air.

Dumbledore seemed to want to say something, but looking at the arrogant and unruly old man before him, he finally sighed helplessly.

"Albus, I've always thought your wisdom was remarkable, but because of that, you think too much and sometimes overlook things. I, Gellert Grindelwald, am the First Generation Dark Lord who made all the wizards of Europe tremble! Ha, my old friend, how do you judge the mental journey of a Dark Wizard? You have a perfect example right beside you, don't you? Great Albus, I suspect that if I weren't by your side, you might not have discovered Riddle's secret even now," Grindelwald laughed wildly, occasionally mocking Dumbledore, "You overthink things. These... soul-splitting fools—ha, just kill them all."

Dumbledore glanced at the other man's unrestrained and wicked smile, and finally pressed his temples with a headache.

Grindelwald laughed and waved his wrist, emptying Dumbledore's barely touched Butterbeer mug, which was now filled with red beer.

"You need a partner who acts freely, someone who must be fearless, someone who must disregard the rules, someone who must be loyal to you, someone who must—think like the Dark Lord," Grindelwald stretched out his arms in ecstasy, "someone who must be Albus Dumbledore's greatest enemy and best friend, someone—"

"It's Gellert Grindelwald—!"

Dumbledore was silent for a moment, then finally relaxed slightly and leaned back in the velvet chair, revealing a smile.

"No, it's the current Gellert Grindelwald."

"Whatever you like—cheers?" Grindelwald raised the wine bottle.

"Cheers."

In a lush jungle somewhere in Albania.

Beneath the low trees, a figure was lurking in the shadows. Suddenly, he abruptly raised his head, revealing his true face.

It was a local native, his face contorted in pain, his eyes rolled back, and his mouth covered in blood.

He put down the shriveled snake carcass in his hand, his face contorted in a violent grimace as he stared in a certain direction.

"Found him... found him... they found him! My most loyal servant has betrayed me?!" A shrill, inhuman voice rang out from the back of the native's head.

But it seemed that the scream had exhausted the other party's strength. The native's body was panting heavily in pain. After a long time, he crawled down again and bit the snake carcass once more.

After sucking a sufficient amount of blood, he stood frozen in place, motionless. On the back of his head, a terrifying face without nostrils or eyebrows appeared.

"Another one... ha... ha... you guys..." A vicious look of resentment flashed across his face, but there was a strange complexity in his eyes.

"Just you wait... just you wait... when I come back, you will all pay the price..."

The mastermind behind the whole affair, the president of the Golden Dawn Club, the current de facto leader of the Death Eaters, the Dragon Speaker, and a favorite of Dumbledore and Grindelwald, the strongest wizards of this century— Sean Wallerup is in a dilemma.

Last night, he handed over the Hufflepuff's Cup he'd tricked Bella into giving him and then left it alone. If it was one of Voldemort's Horcrux, he could destroy it. If not, he could simply return Golden Cup to Hufflepuff House.

These are no longer things he needs to worry about; Sean is currently troubled by a curse.

Apparition.

As a renowned Teleportation Spell in the Wizarding World, the importance of Apparition needs no further explanation.

Whether it's escaping or moving, mastering the Apparition would make things much easier, so Sean decided to begin learning this spell.

After all, he still had to attend Death Eaters gathering afterward, and Grindelwald didn't always have time to bring his Side-Along Apparition there.

But once he started to get to know him, Sean encountered an unexpected problem.

Apparition is a highly difficult and dangerous spell. Wizards can only begin learning it after they turn seventeen, and they must report to the Ministry of Magic's Apparition Monitoring Department.

Sean originally thought that this learning age represented a wizard's magical strength, after all, if the strength was not enough, terrible accidents could happen when practicing Apparition.

He believed that his current strength was enough to start practicing the spell, and the reporting issue was not a big problem— the Ministry of Magic's monitoring of Apparition was not strict, and most of the time it was just for show. Moreover, it wouldn't be long before Barty Jr.. would take over.

The referees are all my people, what right do you have to arrest me?

But what Sean didn't expect was that he would run into problems in the area where he was most confident—his own abilities.

Apparition requires not only the wizard's magical power and control, but also the wizard's physical development!

The nature of Apparition is still unclear, but its most obvious manifestation is the magical movement of a wizard's body to another space.

This spell requires not only a high degree of concentration but also complete familiarity with one's own body to activate.

That sounds ridiculous, after all, who isn't familiar with their own body?

The reality is that young wizards who are still developing cannot predict the next stage of their physical development...

To put it simply, you can think of Apparition as a human-shaped hole; when you master it, this hole opens its passage to you.

However, it is important to note that the size of this hole is fixed once you have finished practicing!

In other words, your physique when you successfully practice is one of the conditions for successfully Apparition.

If you've just gained a little weight, you can just squeeze out the hole and it'll be fine—but Sean, who's still growing, has a lot of room to grow, especially now. Boys at this age are naturally growing taller, and over a year, the difference can be five or six centimeters or even more.

This means that if Sean successfully Apparition now, he won't be able to pass through the fixed hole in a year, which could lead to serious consequences such as Splinching.

No wonder it can only be practiced after the age of seventeen. By then, most Europeans and Americans who develop earlier have already finished puberty and might grow a few centimeters taller. Moreover, at that time, magic power is sufficient to open a larger hole... Sean thought with some distress.

Of course, Apparition can be practiced again, which means creating another hole that fits one's body shape—but for Sean, that's a bit too much trouble.

He's in a period of rapid development, and he's only a second-year student. Practicing Apparition requires a lot of effort—who can stand having to go through this every few months?

Moreover, Sean didn't realize that he needed to practice more than that—because he also had a ring on his body.

The object that has been enchanted with the Undetectable Extension Charm is not just its actual size; it will be moved along with the object during Apparition. If it is Sean's ring or Newt's chest, then you need to master Side-Along Apparition in order to use it for Apparition.

Originally, it was Grindelwald who was with Sean. With his strength, it would be easy for the followers of several Magical Creatures to Side-Along Apparition. But if it were Sean, it would be a much more complicated process.

Sean leaned back on the cushion, looking somewhat troubled. He unusually opened his system panel, hoping to find a solution.

"The Ancient One's Sigh... This is meant for when I'm learning Ancient Runes. It won't help with Apparition, and even if there were Ancient Magic that involved movement, I wouldn't have the ability to learn it..."

"Good Things Come in Pairs... The items are even more useless now, and I haven't figured out what to copy..."

"Where are the purple items..." Sean muttered as he checked his haul, but after searching for a long time, he couldn't find any rewards that he could use.

He does have Flying Broomstick, but forget about this one...

Abandoning the items, Sean turned to look at his spell panel—suddenly, he discovered a spell he had overlooked.

Originating from a fully digested Soul Fragment Voldemort's soul, this is a spell created by the other party.

Flying Charm!

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