Gellert Grindelwald, widely recognized as the most powerful dark wizard in history by the magical world.

However, in today's British magical world's "recognition," a modifier must be added after this title: "one of."

At least in the eyes of most British wizards, the dark lord who wreaked havoc in Europe and the Americas half a century ago can tentatively be considered one of the most powerful dark wizards in history, second only to Tom Riddle, who later became Voldemort—after all, Grindelwald never invaded British soil.

Moreover, compared to Voldemort and the Death Eaters who only disappeared ten years ago, the story of Grindelwald and the Acolytes is simply too distant.

"Listen to me, Cornelius," Dumbledore said, "If Voldemort spread terror, then Grindelwald's arrival meant war—wizarding war. In the last war, the magical traditions of Europe and the East were almost catastrophically destroyed. If..."

"Oh, no, no, no, that's all ancient history from the European magical world decades ago."

Cornelius Fudge took a deep breath and interrupted Dumbledore angrily, "Well, I shouldn't have asked about the heyday! For heaven's sake, Dumbledore—Grindelwald has been locked up for nearly half a century, his story has become a bedtime story for children—after so many years, you still think he can threaten the Ministry of Magic—just a descendant of a dark wizard, Dumbledore, do you think you can scare me?"

"Obviously, our headmaster stubbornly believes that those penitent Acolytes will continue to obey Grindelwald."

Lucius Malfoy caressed his cane, lightly mocking in a low voice, a hint of sarcasm on his lips.

Other members of the school board and Ministry of Magic officials echoed, looking at Dumbledore with varying expressions. Although most did not say it explicitly, the meaning conveyed in their eyes was clear enough—Albus Dumbledore may really be too old, too confused, and starting to be suspicious.

However, Amelia Bones, as the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, suddenly paused. She seemed to have remembered something.

"In mid-September the year before last, I went to Salzburg, Austria. You should remember, right?"

Dumbledore ignored the gazes around him and continued calmly, glancing at the Minister of Magic as he spoke.

"At that time, we were discussing the Gringotts goblins. The Austrian Ministry of Magic sent an urgent request for assistance: Grindelwald had escaped from prison—the 'Acolyte Gathering Magic' appeared in Salzburg—you can roughly understand it as a large-scale Dark Mark—and dozens of Austrian Ministry of Magic officials lost contact. You should have heard this information at the time. These alerts should be enough to illustrate the extent of Grindelwald's danger!"

"I don't see anything to worry about!"

Cornelius Fudge paused, then raised his voice, his face flushed.

"It turned out to be just a false alarm. Those fools in the Austrian Ministry of Magic were arrested by Muggle police. That washed-up old man is still quietly staying in Nurmengard Castle. I don't think this kind of boring farce has any reference value at all!"

A washed-up... old man?

Hearing this, Elena and Dumbledore glanced at the "old man" himself in unison.

But what surprised Elena a bit was that a strange smile flashed across Grindelwald's face.

"Ahem... um—Honorable Minister of the British Ministry of Magic, is *The Daily Prophet* the only channel through which you usually obtain information?"

Grindelwald coughed lightly, gave Dumbledore a reassuring look, and then turned his gaze back to Fudge.

"If you paid a little attention to the international magical situation, you wouldn't say such ridiculously foolish remarks—during that period, the front pages of major European magical newspapers were all about the magical symbols floating over Salzburg. If Dumbledore hadn't arrived in time, the Austrian Ministry of Magic would have almost declared the Third Wizarding War. Young man, you should maintain at least weekly correspondence with the gentlemen of the International Confederation of Wizards."

Unlike the other wizards present, Gellert Grindelwald, disguised as "Paracelsus," had too many buffs:

Foreigner, immortal, great alchemist, founder of healer theory...

Even though what he just said could be considered quite impolite, Cornelius Fudge, as a "young man," still didn't have much room to act up—of course, he didn't need to stand up and get angry, because he had a capable henchman who could refute him.

"The British Ministry of Magic is different from other places. Oh, perhaps saying that is not very humble..."

Umbridge cleared her throat and said in a sweet, high-pitched voice, a cold, fake smile on her plump, pale face.

"But I must point out some of your misunderstandings. Even at the height of Gellert Grindelwald's arrogance, he and his followers never set foot in the British magical world. If that dark wizard from decades ago dared to come, I believe the young men in the Auror Office—"

"Ahem, just a slight interruption. If it happened again, how many Aurors do you think it would take to escape from me?"

"I'm sorry, what did you say?"

The smile on Umbridge's face suddenly froze.

"Oh, haven't you forgotten that you and the young men in your Auror Office had just exchanged blows with me not long ago?"

Grindelwald grinned, looking at Umbridge with some surprise, still with that strange smile on his face.

He gave Fudge a meaningful glance before continuing slowly.

"I must remind you that Gellert Grindelwald's power and dangerousness are far above me. If he really broke into the Ministry of Magic for revenge regardless of everything—let alone whether the British Ministry of Magic could keep him—how many people do you think would be willing to risk their lives to fight him when they know his revenge target and reason... Or, are you planning to have Dumbledore protect you 24 hours a day?"

"Frankly speaking, in order to stay away from that terrifying dark lord, I even abandoned my alchemy lab to take refuge at Hogwarts."

Grindelwald clicked his tongue at Umbridge and others, looked around with his head shaking, and said softly with some admiration.

"And you actually want to force him to come? I really don't know if you are ignorant or courageous... If Grindelwald's only blood relative is expelled due to your pressure, or if something worse happens, do you think he will keep his promise and imprison himself in Nurmengard?"

Umbridge's face was getting redder and redder. She looked like she had been poured a whole pot of boiling water.

Cornelius Fudge was even more bewildered, as if someone had given him a heavy blow in the face. He blinked his eyes dizzily, his gaze wandering between the "expatriate" Paracelsus (played by Grindelwald) and Dumbledore, seeming to have just realized the seriousness of the matter.

He stuttered, his gaze unconsciously shifting to Dumbledore.

"But... but he wouldn't have the courage, right? If he intends to murder high-ranking officials of the Ministry of Magic, Dumbledore..."

"I think I should have told you all unequivocally just now," Dumbledore said, "In a one-on-one wizard duel, I may be slightly better than Grindelwald, but only in a fair duel. I really dare not imagine, as a dark lord who once advocated wizard supremacy and bloodline abilities, when he learns of an accident involving the last of his bloodline in the world, how crazy Grindelwald and his followers will retaliate."

"It must be admitted that perhaps the Acolytes who still obey Grindelwald are not as numerous as they once were..."

Dumbledore intertwined the fingertips of his slender fingers, looking at Cornelius Fudge's face solemnly as it gradually turned from red to white.

"However, two years ago, on the night of mid-September—if you don't believe it, you can write to the International Confederation of Wizards or the ladies and gentlemen of the Austrian Ministry of Magic—the night sky of Salzburg was lit up by Grindelwald's symbols, and the same symbols flashed on every street."

"No one knows how many Acolytes are waiting to be summoned in that city, but I think there should be more than the number of Auror Office personnel."

Fudge's mouth opened and closed, seemingly without words to describe his shock and confusion at this moment.

On the other side, Professor McGonagall's expression was no better.

You know, Elena Kaslana was someone she personally "persuaded" to come to Hogwarts. She even began to suspect that Dumbledore had insisted that she go to "pick up" Elena to enroll, was it because of this child's special identity: Dumbledore has tricked people quite a few times.

"So..."

After a moment of silence, Ms. Bones' voice rang out in the office.

She pushed up her monocle and said expressionlessly, seemingly not affected too much.

"Can I understand that, based on a verbal agreement, you promised to take care of Grindelwald's descendant in exchange for the temporary stability of the magical world? Forgive me for speaking frankly, but after listening for so long, I haven't found any reliable guarantees—we can cooperate, but it must be worthwhile."

As the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, Amelia Bones naturally knew the extent of Gellert Grindelwald's danger.

However, on the other hand, she also keenly discovered the fatal loophole in Dumbledore's story.

"Oh, it's more than just a verbal agreement—Grindelwald's promise is obviously not that reliable, right?"

Dumbledore nodded gently and raised his right hand with a calm expression.

The next moment, three magical brands appeared.

"Unbreakable Vow?"

Lucius Malfoy's pupils shrank, and he subconsciously let out a low exclamation.

After Voldemort's downfall, he had thought of various ways to remove the mark on the back of his hand, but none of them worked—the magical principle of the Dark Mark partially borrowed from the Unbreakable Vow. Unless Voldemort truly disappeared from the world, that mark could not be removed.

And after realizing this, Lucius had been in a state of fear.

Peter Pettigrew's "failed" terrible conspiracy a few months ago further confirmed his suspicion.

Voldemort was not completely dead, he was still lurking somewhere in the magical world, waiting for an opportunity to make a comeback.

At the same time, the other wizards in the office also exclaimed.

"Ms. Kaslana, and yours..."

Before everyone could ask more questions, Dumbledore sighed and turned to look at Elena, who was sitting not far away.

"Alright, Headmaster. Since you feel it's necessary—"

Elena shrugged and raised her right hand unwillingly.

A bright magical glow lit up on the back of the girl's hand, exactly the same as the marks on Dumbledore's hand.

"This is..."

Professor McGonagall frowned and looked at Dumbledore in confusion.

"As you can see, I, Grindelwald, and Elena have signed an Unbreakable Vow, which is a tripartite contract—"

Dumbledore's wrinkled face looked even older in the magical glow, and the old man explained calmly.

"I will replace Gellert Grindelwald to protect and take care of Ms. Kaslana, and at the same time keep her away from disputes as much as possible—of course, I also have the power and obligation to discipline and restrain his descendants on his behalf—as the headmaster of Hogwarts and an elder."

"Alright, I think it's pretty much explained. Let's sign the confidentiality magical agreement."

Dumbledore pulled out his wand and waved it nimbly in the air, conjuring a stack of parchment out of thin air.

"Sign an agreement?!" Cornelius Fudge exclaimed, as if he had suddenly come back to life. "What else do we have to sign?"

"Confidentiality regarding the content of today's conversation, not revealing Elena's identity to anyone," Dumbledore said, "There are quite a few lunatics in this world who fear nothing more than chaos. If certain extremists know this, they might assassinate Elena, thereby inciting a war!"

As he spoke, Dumbledore waved his wand again, and the parchment floated to everyone in turn.

After being baptized by the Gringotts experts and Elena's contract, the rigor of today's magical contract has at least surpassed the current era by two.

Perhaps the Ministry of Magic people can't clearly understand the brilliance of this "confidentiality contract," but from the dense, extremely meticulous clauses, they can feel the invisible pressure—it's simply like a legendary devil's contract.

"Oh, I believe I must have misunderstood you, Professor Dumbledore."

Umbridge said, glancing at the harsh magical contract, her expression a little ugly.

"I may be too stupid, but I feel like you're implying that someone among us might leak information?!"

"That's right. Of all the people present, you're the only one who asked this question."

Grindelwald nodded casually, slowly drawing out his wand, revealing a malicious smile.

"You can also choose not to sign—didn't Dumbledore say? Obliviation Charm or signing a contract, choose one of the two. To be honest, I really don't understand, why did you provoke that child? Now your curiosity is satisfied, but a bunch of extra responsibilities have been added."

"If you continue to make things difficult for Ms. Kaslana at school after this, I really have to question your motives."

Grindelwald's voice was very soft, but people could clearly feel the suffocating, terrifying aura emanating from the old man.

"Or, from the beginning, you planned to incite a wizarding war, stepping on countless corpses to find an opportunity to climb up?"

"Absurd, crazy," Umbridge said softly, instinctively taking a step back, "Madness..."

However, she didn't take a few steps before she suddenly stopped.

Something hard was pressed against her back.

"Sorry, Ms. Umbridge, this time I agree with Professor Dumbledore."

Lucius Malfoy had a frightening expression on his face, his cane slightly forward, pressing against Umbridge.

For hundreds of years, the secret to the Malfoy family's enduring prosperity has been—always standing on the side of the victor.

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Yay!