"If neither of us can trust the other… then we'll draft a magical contract." Gellert Grindelwald took out a piece of parchment. As his finger touched it, lines of text began to appear on their own.
Before long, the parchment was filled with writing.
Wade took it and began checking it word by word.
The binding force of a magical contract was not much weaker than that of an Unbreakable Vow, and it could stipulate far more terms at once.
"No problems," Wade said.
"Then sign it."
Both of them used a drop of blood from their fingertips to sign their names on the contract.
The moment the contract was completed, the blood-written names burst into flames and vanished.
At the same time, the contract split into two identical copies, one for Wade and one for Grindelwald.
Ten minutes later, Wade called over Tom, who had been watching the whole show from the side, and turned toward Hogwarts Castle.
"You actually made a deal with Grindelwald?"
"Yes."
"Then what happened tonight absolutely can't be let Professor Albus Dumbledore know…" Tom muttered.
"Not let Dumbledore know? No, Tom. I'm going to find him right now and explain everything."
"Have you lost your mind? You just agreed to help Grindelwald set up those challenges!"
"Yes. But Dumbledore won't blame me."
"Why?" Tom asked, puzzled.
"Think about it… would Dumbledore feel more at ease with the authority to design the challenges in my hands, or still in Grindelwald's?" Wade asked with a smile.
"Of course in your hands! Ah… I see!" Tom suddenly understood, but quickly frowned again. "But… if everyone can see that, then why would Grindelwald still let you control the design? Wouldn't that mean he can't tamper with the challenges anymore?"
"Who told you Grindelwald wants to tamper with the challenges? He just wants to subtly instill his own ideas while students are taking them."
"What kind of ideas could he instill?" Tom asked curiously.
"He wants to make the students stronger… and gradually make them realize the unique power they possess as wizards, power strong enough to rule over those weak Muggles."
"Mm… Grindelwald does believe that wizards should rule over Muggles… and incompetent wizards can't rule anyone," Tom nodded.
Wade smiled. "Exactly, Tom. You've hit the key point. The current Gellert Grindelwald is far more dangerous than before because he has much more patience. If his educational reforms succeed, then no Hogwarts graduate will be an incompetent wizard who can't even cast a Shield Charm. And if, during this process, he fosters a mindset that worships strength… over time, the new generation of wizards will grow stronger and stronger. Hogwarts is only one of his testing grounds. Do you think Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry hasn't already begun the same process?"
Tom sucked in a sharp breath. "If that's the case, then as his influence grows, the thinking of the new generation will gradually change as well. The stronger the wizard, the prouder they'll be, and the less willing they'll be to hide. When that happens, the International Statute of Secrecy will be in danger… which perfectly aligns with Grindelwald's ideology. In that case, his power will quietly grow stronger and stronger. Everyone's thinking will slowly become unified… and in the end, it will be time to wage war against the Muggles. And with the Muggle world already weakened by war… he might actually succeed!"
Wade patted Tom on the shoulder and smiled. "Not bad, not bad. You're much sharper now than when your head was full of nothing but spells. But don't worry. He won't succeed."
Tom nodded. "True. With a troublemaker like you around, how could he?"
...
Tom now deeply regretted calling Wade a troublemaker earlier.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have been left alone in the Forbidden Forest catching snakes…
Tom let out a long sigh and picked out several vipers from the writhing mass of snakes.
Turning his head, he saw Tom the cat standing nearby, watching him with curiosity.
Tch… he even had to take care of the cat for him.
Tom said irritably, "What are you staring at? Hurry up and open the bag."
Tom the cat made a face at him, then reluctantly opened the snakeskin sack.
As the snakes were stuffed inside, Tom picked up a piece of parchment and swiftly marked it with a check.
"Oh… damn you, Wade!"
…
Hogwarts Castle.
Nearly Headless Nick hummed a tune as he floated along the corridor, then suddenly shivered for no reason.
"Oh… what's going on? Why does this feel so strange?" Nick held his head and looked around in confusion.
Not far away, Wade, hidden under a Disillusionment Charm, was crouched in a corner, shivering from the cold.
On the way here, he had been so absorbed in studying the Elder Wand in his hand that he hadn't paid attention and had walked straight through the ghost.
The sensation… was like having a bucket of ice water poured over him from head to toe.
It took Wade quite a while to recover. Just as he was about to continue forward, something suddenly occurred to him.
The Slytherin ghost…
Wade had come into contact with the Slytherin ghost more than once before, but it seemed… he had never felt this kind of biting cold.
He hadn't paid much attention to it before, but this experience brought the memory back clearly.
The Slytherin ghost was indeed cold, but not like Nick, whose chill was that of a true ghost.
So the Slytherin ghost… had long shown signs that it might not be a true ghost?
Hmm… he wondered how that old fellow was doing now, and whether he had found any useful clues.
Lost in thought again, Wade unknowingly arrived at the door to Albus Dumbledore's office.
He casually raised his hand and knocked, completely forgetting to cancel the Disillusionment Charm on himself.
Creak.
The office door opened. Wade was just about to greet the person inside when he saw that it wasn't Dumbledore standing there, but a beautiful woman.
Professor Minerva McGonagall?
His voice caught in his throat.
It was already close to midnight, and as a Slytherin student sneaking out at night, he had run straight into Professor McGonagall…
Wade's first instinct was to run.
It wasn't that he was afraid of losing points, but Professor McGonagall was far too responsible. If she caught him, he would have to explain a lot of things, which would be troublesome.
And Wade generally disliked trouble.
With that thought, he quietly stepped back, intending to slip away for now and come back later.
At that moment, Professor Minerva McGonagall opened the door but saw no one, her face filled with suspicion. "Who's there? Could it be Peeves?"
But she quickly dismissed the thought. No matter how mischievous Peeves was, he still showed a basic level of respect toward powerful professors.
He certainly wouldn't knock on a professor's door for no reason, especially not the office of the highly respected Albus Dumbledore…
McGonagall turned back toward Dumbledore, who was seated at his desk writing something. "Albus… did you call a student to see you? At this hour…"
Dumbledore looked up, slightly startled. "I didn't call for any student…"
"Then who knocked?" McGonagall asked with a frown.
Dumbledore suddenly seemed to recall something. He took out the Marauder's Map from beneath his desk and glanced at it.
After returning to the castle, Wade had already removed the magic that concealed his name. After all, he had come to see Dumbledore.
If he appeared outside Dumbledore's office knocking while his name didn't show on the map, that would be troublesome.
So Dumbledore immediately saw Wade's name outside his office.
"Ah… I must not have noticed earlier. Was there really a knock?" Dumbledore said casually, putting the Marauder's Map away.
"There was clearly someone knocking just now, and you even asked me to open the door…" McGonagall's brows suddenly lifted slightly. "Wait… I know who it is!"
She returned to the doorway and looked at the empty corridor, her voice soft. "Wade, is that you? Stop hiding, I've already guessed."
____
Hahaha! Hell yes! keep bombarding the new fic 'The Boys: Ultimate Multiversal Lifeform' with powerstones!
Let the Webnovel shiver with terror! Show them our power, boys! Muhahaha!!! cough.. cough.. please help.
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