Dumbledore rejected Aileen's suggestion of a surprise attack on the Ministry of Magic, which didn't surprise her, but she still reminded Dumbledore that decades ago in Europe, there was a place called Auschwitz concentration camp, except that it didn't hold werewolves.
She knew that Dumbledore could never be the spearhead challenging the authority of the Ministry of Magic, and she also knew that the werewolf issue was more complicated than during World War II.
However, Aileen knew very well that now was not the best time to save those captured werewolves.
The "Werewolf Restriction Act" had just passed in the Ministry of Magic, and the oppression of these alien beings by the wizarding world had not yet become coldly solidified.
Many werewolves still held a glimmer of unrealistic fantasies about the magical government and bureaucrats, otherwise, with Grindelwald's ability to create chaos, only a handful of werewolves led by Fenrir Greyback would not have successfully escaped the Aurors' pursuit.
In fact, according to news from the Ministry of Magic, most werewolves chose to give up resistance when facing the Aurors.
"This is a long tug-of-war, and we have to patiently wait for the moment the spark appears—"
Aileen sat on the railing of the open-air grandstand outside the owlery, watching the owls disappear into the darkness of the sky, and said softly.
"Unlike Gringotts, werewolves lack the awareness to resist. They haven't despaired of this world yet. No one can save those who actively give up resistance, but we can't stand idly by for too long this time either—they will become sparks, not blood drops on a medal."
"What if you never wait for the spark?"
Grindelwald stood with his hands in his pockets, leaning against a pillar not far away, half of his body hidden in the shadows.
Not far from the two, house-elves Beryl and Dobby were still tying letters to the claws of the owls.
Cornelius Fudge's werewolf community is limited to within the UK, and as the first Dark Lord who swept across Europe, Grindelwald and his followers' footprints were not limited to the British Isles. They possessed ten times the number of secret gathering places of werewolf communities known to the British Ministry of Magic.
"How is it possible not to wait? You didn't seem to worry about this problem when you ignited the fire in Paris back then, did you?"
Aileen glanced at Grindelwald with a strange expression, while pointing at the owls that were flapping their wings and flying away.
"Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry has the largest independent messenger system in the entire wizarding world. Since Professor Dumbledore has agreed to open the school's 'public mail' rights to us, it means that we can send 'semi-anonymous' warnings to werewolves throughout the wizarding world at the same time—"
"At the same time, you also bought out publicity articles in newspapers in various countries, right?"
Grindelwald shook his head and looked at the girl swinging her legs on the railing with a complex expression.
"The British Ministry of Magic's successful operation and the overwhelming praise of the 'Werewolf Restriction Act' will dispel all rational analysis in the first instance, and the unease of werewolves in various countries will prompt other Ministries of Magic to follow suit. You are personally raising a demon—werewolves are not like Gringotts wizarding bank that has an elder council that can be beheaded, and... you shouldn't have considered becoming a werewolf, right?"
"Uh, this can't be blamed on me. It's just business. The British Ministry of Magic proposed a cooperation request—"
Aileen raised her finger and corrected earnestly, her lake-blue eyes flashing with sarcasm.
"The wizarding world has never truly classified werewolves as humans, not even as alien beings. It's just that no madman has ever pierced this window paper before. But as the crazy actions of Umbridge and others 'succeed', those beasts hidden in the dark will boldly show their fangs. After all, 'werewolves' are most dangerous when they mix in with the crowd in human form, don't you think?"
"And then?" Grindelwald raised his eyebrows and looked at Aileen with interest.
"Kill those beasts that have eaten people, catch those beasts that want to eat people and lock them in big cages, and let people live like humans again. Isn't this a matter of course? Social changes from top to bottom never have good results. I won't repeat your mistakes, Grandpa."
"Tsk, but have you ever thought that beasts will eat people, and people can also turn into beasts."
"What are you worried about? I'm the head chef of Hogwarts..."
Aileen shrugged indifferently and jumped down from the railing.
"Chefs are never afraid of ingredients. As for beasts... Didn't you let go of an alpha wolf? The reconstruction of wolf pack order is always accompanied by the change of alpha wolves. The new era must have some blood-stained sacrifices, and very fortunately, they have always been there."
"Fenrir? Okay, then where is the new alpha wolf?"
"He's always been there too—"
Aileen casually handed Grindelwald a letter that hadn't been sent yet.
At the very end of the envelope, in the sender's name position, was written a dark brown r.L, and a drop of dried wolfsbane potion.
…………
At the same time, the Hogwarts Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor's office.
Remus Lupin rubbed his slightly bloodshot eyes, put down his quill, and stretched his shoulders.
Due to Umbridge's sudden departure, his workload this week had suddenly increased. Now Hogwarts had a full eight grades, and it was obviously a bit difficult to fill the position with just one professor, not to mention that he had to find a way to fill the pile of teaching holes left by Umbridge.
Unlike Severus Snape's oily black hair, Lupin's hair was mixed with several patches of gray.
Although Lupin had just turned 32 this year, wrinkles had climbed onto his forehead early, making him look much older than he actually was.
Compared to his usual haggardness and weakness, Lupin's complexion had been particularly pale these few days, so much so that Madam Pomfrey secretly asked several times if he was considering changing the brewer of his wolfsbane potion—after all, the inventor of the wolfsbane potion was now also working at Hogwarts.
On the other hand, Sirius Black had also suggested to him several times that he should not drink the potion brewed by Snape.
However, Lupin smiled and rejected the suggestions of his friends and colleagues.
Because Remus Lupin knew very well that his troubles these days did not come from physical discomfort.
Lupin leaned back in the office's high-backed chair, took out a newspaper from the drawer and looked at it carefully. This was actually a copy of the "Daily Prophet" from a few days ago, and occupying the cover position was a particularly conspicuous wanted order—below was a line of bold black headlines.
《Ministry of Magic Aurors Take Swift Action, Destroy Werewolf Legion Hideout, Fenrir Greyback Narrowly Escapes》
The professors at Hogwarts knew about his werewolf identity, including the Ministry of Magic and the Hogwarts Board of Governors.
Dumbledore had put in a lot of effort to make everyone believe that he could be competent as the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, and the appointment of Snape, Slughorn, and especially Damocles, added double insurance to this effort. The potent wolfsbane potion would make Lupin as quiet as a baby during each full moon, and would not harm any of the young wizards who approached him. At the same time, the school's house-elves would also provide protection nearby.
With a few months of teaching, Lupin seemed to have returned to that happy campus time again.
For a while, he even thought that the wizarding world had become tolerant and friendly, and werewolves were gradually being accepted into society.
However, the Ministry of Magic's actions a few days ago instantly brought Remus Lupin back to reality.
Just like when he entered Hogwarts back then, he was just a lucky one under Dumbledore's protection. The situation of werewolves in magical society had never undergone any fundamental change—in fact, because they had angered Umbridge, their current situation was clearly more miserable than before.
Whether it was the "Werewolf Restriction Act" or this secret arrest, all of them were foreshadowing a dark and lightless future.
Lupin began to worry whether this chaos would spread to Hogwarts Castle, and whether he would one day face a secret arrest like Quirrell?
If he was really driven out of Hogwarts by that Senior Undersecretary, then what would his remaining years be like? In the future magical society, how much room for survival would there be for werewolves like him? If the Dark Lord makes a comeback, what should the werewolves do?
Especially there is also...
"Fenrir Greyback—"
Lupin looked solemnly at the roaring, beast-like madman in the newspaper.
He had never told his friends and colleagues in detail about his past, not even Sirius and James. Because he knew that this would only cause his best friends to make new enemies, and if Snape knew those stories, he would probably laugh at him.
But the actual situation was that the culprit who turned him into a werewolf in the first place was Fenrir Greyback.
In 1965, when the Dark Lord's power had just begun to emerge, an attack resulted in the deaths of two Muggle children.
That was also the first and only time Fenrir Greyback had been brought to the Ministry of Magic by Aurors for questioning.
Due to the inadequacy and lack of maintenance of the Werewolf Registry, the Ministry of Magic did not know that Fenrir Greyback was a werewolf.
Fenrir Greyback disguised himself as a Muggle tramp, and was surprised by the wizards in the room and terrified by the topic of child deaths. His dirty clothes and lack of a wand led most members of the inquiry to believe he was a Muggle, but the expert on non-human paranormal phenomena, Lyle Lupin, Remus Lupin's father, noticed some obvious signs in Greyback's appearance.
Therefore, Lyle Lupin suggested to the committee that Greyback should be detained until the full moon the next day.
Unfortunately, the ignorant committee members thought this was unnecessary and began to mock Lyle Lupin. In anger, Lyle Lupin blurted out the curse he regretted for the rest of his life: "Werewolves are ruthless, evil, soulless evil creatures that don't deserve to live."
Lupin was eventually ordered to leave the room, and the chairman of the committee apologized to Greyback and released the werewolf. The wizard escorting Greyback was supposed to cast a memory charm on this "Muggle tramp" to make him forget that he had been to the Ministry of Magic, but Greyback quickly subdued him with two werewolf accomplices and fled. Greyback immediately began to execute his revenge plan to retaliate against the wizard who said he was "worthy of death".
Finally, on the eve of Lyle Lupin's son—Remus Lupin's fifth birthday, Greyback got the chance he had dreamed of.
While Lupin was sleeping in bed, Fenrir Greyback forced open the window and rushed into the bedroom, biting Remus Lupin.
Although his father arrived in the bedroom in time to save him and drove Fenrir Greyback out of his house with a series of powerful curses.
However, Remus Lupin had been bitten, and from then on, he became a werewolf—
Whenever night fell, or when he transformed, Lupin seemed to always see the huge shadow that had bitten him.
Unfortunately, during the Second Wizarding War, he never encountered Fenrir Greyback in the Order of the Phoenix's actions, so he had never been able to personally defeat that shadow from his childhood. In a sense, Remus Lupin was perhaps one of the people who understood Greyback the most.
Therefore, he knew very well what the Ministry of Magic's high-profile failed arrest meant...
On the other hand, Dumbledore had also talked to him alone last night.
Dolores Umbridge would take all the credit and return to Hogwarts in high profile for "refuge". If Fenrir Greyback was really as vengeful as legend had it, then he would definitely appear around Hogwarts, quietly waiting for the opportunity for revenge.
If that really happened, as the Hogwarts Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, he had to restrain his anger.
Whether it was towards Fenrir, or Umbridge...
————
————
Yay!