Père Lachaise Cemetery
It was still early, and the sun was still high in the sky, casting its scorching light on the city, which was engulfed in wind and rain, in an attempt to dispel the anxiety in people's hearts.
The 20th arrondissement in northeastern Paris is home to Père Lachaise Cemetery. Compared to the bustling Seine, the area here is remarkably quiet, perhaps to avoid disturbing the peace of the deceased, or simply because its location is far removed from the Paris residents who are preoccupied with their own escape.
In the northeast corner of the cemetery, there is a rough gray brick wall. Deep bullet holes remain embedded in the wall, and the surface has begun to erode in some areas. Traces of rainwater erosion are faintly visible, and even dried moss grows in the cracks.
"You've been staring at this wall for almost half an hour. What's so attractive about it?" Miranda frowned, staring at the wall for a long time, but couldn't see anything special about it, so she had no choice but to ask helplessly.
"The Wall of the Federals," Xiwen said softly.
"What?" Miranda was taken aback.
"The Paris Commune, a great revolution seventy years ago in which the people of Paris fought for freedom and liberation," Xiwen explained. "History always repeats itself in surprising ways. Back then, the official France Versailles Army, in order to suppress these people fighting for freedom, actually signed a treaty with the Germany invaded them."
"Later, the Versailles Army crossed the German Army defenses and attacked Paris, while the German Army simultaneously imposed a blockade on Paris, cutting off its food supply and depriving the Paris Commune of its provisions. This is strikingly similar to the actions of the current France Muggle regime and the French Ministry of Magic in handing over Paris to the enemy."
"Those 147 commune members put up their final resistance in front of this wall, and they did not yield until their deaths."
Xiwen stared intently at the unassuming, low wall, his voice barely audible.
This wall has undergone at least several renovations in later generations, with a monument erected and several sculptures symbolizing the Paris Commune carved, thus leaving some traces of the heroic people. However, in this day and age, the Wall of the Federals is merely an ordinary and easily overlooked low wall.
"Let's go, Miranda." Xiwen shook his head slightly, leading Miranda towards the entrance of Père Lachaise Cemetery. "I heard the author of the Internationale is also buried in this cemetery, as are Oscar Wilde, Balzac, and Chopin. I'd like to visit them!" M.
By the time Xiwen had visited almost all the graves of those famous people, it had suddenly become dark.
Finally, under a night sky filled with countless stars, he and Miranda arrived at the Lestrange family's tomb. This was also the location of Grindelwald's world-famous Paris rally thirteen years earlier.
The Lestrange Mausoleum, cast in marble, is shaped like a truncated cone, narrow at the bottom and wide at the top, with stone steps leading down to the circular platform.
The traces of the fire thirteen years ago are still clearly visible. Many stone coffins are scattered around the stone platform, most of which are charred black after the fire. With the Lestrange family of France practically extinct, the tomb has only undergone hasty repairs, and the walls around it are like ruins.
Muggle experts explained the disaster that occurred deep within Père Lachaise Cemetery as an accidental, sudden fire that broke out in the grounds. Due to a lack of combustibles, the fire was contained within and around the Lestrange Mausoleum and did not cause further damage.
But what they didn't know was that if Flamel hadn't arrived in time, all of Paris would have been destroyed by this so-called "accidental" fire!
When Xiwen and Miranda arrived at the Lestrange Mausoleum, Grindelwald's Pure-blood Party and Xiwen's Pure-blood New Faction were already clearly divided on the north and south sides of the mausoleum, facing each other.
Kama, the new faction's deputy, came forward and stood shoulder to shoulder with Xiwen on the high stone steps.
"I hate this place," Kama said, frowning as she looked down at the burn marks on Lestrange Mausoleum. "This place always reminds me of what I went through back then—a failure, bound by Unbreakable Vow, unable to find my own worth."
"So, in order to find your own value, you joined both Dumbledore's Army, which opposed Grindelwald's atrocities, and the Order of the Phoenix?" Xiwen raised an eyebrow and turned to ask him.
"I suppose so. I still vividly remember that devastating fire thirteen years ago, it seemed like it was going to devour the whole world," Kama sighed. "You may know I have a sister, Leta Lestrange."
"Yes, Theseus's fiancée, Newt's childhood friend," Xiwen nodded. "She perished in Grindelwald's inferno while protecting Theseus and Newt."
"Yes, although I deeply resent Corvus Lestrange for destroying my family, I have to admit that Leta was my only living relative at the time."
"But Grindelwald killed her." Kama's face was dark as he stared intently at the circular stone platform at the bottom, as if he could see Leta perishing in the flames there.
Xiwen patted his shoulder reassuringly, and then sighed as well.
"Alright, let's not talk about those unpleasant things. Our goal is to make tomorrow better," he said. "How are our people doing since we arrived here?"
"Not too good." Kama shook his head and said in a deep voice, "Many people here witnessed the fire thirteen years ago that was enough to Oblivion Paris. Many people have felt more or less fear after learning that they will be facing Grindelwald tonight."
"That's actually normal," Xiwen nodded and said. "As long as they don't run away, let them be afraid. They'll get used to it after seeing this a few more times."
Kama wanted to add something more, but the clock suddenly struck eight.
The bells that reached the cemetery were exceptionally deep and resonant. After the first chime, the subsequent tones did not rise but instead seemed to fall into the boundless graveyard, sinking deeper and deeper into the earth.
Amidst the deep tolling of the bells, Grindelwald's figure strode out from the tomb entrance precisely on time, exuding an air of ease and confidence, and stepped onto the circular stone platform, just as he had thirteen years ago.
Seeing this, Xiwen also spread his pure white wings, flew lightly into the air, and slowly drifted down.
He didn't stand on the ground, but gently flapped his wings, hovering close to the ground, his gaze meeting Grindelwald's eerie eyes, not wanting to be at a disadvantage in any way.
The somber tolling of the bells drifted slowly away from the cemetery, and Grindelwald spoke softly in the lingering echo:
"Mr. Rozier, I heard you detained my friend in an attempt to negotiate with me, is that true?"