Philosopher's Stone... huh.
It would have been nice if he had taken it. A miraculous stone of alchemy that can skip a whole lot of steps and allow one to change the molecular properties of materials.
Although it might not have been possible given his strength back then and Dumbledore's arrangements.
Now he thought about it; Dumbledore might have closely monitored the room, aware of everyone who entered that place.
The whole setup and Philosopher's Stone were just a trap and bait to lure Voldemort and a place to test Prophecy, Harry, and the unknown power that Voldemort does not know of – the power of love.
That Philosopher's Stone was destined to be destroyed. Now he should think about how to create a new one.
The design and a whole lot of steps and rituals required to create one might be found in Nicolas Flamel's legacy. Maybe Dumbledore might know how to create it.
He needs to spend a lot of energy and time rummaging through Nicolas Flamel's collection to get his hands on it, even if he went to Beauxbatons's library.
And there's a possibility that Dumbledore might refuse to tell him or try to act like he doesn't know the formula even if he knows.
Looking at Grindelwald, Andy felt a sense of relief, as if a burden had been unloaded.
From his reaction and his goal, Andy is now sure that Grindelwald wants and needs the Philosopher's Stone more than he does.
He might have already had his men rummage through Nicolas Flamel's collection. If he can push his pride down a bit, he could even directly get it from Dumbledore's hand with his silver tongue.
Now Andy only needs to push Grindelwald a bit to make him try harder to get the formula and share it with him if he gets it.
It's not that he won't try to search. He would try to find it in Nicolas Flamel's alchemy books while learning alchemy. It's just that he won't put too much energy and time into it for now.
"Mr Grindelwald. Hm... do you know the method to create the Philosopher's Stone?" Andy asked in a casual tone.
"I mean, were you able to find the method in the legacy Mr Flamel donated to Beauxbatons? If you find it, you could make a new one."
"No." Grindelwald shook his head. "I asked a few professors there to look for it, but they still haven't found it yet."
He knows Andy is also interested in it, given the interest he has shown in immorality before.
But he has no qualms about sharing the method with Andy if he manages to get his hands on it, because other than Dumbledore and a few of his men – who are also alchemy masters – Andy has the best chance of creating the Philosopher's Stone if he got even half the talent he has shown so far in alchemy.
The talent he has shown so far is truly ridiculous, unscientific, or unmagical.
In just three to four years, he managed to reach the top of the magic world.
"I won't be grumbling now if I know how to make one."
"If we found it, I don't mind sharing it with you." Grindelwald winked and said in a teasing tone.
"Thanks, Mr Grindelwald." Andy scratched his forehead, feeling embarrassed.
Still, he managed to gather his calm quickly thanks to his thickskin and continued. "So... do you think the professor knows the method? You know, he was Mr Flamel's partner and worked together with him to find the uses of dragon blood."
"And Mr Flamel entrusted the Philosopher's Stone to him before his death."
Grindelwald asked in a strange tone, "Are you suggesting me to ask Dumbledore?"
This brat is getting more and more shameless.
"Hm." Andy turned his head and nodded, turning a little red.
Andy couldn't keep a straight face; he felt he needed to thicken his skin more.
"I already asked him; he evaded the question. He just said he needs to watch some more to confirm I am not a threat to the wizarding world." Grindelwald shook his head and answered.
The half century of isolation tempered his nature and ego. The first thing Grindelwald did, after convincing Dumbledore that he had no plans to use violent means this time, was to ask for the method to create the Philosopher's Stone.
"Do you know why I let myself be imprisoned just after a simple defeat?" Grindelwald changed the subject.
He wants Andy to empathise with the wizards' world and feel the threat muggles pose.
Feeling the conversation was not going to end soon, Andy transfigured an ice-like round table and chairs for them to sit on and shook his head.
Although he knows there's more to it than it's let known, he doesn't know the exact reason.
Even if Grindelwald got defeated, given the numerous Acolytes who followed him and his influence back then, there was no need for him to give up.
Moreover, that was a private duel.
What major event happened in the wizarding world in 1945?
Other than tension and skirmishes caused by Grindelwald and his Acolytes, nothing major that warrants him to give up happened.
In the Muggle world, in 1945... 1945... World War ended, and the...
Nuclear bombs... Little Boy and Fat Man landed on Japan.
Is this a coincidence, or did Aunt Rowling plan this?
After taking the seat, Grindelwald waited for Andy to snap out of his thoughts.
Looking at Andy's widened eyes, Grindelwald knew he probably guessed it.
"I have a good innate talent for divination. My eyes are capable of glimpsing into the future." Grindelwald muttered, getting lost in thought.
"In my youth, I have glimpsed the scenes of the Muggle World War. I saw the scene of a big, white-yellow-red mushroom-shaped fiery cloud grow from the muggle city to the sky, causing a wave of destruction and death at its rise, reaping lots of souls with it to the sky."
"Watching the rapid growth of their technology and weapons of destruction used in their war, I know what I saw would eventually come true."
"I tried to unite the wizarding world to fight against the muggle and to rule over them, but it was an impossible task given the number of muggle-borns and muggle sympathisers."
"Then I planned to breach the statute of secrecy, to make the muggle world and wizard world confront each other forcefully."
"That's when Dumbledore chose to oppose me. Before our private duel, I learnt from my informant that the scene that I saw came true."
"I felt hopeless. With Dumbledore and many Ministries of Magic opposing me, it would lead to civil war if I tried to take control of Muggle rulers, which would cause the wizard population to decline even more."
"So I decided to give up after the duel, giving my supporters free room without getting prosecuted by various Ministries because of me, and let them explore their own methods to defend against the possible war with the help of their own country's Ministry," Grindelwald said with a sigh.
After a short silence, he quickly cheered up.
"But now we have a hope. I believe the Wizarding World would also progress rapidly in this era." Looking at Andy, Grindelwald's eyes shone, and he concluded with a big smile.
"I will show you the fruits of my supporters' decades of hard work this winter holiday and introduce you to them. You can also gain some answers to your question from their experiments."
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