Wizarding United Guard

Fabian Aiken's mindset has improved. Although he rushed over to provoke Sean after learning the real culprit, he didn't become despondent after just one setback.

After uttering a few harsh words, Aiken didn't linger any longer and had his new followers push his wheelchair out.

Hermione and Daisy, who had been kept out of the door by Sean, walked in, their brows furrowed.

"Sean, what did that annoying guy say?" Daisy asked.

Hermione, with a somewhat serious expression, replied, "Such a clear purpose... Sean, has he discovered that you were the one who kidnapped him?"

Sean nodded. "It seems the Aiken Family is quite well-informed."

"That's not the point," Hermione said, pursing her lips. "The point is that he will definitely retaliate against you! I've been looking at a lot of information about the French Wizarding World lately, and it all mentions the Aiken Family —a family that hasn't had many descendants since the 18th century, yet they've risen to the top of the French Wizarding World! Their power may be much greater than we previously thought!"

"And I saw Fabian Aiken's expression; he calmed down—for a proud young master to remain calm after such a blow is going to be a big problem..."

"And then there's his father, Old Man Aiken. The two are practically cut from the same cloth. According to you, Old Man Aiken was too arrogant that day and was punished by Mr. Grindelwald. He may have been afraid, but afterwards he would definitely consider things more thoroughly before acting..."

"They've got their eyes on you now! Mr. Grindelwald is powerful, but he can't protect you forever..."

Hermione spoke faster and faster, analyzing the recent events and the attitudes of the wizards involved. By the end, her face was filled with worry.

Sean shrugged. "But if they want revenge, they have to face one fact—in Newmontgard, no one can touch me. Even if they wanted to deal with me the way I dealt with Aiken, it would be difficult for them to do so. I have Dave, I have the Sneakoscope, and I have many other means... Most importantly, Mr. Grindelwald is standing behind me."

He looked at the two girls whose brows had relaxed slightly. "In Newmontgard, it's unrealistic to try to deal with me by violence, otherwise they would have attacked me directly just now. And after this study exchange, when we return to Hogwarts, they will have even less of a chance."

Hermione knew Sean was right, but she still spoke with some concern, "That's true... but they are, after all, one of the most powerful families in France. Since Fabian Aiken dared to provoke them instead of taking matters into his own hands, it means he has a certain level of confidence..."

"I'll say it again, they're too arrogant," Sean spread his hands. "Originally, I was in the shadows and they were in the open—but after they found out I was the one who actually made the move, the situation reversed. If I were Aiken, I would never have come knocking on their door. Wouldn't it have been better to strike from the shadows?"

"Doesn't that prove they really have a way to deal with you, or..." Hermione hesitated, glancing at Sean before lowering her voice, "Or they have a way to deal with Mr. Grindelwald ..."

"That's the line of thinking... but I don't think Mr. Grindelwald is so easy to deal with."

Hermione's idea was something Sean had considered before, but upon closer examination, he realized it was unrealistic.

Although Grindelwald is the headmaster of Newmontgard, he has no sense of responsibility whatsoever as a headmaster—unlike Dumbledore, it is unrealistic to try to pressure him through the power of the wizarding political world.

After all, no one knows if this old man might suddenly turn on them and lead the professors of Newmontgard to Paris or somewhere else to set another fire...

A person who acts recklessly, has an arrogant and unruly personality, yet truly possesses strength, is very difficult to restrain.

To be honest, Sean felt that Grindelwald's current state was partly due to the Prophecy and partly due to Dumbledore; otherwise, Old Man Aiken wouldn't have just lost a hand that day.

Hermione eventually put aside most of her worries, but she repeatedly reminded Sean to be careful in the future—revenge could come at any time.

After smiling and agreeing, the members of Golden Dawn entered the classroom.

In addition to deepening the understanding between members, Sean has recently focused on practical application at club gatherings.

Hogwarts students are notoriously weak at dueling, while Newmontgard students are far stronger. And in their very first club activity, Sean disarmed Patricia's wand with minimal effort, making the current state of the club's practice somewhat strange.

Patricia, Hugo, Savannah, and Ian mainly sparred with each other and with Sean. In their eyes, Sean's dueling style was different from all the students. If they really had to describe it, Hugo's words were recognized by everyone.

"Dueling Sean is like facing a cunning Dark Wizard ... If tricks don't work, he'll overwhelm you with absolute magical power."

Sean could only shrug helplessly. His dueling style was partly due to his pragmatic personality and partly influenced by Grindelwald.

Yes, in his past interactions with Dumbledore and Grindelwald, Dumbledore tended to guide, while Grindelwald taught whatever came to mind.

One is responsible for the overall direction, and the other is responsible for the detailed sub-tasks.

Apart from the Newmontgard "F4", all the members of the Golden Dawn were students of Hogwarts. Sean was responsible for providing his dueling experience, but he was only one person, so Hugo and the others became the coaches more often.

Of the four, Patricia, the strongest, excels in open-world duels and is a master of Transfiguration. Hugo has a particular fondness for fire and explosions and possesses a vast Magic Power Source. Savannah, on the other hand, is a traditional academic, meticulous and methodical in her actions.

On the contrary, Ian Teach, the youngest of the four, has a style that is relatively similar to Sean's. He is extremely fond of using various minor spells to disrupt his opponent's rhythm—such as Tripping Charm, Confundus Charm, and so on.

"Ian, get ready! I swear I'm going to hit you with the Tripping Charm today!" Harry shouted, pulling off his cloak.

The Gryffindor trio and the Weasley brothers were among the first to join the Golden Dawn. Most Hogwarts students didn't care about Aiken's threat at the time, but because many had joined other clubs early on, the majority of those who joined the Golden Dawn were younger students.

Ian took off his top hat and carefully placed it in the highest corner to avoid any accidental damage during practice.

"That's not how you use the Tripping Charm, Harry," Ian blinked rapidly, the cards in his hand already fluttering up and down. "Shoot the spell straight out and shout out the name of the spell—any normal person could dodge it."

"That's because you've been using the Confundus Charm on me the whole time! And can you put down that deck of cards?" Harry shouted, somewhat indignantly.

"There's no rule against wizards playing cards in a duel," Ian said.

Patricia, who has been sticking close to Sean lately, whispered, "Has Potter not noticed that Ian's cards also have Confundus Charm?"

Sean shrugged. "It'll probably take quite a while. To be precise, Ian likes to use Confundus Charm when he talks. What's wrong with that?"

"I'd say it's a hobby."

Hermione, head held high, squeezed between the two who were whispering, "Sean, could you demonstrate that trick you told me about casting the Dust Charm again?"

"Uh, okay." Sean scratched his head and agreed, then followed Hermione to the side.

Hermione already learned it, didn't she...? Do top students really enjoy reviewing?

Watching the two walk away, Patricia, who was still standing there, lazily flicked her long hair across her forehead.

"What a wary little sister... hehe..."

Hugo was sitting next to him, had just stuffed some food into his mouth when he mumbled, "You're interested in Sean? He's our boss now."

"You're not interested in Sean?" Patricia countered.

"Of course," Hugo nodded readily. "I came here specifically for him. If I could learn that fire spell, I'd do anything for Sean."

"The order is reversed. You should have done something for Sean first, and then he could have taught you the spell."

"Take it one step at a time, I'm not in a hurry... By the way, how are things going with you and Hoffman? Didn't you two always hang out together before?"

"I'm not interested anymore. We've only known each other since we were kids. Ever since I joined Golden Dawn, he's barely paid any attention to me—tsk, what a stingy man."

Hugo shrugged. "Women are hard to understand..."

Within the Golden Dawn, new wizards from two schools and different countries are slowly approaching...

"Hey, Sean, look at this." Hermione pushed a newspaper towards them in the Great Hall early in the morning.

Austria also has its own newspapers, but they are relatively short on content, mostly about Mr. Doug, who lives in the Alps, inventing an automatic stirring spell or something similar. The Daily Prophet obviously does not conduct international delivery.

So Hermione ordered the Wizarding World News, which was famous throughout Europe. It cost an Knut, but the content was more detailed and contained a lot of news from all sides.

Sean put down his Pumpkin Juice and looked over; a report occupied the largest page of the Wizarding World News.

"Exciting reforms or a power struggle? — The Wizarding United Guard."

"... Recently, Wizarding United Guard, proposed by Leif Coronel, president of the French Wizarding Rights Protection Association, and supported by other national organizations, has been put on the agenda. It is understood that the Wizarding United Guard is already in the midst of intensive preparations. Cyril Marshall, the interim head of the Guard Corps, told our reporter that in order to cope with the increasingly frequent conflicts between wizards Muggle, the joint Guard Corps has received considerable support..."

"... The Wizarding United Guard was initially established to better maintain order in the Wizarding World. Ms. Marshall also told us that the organization and preparation of the Wizarding United Guard was assisted by organizations such as the Wizarding Rights Protection Association, but its actual establishment would be conducted under the supervision of the national Ministry of Magic. Once the personnel were ready, the Guard Corps's command authority would be controlled by the International Confederation of Wizards, and the captain, vice-captain, and other positions would be selected through open competition by representatives from the national Ministry of Magic..."

"Currently, people from all walks of life have expressed different opinions on the establishment of the Guard Corps. Mori Aiken from the France Aiken Family told us that he believes the emergence of this new organization will greatly improve the current order in the Wizarding World, and at the same time, the Ministry of Magic of various countries will have a better way to conduct international exchanges."

"Mr. Kirk from England, however, was less optimistic, believing that the organization would seriously impact the current international situation and the wizarding systems of various countries..."

"Currently, the Europe Ministry of Magic have not expressed explicit opposition..."

"This is Farah Flynn reporting for this newspaper."

Sean carefully read the report, and when he looked up, Hermione exclaimed impatiently, "The Wizarding United Guard! Sean, they must be insane!"

Sean took a sip of Pumpkin Juice and frowned slightly. "Is this organization a civilian organization or an official organization?"

"Didn't you see? It was initiated and established by the people, and control was eventually handed over to the government—but the final decision-making power still rests with this so-called captain of the Guard Corps, doesn't it?"

"Then most of the grassroots members are actually under the influence of civilian organizations..." Sean shrugged. "This thing won't work. The Ministry of Magic of various countries isn't stupid. Such an organization is just someone trying to take away their power."

"But according to the reports, it seems that many wizards have welcomed this Guard Corps."

"Because the reports only show you what they want you to see. This is a power shift from the official to the private sector. Unless the Minister for Magic in Europe countries are all idiots, this Guard Corps can only go this far."

Sean glanced at the newspaper. Two wizards were waving to the crowd. The male wizard was Lef Coronel, president of the French Wizarding Rights Protection Association and a strong contender for the next Minister of French Ministry of Magic. The temporary head of the Guard Corps Cyril Marshall, was a middle-aged witch with a long face and thin, often pursed lips, giving her a somewhat harsh appearance.

"Sean, look at the initiator, he's the president of that association."

"This is, after all, a Europe union. Even if he becomes the Minister of French Ministry of Magic, he won't have the power to make decisions. At least in my opinion, Fudge might not agree..." Sean suddenly stopped halfway through his sentence.

"What's wrong, Sean?"

"Fine..."

Sean suddenly thought of something: Voldemort and Lev Coronel had a cooperative relationship that he was unaware of. Could this Wizarding United Guard be related to this?

But Voldemort had long since vanished, and with so many Ministry of Magic in Europe, any minister who was a sane wouldn't have agreed to the formation of this Guard Corps...

Moreover, Grindelwald and Dumbledore should already know this news, so I don't need to worry about it.

Sean shrugged and finally got to breakfast.