The Great Meeting of Two Dark Lords

The Rhine, the third longest river in Europe, is not particularly long, but it flows through six countries.

It originates north of the Switzerland Alps, nestled between the Glarus Alps and Lepontine Alps, flowing from southwest to northeast. (Fastest updates on mobile:)

It travels along the route through Liechtenstein, Austria, France, and Germany, finally flowing into the vast North Sea east of Rotterdam, a major port in the Netherlands.

Durmstrang's large ship was sailing upstream from the Netherlands, heading towards Austria.

It sounds like a great trip, where you can enjoy the customs of different countries along the way and appreciate the beautiful scenery of the Rhine.

But it wasn't as comfortable as I had imagined.

The Rhine at this time was not as clear as it would be in later years; in many places, it even smelled like a stinking ditch.

The reason is simple:

As industrialized nations, Germany and France once overused the Rhine, causing massive pollution of the waterway.

Especially in the 1930s and 40s, the Rhine became a notorious stinking river, jokingly referred to as Europe's open sewer or Europe's most romantic stinking ditch.

The Netherlands, at the very bottom of the Rhine, finally relented.

Good heavens, it did nothing wrong, why should it have to endure this stench that it shouldn't have to bear?

So the Netherlands began advocating: Green mountains and clear waters are gold and silver mountains.

Led by the Netherlands, countries formed a "Rhine Protection and Pollution Prevention Forum" to discuss how to prevent pollution and reduce emissions.

After decades of effort, it has only been in recent years that the Rhine has shed its reputation as the "Eastern version of Longxugou".

And this label fell on the Mariana Trench, which is even more polluted.

Of course, it's not like there's absolutely no scenery at all.

For example, Basel, a city where "a rooster's crow can be heard in three countries," is bordered by Germany to the north and France to the west.

The Basel team has a deep connection with Barcelona in Spain; Barça's red and blue jerseys originated from Basel.

There is also Strasbourg, a famous city on the west bank of the Rhine in France, which is known as the capital of Europe because the Europe Parliament is located there.

After several days of stopping and starting, as if on a trip, William and Hermione disembarked near Lake Constance.

The ship will continue upstream, heading towards the Alps.

After the last Wizarding War, the Giant of the United Kingdom were driven out and migrated to the depths of the Alps.

No one knows exactly where they are hiding; Hagrid and Madame Maxime need to continue their search.

This could take a very long time.

After disembarking, William casually left Hagrid's incredibly cool motorcycle behind.

Maxime doesn't like motorcycles; she prefers the old-fashioned mode of transportation like horse-drawn carriages.

Besides, given their size, that motorcycle simply couldn't handle it; it would just get a tire blowout.

Hermione studied the map of Austria for a while and finally determined the route.

William's fingers reached under the motorcycle's front fender and pulled out a small magnetic box containing a key.

He inserted the key and started the motorcycle.

A few seconds later, Hermione also got on the motorcycle and sat behind him.

William pulled out two safety helmets from somewhere and handed one to Hermione.

After Hermione put on her helmet, she hugged William tightly around the waist.

William floored the accelerator, and the motorcycle shot off like an arrow.

The car's power was greater than William had expected; after traveling several meters, the wheels were almost off the ground.

William floored the accelerator, and the roar of the motorcycle startled the wild ducks on the lake, causing them to take flight.

"Let's go, towards Vienna... Let's set off!"

Braunau Town?

Located on the Inn in Upper Austria Austria, it is about 90 kilometers from Linz and about 60 kilometers from Salzburg.

Such a remote town? It should have been unknown, but it's famous in both the Muggle and wizarding worlds.

Because of two people:

A Muggle?

A wizard.

That Muggle born in Braunau? He has a series of multiple titles, just like Mother of Dragons:

A young painter from Braunau; a street vagrant in Vienna; a corporal in the 16th Bavaria Reserve Infantry Regiment; a leader of the ********* movement; a world-renowned bestselling author; and the Chancellor of the German Third Reich.

And... the eternal king of joy in the parody/meme section.

As for that wizard, it was none other than the infamous first Dark Lord, Grindelwald. (Fastest updates on PC::/)

Back then, Grindelwald built Nurmengard Castle not far from the town of Braunau.

This castle was also the prison where he was imprisoned after his defeat by Dumbledore.

At that moment, in a quiet bar in Braunau, sat a wizard named Gray Rosier, wrapped in a long robe.

In the past few days, he has traveled all the way to this country and then to this small town.

He is searching for another Dark Lord in order to save the Dark Lord.

After taking a small sip of his second tonic, he began to examine the row of colorful bottles at the back of the bar.

"How about a glass of Grüner Vittelina? It's a specialty of Austria."

The bar owner, a woman in her thirties with a voluptuous figure and a playful smile, stared intently at the distinguished-looking man.

Although the man was dressed strangely, she could tell that he was a wealthy person.

Rosier ignored the female boss's flirtatious glances, shook his head, and said in German, "No, thank you."

Anyone can remain teetotal in the desert, he thought to himself, but only a faithful believer can resist temptation even amidst a pool of alcohol.

He needs to be absolutely sober to carry out his nighttime mission, not to drink and numb himself.

He touched the pocket of his robe; there were several letters inside.

The signature is Vida Rozier, Rozier's great-aunt whom she never met.

This was obviously a fake letter, but only in this way could they successfully contact Grindelwald.

However, there was nothing wrong with the handwriting; it was Rosier's imitation of the handwriting left by Vinda in their previous correspondence.

He thought about it for a while longer and concluded that there shouldn't be any oversights.

My thoughts were suddenly interrupted by the bar's shrill doorbell.

Rosier abruptly picked up the tonic water and took a big gulp.

"I should go too," he thought, and then stood up from the stool.

He was about to pay the bill, but the bar owner gave him an unexpectedly deep and flirtatious wink and waived it for him.

It seems that if Rosier were willing, he could not only have a free meal tonight, but also try some "Austria cuisine".

Rosier's face remained indifferent; he offered no response and turned to leave.

The bar door was suddenly flung open, and two burly men stumbled in.

They wore red and blue football jerseys, their bellies exposed, and sang the Austria national anthem off-key.

It's clear that Rapid Vienna won their away game this afternoon, and they're celebrating.

"My God!" one of the men exclaimed, staring at Rosier's exquisite and ornate robes.

"What a strange outfit! Are you from a circus?"

The two men laughed incessantly and staggered toward him, seemingly trying to pull at his robe.

Rosier pulled out his wand and shot out two beams of green light, and the two people lay coldly on the ground.

The female boss screamed hysterically, pounding her fists on the bar, and shouted in German: "Murder!"

Rosier turned around and pointed his wand at the proprietress.

Her eyes immediately went blank, and she went to the kitchen to get a cleaver.

Just modify the memory... a simple spell, Austrian Ministry of Magic won't even notice anything amiss.

Rosier went to the bar, grabbed another bottle of tonic, and put it in his pocket.

And I must say... Muggle drinks are really good.

Stepping out of the bar, Rosier breathed in the fresh air and walked along the alley towards the River Salzach.

Not wanting to attract the attention of Muggle, he hid in the shadows.

We have important business to attend to tonight, so we can't afford any more complications.

He straightened his robe and then reviewed the task at hand.

Tonight is an invitation of the century, a great encounter between two Dark Lord.

But he... is that unbreakable bridge.

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