"Grindelwald... what exactly is he planning?"
On the way back, Avada kept trying to guess at Grindelwald's line of thought. "There can only be one reason for inviting my original body to join Leach University at this point in time: he wants me to win the Triwizard Tournament as a 'student of Leach University,' or else use some special method at the end to reveal the university's existence. In short, he wants to ride the wave of attention surrounding me and the Triwizard Tournament... but what good would that do?"
"The fundamental reason Leach University can't go public isn't a lack of exposure. It's the resistance created by the current ossified society. That isn't something a single Triwizard Tournament can change..."
"Wait, are they really planning to make some major move through the Triwizard Tournament?"
He suddenly froze, having thought of that possibility. The more he considered it, the more plausible it seemed. "This tournament was originally a conspiracy specially prepared by the pure-blood families to eliminate Dumbledore. If that really gets exposed and broken apart in the end, it would undoubtedly be another heavy blow to their reputation... No, that's not right either. Just damaging their reputation doesn't seem all that useful."
"If we're talking about reputation, then the Death Eaters and Voldemort already ruined the pure-blood families' public standing over a decade ago. At this point, their intentions are practically an open secret. The only reason they've managed to preserve their current position is because of the wealth, resources, and connections accumulated by their ancestors... so what else could it be?"
"Or rather, what is the most direct factor currently preventing Leach University from going public? And how exactly does Grindelwald plan to use this Triwizard Tournament to remove that factor?"
"..."
After getting nowhere despite thinking about it for half the day, Avada could only set the question aside for the time being and turn to another, even more urgent matter—
"When I asked Goshawk how to deal with Dumbledore, she said Grindelwald only needed me to hide things from Dumbledore on the spot, and that he would handle the rest... He wants Dumbledore to learn of the university's existence?"
"But wouldn't that just be adding fuel to the fire?"
He felt as if he simply could not understand Grindelwald's logic. "If Dumbledore didn't know Grindelwald existed and only saw this as an educational institution dedicated to improving magical society, then fine. At most, he'd only interfere a little or stay wary because he was worried the university's actions were too radical... But if he finds out that Gellert Grindelwald is the one standing behind the university?"
"When this is exactly the time he should be cooperating with Dumbledore to oppose the pure-blood families... what on earth is he thinking?"
"Does he actually think that just because he's behaved himself for over fifty years, Dumbledore will drop all his guard against him?"
If Avada had not long since confirmed that Grindelwald truly shared the university's ideals, and if he did not fully trust Grindelwald's intelligence and ability, he would almost have wanted to ignore Grindelwald's prohibition and run straight to Nurmengard to demand an explanation in person.
"Forget it. I should think about how I'm going to deal with Dumbledore first."
"Grindelwald definitely won't just directly tell Dumbledore that my clone is serving as a professor under him... but if they really do come to some sort of agreement, then Dumbledore will know that I'm going to become Grindelwald's student in the future. At that point, there'll definitely be no shortage of heartfelt lectures and carefully arranged plans for me—the kind of thing on the same level as the Chosen One package in the original story..."
Just imagining Dumbledore's subtle but relentless ways of steering people around made Avada shudder and feel deeply worried about his remaining two years at Hogwarts.
Even if his research achievements had already surpassed Dumbledore's in certain areas, even if he had already cracked several major conspiracies through pure cunning, and even if in a real fight he was confident he could escape Dumbledore intact as long as the old man held back a little... that did not mean he had any confidence at all in beating Dumbledore at manipulation and long-term scheming. This was, after all, an old fox who had lived for over a century and participated in two major wars. So if Dumbledore truly wanted to turn up the pressure on him, it would still cause him immense stress—at the very least, far more stress than Voldemort ever had.
"And then there's the matter of attending university after graduating from Hogwarts... honestly."
At this point, he suddenly felt that Grindelwald's order was practically a blow straight to the head. He was the one suffering from every angle. "He can't seriously mean to make me waste four years at the university, can he?"
"If my original body goes to Leach University, what can I even do there besides waste time? I already hold a professor's position there. Whether it's knowledge or connections, I already have better ways of getting both..."
"Hey, Ken!"
Suddenly, he felt someone tap his shoulder—from the original body's side.
At the moment, that body was studying in Durmstrang's library. Even though curfew was drawing near, he still had not left, just like most of the Hogwarts and Beauxbatons students. After all, the scale of Durmstrang's library collection was on a completely different level from the other two schools. Many books that would normally have been locked away in a Restricted Section elsewhere could be casually read here. If they did not seize the chance to read as much as possible, they might never get another opportunity like this.
And Durmstrang truly did possess extraordinary depth in the fields of dueling and war magic. Quite a few related books were not even held in Leach University's library, which was also why Avada, like so many others, had become so enthusiastic about spending time buried in the place.
"Baron? Cedric?"
Seeing the furtive figures lurking beside him, Avada could not help freezing for a moment. Then, at their signal, he stood up and left the library with them. "What is it?"
"Keep your voice down—just follow us!"
Cedric still wore a hesitant expression, but Baron was practically glowing with excitement. "We may have found a clue to the second task!"
"Oh?"
Hearing that, Avada's curiosity was immediately piqued as well. "What is it?"
"We can't completely confirm it yet... you'll know once you see it!"
Seeing Baron stubbornly refuse to say more, Avada could only follow along helplessly. He also now understood why Cedric looked the way he did—even if cheating had already become an indispensable and glorious tradition of the Triwizard Tournament, Cedric still probably could not quite accept that sort of behavior...
So the three of them quietly slipped out of Durmstrang Castle under the cover of night. After walking for over a hundred meters, they finally stopped in an open grassy field.
"This is..."
Before Baron could explain, Avada had already noticed at a glance that there was something hidden beneath this seemingly ordinary patch of land. "A ground-reinforcement spell? Over such a large area?"
"It was done by those people who played the 'investigation team' in the middle of the night."
Baron crouched halfway down and explained while placing a hand against the ground. "Cedric saw it last night when he couldn't sleep... Didn't you say those people were actually staff setting up the second task? And according to Cedric, they made no effort at all to hide what they were doing while casting the spell. Durmstrang's administration and Dumbledore definitely couldn't have missed it, so this probably isn't some conspiracy. It should only be the arena for the second task..."
(End of Chapter)