Thirty minutes later.
Dumbledore and the others stopped to rest at Jacob's bakery.
"Where's Queenie?" Dumbledore asked.
Jacob shrugged. "When I was getting ready to go testify, she just happened to go visit her sister. Good thing, too—otherwise… I don't know how I could've kept it from her. You know how she is… she always just knows."
Dumbledore nodded. "You should leave America for now as well. At this point… it might be better if you did."
Newt agreed. "Yeah, Grindelwald's in his prime right now… you two absolutely can't stay here. Who knows if he'll come after you for revenge?"
"Well, I don't mind leaving… There really isn't a peaceful place left in this world anymore," Jacob said with a sigh.
The Muggle world was at war, and the wizarding world couldn't find peace either. Even someone as optimistic as Jacob was beginning to feel lost.
Dumbledore fell silent for a moment before speaking with a note of guilt. "This is partly my fault too… I did sneak into the dungeons before, but I didn't find you… If I had discovered you earlier…"
Grindelwald had written in his note that he'd already given Dumbledore a chance. At the time, both Newt and Jacob—two crucial witnesses—were right there in the dungeon.
But Dumbledore had been distracted and unsettled then, with no mind to search the place thoroughly, so of course he hadn't found them.
As for how he found Grindelwald without searching?
Finding Grindelwald was far too easy—just head toward wherever the guards were most concentrated.
In other words, Grindelwald really had given him a chance...
Missing that chance left Dumbledore deeply regretful.
Wade said, "Professor, don't be like that. Grindelwald said that to you on purpose, just to make you feel bad. I think—even if you had been in a position to search the dungeon at the time, you still wouldn't have found them. You really think Grindelwald's words can be trusted?"
Newt added, "Exactly, Professor Dumbledore. Don't blame yourself. Even if you had found us, there's no guarantee he would've let you take us away… It's entirely possible he had a trap laid just for you. Maybe it was better you didn't find us."
"I'd bet anything that's the case!" Jacob chimed in. "That guy stuck us in that dungeon so openly and didn't care one bit if you found us—something about that stinks!"
Dumbledore sighed again. He had sighed more times today than in the entire past year combined.
Still, with everyone saying this, he finally managed to pull himself together again.
Grindelwald's sudden shift in tactics had caught everyone completely off guard…
"Since things have come to this," Newt suggested, "our priority now should be helping Jacob and the others get out of America."
"Alright… time to head back," Dumbledore said, looking at Wade and Tom. "I'm still responsible for these two, so I really should be cautious."
"No worries, you go ahead and help Mr. Kowalski. We can go out for a walk on our own…" Wade began.
But he was immediately cut off by Tom. "With Grindelwald in power now, you still dare go wandering around? Can you stop making things harder for the professor? Can you try acting a little more mature?"
Wade stared at Tom in shock. This guy had grown bold today—how dare he turn the tables and lecture him?
As soon as he finished speaking, Tom shrank back, afraid Wade might retaliate on the spot.
It wasn't like he wanted to pick a fight with Wade.
But right now, he didn't want to stay in America even one second longer!
And Dumbledore was already clearly on edge.
If he didn't speak up, this old man might actually get sweet-talked into letting Wade run off again!
"Tom is right, Wade. Don't fool around for now… I'll send you both back through the Floo network first."
"Fine, fine… and just when I finally got a chance to explore America," Wade said with a sigh.
In truth, he was hoping to sneak off and listen in on Grindelwald's speech.
Yes, the first thing Grindelwald did after walking free—upon seeing so many followers gathered in the United States—was immediately set a time and place for another speech to stir up support and sway public sentiment again.
But now, Wade's plan to sneak over and listen in had been completely ruined by Tom.
…
After Wade and Tom returned to Britain—
The Daily Prophet spent several days covering the news of Grindelwald successfully clearing his name.
Wade also saw in the paper that Madam Picquery, who had tried to use Dumbledore as a scapegoat, had now stepped down from her position.
And the newly appointed president… Wade could tell just from his eyes in the photo that he was a supremacist.
The fanaticism in his gaze as he occasionally looked over at Grindelwald's figure in the background of the photo… it practically jumped off the page.
Honestly, if that guy suddenly ran up and shouted "Sieg Heil!" at Grindelwald, Wade wouldn't be surprised in the slightest.
In fact, after sending Wade and Tom back, Dumbledore had immediately returned to America with a large group to keep a close watch.
After Grindelwald was cleared of all charges, Dumbledore and the others feared he might revert to his old ways—secretly using violence against those who opposed him.
But after guarding closely for several days, they were shocked to find that Grindelwald's methods had completely changed.
He had completely abandoned his old tactics. Not a single witch or wizard who disagreed with him was harmed.
Instead, he chose to engage in multiple debates with dissenting wizards through wizarding newspapers in America.
Later on, both sides seemed to get tired of how tedious newspaper debates were and decided to switch to in-person debates instead.
Anyone daring to go head-to-head with Grindelwald, of course, had to be a wizard with considerable courage.
They readily accepted Grindelwald's challenge.
And then… they all lost.
In terms of debate, not a single opposing wizard managed to out-argue him.
Reporters diligently compiled the full contents of these debates and published them in wizarding newspapers and magazines read across the magical world.
So while Dumbledore and his group remained on high alert… Grindelwald never once resorted to violence.
Instead, through one debate after another, he spread his ideology and philosophy as far and wide as possible across the global wizarding community.
If Wade had to guess, Grindelwald's next move would probably be publishing a book.
After all, many who hadn't cared about him before were now becoming genuinely interested in his ideas after watching those debates.
By the time various Ministries of Magic realized what was happening and tried to ban the publication of the debates—it was already too late.
Just when everyone was speculating that he might take up some official position within the American Magical Congress and formally enter politics, Grindelwald suddenly vanished.
This time, he was gone for a full half month.
No one could make sense of it.
That included Dumbledore and his group, who were still keeping watch to prevent him from causing trouble.
However, when Grindelwald reappeared, he was already standing beside the British Minister for Magic, Fawley…
When Dumbledore saw the newspaper photo of Grindelwald standing next to Minister Fawley, the two of them chatting amiably, he felt as if the sky had collapsed.
He had been guarding the front door in America… and the thief broke in through the back in Britain!?
By the time Dumbledore rushed back to Britain, the latest issue of the Daily Prophet reported that Grindelwald had successfully secured a position within the British Ministry of Magic—as a Senior Advisor.
The role of Senior Advisor was originally just a token position, usually reserved for pure-blood families who donated to the Ministry and wanted some form of status.
In reality, it held very little actual power.
An advisor was just that—an advisor. Their only authority was to offer suggestions on Ministry operations.
Whether those suggestions were accepted depended entirely on the Ministry's mood.
So, technically, it was just a token position.
But… "token" was a relative term!
When pure-blood families made random suggestions, the Ministry could simply ignore them.
However—Grindelwald's suggestions… who would dare not take them seriously?
Even if he didn't say much himself, just having one of his followers trip you up behind the scenes would be enough to cause a world of trouble!
As a result, this so-called "Senior Advisor" role ended up carrying enormous influence!
Even when Dumbledore returned to Britain and paid a visit to Minister Fawley at the Ministry, the situation did not improve in the slightest.
Dumbledore could protect you for a time, but not forever.
And more importantly, Dumbledore followed the rules too closely… while Grindelwald was ruthlessly cunning.
He didn't even need to lift a finger to get revenge.
That's why many people would rather offend Dumbledore than risk crossing Grindelwald.
And so, a token position like "Senior Advisor," once it landed in Grindelwald's hands, suddenly became more powerful than the Minister for Magic himself!
There was absolutely nothing Dumbledore could do about it.
Because everything Grindelwald did now was perfectly legal.
Ever since Grindelwald cleared his name, Dumbledore hadn't managed to gain the upper hand even once. He had been on the back foot the entire time.
No one had expected this!
A Dark wizard who gave up casting the Killing Curse and started pursuing politics—who could deal with that?
When Dumbledore saw Grindelwald again at the Ministry, it was a full month later.
Grindelwald was chatting and laughing with several high-ranking officials.
As soon as the others noticed Dumbledore approaching, they quietly dispersed, tactfully leaving space for the two to talk alone.
"So? Nothing you can do to stop me, right? I told you this would happen," Grindelwald said with a smile.
"I'll find a way to stop you in the end…"
"Such pale and powerless words, Dumbledore," Grindelwald chuckled. "Even if you've confiscated the Elder Wand, so what? Do you really think… I'll give you a chance to use it?"
Dumbledore said nothing. It was true—even though he had taken possession of the Elder Wand, he hadn't had a single opportunity to use it against the Alliance members… because there hadn't even been a chance!
"Dumbledore… don't be so naive. You and I both know there's only one way to stop me… and that is for you to pick up the weapon of power," Grindelwald said, lifting his glass and taking a light sip. "But… do you dare? Do you dare to touch power?"
"These days, the age of bloodshed and violence is over, Dumbledore…"
________
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