I, Tom Riddle, a fine man, was actually mentioned in the same breath as a petty nobody like you...

After Ms. Grindelwald said those words, the entire room fell silent.

Everyone is trying to process everything she said.

Sirius was the first to break the silence.

"What?"

He asked, looking completely bewildered, "Who do you say you are? Merlin? God? Don't be ridiculous, how could God exist in this world—"

Whether you like it or not, that's the truth.

Ms. Grindelwald smiled faintly, ignoring the wands pointed at her by those present, and sat down in the guest seat.

"Is this your way of hospitality?" she said. "Or have you forgotten how to be elegant wizards and chosen instead to be impolite monkeys?"

"I don't consider you a guest," Cassandra said sarcastically, standing behind Harry.

Ms. Grindelwald looked up at Cassandra, seemed to recall for a moment, and then said with a start, "Oh—it's you, Malfoy. It seems you're still alive and well in this timeline, aren't you?"

"No need for you to bother," Cassandra said coldly, clearly disliking this uninvited guest.

"You really shouldn't welcome me, Miss Malfoy." Ms. Grindelwald raised her chin slightly. "As for the Malfoy family, the leader of those who dared to defy my will, it's a pity that they disappeared ninety years ago. We were classmates, yet you are unwilling to follow me. Is it because of your pride? I'm curious."

Cassandra tightened her grip, but remained silent.

"So that's why you pretended to be god of death and hunted us down in the dream?" Harry asked from the side.

"No." Ms. Grindelwald held up one finger. "I am not impersonating god of death, nor am I god of death —I have no interest in such strange tricks. For me, conquering all of Europa, and indeed the whole world, is what I desire most."

"But ironically, it seems that Tom Riddle, the hero of the British Isles, is a pitiful wretch whom everyone hates in this timeline."

When Ms. Grindelwald said this, her expression was somewhat complicated, as if she had never expected things to turn out this way.

Let alone Ms. Grindelwald, the sudden news that Tom Riddle would become a hero resisting a tyrant was astonishing.

Even Dumbledore found it somewhat hard to accept.

"I can't even imagine—" James suddenly said with a sigh, "If, and I mean if, our Voldemort met Tom Riddle, what would those two say to each other?"

He seemed completely oblivious to the pressure from Ms. Grindelwald, his first thought being of Voldemort.

However, it wasn't entirely unexpected, considering that their three strongest fighters were at odds. Dumbledore was distracted by Anna's name, his daughter-in-law Veratia couldn't harm Harry, and Harry seemed to be using the magic she had developed to deal with her.

So in this situation, whether or not there is tension is no longer important; what is important is that Ms. Grindelwald does not seem to want any conflict with them.

"What should I say?" Sirius asked promptly.

As James's good brother, Sirius's support and encouragement were always subtle and unobtrusive.

"I Tom Riddle, a hero of my stature, am to be compared to a scoundrel like you—"

At this point, James couldn't hold back any longer.

Harry didn't know what to say.

No, Father, the two sides are at a standoff.

Can you please stop being so out of touch?

"I'm looking forward to it too," Ms. Grindelwald said with a smile.

She looked up at Dumbledore and said to them, "It seems that no matter which timeline it is, Albus is destined to be on the same side as Tom Riddle."

"Why?" Harry suddenly had a bad feeling.

"Yes, why?"

Ms. Grindelwald repeated herself, seemingly unwilling to delve deeper into the topic.

She simply stated, "Tom Riddle is the only force in the British Isles still resisting me. I must admit, he is indeed a major headache for me, and I don't have the time to deal with him directly. So I can only trouble Albus and Anna to besiege him. But what I still don't understand is why they are so resistant, so resistant to joining my empire—"

"Perhaps what they want is freedom," Harry said, raising an eyebrow.

"Hmph." Ms. Grindelwald merely snorted coldly, without saying anything more.

She didn't want to refute what Harry said; in her view, so-called freedom was nothing more than the pursuit of power.

Harry didn't continue the conversation, but instead walked over to Veratia's side.

"How is it?" he asked in a low voice.

"Use the method I taught you before," Veratia whispered in his ear, "like on Christmas Day—well, Christmas in fifth grade, the time I taught you how to tie me up—"

Veratia's ears turned bright red as she spoke.

This is something that is indeed a bit embarrassing to talk about.

Harry picked up his wand and touched the ropes binding Veratia.

He certainly remembered how Veratia taught him that night; in fact, he would never forget it in his entire life.

"What a touching love story!"

Ms. Grindelwald sat with her legs crossed in her chair, looking at Harry and Veratia with a mocking gaze, and making sarcastic remarks.

"Potter, how about we make a deal?" she said again.

"What deal?" Harry asked cautiously, glancing at Ms. Grindelwald.

"You—" Ms. Grindelwald smirked, "Give me your little girlfriend, and I'll use my magic to protect Sweeting and Malfoy, and even your parents, how about that? Just hand over another version of me."

"Good suggestion."

Harry nodded, but he grinned.

"But I refused."

Ms. Grindelwald raised an eyebrow and looked at Harry.

"I know you well, Ms. Grindelwald." Harry seemed to be reminiscing. "Remember, in the second semester of our fifth year, when we went to wipe out the Ashwinder Party, you said the same thing to the Ashwinder Party leader, and of course—he did it, and you—"

"And I broke my promise, didn't I?" Ms. Grindelwald squinted.

"Perhaps that's your weakness, Lady," Harry shrugged.

Veratia is a qualified hunter, but she has one obvious flaw: she seems to enjoy toying with her prey.

This has happened more than once; similar incidents have occurred at the Ashwinder Party's camp and the poachers' hideout.

However, at that time Harry only thought that Veratia's condition was due to repression, and he didn't say anything more.

He's not Veratia's mother, so he wouldn't warn her "don't play with food."

Ms. Grindelwald's expression darkened.

"See that?" Ms. Grindelwald looked at Veratia and said sarcastically in perfect German-accented English, "This is how Potter sees you—so this is how he sees you—how pathetic."

"Is it pathetic?" Veratia smiled faintly. "I don't think so."

"That doesn't mean I don't love her, Ms. Grindelwald." Harry raised his wand again. "No matter what Veratia is, my love for her will endure, and I will protect her until the battle is over!"

Veratia was stunned.

She never expected that at this crucial moment, Harry would be able to open up to her and another version of herself.

Pabbie and Cassandra were also stunned. The former's mouth was agape, her chin almost reaching her chest; the latter curled her lips in disgust, the sourness almost overflowing the entire Alchemy Room.

"Well done, son!"

James raised his hand high, clapping and cheering for his son like a gorilla.

"I didn't embarrass your father!" he said again.

"Yeah, that's really energetic!" Sirius chimed in.

James is becoming more and more satisfied with his son. Whether it's his magical skills or his character, he thinks his son is simply wonderful.

No wonder three girls were infatuated with him, went crazy for him, and even banged their heads against the wall for him.

"I see."

A subtle glint of cunning flashed in Grindelwald's eyes.

It was at this moment that Mr. LeMay finally pressed the switch on the wall.

The room suddenly became as bright as day, and bright red runes appeared on the ceiling and on the floor where Ms. Grindelwald stood.

The talisman looked incredibly mysterious, seemingly containing endless magical energy.

Green vines gradually climbed up the chair and soon bound Ms. Grindelwald.

Ms. Grindelwald looked up and then at the ground.

"This is not how you treat an old friend, Mr. LeMay."

"I have no choice but to do this, and I hope you can understand," Mr. LeMay said, without a trace of apology.

"Do you think you can trap me with just this Magic Array?" Ms. Grindelwald said calmly.

"While I can't trap you, I've at least limited your magical abilities," Mr. LeMay said with a smile.

Ms. Grindelwald gave Mr. LeMay a long look, then looked at Harry.

Her figure gradually faded, as if dissipating into the air like mist.

"I hope you'll still have this commitment when we meet next time. Of course, Albus, my promise remains valid. If you can abandon your evil ways, I will reunite you with Anna and her brother."

Harry breathed a sigh of relief after Ms. Grindelwald disappeared from the spot.

There was no other reason than that the guy's oppressive presence was simply too strong.

Never before has Harry felt such an urgent desire to become stronger.

This has nothing to do with myself, but rather with the desire to protect Veratia.

If one day in the future, this Ms. Grindelwald comes knocking on his door again, Harry doesn't want to be as powerless as he is today, only able to hope that she will back down on her own.

"Why didn't you bring out such Magic Array sooner?" Sirius asked, panting heavily. He had indeed been startled just now.

He even gave Veratia a wary look, thinking to himself that this daughter-in-law didn't have that same imposing presence—

"Because she didn't sit down just now." Mr. LeMay was also a little sweaty, and he was still clutching his aging heart.

Sirius: —

What you said makes so much sense, I'm speechless.

"Thank you, Harry."

Veratia sighed softly beside Harry.

Harry looked up at Veratia and reached out to take her soft little hand in his.

"It's something I have to do," he said with a smile, "Because I'm a man."

Just then, Lily came over with her House Elf, carrying plates and bowls.

"What just happened?" Lily asked curiously. "Why couldn't I leave the Kitchen? Jesus, I thought something was wrong. Thank goodness I was able to get out—"

"It's nothing," Veratia said quickly, not wanting her mother-in-law to hear the terrifying rumors about her other self.

James was eager to share and wanted to recount what had just happened.

But he wasn't a person with low emotional intelligence. Seeing that his daughter-in-law was clearly unwilling, he didn't say anything more.

"Try it, Sirius." Lily placed the plate in front of Sirius. "It's the kind you used to love—sorry, there wasn't enough time to prepare too much."

"I can't ask for anything more," Sirius said happily as he took the plate.

Dinner was a warm affair. Apart from Dumbledore, who looked like he had something on his mind, and Snape, who had a sour face, everyone was chatting enthusiastically, including Cassandra.

Lily clearly took care of the cold-faced girl's (or perhaps her great-aunt's) feelings, often chatting with her to avoid neglecting her.

To be fair, Lily was a very understanding person, and after spending time together over this meal, Cassandra had already started to like her.

"Can you stay?"

After dinner, the first person to speak was Cassandra, and no one would have expected that she would be the first to try to persuade someone to stay.

"We still have a destiny to fulfill." Lily smiled and reached out to brush Cassandra's hair back. "Perhaps we will meet again in the future, Cassandra."

"Hmm—" Cassandra's eyes were red, and she looked at Lily with great reluctance.

"So-"

Sirius's voice trembled as he placed the Gem of Desire on the table.

"Are you ready?" he asked.

The two nodded and held each other's hands.

Harry closed his eyes, picked up the gem, and slammed it to the ground.

Just then, Lily and James slowly disappeared from the spot.

Sirius seemed to have used up all his strength and collapsed to the ground with a thud.

1981.

"Ring ring—"

The ringing of the phone startled the Potters from their sleep.

"Hello?"

James picked up the phone.

It was Sirius calling.

"Hmm," James replied, "Hmm—hmm, I know, right, Padfoot."

He turned his head, and Lily nodded in greeting.

"I just had a dream—" he said.

(Regarding the numerous negative reviews of the previous chapter, please leave a comment if you like it (comment #1) or #2 if you don't. If there are too many negative comments, I will revise the earlier parts and the outline of the later sections.)