Early morning.
When the distant Hogwarts Castle had fallen into darkness, The Forbidden Forest suddenly became lively.
Not only did the Grindelwald's Party wizards originally stationed there pour out in full force, but several reinforcements also appeared...
...
Two hours later—
Nurmengard.
Grindelwald sat in his seat, quietly staring at the three small orbs on his desk.
These three orbs were made of goblin metal.
According to the intel Anne had sent back, it was only during tonight's expedition that they discovered how to locate this kind of magical energy within the ruins.
All of this magical energy was encased in goblin metal.
And it was precisely because of that that their previous searches had yielded nothing.
Anne wrote in the notebook that although they had found the correct method tonight, they had only discovered one large cluster of magical energy, which the three of them shared and absorbed.
Since both Wade and Tom were present at the time, she had no choice but to absorb it together with them, and as a result, she felt a noticeable increase in strength...
However, while they did find the correct method tonight, they were unable to find similar metal spheres at any other locations, only some scattered manuscripts.
With no more magical energy to be found, they returned together, planning to continue the search slowly in the future.
As for those manuscripts, Anne said she had secretly used a Copying Charm to duplicate them while Wade and the others weren't paying attention.
During the Christmas holidays, she would bring these materials back to Nurmengard...
Upon receiving the message, Grindelwald immediately mobilized his Party members that very night, launching a large-scale operation into the Forbidden Forest.
Following the intel Anne had provided, they re-searched those locations.
However, while they did find quite a few manuscripts, that type of magical energy...
Among all the ruins, only three samples were discovered...
This outcome clearly left Grindelwald very dissatisfied.
However… judging from the remnants found in those manuscripts, it appeared that most of the magical energy had already been recollected by someone called Professor Morganach and stored elsewhere...
Only these pitiful three samples remained… or rather, four—one of them had been split among Wade and the other two.
"In other words, as long as I can find the place mentioned in Morganach's manuscript… we'll be able to locate all the remaining magical energy!"
At that thought, Grindelwald's mood finally eased a little.
After searching for so long, they had finally made a bit of progress...
And this small breakthrough had also come from that little fellow Wade.
He was the one who had discovered the method to find this type of magical energy!
Could it be that this child would bring positive influence to him and to his great cause?
Grindelwald's heart burned with excitement at the thought.
"Heh~ No matter what, those two children must be brought into our ranks!"
Having made up his mind, Grindelwald took out the Elder Wand and gently tapped one of the small orbs on the desk.
Pop!
Like a bubble being burst, a thick, dark red cloud of magical power drifted into the air.
"This is..." A hint of delight flashed through Grindelwald's eyes.
He could easily feel the immense power contained within it...
With a slight wave of his wand, Grindelwald swiftly absorbed the cloud of "residue"!
"Haah.."
He took a deep breath, then slowly opened his eyes, a look of satisfaction on his face.
"This really is good stuff… It's just a shame there's so little of it," Grindelwald said with a touch of regret.
Still, with those manuscripts, there were at least some clues!
If he could find the remaining magical energy—or better yet, discover a method to produce this kind of power himself...
Then, in this world, there would be no one who could stop him from doing anything!
...
The remaining time at school passed in the blink of an eye.
Before long, it was the day before the Christmas holiday.
Noon.
Wade and Tom were having lunch.
So far, the plan was going smoothly.
Wade appeared quite relaxed.
Tom, however, seemed a bit tense—probably because he was about to meet his family.
Suddenly, Abraxas walked over. "President, Professor Dumbledore is looking for you and Tom. He said to come to his office after you finish eating."
"Oh?" Hearing that, Wade turned to look at the staff table.
Sure enough, Dumbledore wasn't there.
Dumbledore rarely dined in the Great Hall.
He was far too busy.
For him to call them over this time likely meant he had finally managed to clear a bit of time.
"Thank you, Abraxas."
"No worries, President!"
After lunch, Wade and Tom headed toward Dumbledore's office.
"What do you think he wants, calling us so suddenly?" Tom asked.
"We didn't choose to stay at school, so of course he'll want to ask where we're spending Christmas," Wade replied.
"Hmm… do you think he might've already found a place for us to stay?" Tom asked again.
"Possibly… but I think he's more interested in why we don't want to stay at school for Christmas. Logically speaking, staying here would be safer and less lonely."
Hearing that, Tom frowned and fell silent.
Not long after, they arrived at Dumbledore's office.
Knock knock knock. Wade rapped on the door.
Dumbledore's voice came from inside.
"Come in."
Wade and Tom exchanged a glance, then pushed the door open and entered.
To their surprise, there was someone else in the office besides Dumbledore himself—a senior wizard.
"Good day, Headmaster Dippet, Professor Dumbledore…"
Wade quickly responded with a greeting.
Tom followed suit and greeted them just like Wade did.
"Haha, so it's the promising young talents of Hogwarts!" Headmaster Dippet said with a laugh.
"I wouldn't dare accept such praise, Headmaster Dippet."
"Why not? Your S.M.A.S.H Mutual Aid Society has, in just a few short months, swept away the old, decaying atmosphere of Hogwarts! That's something I haven't managed to do in all my years as headmaster…" Dippet said with a warm smile.
"We didn't do much at all. It was only possible thanks to your support, sir. You're the one who helped us withstand the pressure from the british pure-blood families. Without that…"
"Haha, it wasn't me. I didn't do anything. The one who took the pressure for you was your Professor Dumbledore—or rather, now Vice Headmaster Dumbledore," Headmaster Dippet said with a smile.
"Armando… don't say that. Back then, it was only because you used those letters from the pure-blood families as firewood that I found the courage," Dumbledore replied politely.
"Alright, alright… No need to flatter me. I know you have something to discuss. I'll take my leave then…" As he passed Wade and Tom, Headmaster Dippet added, "Well done, boys."
Once Dippet had left, Dumbledore pulled over two chairs and invited Wade and Tom to sit down.
"Professor Dumbledore, why did you ask us to come?"
Before Wade could speak, Tom asked directly.
"Mm… since you two chose not to stay at school, I wanted to let you know that I've found a house for you to stay in," Professor Dumbledore said with a smile.
"Is it a house you bought? How much was it? Wade's got money—he can pay for it," Tom said.
Ayo! The fuck!?(#`O′)
Wade couldn't help but shoot him a glance.
_________
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