Grindelwald's "Surprise"

Sean took out paper and pen, preparing to present the situation in writing to facilitate reasoning and association. Compared to recalling it in his mind, words are more intuitive and concrete.

The quill pen wasn't a good user experience; aside from classroom use, he preferred the fountain pen—a gift from Hermione.

The writing crossed the paper, with ink smudges spreading at the end, and Sean paused for a moment.

Grindelwald, Dumbledore.

Looking at the two names on the paper, Sean silently shook his head and continued writing.

Although exhausted, Sean's thinking became clearer as the information was visually recorded.

The whole thing originated from the Wizarding United Guard, Sean pointed to three points.

"1. What forces are behind the Guard Corps?"

The list is tentatively set as including some Pure-blood families, the inhuman creature Grindelwald refers to (temporarily called the Returners), various national Ministry of Magic (questionable), Dumbledore (questionable).

II. What was the purpose of the Guard Corps's attempt to arrest Grindelwald?

Upholding justice (impossible); weakening Newmontgard and Grindelwald's influence in the Wizarding World (possibly part of the reason); Grindelwald's existence might affect some large-scale plan (highly likely, but requires more evidence and reasoning); I, Sean Wallerup, am their target (unlikely, my presence at the scene is not guaranteed, Grindelwald's behavior is unpredictable, and if they wanted to target me, they wouldn't do it in such an unstable way).

III. Dumbledore's Move

Dumbledore was indeed one of the driving forces behind this event, though his motives are currently unclear (speculated to be related to Ariana, Ariana condition may be connected to the Returners).

Sean rubbed his eyes and added another line: After it was all over, I felt like Dumbledore was avoiding me.

After listing these, Sean drew a line and then wrote a name below it.

"Voldemort."

"First, Voldemort's appearance was unexpected. Is he directly connected to the Guard Corps?"

Sean hesitated for a moment, closed his eyes and thought carefully before continuing to write, "Voldemort seems to have arrived at the scene at the end of Dumbledore's duel with Grindelwald."

"I remember the person he was parasitizing. There was nothing unusual about him when he passed through my fire circle (when he reappeared later, he was unable to break through the fire circle I cast again, which indicates that he did not break the instant-cast spell of the Protego Diabolica). This means that Voldemort had not yet parasitized him at that time."

"Based on previous information, it seems that Voldemort received relevant information and rushed to the scene, only taking his subsequent actions after most people had left."

"Voldemort's goal was clear: he wanted to take care of me while he was at it, but he failed, so he focused on killing Grindelwald."

Sean casually picked up some candy and popped a piece into his mouth. The sweetness spread through his mouth, and another idea popped into his head.

If it weren't for Grindelwald's "time bomb," namely the second fire in Paris, Dumbledore wouldn't have left to stop the disaster. He would have handed Grindelwald over to the Guard Corps, which would have given Voldemort, who was parasitizing the Guard Corps members, a more concealed and safer environment to carry out his actions.

In other words, Voldemort came to kill Grindelwald... Does this prove that Dumbledore was connected to the mastermind behind the whole thing, but he didn't want to kill Grindelwald?

To be precise, the mastermind behind the scenes may have made some kind of deal with Dumbledore, one part of which was that Grindelwald's life would not be taken. After Dumbledore made his move, the other party somehow manipulated Voldemort, their original intention being to kill Grindelwald.

Bright moonlight streamed through Sean's fingers as his pen scratched across the paper, the soft rustling sound mingling with Sean steady breathing, creating an eerie stillness.

"Obscurus." Sean wrote down the second word.

"To be precise, Voldemort parasitized others, but he himself was also parasitized. That huge mouth could obviously target the Obscurus (let's call it the Silent Mouth for now), and it was an absolute suppression without any reason (the Obscurus who were guilty of Sin were also absorbed, and the Silent Mouth was also enhanced in power). Voldemort always thought that I was an Obscurial, so this thing was most likely aimed at me, probably taking into account my presence."

"But the Sin within me is something he didn't consider..." Sean frowned in thought, then continued writing, "He may have considered it, but the Sin is too terrible to address. And after tonight's events, regardless of what happened before, the person behind it all must now have a certain understanding of the Sin within me."

His pen returned to the previous few lines, and then after ' Voldemort ' he wrote, "Voldemort appeared in a state of near madness, but according to the information available, even if the Horcrux were destroyed, Voldemort would at least not appear outwardly insane (possibly related to the mastermind behind it all)."

"Is Voldemort truly dead—" Sean hesitated for a moment, then finally wrote a big question mark at the end.

This guy was probably the most survivable wizard he knew.

Sean clicked his tongue and wrote down his conclusion about Voldemort.

"Voldemort's actions were likely due to some kind of promise from someone behind the scenes, and the madness of this fragment of his soul may also stem from this. It cannot be ruled out that a Soul Fragment is still surviving, so precautions need to be taken—at least to hinder his resurrection."

The last trace of sweetness in his mouth slowly disappeared. Sean reached out to take another piece, but stopped in the end.

Looking at the full sheet of parchment, Sean sighed again.

This was probably the day he sighed the most in his entire life.

The root of the problem still lies with the mastermind behind the scenes. He still has too little information, and Sean is somewhat hesitant.

Dumbledore was avoiding him, and for the first time, he had this thought—was Dumbledore still trustworthy?

After much hesitation, Sean decided to try to talk to Dumbledore —if he wasn't avoiding him.

He picked up the parchment, took one last look, then casually crumpled it into a ball and tossed it into the air.

Once you've finished writing it, just clarify your thoughts and destroy it on the spot.

"Fire..." Sean habitually took out his wand from the wand pouch on the left side inside his robe. He was used to practicing his casting speed in his spare time, so when he gripped the wand handle, he was already applying a little force, making the tip of the wand tremble slightly from side to side as in the casting motion of Fire-Making Spell.

But Sean didn't finish the spell; he paused for a moment.

His Dragon Heartstring and thirteen-inch wand were gone; the smooth, heavy feel he had known so many times had become rough and light.

Sean's eye twitched.

"You old geezer..."

He pulled out a wand—no, to be precise, he pulled out a tattered tree branch.

No! It's just a rotten tree branch!

Grindelwald's wand!

Where is my wand?! Where is my wand, so thick, so long, so elegant?!

Sean took a deep breath, trembling, to avoid fainting from the shock and anger.

The rotten branch trembled along with Sean's hand, and a line of faint golden characters appeared out of thin air.

"A pleasant surprise, Sean! A good change, isn't it? Here's the wand Transfiguration spell..."

Sean's eye twitched violently.

When did this old man switch my wand?! I even had it tested at the Ministry of Magic before, and it didn't change!

He took a deep breath and then reluctantly examined the wand.

That's right, it's Grindelwald's, and Sean realized he was wrong before.

This rough appearance, this light feel, this natural texture—this isn't a rotten branch—it's a piece of rotten bark!

This wand should have a unique title. "The Real Reason Grindelwald Stole the Elder Wand"

Sean was seething with hatred, but Grindelwald was nowhere to be found, and it was impossible for him to get his Elm Wand back.

He was a little annoyed. Ollivander had said that it is not the wizard who chooses the wand, but the wand that chooses the wizard. His wand was working just fine, and suddenly changing it would affect his performance.

Sean glanced at the Transfiguration spell and casually waved his wand.

An unexpected thing happened: he could feel his magic flowing towards the wand. The expected obstacles and obstructions did not occur. The magic flowed into the wand very smoothly and took effect.

The rotten tree bark was transformed into the shape of his Elm Wand, and it retained the same feel and weight as before. More importantly, this wand was just as easy to use as his own wand.

This doesn't make sense... Sean's mouth dropped open slightly.

Thinking this through, he took out another wand from the ring, Voldemort's Yew Wand.

Sean had used it on the Death Eaters before, and it was fairly obedient, but there were indeed some minor obstacles when casting the spell.

The tip of the "Lumos Maxima" staff emitted a dazzling light, illuminating the entire room as if it were daytime.

There was no hindrance, just like with my own wand... Sean's pupils contracted slightly.

I can control all wands perfectly now? Why... Sean paused for a moment.

He became Sin tonight...

Could it be that, because of the manifestation of Sin, my magic has undergone some kind of change, and my wand has submitted?

Grindelwald said, "It's a good change, isn't it?"

This means that this change is a good thing for me...

Sean looked at the two wands in his hands, his expression turning strange... Why did he have this feeling of having stolen someone's heart... No, he had stolen the wands' hearts...

He blinked, brought up the system panel, and then looked at the inventory.

Everything else remains the same, except for the wand section.

Wand (purple): A twig that Grindelwald casually tore off; material unknown, core missing.

"Damn, there's no core..." Sean muttered as usual, then exclaimed in surprise. "No core at all, yet it has this kind of power just by relying on the unknown material of the staff. Grindelwald is really something."

Raising his transformed wand, Sean chanted the spell. "Incendio."

The crumpled paper on the ground was instantly engulfed by a ball of flame, and it quickly turned into ashes.

Sean quickly withdrew his magic.

It almost burned my room down...

He was somewhat surprised that, despite inputting a small amount of magic power as usual, the range and power of the flames had increased significantly.

So, in this case, I actually made a profit?

Sean pursed his lips. Although this wand looked nice, he still preferred his own... But there was nothing he could do now, so he would just have to use it for now and get it back when he contacted Grindelwald.

He lay back down on the bed, exhausted, and then suddenly realized that Grindelwald's clever manipulation had actually disrupted his troubled emotions, making him feel much more relaxed.

"Set a goal, develop strength, gather information, then be wary of the Guard Corps and Pure-blood families, and finally, prevent Voldemort's resurrection..." Sean muttered.

Immediately afterwards, drowsiness overcame him, and Sean fell into a deep sleep.

The next day, when Sean stepped into the Newmontgard Great Hall, he became the center of attention. Not only the students of both schools, but also the faculty and staff, led by Vita Rosier, focused their attention on him.

Moreover, the Guard Corps stationed in Newmontgard under the guise of "maintaining order and investigating the aftermath" also looked at him with all sorts of expressions.

Sean showed no tension or worry; in fact, he even had a casual smile on his lips.

This was entirely within his expectations, nothing to be surprised about. Or rather, being the center of attention was completely insignificant compared to other things.

He naturally took his seat and greeted the classmate next to him.

The Weasley twins and Harry's group had been waiting for him, and now they all gathered around him mysteriously to ask about what happened last night.

Hermione pushed the group aside and said seriously and in a low voice, "Don't cause any more trouble for Sean!"

Fred blinked rapidly. "I understand, I understand, too many people will make things worse."

Hermione had anticipated what would happen this morning. She and Sean had already discussed it, and she whispered, "I'll tell you when we have the club party."

The others nodded knowingly.

George put his arm around Sean's shoulder and gestured towards the Guard Corps standing at the door.

"Shortly after you disappeared last night, that group of people entered the castle. They're called the Special Event Maintenance Team. I heard they started investigating Professor Newmontgard in the middle of the night."

Sean glanced at the teachers' table, where Vita Rosier, the newly appointed principal, was still sitting in his Vice Principal's seat, sternly surveying the students in the Great Hall.

"No conflict?" he asked.

"No," George shook his head. "I heard they cooperated very well, and there were no conflicts even when the investigation team was aggressive. Of course, I don't know the specifics."

Sean nodded. It seemed that the professors of Newmontgard had all received Grindelwald's instructions. He just didn't know how things would develop from there.

As they were talking, the clattering sound of hard-soled shoes on the floor drew closer, and a middle-aged wizard with a cold and stern look walked over.

"Wallerup, come with me."

I'm back!