Happy times pass by like a fleeting white horse; in the blink of an eye, the originally ample visiting time had come to an end.
On the way out, Adelaide turned back to look repeatedly. Her gaze was filled with deep reluctance and endless attachment, her eyes always firmly locked on the closed cell door behind her, as if she wanted to see through the cold wooden panel one last time at the figure inside who occupied her heart and thoughts.
She prayed silently in her heart: "Great-Granduncle, please be sure to remember to keep the promise between us!"
Indeed, Adelaide wasn't helping Gellert act for free; she had received benefits.
Gellert had solemnly promised that in a few days, he would send someone to pick up Adelaide and take her to a wand shop to have a wand custom-made specifically for her.
Before this, Adelaide had more than once requested Dumbledore to let her use her collection of old oak branches and Phoenix Fawkes's tail feathers to find a wandmaker to customize a wand—but she was always rejected by Dumbledore on the grounds that she was too young and could not yet control a wand.
Adelaide hadn't originally intended to be in such a hurry, but she had accidentally learned from Edward that when customizing a wand with restricted materials, it could take 1 to 3 years to make because the wood and core need a long period of synchronization to reach the optimal state!
This left Adelaide, who was nearly 10 years old, burning with anxiety. Merlin had mentioned her unique constitution; if she couldn't possess her own wand in time, she would miss starting at Hogwarts at age 11!
And it would be the first case in the world of missing enrollment because of not having a suitable wand.
To avoid appearing in the'Social Death' section of The Daily Prophet, Adelaide could only turn to her Great-Granduncle for help.
Fortunately, the other party was not one for following conventions. As soon as Gellert heard that Adelaide wanted to have a wand early to get a head start, he agreed without a second thought.
Thinking of this, Adelaide let out a long sigh of relief and looked up at the expressionless Dumbledore—compared to the reluctant Adelaide, Dumbledore seemed very cold-hearted.
He remained silent the whole time, and when the time was up, he silently took Adelaide's hand and turned to leave, seemingly wanting to depart from this place of trouble as quickly as possible.
Long after Adelaide and Dumbledore had left, Gellert in the cell was still tightly gripping the cold iron bars, his body leaning forward slightly, his eyes staring straight at the iron door of the dungeon.
His expression was lonely and sorrowful, like a lonely 'husband-watching stone'—cough, one should say a 'great-grandniece-watching stone.'
Well, he was just thinking about his great-grandniece and wasn't paying attention to a certain fellow who didn't even look back once.
On the way back, Adelaide asked softly, "Mr. Albus, will my Great-Granduncle get better?"
Dumbledore nodded slightly in affirmation and then explained, "I will do my best to save him... After all, Gellert's identity is too special. If he can be kept alive and his influence used through appropriate means to guide certain extreme pure-blood Wizards, it might play a greater role in maintaining the peace and stability of the entire wizarding world. In contrast, letting him die like this would be somewhat of a loss."
Adelaide curled her lips after hearing this; the words were full of the greater good without a trace of personal emotion. Great-Granduncle's road to winning back his wife wouldn't be easy... After returning, Dumbledore immediately threw himself into busy work.
Besides his primary duties at Hogwarts, he traveled between the Ministries of magic of various European countries, constantly negotiating and consulting with people, trying to secure more opportunities for Gellert.
Even for Britain's most important annual holiday, Christmas, he only made brief appearances at Hogwarts and Godrics Hollow to give everyone holiday greetings before hurriedly disappearing via Apparition.
Heaven rewards the diligent. After Dumbledore's long and persistent efforts, combined with the recent abnormal activity of the remnants of the Acolytes, the International Confederation of Wizards issued a resolution on March 1, 1989: approving medical parole for Gellert Grindelwald!
In view of Gellert Grindelwald's past misdeeds and potential danger, the International Confederation of Wizards specifically designated him to be placed in a special ward at St Mungos in Britain for treatment.
After all, if there ever came a day when Gellert Grindelwald attempted to escape, then looking at the whole world, perhaps only Dumbledore could subdue him.
Upon receiving the news, Gellert's back no longer ached and his legs no longer hurt. Holding the resolution, he danced the waltz once again; the second stage of his plan was also a complete success!
On the day after Gellert Grindelwald was transferred to the special ward at St Mungos under the joint law enforcement of Aurors from Britain, Austria, and Germany—a grand scene indeed—Amandine Rosier, who had graduated from Durmstrang and joined the French Ministry of Magic as an intern Auror, Apparated directly into the first-floor living room of No. 13 Oak Road, Ealing District, London.
She was sent by Gellert to fulfill the promise and take Adelaide to get a custom wand.
Although Amandine thought more highly of Gregorovitch's wand-making skills, Adelaide's freedom of movement was strictly limited. Without Dumbledore's permission, she couldn't step a foot out of Britain, let alone go find Gregorovitch.
Fortunately, Adelaide didn't mind. They set their sights on Ollivanders Wand Shop in Diagon Alley, hoping that the famous wandmaker Mr. Ollivander would take Adelaide's order.
Since the workhorse intern Amandine had only taken half a day off, she Apparated Adelaide directly to the entrance of Ollivanders Wand Shop to save time.
Arriving at Diagon Alley for the first time, the dizzy Adelaide didn't even have time to look around before she was carried into the wand shop by Amandine.
Ollivander's storefront looked more like a cardboard box shop than a wand shop—countless boxes neatly arranged on shelves were stacked up to the ceiling, which shocked Adelaide. There must have been thousands of wands; did so many Wizards in Britain need to change wands every year? Ollivander, with his explosive white curly hair, drifted out from the back, muttering in a dazed voice:
"Aha, unexpected guests. Let me see... Hmm, this lady here has never ordered a wand from me, and this little lady here is not yet of age to buy a wand. This is quite novel. How may I help you two?"
Amandine did not answer but stared suspiciously at Ollivander for a long time. This was the best wandmaker in Britain?
Compared to a craftsman who makes wands, this man looked more like a charlatan or a street-side fortune-telling seer. In short, he seemed unreliable!
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