That day, Grindelwald gazed into the distance and suddenly sighed.
"I knew this day would come."
When Lys habitually asked Grindelwald again, she unexpectedly heard a different answer than usual:
"Then let's go see him."
"Alright," Lys thought for a moment and pulled out a wand from her bag.
"This was originally something my brother wanted to give to his good friend, but I haven't heard him mention it for a long time. I think you can use this one first."
Placing the wand beside Grindelwald, Lys cleared away the miscellaneous items in the room and went outside.
Dumbledore's grave was by the Black Lake at Hogwarts. If she wanted to enter Hogwarts, she'd need to check whether that secret passage she'd discovered when finding Potter last time was still there. If not, she'd have to figure out how to deal with Snape.
Just as Lys was about to Apparate in haste, she suddenly paused. She suddenly realized why Fred hadn't mentioned this wand again... he couldn't let the Dark Lord know Senna had talents beyond potions.
This family already had two people trapped in this quagmire...
Lys's curse words burst out loudly. Inside the high tower, Grindelwald sat up and peered down with some confusion.
Withdrawing his gaze, he first tidied his clothes and the sparse hair on his head.
After thinking, he picked up the wand Lys had left there and transformed his old clothes into a more dignified style.
Then he frowned and squinted, examining the wand in his hands intently.
He was somewhat puzzled—had he only been away from the wizarding world for decades, yet wand fashion trends had become so unconventional?
Outrageous wood paired with an outrageous core. If he hadn't sensed wrong... this was the core of some serpentine magical creature that had lived at least a thousand years, with that vigorous trembling, lurking resistance...
And judging by this, the little girl had four wands... possibly more.
What kind of trend was this? Did her family make wands?
He recalled visiting those wandmakers when he'd once sought the most powerful Elder Wand, but still had no impression.
When Lys returned, Grindelwald had stopped studying the wand. He said: "Take me to see him. How long has it been since I've seen him?"
He straightened his clothes again and followed Lys.
The moment Lys used Flying Arrow to carry Grindelwald away from Nurmengard, she saw the little old man beside her mouth droop with unreadable meaning.
But Lys asked nothing.
This secret passage leading to Hogwarts beneath the dungeons was a bit long for Grindelwald.
He took a couple of rough breaths: "Aren't you going to ask why I changed my mind?"
However, Lys was determined not to say anything until Grindelwald saw Dumbledore.
She hated clever people—they always inadvertently made her misunderstand things, just like Karkaroff. She'd thought he would provide her with protection, but what happened?
From young to old, not one of them spoke words that could be taken as promises.
She was tired of this future of constant compromise yet continued loss. She wanted to try ending these things, but she couldn't do it alone, so she needed help.
Powerful help that wouldn't dismiss her.
She gathered her magic, using Flying Arrow to levitate Grindelwald and propel him forward.
First pressing her ear to the wall to listen, then Lys cast Diffindo to open the passage, wrapping them both in Disillusionment Charms while grumbling internally.
She'd thought this secret passage to Hogwarts would be sophisticated—she'd studied it for so long. The result? Just Diffindo on walls and sculptures plus Reparo...
Bloody hell, who exactly said Hogwarts was the safest place in Britain for centuries...
When Grindelwald stood by the lake looking at that white marble tomb, he drew a breath and held it for a long time before slowly sighing it out.
"Did he look well before?" Lys saw something flash in Grindelwald's hands as he moved—something glittering connected to a chain.
"Not very well. He looked tired, and his right hand was worse than my left—completely withered and black for a whole year. By my assessment, definitely a top-level curse. See these two strands of hair at my temple? This exact color." Lys tugged at the two clumps of hair that had withered from drinking the Dark Lord'sHorcrux-protecting potion.
Grindelwald reached out to trace the tomb's edges from a distance. He suddenly felt some regret—he seemed to have wasted too much time on self-questioning and silent reproach toward himself and Albus.
"You win, little girl. What do you want?"
Yes, this little girl had won.
She'd successfully made him feel pain and anger.
But she'd let him see Albus once before the thing he'd anticipated.
He only hoped she wouldn't ask for something that would make Albus think he'd broken their agreement.
"Let's go back to discuss it." Lys took a breath and looked back once more at that tomb. I'm sorry, Dumbledore... Headmaster...
Lys led Grindelwald back the same way, not noticing Severus Snape's black robes disappearing around the corner.
Back in Nurmengard tower—
"—I want the Dark Lord to die."
Lys sat upright, looking seriously at Grindelwald, but Grindelwald only raised a wrinkle on his forehead.
"Though I must say this wand is quite impressive."
He placed the wand in Lys's hands. "But you know I can't even beat you now, don't you?"
"No, that's not what I mean."
Lys licked her lips. "The Dark Lord has created—created Horcruxes, more than one. Even if I find some way to scheme against him or defeat him, he can still come back!"
Lys put away Fred's custom wand and glanced at the old man sitting before her—this strongest dark magic master she'd admired for twenty years.
Then continued: "Yes, I believe that's the purpose of his Horcrux creation."
"Please continue." Grindelwald gestured for Lys to go on.
Lys gripped her wand, her gaze becoming unfocused for a moment.
"When he appeared in my world, I clearly knew there were prices I couldn't pay, so I retreated step by step. Things developed to their current state—I don't want to retreat anymore. From graduation until his disappearance, I was always afraid, though I managed to protect myself and my family in a reasonably good position and condition."
"But after he disappeared, I experienced a different life—completely different from when I was small, at school, and those two oppressive years after graduation."
"And now he's back. He's even more dangerous than before he disappeared. He's even started killing Death Eaters because the tasks he assigned failed."
"Then what are you afraid of? With your abilities, you should be quite capable under him, and you're rather clever—that's what most superiors prefer in subordinates."
"Subordinates? We're just his slaves. His capable subordinates disappear generation after generation. I deceived him, didn't offer loyalty—what will happen to me?" Lys frowned. "And I can't kill without any guilt—my soul won't allow it."
Grindelwald suddenly laughed: "Ha!"
"You let me out and even gave me a wand, yet you want to maintain such principles?"
His gaze became serious with scrutiny:
"Do you know how many people I've killed, and how many died because of me?"
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