Imprisoning Himself, Grindelwald

The Explosion Charm and the Stunning Spell suddenly erupted in the Ministry of Magic's grand main hall, throwing the hardworking night shift workers into chaos.

However, the Auror and the Hit Wizard had already received word of a possible attacker, so the elite wizards did not panic and immediately blocked the incoming spells.

Moreover, in order to control more people, Sean used very weak spells, so that the cursed person could break free on their own after a dozen hours.

But Sean didn't need these ordinary employees to take over the Ministry of Magic for him; he just needed to create enough chaos.

Not for killing, but for destruction and to create a sense of power, this is still quite simple for an adult wizard.

So even though few people were injured, the entire main hall was thrown into chaos—and because of the changing situation and frequent accidents during this period, everyone was on edge at work, and the sudden attack made the ordinary staff members extremely nervous.

The Ministry of Magic was thrown into chaos.

Over at the elevator, part of the Auror's main force was dealing with the few ordinary employees who had suddenly gone mad, while another part was covering the retreat of the man in the suit to a safer place, fearing that there might be even more serious attacks later.

Sean, disguised as Auror, immediately put on a serious expression and ran from his guard post to help cover for him.

The crowd was in chaos, but the man in the suit, along with the black-robed figure hidden inside him, was still protected.

Sean infiltrated the inner circle of the group, defending himself while approaching the enemy.

When he was close enough, he whispered in a hoarse voice, "A soft murmur..."

As expected, the man in the suit immediately looked at him without revealing his expression.

Sean inwardly scoffed. Sure enough, Dumbledore never did these pointless things. This unusual password was a hint from him...

Seeing that the other party was no longer on guard, Sean leaned closer and whispered, "I received news from Mr. Dumbledore that Grindelwald is on his way here with his men..."

The man in the suit looked startled and turned his head slightly to look at his collar.

Sean continued calmly, "It's not safe here. Let's evacuate... Mr. Dumbledore gave the instructions."

After saying that, he took the lead and ran towards a room at the corner.

The man in the suit muttered to himself, "The password is correct... Should we follow?"

A hoarse voice behind him said, "Follow him. When it comes to Grindelwald, Dumbledore is someone you can trust..."

If Sean could hear this conversation, he probably wouldn't understand how these people could trust Dumbledore.

The man in the suit watched Sean run into a room, then gestured to the person next to him with his lip. "Keep watch."

When he pushed open the door and went inside, he saw that the person who led him into the room was holding a strange vessel, which looked like a huge ring. The very top of the ring had turned into a dark hole, which even covered the person's head.

"Mr. Dumbledore has something to say to you both," Sean said in a deep voice.

His wand was already subtly pointed at the other person, or more precisely, at the man in the suit's high-necked trench coat.

"The two of you?" The hidden man in black robes' eyes narrowed slightly.

It seems that the other party really is Dumbledore's men... A mere errand boy wouldn't know their identities Returners, and they have been hiding them very well.

But look at this? Could it be some kind of Magical Item for long-distance communication?

Despite his thoughts, the man in black robes wasn't particularly wary. It wasn't that he completely trusted the other party, but rather that the nature of his body determined everything—most spells had no effect on a ghost's body.

This is their unique advantage Returners: immense power and immunity to most spells. Even if it's a trap, he's confident he can escape—unless Grindelwald comes in person.

As for what happens to this man in the suit, that's not his concern. He can just replace this kind of tool when he dies.

Or perhaps it's that madman Tom Riddle they rescued; that guy is very knowledgeable about souls and should have a way to deal with special life forms like them.

Thinking this, the black-robed man's semi-transparent gray-black eyes were revealed, and then he and the man in the suit looked at the strange prop that the other party had taken out.

A huge, orange-yellow vertical pupil appeared in their field of vision.

"Thud—" The man in the suit collapsed softly to the ground.

He also "squeezed" another semi-transparent, pure black ghost out of his body.

"Confident to the point of being foolish..." Sean muttered to himself, putting away his wand.

Just like Gormlaith Gaunt before her, she relied on her special Half-Ghost state and was too careless.

Sean didn't look at it any longer. He picked up the thick stack of parchment on the ground, glanced at it, and after confirming that the information on it was correct, he directly put a corpse and a ghost that could not die again into his ring.

Just as Dumbledore had said, there were obstacles, but not many. With my prior preparations, it wasn't too difficult.

That old man must have foreseen all of this. The Returners probably sent him some incorrect information... Sean muttered to himself.

Then, without lingering, he communicated with a Shadow Bug he had hidden in a corner, and his figure disappeared from the spot.

Outside the room, the guards were listening to their subordinates' reports.

"The people who caused the riot have all been subdued. They were all employees of the department. They were all under the control of the Imperius Curse, but the control was very weak. It is estimated that the Soul-Stealing lasted for a very short time, perhaps just a few hours ago."

"I understand... Go and report to the minister to get a search warrant. Everyone will be searched tonight."

"Yes, I understand."

After his subordinates left, the leading Auror glanced at the room behind him.

He recognized the man in the suit; he was the minister's trusted subordinate. This time, the man seemed to have brought someone with him to the Department of Mysteries. However, he didn't see the other person.

However, this was not within his consideration; he only needed to carry out the orders.

However, he and his team waited and waited, but no one came out.

"Boss, something seems off?"

He hesitated for a moment, then said, "Let's go in and take a look."

With a loud bang, the door was pushed open, but to everyone's astonishment, the room was completely empty.

"Something's happened..."

Sean had no time to worry about the Ministry of Magic's next move; he had already left.

At that moment, he transformed into a wisp of black smoke and sped across the London sky.

"That ghost's body carries the power of my origin..." Black particles swirled around Sean as the thought arose.

"Is it the same as the Gormlaith Gaunt you devoured before?" Sean asked the Obscurus.

Obscurus drilled the black particles into the ring again and sensed them for a moment before replying, "It's very similar, but the power within this ghost is... a bit purer? Oh, right, it's very similar to the power that terrifying mouth once revealed."

The Silent Mouth... Sean nodded silently.

As I had guessed, the power of the Returners had undergone some kind of "refinement" process.

"Can you absorb this power?" he asked again.

Obscurus's thoughts seemed somewhat cheerful. "Yes, Obscurus embraces all things."

"Okay, suck that thing dry."

When Sean returned to Hogwarts, the Obscurus had already absorbed all the power within the Returners, and Sean had also gained considerable benefits.

He gained more power from the Obscurus, and it became easier for him to control it.

After just a small test, Sean was surprised to find that not only his left hand, but also his upper left body could be Obscurus melted away.

"Hiss, this is a super Invigoration Draught..." Sean looked enviously at the dark, floating ghost inside the ring.

The dark power within that person had been completely absorbed, so he reverted to a pure ghost state, just like Gormlaith Gaunt.

Two pitch-black ghosts floated a dozen centimeters off the ground inside Sean's ring.

The appearance of the man in black robes could be clearly identified: a middle-aged man with no distinguishing features, a lot of hair, and his chest Diffindo —this should represent his manner of death.

However, Sean's attention was now completely focused on the thick stack of parchment.

Upon entering the Room of Requirement, he first glanced at the Vanishing Cabinet, then spread out the parchment.

This document was divided into three parts: one was the narration of Eloise Mintab, the Unspeakables traveled back five centuries; another was the analysis of this narration by the Unspeakables of the Ministry of Magic at the time; and the last was important information about time travel that the Minister for Magic.

Preparations for going back five centuries

Sean began reading the first document.

The torches inside flickered, and only the rustling of parchment turning and the tapping of fingers on the table could be heard.

As the night sky, which had gone from normal to abnormal and then back to normal, gradually shed its plain cloak and a faint, fish-belly white light appeared on the horizon, just like usual, Sean finally raised his head.

"Hoo—" He exhaled a deep, forceful breath, his bloodshot eyes trembling slightly.

"This is a ghost..."

Sean cursed under his breath, then turned to the Magical Creatures and asked a question he hadn't had a chance to ask yet.

How many snowflakes fell from the Landscape Orb in total?

"There are two hundred and eight pieces in total...we've counted them many, many, many times," Cat-Leopard Pudding replied immediately.

Sean took another deep breath.

Two hundred and nine pieces, which means that the Gellert Grindelwald I have known has lived for a full two hundred and nine years!

As far as Sean knows, Grindelwald was born in 1882!

Grindelwald lived until 1994, so he should only be 112 years old.

And that extra ninety-seven years...

Sean began to breathe heavily.

The old man he knew and regarded as his teacher was not Grindelwald in this Timeline at all!

The other party must have used Time-Turner to travel directly back to 1899!

Therefore, based on this timeline, the other party did not time travel at this specific point in time at all.

Grindelwald, from a future he hadn't yet reached—1996!

The other person traveled back in time from 1996 to 1899, and then...

This was what made Sean almost tremble.

After traveling such a long distance through time, he didn't return to his original point in time, but instead...

Life has come to this point!

Then, the person who had been imprisoned in the underground dungeon of Newmontgard using Ancient Runes arrays and Invisibility Cloak also surfaced...

If all the reasoning is correct, then the person who was imprisoned for nearly a hundred years...

This is the real Grindelwald at this point in time!

Sean began to breathe heavily, unable to contain himself.

His face was increasingly pale from staying up all night, and large beads of sweat slid down his forehead.

Grindelwald himself... imprisoned himself!

Through the Ministry of Magic's records, Sean finally learned some of the truth about the time travel accident and understood why the world was so disturbed.

Time travel generally requires the use of Time-Turner, and in order to strictly control time travel, the Ministry of Magic has fixed the magic to the hourglass, and the energy in the hourglass is only enough to support its use for a certain period of time.

However, in Eloise Mintab's autobiography, it is mentioned that if enough magical energy can be transferred into the Time-Turner, one can travel back to the extremely distant past.

The reason Eloise Mintab only stayed for five days before returning was that she didn't have enough magic.

Yes, even if the Ministry of Magic at the time used unknown means to convert a magic known as "the magic that terrifies the world," that magic was not enough to sustain Alois Mintab in the distant past until she is alive and well to this day.

At the same time, she herself does not have the strength to support the aging of her body.

Other materials highlighted the potential accidents that could occur during long-distance time travel.

According to Sean's own understanding, this world is unique, and there is no such thing as a parallel world. The Time-Turner simply allows a person to return to the past of this Timeline.

This means that, and it is a point that most people agree on, traveling to the past cannot change history.

This is why the Ministry of Magic strictly controls the Time-Turner.

Humans can travel back in time, but they cannot change the past or alter history. The fundamental implication is that our world is a final, altered version of reality.

However, if this law is broken, it will lead to extremely serious consequences.

The world will spontaneously rewrite this altered history.

Eloise Mintab only stayed for five days, which caused time distortions in the actual Timeline, including phenomena such as a day being shortened or lengthened.

At least twenty-five wizards who should have existed were confirmed to have vanished without a trace.

And Grindelwald...

They traveled back to the distant past and lived there for nearly a hundred years!