Grindelwald's "Return"

"Sir, sir!"

Rudney Brunt, the office manager of the France Head of the Auror Office, was awakened by a knock on the door just as he was putting on his pajamas and preparing to go to sleep with his wife.

"Damn it!" Brent cursed as he dressed and headed for the door.

"If it weren't for the news about Grindelwald and that group that attacked Muggle Dark Wizard, I swear I would have cast a hundred Vomiting Spell on you."

Brent walked to the door, cursing under his breath, but as soon as he opened it, he regained his usual seriousness and authority.

"What happened? Why are you in such a hurry?" Brent asked in a deep voice.

His subordinate Auror, took a breath and quickly replied, "We may have discovered Grindelwald's trail!"

"What?!" Brent couldn't maintain his serious expression any longer.

His cheek twitched involuntarily, then he asked anxiously, "What exactly is going on? And I told you, if you find any trace of Grindelwald, don't act rashly, you haven't forgotten, have you?!"

The other person swallowed hard. Although it was ridiculous for his usually strict boss to be showing such uncharacteristic anxiety, having experienced that night in Paris, he naturally understood what the other person was thinking.

If even one of the Auror from the French Ministry of Magic were to successfully recover the money from Grindelwald, that would be a huge success.

He replied urgently, "Our men did not... did not rashly arrest him; to be precise, we did not personally see any trace of him."

"Then why are you shouting like that!" Brent glared at his subordinate and straightened his collar, which was disheveled from his panic.

"Yes, we lost our composure. We're sorry, sir."

"Tell me, what exactly happened?" Brent put his hands behind his back, resuming his usual demeanor.

The Auror took a deep breath. "On the westernmost outskirts of Paris, a mansion that originally belonged to a Muggle caught fire. But our patrols detected magical fluctuations, and someone recognized it as the new residence the Aiken family moved into after their old house burned down."

Upon hearing this, Brent's eyes darkened.

He knew, of course, that the place had been bought by Old Man Aiken, and that in order to acquire it at a low price, Old Man Aiken had even used some minor magic on the original owner—which was a serious violation of the Statute of Secrecy.

But that was Old Man Aiken, France's number one Magical Item dealer.

Therefore, Brent chose to ignore it.

Old Man Aiken and Grindelwald had a deep-seated hatred between them...

Thinking of this, he could no longer maintain the composure he had managed to regain, and asked anxiously, "What's the situation at the scene?"

"It's burned to ashes, but someone detected residual magical fluctuations..." Auror swallowed hard. "It seems to be the fire spell Grindelwald used at Père Lachaise Cemetery ..."

"Therefore, we did not dare to act rashly..."

"Good job. Just don't mess with that demon king..." Brent breathed a sigh of relief.

"Where are the others?"

"They're all nearby, sir. What do you think?"

Brent pondered for a moment, then gritted his teeth and said, "Call everyone together and let the magic observers go and observe the scene."

"Yes!"

Twenty minutes later, the entire Auror contingent of France assembled in the western suburbs of Paris.

Before our eyes, the once luxurious manor has been burned to the ground.

Brent only waved his hand when the flames finally dwindled and the observer ahead gave a signal that it was safe.

All the Auror cautiously raised their wands and slowly advanced towards the still-burning ruins.

After a thorough inspection, the Auror, who had been on tenterhooks, finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Grindelwald isn't here...

Brent also came forward from behind and ordered, "Put out the fire, check the situation, and see if there are any survivors."

Upon hearing this, several Auror exchanged bewildered glances.

This fire has been burning for at least half an hour; it would be a miracle if there were any survivors...

Brent knew this, of course, but the formalities still had to be put on.

The fire was extinguished, and the Auror entered the ruins in groups.

"Sir! Sir!" someone suddenly shouted, their voice filled with fear.

"Stop yelling! Don't embarrass the elite France wizards!" Brent scolded.

He calmly walked towards the scene where he was surrounded by the Auror.

Brent walked through the crowd and saw the scene before him.

Then he felt a tingling sensation on his scalp, and his mouth started drooling uncontrollably, as if the terrifying night from months ago was about to resurface.

What you see before you is the only part of the entire manor that wasn't burned down.

On the magnificent marble floor, twelve clumps of ashes were neatly piled up.

An Auror said in a trembling voice, "According to our information, Old Man Aiken and the wizards he hired live here, exactly eleven people in total. We don't know who the remaining group is, but we suspect it might be Old Man Aiken's son..."

This eerie scene sent chills down Brent's spine; he could even see what had happened here an hour earlier.

Grindelwald walked in with a smile and casualness, and killed everyone there as easily as if he were greeting an old friend.

Then, flames rose, and all the bodies were burned to ashes—the ashes were meant to warn those who came after them...

As for Old Man Aiken, the France trading tycoon of Magical Item, this ancient and pure surname has been completely erased.

From this day forward, there will be no more Pure-blood Aiken in Paris!

Brent took a deep breath, tucked his tightly clenched hands into his robes, and tried to maintain his composure.

He loudly ordered the other Auror, "Go, inform the minister, inform the national Ministry of Magic, the Wizarding United Guard, and the International Confederation of Wizards! Inform them!"

"Yes!"

Meanwhile, Hogwarts Castle, thousands of miles away, had fallen into a deep sleep with its children.

With light steps, Sean returned to Umbridge's office, concealing himself completely. He then passed through the Auror and Guard Corps, merging with the illusion that was idly dozing in a chair.

"Hmm..." Sean stretched out a big yawn as if he didn't see anything.

He glanced at the wizards who weren't keeping a close watch on him and asked lazily, "Little Aiken should have escaped safely by now, right? Shouldn't you let me go back? Please, I'm just a third-grade kid."

The third-grade kid outsmarted the sole heir of Pure-blood families France family, and in the end, he slunk away, right?

The leader of the Guard Corps glanced at the time, then pretended to put away his wand.

"It seems that Fabian Aiken did indeed frame you. You can go back now. We will initiate the accountability process for Little Aiken."

Sean stood up and twirled his wand. "Really? Let me know if you hear anything. I'm going to sue this shameless accuser."

The Guard Corps glanced at him and shook his head slightly in his heart.

Little Aiken returns to France, he's unlikely to leave again. Does he still want the opportunity to file a lawsuit?

The child in front of me is indeed incredibly outstanding, but he lacks sensitivity in this area—and he should know that it's useless to try to gain an advantage verbally.

Could he possibly say that Little Aiken had already returned to Paris, had died from being thousands of miles away?

Sean pushed through the crowd, paused at the doorway, and turned back to ask, "I almost forgot, what are you planning to do with Umbridge?"

This time, it was a England Auror who spoke, his face grim. "Using Unforgivable Curse on a student is an extremely serious offense, and barring any unforeseen circumstances, she has already been sent to Azkaban."

"Oh—" Sean drawled, then asked curiously, "So, will the department send another Senior Undersecretary?"

The Auror hesitated for a moment, then finally replied in a muffled voice, "That depends on the ministry's decision..."

"Alright, I hope they can send an honest and responsible prosecutor this time. Please." Sean said with a smile and left.

After he walked away, the remaining two groups looked at each other. The leader of the Guard Corps adjusted his cloak and casually spoke.

"Being threatened by a third-grade student, tsk tsk—you didn't understand what he meant, did you?"

Auror gave him a cold look and said curtly, "You're much more unfortunate than me for getting involved with Little Aiken."

"Let's take it one step at a time."

After a few unfriendly words, the two groups walked out of Hogwarts one after the other.

With a loud bang, they returned together to the hall of the British Ministry of Magic.

As soon as they revealed themselves, the group of people were stunned by what they saw.

It was already late at night, but the Ministry of Magic was as bustling as a weekday afternoon, except that the anxious crowds all wore somber expressions.

"What happened?" The Guard Corps leader grabbed someone he knew.

After the other person finished speaking, he stood there stunned.

Aiken Manor was reduced to ashes, and all the wizards present, including Old Man Aiken, perished. Even Little Aiken, who may have returned home that very night, was reduced to ashes.

Grindelwald is back...

Then, he suddenly remembered what had happened earlier.

The boy named Sean Wallerup smiled and spoke to himself.

"If you have any relevant information, please let me know. I'm going to sue this shameless accuser."

There's no chance of prosecution... Dead people can't stand trial...

Did he foresee all of this?

In a magnificent classical villa, a wizard with a violent expression and a pale face strode quickly toward the bedroom inside the villa.

As he approached the double doors, he composed himself and gently knocked.

"Lord Grindelwald, I apologize for disturbing you at this time, but I have something important to report."

"Come in, my friend."

He pushed open the door and went in, where he saw Grindelwald smiling gently at him.

"Don't be so reserved. We are comrades-in-arms who are plotting something great, my friend."

"Yes, Lord Grindelwald." He relaxed slightly, a fleeting fervor crossing his face.

"Lord Grindelwald, I've received a message from my informant. Something's happened in Paris, and our people are on the scene..."

Grindelwald leaned back comfortably in his chair, one leg crossed, and listened to his subordinates' report, a smile gradually appearing on his face.

"Tell me more about the details," he instructed.

"Yes, that's how it was..."

As he listened to the detailed and complete account of the scene, Grindelwald's smile widened.

"Hahaha, this is so interesting, so interesting."

The man glanced at it and asked hesitantly, "Sir, the Ministry of Magic of various countries have now determined that you are the wizard who wiped out the Aiken Family —I know you won't take those cowardly rats seriously, but shouldn't we have someone investigate this guy who dares to impersonate you?"

Grindelwald smiled and waved his hand, "No need, absolutely no need. Go, spread the word, tell them that I was the one who did this. Just take it as a signal that I'm coming back."

Return?! The man's eyes lit up with fervor. He knelt on one knee and said respectfully and excitedly, "Yes, sir!"

After his excited subordinates closed the door, Grindelwald smiled and strolled leisurely to the huge French windows.

"A clever use of the situation. You confirmed it was me so quickly. It seems you dealt with those people very decisively and quickly, and you even made a solid alibi..." Grindelwald looked at the bright moon hanging high in the sky outside the window, his smile widening. "Sean, well done."

Sean sneezed in bed, rubbed his nose, and muttered a few words.

"Who's insulting me? Or is someone praising me?"

He was holding several Magical Item that he had looted from Old Man Aiken.

The necklace, needless to say, was incredibly powerful. In addition, Sean found some Magical Item that weren't as comprehensive in function; while not all-encompassing, they were sufficient for defense.

Five copies were found in total. Sean decided to give one to Hermione and one to Daisy. The remaining three copies would be given to his parents and sister. Although they were not wizards, defensive spells could still be triggered automatically, so he would feel much more at ease when he was not around them.

Besides these things and a huge pile of Galleon, Sean found a few other interesting items.

A landscape Crystal Ball with a base; this thing is more like Magical Item than a magical prop.

When someone approaches this Landscape Orb, snowflakes begin to fall from its top.

The number of snowflakes falling is the person's age.

Sean's birthday is November 15, 1979. It's 1993 now, and his birthday is just around the corner. Fourteen snowflakes have fallen.

He even held up the Landscape Orb, stretched it out of the blanket, and brought it close to his roommate, measuring it with equal accuracy. He could even measure Dave, who was born in the first year of high school and is now exactly two years old.

It's quite accurate, but not very useful.

Moreover, these little gadgets are easy to fool; Sean only played with them for a while before throwing them back— the Aero-Wing Bird really likes to play with these round things.

The second item was a spellbook, which was not from a publisher, but rather was bound by Old Man Aiken himself, and contained many spells.

He had seen most of the spells before and even knew how to use them, but one spell caught Sean's eye.

Short-Distance Rapid Apparition.

Happy May Day, everyone! It's a new month, how about asking for some votes?