At this point, a trace of mockery finally appeared on Li Nanyu's face. "How laughable. Grindelwald thought he was changing the world, never realizing that, to the grandees of the International Confederation of Wizards, his ideology was the perfect weapon for dividing Muggle and magical society. Meanwhile, the chaos he stirred up was an excellent distraction, leaving everyone too preoccupied to pay attention to China and America. From beginning to end, he was nothing but a tool!"
Vaughn looked more than thirty feet away, toward the end of the other boardwalk. Dumbledore was brandishing a fishing rod and shouting instructions, running Cheng Quandao ragged.
Fortunately, they were far enough away that Dumbledore could not hear them. Otherwise, learning that someone was disparaging Grindelwald-the great dark villain and supreme genius in his heart-would probably have upset him badly.
An Easterner, after all, could not understand the uninhibited English. Li Nanyu would probably never understand Grindelwald's place in Dumbledore's heart.
Oblivious, he continued, "With the Confederation's tacit approval, we suffered defeat after defeat on the Muggle front and devastating casualties on the wizarding front. During that time, we tried everything."
"My teacher, several of my senior fellow disciples, and I went everywhere saving people. Liu Yao had close ties with the West. He resolutely went to Europe to challenge Grindelwald at the Confederation's behest, hoping they would show us mercy in return for his obedience. Ah, I always thought he was too naive and should never have gotten involved in politics. But under those circumstances, we couldn't afford to be particular. We had to try whatever might work."
"Some people sought other avenues. One day in June 1940, I received an urgent assignment to meet an American wizard. He might bring us a turning point-"
Li Nanyu paused, gazing into the distance,