Nurmengard was a small castle.
Of course, calling it a small fortress might have been more appropriate. It was not particularly beautiful, but it looked sturdy enough.
The whole building was neither very large nor very grand, and was even a little crude. But at least it did not resemble the prison Harry had originally imagined. Beneath the night sky, it even looked rather fresh and pleasant.
It was hard to imagine that the man most countries in Europe considered the most terrifying Dark Wizard of the century now lived here.
With a spring in his step, Dumbledore led Harry to the castle entrance.
The castle had no gate.
The place where a gate should have been installed stood empty, as though to say, "Come in if you like. I certainly won't stop you."
Dumbledore seemed unsurprised and walked straight inside. Seeing this, Harry naturally followed him in. There was no sign of activity inside the small castle, which looked as though it had been neglected and left in disrepair for years.
Yet, oddly enough, it did not look very dirty inside.
It was old, but still reasonably clean. That rather surprised Harry. Could the esteemed Grindelwald actually have taken it upon himself to do the cleaning? While he was imprisoned?
Well, it wasn't impossible.
For a wizard, cleaning hardly seemed like much trouble. Besides, perhaps Grindelwald had a house-elf too? After all, house-elves did not need wages.
They could even generate wealth.
If a wizard with a house-elf really was shameless enough, living off the elf might not be impossible.
As Harry's thoughts wandered, he followed Dumbledore to the entrance of the castle's main building.
A slender figure stood at the entrance, clearly waiting for them.
She was a black-haired woman with distinctly Asian features. Judging by her appearance,