Chapter 185: Chapter 185: Grindelwald
Wade naturally didn't refuse; he grasped Dumbledore's hand.
The aging Fawkes suddenly let out a crisp, clear cry.
Wade heard the ticking sound of a clock and the rustling of turning book pages. The scenery around them abruptly became illusory, changing rapidly like a kaleidoscope.
It felt like Apparition, but without the unpleasant sensation of being compressed into a tube.
Suddenly, Wade's body swayed, and the surroundings stabilized.
They appeared inside an unfamiliar building. The heavy stone walls were covered with scratches, and torches burned fiercely on the walls.
The place was freezing cold. Although Wade couldn't feel it, he noticed the people passing by were all wearing thick fur coats, and their breath was visible in white puffs.
However, their faces were still blurry, like low-resolution surveillance footage.
"What kind of magic is this, Professor?" Wade asked.
"A type of memory magic… hmm, a more complex application," Dumbledore replied.
"So… all these people are from someone's memory?" Wade examined the figures around them.
"To be precise, I witnessed someone's memory and then re-created it in this theatrical form," Dumbledore said. "I could have used a Pensieve to bring you into the actual memory, but that would take far too long."
Memory fragments always contained plenty of redundant information and dull conversations. Even assembling short snippets of memories could end up being too drawn out.
Dumbledore guessed Wade wouldn't want to spend too much time on such things.
Besides, what Dumbledore wanted him to see wasn't those trivial details.
As they talked, the two followed a group of professors and students wearing crimson robes. They walked through dark stone corridors, turned corner after corner, descended staircase after staircase, and finally stopped in front of a wooden door.
On the door was a carved design of a circle, a triangle, and a vertical line—the symbol of the Deathly Hallows.
A stern-faced wizard at the front pointed his wand, and with a loud bang, the wooden door burst open, and everyone rushed inside.
In the room stood a handsome blonde boy with pale skin and blue eyes as clear as gemstones.
Among the many blurry-faced people, he was the only one whose appearance was strikingly vivid, as if he belonged to a different layer of reality.
He was facing away from the door, and was lightly waving his wand as though dancing. At the sound of the commotion, he turned around in surprise and then frowned.
In front of the boy and all over the shelves in the room were various jars and containers of different sizes, giving the space a slight resemblance to Snape's Potions classroom.
But upon closer inspection, the jars contained twisted forms or emitted wailing black smoke. Just a glance was enough to evoke a sense of nausea and foreboding.
On the table lay an open book, filled with bizarre illustrations depicting people enduring cruel torture.
"Gellert Grindelwald!" one of the intruders coldly called out the boy's name.
"Someone reported that you've been conducting dark experiments in secret at the school. I thought it was a baseless accusation, but it turns out to be true!"
The blonde boy, Grindelwald, cast a mocking glance at a particular student in the crowd. That student shrank back in fear and hid behind a professor.
The boy was roughly dragged out, and someone said, "Just you wait! This time you'll definitely be expelled! Even in our school, such behavior is absolutely forbidden!"
"Oh, is that so?"
Grindelwald sneered. As someone tried to snatch his wand, he acted decisively. A bright flash of spell light erupted, sending the person flying.
Blood splattered everywhere. Someone screamed, and a fierce fight broke out. A few people hurriedly fled, likely to call for reinforcements.
Blue flames burst into life, engulfing the room. A student rolled on the ground, trying to extinguish the fire, while Grindelwald was flung backward, crashing into a shelf. The jars and containers tumbled to the floor, and shattered into pieces.
Grindelwald lifted his head. Red blood trickled down from the corner of his eye and along the bridge of his nose. Even so, he looked stunningly handsome, almost heartbreakingly so.
His beauty carried an intense, almost overwhelming impact—indifferent to gender.
Suddenly, Grindelwald raised his wand again. A red beam of light shot forth, striking the person in front of him.
Immediately after, Wade felt as though his perspective shifted along with the force of the blast, as if he himself had been thrown.
In an instant, the scenery changed completely.
The blonde boy, Grindelwald, now sporting bruises on his face, carried a suitcase. He turned to glance one last time at the imposing, icy-cold school. Durmstrang's castle loomed like a sword plunged into the black mountaintop.
He suddenly turned around, carved a symbol onto the wall, and then strode away without hesitation.
Wade and Dumbledore followed him, and after what felt like traveling an infinite distance, they arrived at a new place.
It was a valley bathed in radiant sunlight, with lush, green grass. Two boys were walking together.
"…And then I got expelled!"
The young Grindelwald finished recounting his experience, he shrugged with a defiant and disdainful tone. "Stupid school! I thought Durmstrang would be more open-minded than other schools, but it's just another group of timid fools."
Beside him was a red-haired boy in his teens, whose facial features were not so clear but still revealed striking handsomeness, with bright, star-like blue eyes.
Wade glanced up at Dumbledore beside him. The old headmaster's half-moon spectacles reflected the light, obscuring any visible expression on his face.
Wade had no intention of delving into the emotional wounds of a man over a century old. He turned back to watch the two boys.
The red-haired boy listened to his companion with a faint smile, his gaze was intensely focused.
Grindelwald continued to express his views: "We wizards are the ones gifted with power. Why should we skulk around like rats in the gutter? The Statute of Secrecy is the most ridiculous law ever created!"
"It forces us to use our abilities as if we're thieves, living every day in fear. Albus, your sister was harmed by Muggles.
What wrong did your father commit by seeking justice for his daughter? And yet, those fools threw him into prison without a second thought!"
"We should fight for our rightful place to rule! Wizards should govern Muggles and dominate the world!
We shouldn't be driven into hiding, squeezed out by the ever-growing masses of Muggles. If necessary, of course, we can use force—this is the power bestowed upon us by the heavens…"
The red-haired boy's smile gradually faded. He pressed his lips together and nodded slightly, as if deeply agreeing with what was being said.
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