She Had Already Betrayed Them!

"Yes, Grindelwald once broke the Imperius Curse, and he tried to recruit me."

Silence fell over the office. Allison, who hadn't gotten up, simply lit a cigarette.

After exhaling a puff of smoke, he said in an emotionless tone, "Then can you still be trusted, my comrade?"

As the smoke gradually dissipated, Marshall showed no panic or anger at being suspected; she simply moved a little closer with a blank expression.

"My belief in a better world has never changed."

Allison gazed at her silently for a moment, then stood up and extended a hand. "For a better world."

"For a better world." The two clasped hands.

Perhaps it was a series of tests, or perhaps it was an unspoken understanding, but at least after this little incident, the two were able to talk as they used to.

"So, back to our previous topic, what information did you get from Grindelwald?" Allison asked.

Marshall frowned slightly. "Given his apparent laziness, the first thing he needs to do is regain the moral high ground. Obviously, we're no longer in the primitive world, where force might works, but winning people's hearts still requires winning them over."

"Hmm." Allison nodded, offering no further comment.

Marshall continued, "Including the methods used so far, Grindelwald also devised a series of operations to regain control. First, he undermined the authority of our Guard Corps. Second, he seemed to be contacting former subordinates at the time."

"Subordinates?" Allison narrowed his eyes. "The professors in Newmontgard have been under our surveillance. In fact, the new headmaster Vita Rosier, has shown goodwill towards officials. Although we don't believe it, one thing is certain: during Grindelwald's escape, they stayed in Newmontgard Castle and didn't go out. Our people check their whereabouts every day, and at least those in Newmontgard haven't shown any signs of anything amiss."

Marshall nodded. "Keep an eye on things, but don't overlook the fact that Grindelwald must have other influence. I personally witnessed him receiving several wizards I had never met before."

"Hmm," Allison agreed.

"And most importantly, I overheard Grindelwald and those few people discussing their plans without any hesitation. Their targets were twofold: to weaken the Guard Corps and to target the International Confederation of Wizards."

"The International Confederation of Wizards ..." Allison thought for a moment, "The current president is a fence-sitter. Before we made a move against Grindelwald, we sent someone to test him, but he didn't make any move at the time."

Marshall continued, "It's understandable. The chairman's term is coming to an end, and it's not a wise choice to antagonize either side now. He knows the strength of our Guard Corps and is familiar with Grindelwald's methods from decades ago. I suspect that old fox probably already guessed that we wouldn't be able to arrest Grindelwald smoothly."

"That's it. He only goes along with the temporary trend. After Grindelwald fled, he did nothing except cooperate with us in issuing the arrest warrant—to be precise, he abstained from voting on the resolution passed at the International Confederation of Wizards Conference," Allison said. "In that case, let's eliminate this fence-sitter first. If we win, he's one of us; if Grindelwald wins, he's one of Grindelwald's. The problem is, Grindelwald should also know something about that old fox. Why would he target the International Confederation of Wizards General Assembly?"

Marshall cautioned, "The leadership transition is coming up soon, and Grindelwald might try to make a fuss about it."

"No," Allison shook his head. "We have contacted all five of the most popular candidates. If they want to gain the support of the general assembly jurors, they will not side with Grindelwald. After all, more than a third of the jurors are related to us. If they cannot become the president, a mere candidate cannot provide Grindelwald with any help."

He looked at Marshall and asked sincerely, "Cyril, you were in charge of the overall direction of the Guard Corps before, and you at least had contact with Grindelwald. What do you think Grindelwald's next objective might be?"

Marshall lowered his eyes. "Since you've all considered this, it proves that what Grindelwald revealed to me is likely false information. Perhaps he's trying to distract us so he can secretly accomplish other goals. We can only take precautions against those and deal with them as they come."

"Do you have any guesses, Cyril?"

Marshall pondered for a moment and said, "I think Grindelwald's target is likely to be the infiltration of the Guard Corps, the International Confederation of Wizards, and the covert consolidation of power. Unfortunately, I didn't get any useful information during the time I was under control."

"No, the information you brought back is still useful," Allison said sincerely. "Moreover, Grindelwald didn't expect you to be alive, which is his biggest flaw. Cyril, we will be holding a press conference in a few days, and then we will need you to expose Grindelwald's conspiracy."

"This is simply my duty," Marshall said.

Allison looked hesitant and apologetic, as if he didn't know how to organize his words.

Marshall noticed this and said, "Please speak plainly."

Allison sighed. "That was the result of a joint discussion, Cyril. We might need you to take Veritaserum in public during your speech..."

A hint of anger flashed in Marshall's eyes, but she concealed it well.

Publicly administering Veritaserum is a method used against criminals.

She took a deep breath and finally nodded calmly. "I'm willing to do this, for the sake of the Guard Corps's reputation."

Allison looked touched and apologetic. "Cyril..."

"No need for further explanation, Allison, I stand with the Guard Corps in glory and disgrace!"

In this atmosphere, the conversation finally ended after discussing some details of the speeches.

Shortly after Marshall left his office, the black-robed wizard emerged from the shadows.

"She didn't do anything unusual before, she didn't even touch her wand," the black-robed wizard said.

The previously sincere Allison had long since regained his calm and sharp expression. He took out a cigarette but did not smoke it; he simply sniffed it back and forth.

"Do you still consider our dear Cyril Marshall to be our comrade-in-arms?"

The black-robed wizard shook his head. "I'm not sure, but it seems so for now."

A chill ran through Allison's eyes. "Marshall has already betrayed us..."

Why do you say that?

Allison's lips curled into a slight smile, but his eyes remained icy. "Marshall has never been a fool. How could she not see the point now?"

"No matter what methods Grindelwald uses, no matter how much the Guard Corps's prestige declines, as long as Newt Scamander's testimony remains unchanged, Grindelwald has no chance of turning things around."

Allison gave a cold laugh, "Professor Scamander is no longer the greenhorn who just came out of Hogwarts decades ago. He has prestige now and his words carry weight. If we don't deal with him, Grindelwald won't be able to regain the upper hand in public opinion. Marshall couldn't possibly be unaware of this, but she didn't remind me."

The black-robed wizard remained silent for a moment, wondering if he had been dead for too long, as his empty head seemed unable to communicate with modern intelligent people.

After much deliberation, he finally said, "But Dumbledore is one of us, and Newt Scamander is also at Hogwarts so he doesn't have to worry about being controlled."

Allison didn't turn to look at the black-robed wizard. He said calmly, "First of all, Dumbledore isn't one of us. He has his own ideas. We just used some methods to get him to temporarily stand on our side. He's only an enemy of Grindelwald. Secondly, there's no need to worry about Professor Scamander's personal safety. However, Professor Scamander is a very sentimental person..."

The black-robed wizard suddenly realized. "I see. You mean Grindelwald will target Professor Scamander's family? Wait, then we should set off now to protect Mrs. Scamander?"

Allison sighed almost imperceptibly; if he could, he really didn't want to work with this idiot.

"Mrs. Scamander has been under protection for a long time. Have you forgotten the history of decades ago?"

The black-robed wizard frowned. "That Muggle? He's just a Muggle..."

Allison suddenly didn't want to talk anymore. What kind of time is this? This idiot still clings to his stupid bloodline prejudice. Is this a matter of bloodline?

He took a deep breath. "Our people are already on their way to find that Muggle. I need your help to make sure that Muggle, who is about to die, is not controlled by Grindelwald to blackmail Professor Scamander."

Although the black-robed wizard looked down on Muggle, he was quite willing to cooperate. He nodded and then asked doubtfully, "Just because Marshall didn't remind you of this, does that mean you can conclude that she has betrayed you?"

Allison took a deep breath and finally said in a deep voice, "Of course."

Because Marshall isn't a fool like you!

The undercurrents outside the campus did not affect the daily lives of Hogwarts students, or rather, those things were too far removed from them.

The students would discuss the Wizarding United Guard, whose reputation had recently plummeted, and argue about whether Grindelwald was innocent in their spare time, but otherwise, their lives continued peacefully.

After being chased by Madam Pince's feather duster yesterday, Sean, unwilling to give up, borrowed the Invisibility Cloak from Harry and sneaked into the library again last night.

Unfortunately, after spending most of the night, he couldn't find any information related to the Blood Pact other than the content he had read in the book "Deadly Contract".

Sean, who hadn't had enough sleep, was woken up early the next morning by his roommate. Today was Sunday, the first day that third-year students could visit Hogsmeade.

The students handed the signed forms to Professor McGonagall and then headed toward the fork in the road leading to Hogsmeade, where Filch would check again and catch any student without a form.

"You missed breakfast, but I saved one for you." The ever-thoughtful Daisy took a packaged sandwich from her pocket and handed it to Sean.

"Thank you so much. I thought I'd have to fill my stomach with snacks after getting to Hogsmeade." Sean thanked him and took the sandwich, opening it and eating it right there on the road.

Daisy was only in her second year, so she couldn't go to Hogsmeade; she had to return to Hogwarts at the fork in the road. After promising to bring her a large bag of Honeydukes sweets, Little White Flower reluctantly saw them off.

Hermione, standing nearby, was looking at a booklet—a travel guide for Hogsmeade.

As the largest and only pure wizarding village in the England, Hogsmeade's residents are mostly native inhabitants, and many of its buildings were left by generations of Hogwarts faculty and staff. Professor McGonagall has a residence in Hogsmeade.

Of course, what attracts students isn't the ordinary houses that are everywhere. Magical equipment shops Dervish and Banges, Honeydukes with its wide variety of sweets, the Three Broomsticks where you can grab a Butterbeer, and the Shrieking Shack, which is known as the scariest haunted place in all of England, are popular spots for students.

Of course, couples sometimes like to go to Madam Puddifoot's Tea Shop for dates. It's said that the decorations there are old-fashioned and tacky, so most people don't like to go there. It's a good place for couples who prefer privacy.

As for the mischievous boys, such as the Weasley twins and Harry's gang, their first target was Zonko's Joke Shop.

However, Sean's first choice was the Hog's Head Inn, which was rarely visited by students.

He was very interested in Dumbledore's brother Aberforth Dumbledore, and planned to go and observe him first.

Sean suggested that Hermione and some friends go explore other places first, since the Hog's Head Inn was hardly a worthwhile place to visit.

However, Hermione was quite interested in the Hog's Head Inn.

"It's mentioned in 'Sites of Historical Sorcery' that that bar was the headquarters of the Goblin rebellion in 1612!" The girl's eyes lit up.

Unable to shake off Hermione, Sean could only shrug, and the two headed toward a sparsely populated corner of Hogsmeade Village.

Leaving the post office on Central Avenue and turning into a side alley, you'll find a small bar at the intersection. A dilapidated wooden sign hangs on a Scabbers frame above the door, depicting a severed pig's head, its blood soaking through the white cloth wrapped around it.

"Oh—this doesn't look good..." Hermione didn't like bloody things. She frowned, looked at the pig's head, and took a half step back.

It has to be said that this place is not exactly a good place to go, but Sean, who knew the situation, was not afraid and deftly pushed open the wooden door of the bar.

This was a very small and dimly lit room, filled with a strong smell of mutton. Only a pitiful sliver of sunlight could see in through the filthy bay window. By the light from the candle stubs on the rough wooden table, one could see that the seemingly muddy floor was actually a stone slab surface that had accumulated grime for centuries.

The Hog's Head Inn was quiet, with a large group of customers whose faces were completely covered. They sipped their drinks and rarely spoke to those around them.

After Sean and his companion went inside, the strange guests merely glanced up before quickly lowering their heads to continue drinking.