The Incident of 1899

Sean discovers that even though he has some access to the Room of Requirement, he still lacks understanding of what's inside—which could, of course, be something Dumbledore himself put there.

For example, a huge prayer wheel in front of several people.

"We need to get to Bhutan, and this will help us," Newt said.

"This thing... could it be Portkey?" Sean examined the prayer wheel, and he could faintly sense a magical fluctuation emanating from it.

Newt shook his head. "I don't know the specifics either. Dumbledore always manages to find all sorts of... well, strange things? This thing seems to come from Bhutan, Bhutan is the origin of some of our very important magic. Legend has it that if you listen carefully in Bhutan, you can hear the past whispering to you."

Whispers from the past? Sean raised an eyebrow.

I don't know if they can hear the whispers, but it must be very lively there.

"Are we just going like this? Don't we need to prepare anything?" Sean asked.

Newt looked troubled. "Actually, I also think we need to prepare more, after all, we might face a lot of wizards when we arrive in Bhutan. But since Dumbledore didn't say anything, then—"

"A typical and excellent Hufflepuff, "Sean remarked. However, on the other hand, if it were him, he probably would have done as Dumbledore instructed.

Newt walked up to the prayer wheel and placed his right hand on it.

The ancient and mysterious patterns carved on the prayer wheel seemed to come alive, running across its surface, and then the prayer wheel began to spin rapidly.

"Jacob, Queenie, you two go first. Remember to prioritize your own safety. But the box is with me, so they shouldn't give you any trouble," Newt said.

Jacob and Queenie exchanged a glance, took each other's hands, and then disappeared as if absorbed by a prayer wheel.

"It really is Portkey..." Sean muttered.

Newt turned to Sean: "Together?"

Sean stepped forward, glancing at Newt's Suitcase out of the corner of his eye. After a moment's hesitation, he asked, "Professor Scamander, do you really think it's... reasonable to let a Magical Creatures choose its supreme leader?"

Newt shrugged with a rare, helpless and distressed expression. "Actually, nothing quite feels right lately."

"Professor, why did you suddenly go to find Qilin?" Sean had been very curious about the cause of this matter.

"To be precise, I didn't originally have this idea, because the Qilin Election has been abolished for a long time, and I think it's better to let these magical creatures live where they belong—" Newt sighed.

"I received news that Grindelwald's subordinates, the Saints, wanted to take action against Jacob's family, so I rushed there immediately. The Saints captured Jacob and used him as leverage to force me to change my testimony and help them find the soon-to-be-born Qilin."

"At the time, I wasn't the only one there; the Guard Corps also rushed over. In the melee, I rescued Jacob, but the Guard Corps acted strangely—to be honest, I felt they weren't there to help; they, like the Saints, wanted me to help them find the Qilin."

Newt chuckled self-deprecatingly, "Magizoologist are quite popular, aren't they?"

Are both groups targeting the Qilin? Sean frowned.

It's not surprising that the Guard Corps wanted Sean the Qilin, but why would Grindelwald want the Qilin?

This Dark Lord, who is best at breaking rules and acting unpredictably, wants to use a Magical Creatures to help him take control of the entire Wizarding World?

Honestly, this isn't Grindelwald's character at all...

Newt continued, "Then I received a secret message from Dumbledore. By some twist of fate, I led Jacob others to find the Qilin, and we've been chased by two groups ever since—to be honest, if those two groups hadn't been keeping each other in check, I probably wouldn't have been able to come back safely."

He glanced at Sean, who was frowning, and said in a deep voice, "I know you have many questions, but I'm sorry, Sean, you should have known from that night in Paris that I have been following Dumbledore's instructions all along."

"The professor must be very grateful for your trust in him," Sean added.

Newt smiled. "Dumbledore has always been trustworthy."

"By the way, did you experience any accidents caused by time travel while you were on the road?" Sean asked casually, thinking of this.

Newt nodded. "In fact, I sensed it immediately. There was something wrong with time. Perhaps it's because I've had similar experiences before. This kind of accident only happens after a wizard has traveled an extremely long distance through time."

"Experience? Professor Scamander, you have experience?" Sean asked in surprise. He had only asked casually, but he never expected to find someone with experience.

"To be precise, everyone who was there back then should have experienced it, but the accident wasn't as obvious, and the Ministry of Magic seemed to be covering it up. As for me, I was very young at the time, so it left a deep impression on me," Newt said.

"When did this happen?" Sean asked impatiently.

Although he didn't know why Sean reacted so strongly, Newt still said truthfully, "It seems that children are particularly sensitive to these kinds of things. I was only two years old that year, and I remember it very clearly. It was in 1899, well, probably at the end of October."

Sean's pupils contracted sharply. 1899...

That was the year Dumbledore and Grindelwald met?!

Sean never expected that a casual question would lead him to learn such news from Newt!

Newt continued recounting his experience, "Normally, a two-year-old shouldn't remember anything, but I remember it vividly. It was a very strange feeling, like you were sitting there quietly in the sun, and suddenly the calm sky was about to sink. I still can't forget that heart-pounding feeling, like—like the world was collapsing."

Newt's face showed a look of recollection, even a hint of fear. "I was just climbing back and forth on my mother's Hippogriff, but I just can't forget that feeling. Oh, right, the time of that day also disappeared; the sky darkened rapidly at noon, and it probably disappeared for about ten hours."

Sean's pupils dilated violently, and a thought immediately popped into his mind: Dumbledore had returned to 1899?

Wait a minute... Sean frowned, realizing something was wrong.

Time travel accidents only happen in real time, and he subconsciously connected them to the recent incidents.

If we look at it this way, then in 1899, someone did long-distance time travel and caused an accident!

So, is there some connection between the recent Time Incident and Time Incident from nearly a century ago?

Did Dumbledore's time travel take him back to 1899?

It seems they've connected...

"Sean, we should go too." Newt waited for him to think for a moment before placing his hand on the prayer wheel.

"Oh—oh, okay," Sean replied.

Right now, there are only some plausible guesses, just guesses... Sean put aside his thoughts for the moment and placed his hand on the prayer wheel as well.

It felt like Portkey, as if a hook had snagged Sean's belly button and was pulling him backward at high speed.

After a dizzying, flying sensation, Sean landed on the ground again.

What appeared before him were narrow streets, low-rise buildings with ethnic characteristics, flags of green, yellow, red and other colors, and a small town stretching upwards into the distance.

In the far distance, there is a broken bridge whose shape is indistinct. As the broken bridge extends, the mountaintop is hidden in the clouds and mist, with a tall, indistinct building that exudes an ancient aura.

This is Bhutan.

The place the Portkey brought in seemed to be a hidden space, clearly inhabited by wizards.

Strangely, Newt, who came in with him, did not appear beside him.

Sean walked to a corner where no one was paying attention and used Transfiguration to change his appearance and physical characteristics, thus blending into the crowd.

Should I go find Professor Scamander...? In the crowded throng, Sean discreetly surveyed his surroundings.

The crowd was noisy and enthusiastic, clearly divided into several groups, each holding a flag with the candidates waving and smiling on it.

Among a group of particularly fanatical wizards, Sean spotted a green flag and Grindelwald's familiar face on it.

"That old geezer..." Sean muttered to himself.

He blended into Grindelwald's group, looking around.

"Brother," a young-looking wizard warmly put his arm around Sean's shoulder, using a rather strange form of address, "I don't think I've seen you before?"

"I'm here to witness Mr. Grindelwald become chairman and then lead us to true freedom," Sean said without hesitation, his face filled with anticipation and excitement.

"Brother!" The man was quite satisfied with Sean's performance, and he became even more enthusiastic. "You're right, Mr. Grindelwald will be the greatest leader in history."

Whether he's great or not, I don't know, but he definitely has the worst temper... Sean muttered to himself as he warmly shook hands with the other person.

Where did Professor Scamander go...? Sean finally managed to shake off the fanatical Saints and began to examine the situation more closely.

Upon closer inspection, he discovered that on the rooftops of the buildings on both sides of the street, there were already quite a few wizards dressed in long black overcoats standing on the edges of the yellow rooftops.

They appeared nonchalant, but were intently watching every wizard who passed by.

What's even stranger is that there's another group of people doing the same thing, while also being wary of the former.

Sean immediately realized what was happening with the Saints and the Guard Corps.

Are they really planning to steal the Qilin here? Sean frowned.

Sean mingled in the crowd, glancing around. Suddenly, out of the corner of his eye, he saw a figure carrying a suitcase flash by.

After a casual glance, Sean turned into the alley without attracting anyone's attention.

Reaching the end, he lost sight of the person he had just seen.

Just as he was about to turn around, alarm bells went off in his mind!

Someone appeared Silencio behind him, and he hadn't noticed it at all!

Sean forced himself to keep his body and breathing normal, trying to appear as an ordinary wizard who had accidentally wandered into the alley. At the same time, his wand quietly slipped from his sleeve, the spell ready to be cast!

Unexpectedly, a cheerful voice rang out behind him.

"Mr. Wallop, isn't this whole charade you're playing the one I taught you?"

Sean turned his head in surprise, a look of delight spreading across his face.

"Teacher!"

Grindelwald stood ramrod straight behind him, and strangely enough, none of the noisy, frenzied crowd outside glanced in their direction.

"I knew you'd come, little guy." Grindelwald stood with his hands behind his back, dressed in an elegant suit, as cheerful and composed as ever.

He tilted his head at Sean, then went into the room next door.

Sean followed, and he didn't know why, but he felt very relaxed in Grindelwald's presence.

Sean plopped down in front of the other person without any regard for appearances and shrugged. "So, Lord Dark Lord, could you reveal some of your plans to your favorite student?"

Grindelwald simply stroked his short beard nonchalantly. "If a surprise is revealed in advance, it's not a surprise anymore. You know, your teacher is at an age where he likes to perform in front of people."

"Qilin?" Sean asked tentatively.

To everyone's surprise, Grindelwald simply raised an eyebrow lazily. "The Qilin is just the first option."

"But you didn't get the Qilin either," Sean said.

Grindelwald smiled mysteriously, "Because I need the Qilin to play its role, but I don't need the Qilin."

"Can't you old men just talk properly?" Sean rolled his eyes.

The old man laughed heartily, "Looks like Albus didn't say anything to you either?"

Sean said "Oh," and looked at the other person with surprise. "You really did discuss it with Professor Dumbledore!"

To everyone's surprise, Grindelwald just snorted coldly.

"No, these are all my own ideas."

Sean was stunned.

Grindelwald raised his head, his gaze seemingly piercing through the stone wall to look into the distance.

"This is the first time I haven't been able to figure out Albus's thoughts... In that case, let's do it my way."

"You're not really planning to start a war, are you?!" Sean was shocked.

Before he could speak, Grindelwald said to himself, "How can you find the truth about some things by just guessing?"

"By the way, what riddles has Albus told you lately? Tell me about them." The gloomy Grindelwald from before had vanished, replaced by his previous nonchalant demeanor.

Sean suppressed his anger and silently recounted his recent conversations with Dumbledore.

To be honest, we didn't really communicate much, just a few words.

After listening, Grindelwald chuckled inexplicably, "I really can't figure out what he's thinking... Albus, what exactly did you want to see when you went back in time...?"

Upon hearing this, Sean immediately looked up. "Is Professor Dumbledore really the one who has traveled through long distances of time?"

"Who else could it be but him? In this world, there are only two people who have been able to return safely from the distant past, and one of them is standing right in front of you," Grindelwald said casually.

Before Sean could speak, Grindelwald tossed him a stamp.

"Alright, I should go back and put on an act with those idiots. You'll need this."

He turned and winked at Sean, and for a moment Sean felt that the other person looked exactly like Dumbledore.

"By the way, think carefully about what Albus told you, my dear disciple."

After saying this, Grindelwald merged into the stone wall behind him and disappeared without a trace.