"We really didn't lie to you!"
The few Grindelwald supporters were genuinely anxious now.
In their memories, there truly had been such a person, yet they could not recall his name, his features, or even what he had said.
They only remembered that this person had been very familiar with them.
The feeling was so strange it was maddening.
If only one person had felt this way, it could have been dismissed as simple madness.
But several of them shared the exact same sensation. That made the situation far from simple.
Grindelwald frowned and looked at the others. "Aside from the few of them, does anyone else remember this person?"
The rest shook their heads.
Someone answered, "We only saw the four of them take the initiative to attack the centaurs."
"You're talking nonsense! There were clearly five of us!" the Grindelwald supporters shot back.
"Exactly! And what do you mean we attacked the centaurs first? They were the ones who attacked us!"
"But we all saw you take the initiative to attack the centaurs… those centaurs were just passing by."
"How is that possible? They had their bows drawn and aimed at me! Was I supposed to wait until an arrow pierced my throat before I fought back?"
The Grindelwald supporters present all insisted on their own versions, and the argument quickly erupted into chaos.
"Enough!" Grindelwald barked sharply, cutting off their argument.
He pressed his fingers hard against his brow. Something about this was deeply suspicious.
Both sides had been present at the scene, yet their conclusions were completely different.
Thinking of that "nonexistent" person, Grindelwald suddenly felt the whole matter had become extremely bizarre.
After pondering for a while, Grindelwald walked straight over to the bound centaurs.
At the moment, the centaurs were all unconscious, and several of their wounds were still bleeding.
"Untie them and treat their injuries," Grindelwald said with a frown.
The Grindelwald supporters immediately moved into action.
Soon, the centaurs were awakened.
The moment they regained consciousness, they bared their teeth in fury and tried to grab weapons to fight.
But their weapons had long since been confiscated by the Grindelwald supporters.
Faced with the supporters' wands, the centaurs had no room to resist.
"You may kill me, but don't even think about making us surrender!" a burly centaur said angrily.
Grindelwald waved a hand, and the surrounding supporters all lowered their wands.
"What is your name?" Grindelwald asked.
"I am Feren," the centaur said proudly, lifting his head. "And who are you?"
"I am their leader, Gellert Grindelwald. I arrived only recently and am not yet clear on what exactly happened between you," Grindelwald said.
Upon hearing that the man before him was Grindelwald, Feren immediately grew tense.
"Wasn't it you who ordered them to attack us?" Feren asked.
"No. In fact, I still do not have the full picture. They insist that you drew your bows on them, yet others claim you were merely passing by and that they were the ones who initiated the attack. So I want to know the truth, Feren."
"We did not draw our bows first!" Feren said firmly. "I saw the four of them releasing dark creatures in the Forbidden Forest, so we intended to stop them. Then they attacked us!"
"Releasing dark creatures?" Grindelwald frowned and turned to look at the few supporters. "You did not mention this earlier."
"Sir, we've been wronged! We know your orders very clearly. We would never allow dark creatures to escape from the tents. How could we possibly release them on our own initiative?"
One of them began to protest, and the others quickly echoed his words.
Even the supporters who had been arguing with the four earlier said they had not seen the four releasing any dark creatures.
Grindelwald's brows drew tightly together. The same incident, yet multiple sides gave completely different accounts. This matter was far too strange.
If he had come earlier today to take a look, he would not be in such a passive position now.
Grindelwald turned and walked over to stand before the four men.
"Everyone's testimony is against you," Grindelwald said sternly.
One of the four immediately spoke up. "Sir! Everything we said is the truth! If you don't believe us, you can use Legilimency to read my memories!"
"We're willing as well!"
Grindelwald said coldly, "Even if you hadn't offered, I intended to do so."
As he spoke, Grindelwald did not wait for the supporter to react before casting Legilimency on him.
Moments later, Grindelwald had already read through the memories of all four supporters.
The facts proved that none of the four had lied.
However, their memories were inexplicably incomplete.
While reading their memories, Grindelwald also saw the scene of them speaking with that nonexistent person.
But… there was no one in front of them. In other words, within their memories, they had been talking to thin air.
Next, Grindelwald used Legilimency on the other witnesses as well. Even the centaurs, including Feren, were not spared.
Yet the conclusion made the hairs on the back of Grindelwald's neck stand on end.
Because, to his shock, everyone present had genuine memories, and he was certain that none of them showed any signs of tampering.
In other words, none of the three parties had lied.
No one was at fault?
Grindelwald was beginning to feel that perhaps he himself was the one with the problem.
"Go check whether the dark creatures in that carriage are still there. No, I'll see for myself." Grindelwald strode toward the carriage.
Just now, in the centaurs' memories, the four supporters had released the dark creatures from that very carriage.
"Sir… this carriage originally held several Quintapeds… but we already moved them into the tent yesterday," someone said hurriedly.
Grindelwald opened the cage door on the carriage. Sure enough, it was completely empty.
"You, come here." Grindelwald beckoned the man over and immediately cast Legilimency.
A moment later, Grindelwald released the supporter with a frustrated expression.
The centaurs claimed that the Quintapeds had been released into the Forbidden Forest, yet in the memories of the other supporters, the Quintapeds inside had been placed in the tent yesterday.
Grindelwald then walked into the tent. After quite some time, he emerged again, his face even more displeased.
The Quintapeds were still in the tent. In other words, the centaurs' memories were inaccurate.
But their memories clearly showed no signs of being altered.
Grindelwald felt a headache coming on.
The key to the problem must lie with that extra person.
Just as irritation mounted in Grindelwald's chest, the distant sound of galloping hooves reached them.
A trace of delight appeared on Feren's face.
"Wizard, are you still not going to release me? My kin have arrived!"
Grindelwald said with obvious disdain, "Am I restraining you right now?"
If not for the recent change in his methods and his concern about giving Dumbledore leverage, with the centaurs' temperament, he would have wiped them out several times over by now.
Dumbledore had been right before. Once he chose this path, it was as if he had placed a heavy shackle upon himself.
At this moment, the centaur group had already appeared, with Fernandes leading the charge.
Grindelwald's gaze fell on Dumbledore, who was flying alongside the centaurs.
The moment he saw Dumbledore, an inexplicable sense of relief rose in Grindelwald's heart.
This matter was far too bizarre. Grindelwald urgently needed someone to help him analyze it.
Although Dumbledore was now his enemy, the man had always possessed a brilliant mind. If he could help examine the situation…
"Release my kin!" Fernandes shouted.
Feren and the others immediately ran over.
Seeing that his kin were unharmed, Fernandes let out a breath of relief. But when he noticed the injuries still lingering on them, the anger in his chest flared violently.
"Wizard! You harmed my kin! You will pay for this!" Fernandes roared.
"Your kin matter, but my people don't?" Grindelwald replied coldly. "We don't even know who's right or wrong yet, and you're already rushing to conclusions?"
The bizarre situation had already left Grindelwald extremely irritated.
And Fernandes's tone was particularly grating.
So Grindelwald was starting to lose his patience as well.
"My people told me it was you who released dark creatures into the Forbidden Forest and then injured my kin when they tried to stop you! What is there left to be unclear about?"
"What a coincidence. My people say it was your kin who drew their bows on us first. My people were acting in self-defense," Grindelwald said coldly.
"Wizard, you have angered me," Fernandes replied icily.
"And is angering you supposed to be some great offense, centaur?" Grindelwald sneered. "Setting aside the fact that we did not release any dark creatures into the Forbidden Forest, even if we had, what would it have to do with you? Do you really think you're the kings of the Forbidden Forest? Remember this. Ownership of the Forbidden Forest belongs to Hogwarts. You are merely residents."
Furious, Fernandes raised his bow, but Dumbledore, beside him, caught his arm. "Please wait."
"Grindelwald, what exactly are you trying to do?" Dumbledore demanded sharply.
Grindelwald let out a cold laugh, then turned to the supporters behind him. "All of you, get over here. Let Professor Dumbledore use Legilimency to examine your memories. Let's see who is actually in the wrong."
Faced with this bizarre situation, he knew explaining it directly to Dumbledore would be troublesome, and the other man might not even believe him. It would be better to let him check for himself.
In any case, the supporters had no major secrets about him in their minds, so there was nothing to fear from Dumbledore's scrutiny. Moreover, regarding the supposed release of dark creatures, it was clearly the centaurs whose memories were off. The fault was not on their side.
Grindelwald simply did not believe that after checking, Dumbledore would not be utterly bewildered.
He refused to be the only one left confused.
Dumbledore frowned at Grindelwald. The man's behavior today could only be described as highly abnormal.
To simply allow him to examine their memories like this… could it be that their memories had all been altered?
Impossible…
Dumbledore dismissed the thought. Grindelwald knew his capabilities very well. If memories had been tampered with, would he really fail to notice?
At this moment, the supporters also stepped forward with their heads held high.
"Give me a moment. I'll take a look…" After calming the centaurs, Dumbledore strode over.
Since Grindelwald had said as much, he might as well check.
Ten minutes later, the same trace of confusion appeared on Dumbledore's face.
When his gaze met Grindelwald's, he immediately understood the other's meaning.
Clearly, the other man was just as puzzled by this matter.
Under the current circumstances… it truly was very strange.
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