Spy Within a Spy Within a Spy

This battle was destined to end without a clear outcome and would not escalate into large-scale destruction.

What constitutes large-scale destruction?

Compared to the Battle of Azkaban, it would have destroyed the entire Durmstrang.

Therefore, destroying a magic ship is at most a minor incident.

The reasons for this, besides William not being able to reveal his full strength and not fighting with all his might, were also that Voldemort deliberately stopped short of defeat.

Voldemort didn't want to kill the wizard; he was more interested in testing the mettle of this disciple of Grindelwald.

They were hoping to continue their collaboration with Grindelwald, but after killing his students like that, what kind of collaboration is that?

Voldemort believed he was not a man who indiscriminately killed innocent people!

Of course, if it were a weakling like Potter, he would have been killed outright... no need to leave him alive and embarrass Grindelwald.

But now it seems this wizard's abilities are... quite impressive.

Voldemort was quite satisfied, and even considered recruiting him as a Death Eaters.

At the very least, having the other side distract Stark... should be enough!

Being too strong would also worry Voldemort, since even after winning the war, he would still have to deal with Grindelwald.

That's right, Voldemort had already imagined the problem of not being able to split the spoils with Grindelwald after their victory.

The two stood on the ice, staring at each other for a moment, then William called out loudly:

"Excuse me, Dark Lord, what brings you here?"

"Clean house." Voldemort, adopting the airs of a demon king, said calmly:

"Karkaroff was my servant, yet he betrayed me and sided with Dumbledore... Therefore, I have come to kill him."

"But you," Voldemort narrowed his eyes, "As Grindelwald's disciple, why are you associating with this traitor?"

Could it be... that you've also sided with Dumbledore?

This is a test.

William hesitated deliberately for a moment before speaking in a manner that was neither humble nor arrogant:

"Facing a wizard of your caliber, I won't hide it from you, nor can I."

My teacher, preparing for a comeback, sent me to control Karkaroff and take control of Durmstrang.

Voldemort nodded, not particularly suspicious.

I even find this explanation... like something out of a river.

Students are always the easiest group to be swayed, and also the biggest talent pool... Otherwise, Voldemort wouldn't have wanted to become the Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor.

Besides, Karkaroff has already sided with Dumbledore.

This disciple of Grindelwald, appearing beside Karkaroff... there's no way he could be seeking cooperation with him.

Can Dumbledore team up with Grindelwald?

Nobody would believe me if I told them!

They were mortal enemies, they wanted nothing more than to stab each other with sticks when they met... mortal enemies!

Just like myself and Potter!!

Therefore, the only reason Grindelwald's disciple would appear here is to control Karkaroff, and then Durmstrang.

No wonder the Carrow siblings said that Karkaroff had been behaving strangely lately.

When someone is being controlled, how can their behavior not be abnormal?

Seeing that Voldemort believed him, William wasn't too pleased with himself.

Because apart from his statement that he was Grindelwald's disciple, everything else he said was... true.

Karkaroff was controlled, and he wanted to take control of Durmstrang... How could that be a lie?

Believe it or not, after a while, William will tell Voldemort that he has assembled an army and can go to the United Kingdom to "help"... Voldemort will even thank him!

"Grindelwald... where did your teacher go?" Voldemort asked again.

"I can't reveal too much, but I'm sure you can guess," William said.

"It's nothing more than finding the Pure-blood families who once supported him and winning over the dark creatures..."

Voldemort shook his head dismissively. "Is that all? Not enough..."

William was speechless.

You've done all that yourself, so what's with all this sense of superiority?!

"I need to meet with your teacher to discuss something important."

Voldemort cut to the chase, saying, "You should be able to contact him, right?"

It would be problematic if they couldn't be contacted. Even Death Eaters have a one-click DiDi call system; how could the Grindelwald's Acolytes not have one?

So William didn't hesitate and quickly replied, "I can get in touch, but the teacher is busy right now and it will take two or three days to finish."

"I'm only giving you one day. I need to see Grindelwald the day after tomorrow and talk to him about fighting Dumbledore."

After saying that, Voldemort left.

After Voldemort left, William found Crup, stood on the sled, and drove towards Durmstrang.

After entering the school gate, Hermione stood by the roadside waiting for him.

The sled didn't stop, it just slowed down, and Hermione leaped onto it with nimble movements.

William held her in his arms, steadied himself, and then continued to wield the reins, the Crup running wildly through the snow.

Has Voldemort left?

"Yes, but you'll only have one day to find Grindelwald."

"Only one day?" Hermione frowned, pondered for a moment, and deduced:

"It seems he already knows about Fudge's resignation and is eager to return home."

"Yes... but we can't let him go back so soon."

William wrapped Hermione in his robe to shield her from the wind, then asked, "Where's Sirius?"

"I sent him to comfort the students," Hermione murmured, nestled in William's arms. "I also made him say that he was the one who drove Voldemort away."

"You did a good job," William laughed. "Karkaroff needs this prestige to better control Durmstrang."

The Crup quickly arrived at the castle, and William and Hermione jumped off the sled and hurried towards the warm castle.

After entering the castle, Sirius had already settled the students and was waiting in the hall.

"How are you?" Sirius asked with concern.

"Everything went smoothly," William laughed. "I told Voldemort you were an imposter, secretly controlling Karkaroff, a spy."

"..."

"Don't worry, he thinks you're one of Grindelwald's men," William reassured him. "He won't kill you."

Sirius thought for a moment and asked, "What about Karkaroff? Didn't Voldemort kill him?"

In his view, Karkaroff was a traitor, someone Voldemort used to establish his authority.

How could this person not be killed?

But Karkaroff is dead. Once Voldemort spreads the word... what is Sirius? What right does he have to manage Durmstrang?

There is likely an irreconcilable contradiction between these two.

Hermione shook her head and analyzed softly, "No, Voldemort thinks Karkaroff is one of Professor Dumbledore's men."

He also assumed you were one of Grindelwald's men.

Now, Grindelwald's men have Karkaroff under control, and Professor Dumbledore is unaware of this.

Voldemort would think that you could use Karkaroff's identity as a spy to gather information about the Order of the Phoenix.

He wouldn't want you to expose such a valuable piece; he'd only help you cover for him.

William looked at Hermione with admiration; her grasp of people's hearts was becoming more and more sophisticated.

Hermione is absolutely right; this is the truest reflection of Voldemort's inner self.

Now that there's another Order of the Phoenix mole, there's another source of intelligence, so he definitely won't want to kill Karkaroff anymore.

Sirius is also safe.

To put it bluntly, when faced with absolute self-interest, anything can be compromised.

Sirius stared speechlessly at the young wizards.

Did he foresee this day when he was sent to Durmstrang to impersonate Karkaroff?

Was this also part of your plans?

These two are terrifying!

Most importantly, he was clearly a member of the Order of the Phoenix, but now he's been tricked by William into becoming Grindelwald's Grindelwald's Acolytes.

Voldemort also asked him to act as their spy and uncover the secrets of the Order of the Phoenix.

Triple Agent... Mission: Mission within a Mission?

That was an amazing move!

Sirius rubbed his hands together, somewhat excitedly saying, "Now all we need to do is find Grindelwald and have him vouch for us."

However, we only have one day. Although it's a bit urgent, do you know where Grindelwald is?

William and Hermione exchanged a glance, and William shrugged and said:

"That's the problem. We don't know exactly where Grindelwald is."

All we know is that he is... north of the North Sea.

Sirius: "..."

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