North of the North Sea

The great battle on the banks of the Danube in Vienna attracted countless eyes.

The sheer scale of Stark and Grindelwald's actions—freezing an entire stretch of river together—is truly awe-inspiring.

After a brief silence, not only the wizards, but even the Muggle watching from afar, erupted into a cacophony of noise like the ocean.

It seems the two have defeated that terrifying monster!

At the same time, a large number of wizards who had heard the news rushed to Vienna.

Some impatient wizards, disregarding the agonizingly slow process of applying for Portkey, went straight to finding illegal stowaways.

Besides these people, the fastest wizard reporters even rode flying broomsticks, trying to take close-up photos just to get firsthand information.

Vienna was hosting the International Confederation of Wizards, so it's fair to say that media from all over the world were gathered there.

The meeting content was secondary; what people really wanted to see was whether Stark and Granger could continue their past "success."

It turned out to be a worthwhile trip.

They even came up with a title:

The evil England mystical forces have once again dealt a heavy blow to Vienna.

The crowds on the riverbank were celebrating, but William and Grindelwald remained solemn.

This level of freezing is utterly incapable of trapping the North Sea Kraken... it's just a delaying tactic.

Sure enough, even though the giant octopus was frozen, it rolled its yellow eyes.

It slammed its frozen mouth shut, and the ice cube inside shattered instantly.

The tentacles began to exert force, and cracks appeared on the entire ice surface.

The crack quickly widened, resembling a spider web.

Bang!

The ice surface shattered instantly.

After breaking free, the North Sea Kraken was consumed by raging fury. It slammed its head into the Danube, and its tentacles, hidden at the bottom of the river, began to churn and churn.

The entire deep blue pool instantly turned into a boiling pot, with countless white mists rising up, causing the sky and earth to shake.

William then moved the boulders one after another, plunging them from the sky into the river. Except for a few that were swept away by the tentacles, the rest were driven into the siren's back.

But it still didn't show any signs of being seriously injured and defeated; instead, it fueled its frenzied arrogance.

Eight tentacles rose and fell repeatedly, heads were raised, bodies slammed into the water, roars were like thunder, and the river overflowed, soaking the banks.

The audience began to retreat in panic, and the reporters dared not continue filming.

My life is more important!

William was about to give the siren another good whack when he suddenly turned to look at the sky.

A giant motorcycle appeared, and Hermione, wearing a black helmet, was controlling it, Accio at high speed.

Missandei sat behind Hermione, feeling somewhat lost as she had never ridden a motorcycle before.

Her usually calm face now showed signs of nervousness.

A basket was hanging from the motorcycle bumper, inside which sat the unconscious Gregorovitch.

The North Sea Kraken raised its head, staring at Gregorovitch, its pupils beginning to shrink.

The target has been spotted!

It shook its head, suddenly widened its eyes, revealed a gaping maw, and roared ferociously at Hermione and Missandei, who were as tiny as ants!

Hermione's hair flew wildly in the gust of wind. She steadied herself, stepped on the gas, and accelerated to avoid the oncoming jet of water.

William vanished from the spot, his Apparition behind Missandei.

"Where to?" Hermione asked loudly.

"Nurmengard!" William said succinctly.

The motorcycle drove away, and the octopus roared angrily, diving into the river and disappearing in the blink of an eye.

Grindelwald gazed at the vast river and quietly departed.

The sudden change left all the wizards present completely bewildered.

After waiting for a long time and realizing that they had really left, Minister Soros dared to slowly approach.

"Minister, should we go after them?" an Auror asked in a low voice.

Soros stared at the motorcycles in the distance, remained silent for a long time, and then said irritably:

"Why are you chasing them? You'll only cause trouble, or are you just going to your death? Go save them..."

Just as the Auror was about to leave, Soros called him back.

The minister hesitated for a moment, then asked, "When Notre Dame Cathedral was destroyed two years ago, how many Galleons did the French Ministry of Magic raise through crowdfunding?"

"Knut... you also said that the French Ministry of Magic is a bunch of useless people, and that this kind of online begging should be resolutely resisted..." Auror touched his hair sheepishly, "In the end, you gave it to Knut."

"I didn't ask how much we donated, I asked how much they crowdfunded!" Soros said angrily. "Go crowdfund immediately!"

Nurmengard,

Standing on the riverbank, Grindelwald gazed at the castle that had imprisoned him for half a century.

He was about to leave, and it was very likely he would never come back, so he rarely showed a hint of reluctance.

William stared at the dazed Grindelwald and asked:

Where do you plan to take Gregorovitch?

Grindelwald's goal was simple: to use Gregorovitch as bait and then trap the siren.

Therefore, location is very important.

Grindelwald snapped out of his reverie and said softly, "North of the North Sea."

North of the North Sea... isn't that the Arctic?

William thought for a moment, then tossed a ring and said, "There's some food and clothes in here, as well as a lot of Galleon and Muggle money."

Perhaps this can help you.

Grindelwald caught it and laughed, "I thought you were going to say you were going to help me out."

William rolled his eyes. Who would go to the Arctic for no reason?

If it's about going to Antarctica to find the "Aryan Underground City" established by the **... he might be somewhat interested.

In his past life, William came across this story in a street vendor's book called "Unsolved Mysteries of the World"... and that's after he'd been saving up steamed buns for several days.

They're just waiting to go find the treasure.

As for the Arctic, let's forget about it.

However, William did want to be polite, but he wasn't sure about Grindelwald's temperament.

What if he's just being polite, and the old man, being so honest, takes it seriously? Wouldn't that be incredibly awkward?

"Really not going?" Grindelwald really wanted to kidnap this young wizard now.

Or rather, he was very interested in William.

"I'm still a student, I have to go to school, I don't have time to go," William politely declined.

"A student?" Grindelwald stared at William, amused.

"I was expelled from school when I was sixteen... Yes, at your age, I think you'll be expelled this year too."

William rolled his eyes at him again.

Who are you cursing?!

William suddenly remembered something and asked, "By the way, did a wizard come looking for you?"

He and Hermione found Gregorovitch by using the wand ashes on the ground.

"Yes, he claimed to be a wizard from the Rosier family and wanted me to help Voldemort," Grindelwald said.

William's pupils contracted. Had Voldemort already started seeking outside help?

It seems William put a lot of pressure on him that night of resurrection, otherwise he wouldn't have come to find Black Generation.

William asked hastily, "Where is the wizard?"

This is a crucial witness; we can pin everything on Voldemort!

Grindelwald shook his head and chuckled, "I told you long ago, but you ignored me."

William looked at Grindelwald, who was mute, with displeasure, then curiously inquired:

"What are you planning to do after you capture that North Sea Kraken?"

Grindelwald said coldly, "Find Death... so I can kill him."

William raised his eyebrows and looked the thin old man up and down.

Although no words were spoken, the meaning was clear and unambiguous:

Are you serious?

Grindelwald countered, "Aren't you curious about the North Sea Kraken... why it's called the North Sea Kraken, and not the Black Sea or the Mediterranean Sea?"

Don't you want to know why I went north of the North Sea to trap it?

Furthermore, why did I suddenly decide to leave Nurmengard?

William took a deep breath. "Why?"

Grindelwald laughed, "Come with me north of the North Sea, and I'll tell you."

William shrugged; he knew this would happen.

Knowing that William wouldn't go, Grindelwald vanished in a flash.

A gentle breeze brushed his face, and for no apparent reason, William remembered something.

He forgot to give Vinda Rosier's letter to Grindelwald.

And Dumbledore, and the messages he sent with him.

We're doomed!

So much has happened these past two days. He's been chasing Grindelwald, dealing with the North Sea Kraken... and he's completely forgotten the tasks his superiors assigned him.

Hermione and Missandei came running up in a hurry.

"Grindelwald took Gregorovitch away," Hermione said.

William sighed, tossed a pebble into the stream, creating ripples, and said slowly:

Let him be.

The three turned and headed towards the town of Braunau.

As William passed by the bar, he remembered the murder that had occurred there, and couldn't help but look inside, only to suddenly freeze in shock.

The female shop owner was sitting in the doorway sunbathing, completely unharmed.

Wait a minute... didn't Grindelwald tell him last night that this woman killed someone?

William instantly realized what was happening.

He took Rosier to the Muggle police station.

That old geezer... he's terribly wicked!

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