"For peace in the Wizarding World, seize Grindelwald!"
Madam President's voice rang out, but no one around her moved.
The Aurors stood where they were, wands in hand, exchanging glances.
Nearly a hundred Aurors spread out into an encirclement with their wands raised, yet not one dared take even half a step forward.
An eerie silence settled over them.
What a joke.
They had all seen the two of them fight just now. Any stray spell could blast away half a city block. If ordinary Aurors like them charged in, how would that be any different from stabbing a Great Dragon with a little knife?
A few hundred Galleons a month, and they were supposed to risk their lives?
"I said seize him! Didn't you hear me?! Do you all want to be suspended?!"
This time, two Aurors finally moved.
They were Madam President's own loyal followers. Others might escape serious consequences for doing nothing, but if these two stood idle, they would never escape the reckoning afterward.
The two exchanged a glance, abruptly raised their wands, and fired several streaks of Red Light at once.
Grindelwald stood where he was without so much as moving his feet.
As the spells approached him, they seemed to strike an invisible wall, shattering into motes of light.
The next second, that invisible wall turned into a powerful gust that swept toward the pair.
Both Aurors were struck at once. Their bodies flew backward and crashed into the rubble, knocking them unconscious.
If they had used anything other than the Disarming Charm, they would already have been reduced to ash.
The Aurors all backed away.
Grindelwald swept his gaze over the tense faces around him, contempt flashing in his eyes, before turning his attention back to Hermione.
"Miss Granger... no, Hermione."
Grindelwald gestured