“I understand, so you are determined to be at odds with the Ministry of Magic?”

Rufus Scrimgeour said, his face devoid of any smile, speaking coldly.

“You don’t actually believe you can handle five, or rather, six elite wizards from the Ministry of Magic at once, do you? Even Hogwarts students who haven't graduated yet know that, according to the 'Five-Wizard Rule'—five elite Aurors working together can defeat any lone wizard.”

“Uh, do you have such a ridiculous rule in your textbooks these days?”

Grindelwald scratched his ear, looking somewhat perplexed at the young man standing behind Scrimgeour.

“Quirinus, was this in the textbook you selected before as well?”

“These concepts are mentioned in the sixth-year N.E.W.T.s advanced class, mainly teaching students how to use coordinated magic to fight against powerful, cruel Dark wizards… Generally speaking, we summarize that block of knowledge as the 'Five-Wizard Rule' as a test point.”

“Oh, that explains it. No wonder your performance in the Defense Against the Dark Arts class was so poor before.”

The old wizard shrugged indifferently, pondering slightly.

It had to be said that the decline of the modern magical world was more severe than he had imagined.

Under the domestication of those Ministry of Magic bureaucrats with brains full of fat, even strange explanations like the "Five-Wizard Rule" had been added to the textbooks.

Regarding the origin of this theory, Grindelwald could vaguely guess—during the First Wizarding War, Aurors acting in small groups suffered heavy losses in the early stages of the war, and in order to reverse the situation, the Ministry of Magic in various countries began to propose five-wizard combat teams.

“Well, it seems I can also help correct some errors in the textbooks today…”

Grindelwald twirled his wand, pointing it nimbly at his throat.

“Sonorus.”

“Dark wizards rarely act alone. When we encounter malicious attacks and persecutions, we are usually outnumbered…”

With the effect of the amplifying charm, Grindelwald's calm voice quickly echoed throughout the entrance hall, even the students crowded on the marble stairs next to the Great Hall could hear it clearly, not to mention the Ministry of Magic officials less than ten meters away from him.

“Therefore, at this time, a clever magical combat style becomes particularly important—”

Grindelwald said softly, unhurriedly, glancing at the Ministry of Magic Aurors who were still in a daze, and waved his hand in some surprise.

“Oh, you can attack now. Compared to pale verbal descriptions, I think it would be more intuitive to have some practical teaching…”

“Stupefy!”

Before Grindelwald could finish speaking, Umbridge's wand emitted a red light.

Bang!

Grindelwald casually waved his wand, easily deflecting the spell cast by Umbridge.

The crimson beam returned almost directly, and if Scrimgeour hadn't waved his wand in time to help Umbridge block it, she would have been almost stunned by her own spell. The spell exploded violently on the stone railing next to the entrance hall.

“Remember what I said in class last year? Defense speed is more important than attack speed—”

Grindelwald frowned, his wand drawing a complex arc in the air.

Immediately afterwards, a wall made of white light rose up from all around the entrance hall, dividing the Aurors and the onlookers in the center of the entrance hall into two areas.

“Auror gentlemen, I think you’d better—”

Grindelwald smiled elegantly, his wand pointing at each of them in turn.

“All attack together. There’s not much teaching value in a one-on-one fight.”

“Everyone be alert! The opponent may be a top wizard no less than Albus Dumbledore! Open fire!”

Rufus Scrimgeour glanced at the seemingly impenetrable light curtain around him, his expression solemn as he shouted to the Aurors around him.

However, before arriving at Hogwarts, the Ministry of Magic had conducted similar mock battles.

According to the deductions of the Auror Office and the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, perhaps they would not be able to successfully arrest Albus Dumbledore, but Dumbledore would also be unable to withstand an attack by five or more Aurors. Forcing Dumbledore to retreat in extreme cases would also be considered a victory.

The next moment, a rain of spells flew towards Grindelwald at the same time.

“Oh, what is the first principle when facing multiple attackers?”

Grindelwald took a small step forward leisurely, his wand deftly blocking left and right.

Four beams of magical light passed over his body and landed in the position where he had originally stood, blasting a few shallow pits in the ground, while the other two beams of magical light bounced back even faster, forcing the Aurors who were gathered together to dodge in a panic.

“Calmly judge the opponent’s meaningless attacks, as well as those spells that can be easily avoided by moving…”

Grindelwald confidently walked forward along the bluestone-paved entrance hall, casting spells at the Aurors facing him with extreme ease.

Spells flew at him from all directions, but Grindelwald blocked them one by one.

“Remember, when you are outnumbered, you must not invest too much energy in attacking. Because the other party has far more opportunities for error than you do alone, which is why many mindless idiots are defeated by bad guys… Not paying attention to their own protection!”

Grindelwald's voice suddenly paused, and the frequency of his wand waving suddenly changed speed.

The next second, an Auror was hit by a rebounded spell and flew high into the air.

“A very powerful spell, sir… But the movements in your hands are too obvious.”

Grindelwald turned to look at Rufus Scrimgeour, grinning as he commented, “If I were casting the spell, I would choose… a silent spell, plus using the blocking wand-waving action to conceal the real attack—like this—”

The old wizard suddenly raised his wand to his right rear without turning his head, accurately blocking a spell and simultaneously knocking another Auror flying.

The surrounding flashbulbs flashed crazily, and the sound of the shutters snapping and the magical quills writing merged into one.

“Dark wizards who have the upper hand rarely aid their companions. Find two targets with similar attack frequencies, and you can defeat them one by one by taking advantage of the time difference. And more importantly, the longer you hold out, the more anxious they will become… And anxiety means more loopholes…”

A hint of sarcasm and a pleasant smile flashed across Grindelwald's face, and he turned and waved his wand at the stone pillar on his right.

The originally airtight light curtain suddenly cracked open, and the white entrance hall stone pillars popped out like thimbles, quickly slamming into the Auror who was still foolishly turning his wand around and casting a Shield Charm, and then continued to crash into his colleague next to him with undiminished momentum, making a dull thud.

“Magic is a weapon you can rely on, but it doesn’t mean you have to throw it at your opponent.”

After walking around the arena, Grindelwald paced back to where he had started.

However, of the Ministry of Magic officials who had originally stood arrogantly opposite him, only Umbridge and Scrimgeour remained.

Several scorched marks appeared on Umbridge's pink cardigan, and a black spell mark was also left on Rufus Scrimgeour's right shoulder, but compared to the embarrassment of the two, the old wizard's breathing hadn't even become rapid.

Grindelwald glanced around and said in a solemn voice with a sense of justice.

“Hogwarts is a place to learn knowledge, a sacred place to inherit magical civilization. I will not allow—”

“Stupefy!”

Bang!

Umbridge's plump body flew high into the air, her face still retaining an incredible shock and ferocious anger.

Umbridge crashed heavily into the stone railing on the left rear of the entrance hall—but she did not faint; she had been hit with the Full Body-Bind Curse.

“Alas, I said… Beam spells are a terrible choice in a wizard duel. And even worse than that is… saying the incantation out loud.”

Grindelwald shook his head helplessly, ignoring the reporters who were frantically taking pictures of Umbridge.

The old Dark Lord turned his head, looked at the only middle-aged Ministry of Magic official standing in the arena, and said with a gentle smile,

“You understand now, don’t you? The 'Five-Wizard Rule' does not apply to top-level duels. In front of top wizards, more people are not always better. Clever cooperation, a smart mind, and a righteous position are more important than numbers.”

“What’s more…”

He paused for half a second, turned his head and looked at the end of the crowd not far from the entrance hall.

“From the beginning, you have been at an absolute disadvantage in terms of numbers, and now it has changed from a disadvantage to a dead end.”

There was a commotion in the crowd around the entrance hall, and the students quickly moved to the left and right, Dumbledore appeared at the end of the entrance hall.

And behind the old wizard, Cornelius Fudge's face was particularly ugly, as if it were a piece of pork liver that had gone bad for a long time. He never expected that a simple, meticulously planned secret arrest operation would turn into the current situation.

“That’s enough, Scrimgeour… I just communicated with the Minister…”

Dumbledore walked over with great strides, speaking in a relaxed tone, and casually unlocked the magical rings on Quirrell's hands.

“It’s all a misunderstanding. Part of it is due to Hogwarts, and the other part is due to Professor Umbridge’s excessive sensitivity and radicalism in educational reform. As for Professor Quirrell’s issue, the Wizengamot will hold a public hearing later…”

He politely bowed to the surrounding reporters and continued with a smile.

“Regarding the ins and outs of this incident, the Minister and I will give additional explanations to everyone later. Please wait temporarily in the classroom next to the entrance hall. We have to send the students back to their dormitories to sleep first—Minerva? Please.”

Professor McGonagall, standing at the back of the crowd, nodded and looked at the excited young wizards around her, pursing her lips slightly.

“Heads, student presidents, prefects… Please lead everyone back to their respective dormitories in order. Professors, please stay for a moment, we will hold a brief meeting together in the faculty lounge later.”

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Oh my god!