Lockhart and Garr exclaimed in unison, "Phoenix!"
Garr panicked, his legs giving out, and he slumped to the ground. "Dumbledore's here?" he asked, despair in his voice.
What could they possibly have done to warrant Dumbledore coming to arrest them himself?
Lockhart also stumbled and fell, but he quickly noticed a difference. "No… that's not right. I've seen Dumbledore's Phoenix at Hogwarts, and this one looks a bit different."
Mabel looked at the Firebird, finding it incredibly familiar. It took her a while to recall its name.
"…Mihail?"
Mihail nodded, chirped twice, and then turned, gesturing with its head.
Mabel asked, "Did Wade Gray send you to find me? Where is he?"
Mihail didn't answer; it simply flew out and landed on the perimeter wall, looking back at her.
Mabel understood. Without hesitation, she pulled open the door. Garr couldn't help but exclaim, "Wait! What if it's a trap?"
As soon as the words left his mouth, he clamped a hand over his mouth, seemingly regretting what he'd said. Lockhart glared at him with a fierce look.
Mabel paused briefly, standing by the door, and then turned back, a smile suddenly gracing her face.
"I should go. Please thank Mr. Trocar for taking me in."
Her expression, looking just like an ordinary, carefree little girl, made both men momentarily stunned.
Then, the girl lifted her skirt and quickly ran out. The Firebird flew and stopped intermittently ahead of her, leading her away.
The room was silent for a while.
"…Strange," Garr muttered, rubbing his nose. "Why do I suddenly feel… a bit worried about her?"
"You worry if you want. I just pray she never comes back."
Lockhart slowly stood up, leaning against the wall, his face pained. "All my bones ache right now. I just want to lie in bed for a bit. Don't wake me for lunch…"
Garr watched him slowly shuffle into the bedroom, each step looking like torture, and couldn't help but feel a pang of sympathy.
"Sigh… Humans are truly too fragile. Good thing I'm a Vampire…"
He licked his lips, a look of longing in his eyes. "Where should I sneak some blood for lunch? Never mind, Mabel just left, and Dementors might still be nearby. Better be careful…"
…
Mabel followed the Firebird, running all the way to an abandoned building. Seeing its eerie appearance inside, she couldn't help but feel a little scared.
Fortunately, Mihail didn't fly deep inside. It soon stopped, landing on a dust-covered railing on the second floor.
"Um… Mr. Gray?"
Mabel slowly walked inside, asking softly.
The abandoned building was very empty; she could even hear her own echo.
Then, she heard a voice.
"My apologies, Miss Mabel." A figure emerged from behind a pillar to her diagonal rear. "Since it's inconvenient for any of us to show ourselves, we had Mihail lead you here."
Mabel took a step back, saying cautiously, "You're not Wade Gray! Who are you?"
Black mist billowed out, crawling along the ground and up the pillars on both sides.
Mihail on the railing tilted its head and spread its wings, its body erupting in a bright blaze. The brilliant flames illuminated the eerie, dim building, and also allowed Mabel to clearly see the "figure" next to the pillar.
Her eyes suddenly widened.
It was a square, colorful box, topped with a pair of antennae with eyes, thin metal arms on its sides, and several wheels at the bottom.
It looked like a strange toy, but the voice was indeed coming from it.
"No need to doubt, I am speaking." The box "walked" two steps closer to her. "Hello, I am the Rubik's Cube Golem. Wade Gray is my master; he personally gave me life. The others are all in the same situation as me."
Following the direction it pointed, Mabel saw the Firebird Mihail, a broom floating in the air and nodding, and a cloak making a waving gesture. There seemed to be a figure covered by the cloak as well.
She stared at the short, stout figure for a while, confirming it couldn't possibly be Wade, and asked, "And this gentleman is?"
"I am also a Magic Golem," Peter Two added. "A Humanoid Golem."
Mabel pretended to nod calmly, as if this sort of thing was common, but in reality, her heart was filled with wonder.
During this time, thanks to newspapers, she was no longer as ignorant about the Wizarding World as she had been initially. But most of the Magic Golems she read about in the newspapers were in the form of small animals; she had never seen such bizarre ones.
Humanoid Golems were actually quite rare because some Wizards believed such Magic Golems would endanger the safety and ethics of the Wizarding World. They were very resistant to them and even agitated in newspapers for the Ministry of Magic to list them as forbidden items, prohibiting their production and sale.
Of course, such a proposal did not pass, but it was said that very few people owned Humanoid Golems.
"Why are you wearing a cloak?" Mabel asked curiously.
"Because my appearance would scare people and cause a disturbance," Peter Two said.
—How ugly must one be to cause chaos just by their appearance?
Mabel unconsciously had this thought, wondering why Wade would create such strange and ugly Magic Golems when he had so many other choices.
Then she remembered the reason she came out and asked, "Where is Mr. Gray?"
"That's why we sought you out, Miss Mabel," the Rubik's Cube Golem said seriously. "Our master has been captured by an evil Dark Wizard, and we need your strength!"
Mabel's expression shifted slightly as she asked, "What's going on?"
...
Wade was unaware that his aesthetic reputation was being quietly damaged. He was examining a cloak Drayne had sent over.
The plain black, hooded cloak was very simple, with only the Alliance symbol on the front and back. Its spacious pockets could easily conceal an entire Wand, and there were several hidden pockets on the sides for other items.
"Try it on," a serious-looking witch with her hair in a bun said. "The size should be just right."
Wade didn't refuse. He put on the cloak and pulled up the hood, intending to see himself in the mirror. To his surprise, he couldn't see his own face!
The wide hood cast his entire head into shadow. Even with bright ambient light, Wade couldn't meet his own gaze in the mirror, nor could he make out his specific features.
The cloak also blurred his figure. The person in the mirror, aside from a general height, was indistinguishable by gender or build.
Wade was now over 1.6 meters tall. With the cloak on, no one could tell he was still a minor.
The witch behind him reached out and tugged hard on his hood twice from behind, but couldn't pull it down.
Wade pulled off the hood and silently watched her.
"You see? Others can't forcibly pull off the hood; only you can remove it yourself."
The witch explained, "The Alliance's influence isn't what it used to be, so it's crucial to conceal your identity during operations – this is a lesson we learned from painful past experiences."
She put away her sewing kit and basket full of fabric, then sighed as she looked at Wade, a hint of sympathy and pity in her eyes.
"You're so young, yet you're joining their operations… Regardless, stick with that man, no matter what – even if he asks you to walk into fire – you must absolutely not doubt him! Remember my words!"
A knock came from the door. The witch quickly composed her expression, picked up her basket, and exited the room with her head down.
Drayne stood at the doorway. He looked at Wade with a satisfied expression and said, "Let's go. The gentleman is waiting for you."
Both pulled up their hoods. As they walked down the corridor, Wade saw the place for the first time.
It was a stone castle, perhaps as large as Hogwarts, with heavy stone walls made of grayish-brown boulders. The corridor was covered with soft, exquisite carpets, making their footsteps almost silent.
The windows at the top were narrow and dim. Countless candles lined the walls, and the candelabras below were twisted but incredibly lifelike human sculptures.
Some portraits hung on the walls, but none moved, appearing to be ordinary Muggle paintings.
As they proceeded, people from other rooms gradually joined them, and the crowd around them grew. All wore identical cloaks, their faces obscured, making no sound, like a group of wandering ghosts.
Wade followed the crowd into the great hall and saw Grindelwald standing before a massive portrait, gazing up at the scene depicted within.
It was a painting of hell, with countless people struggling and suffering torment through layers of inferno. In the uppermost layer, angels bathed in bright light appeared indifferent, even mocking, and even the cherubs, who should have been innocent and lovely, looked malevolent.
Only Grindelwald had not used his cloak to conceal his appearance.
Everyone stood silently behind him, not uttering a word.
Grindelwald turned around and said, "Hell and heaven are separated by such a fine line that we often struggle to distinguish between them. But here on Earth, we can hear the agonizing cries of souls."
"I know some of you may have come here only because of a parent's dying wish, some with the intention of destroying me, and others have lost hope in their lives and seek meaning here."
"Children, I don't care… I don't care why you are standing here, but today I want to tell you – why am I still here?"
"When you have bread, jobs, Gobstones, and Quidditch, why do I still incite chaos and cause people to bleed?"
"Because Wizards still have no freedom, no dignity! Because you wear masks of peace, pretending your lives are perfect, but you are just beasts caged in a zoo! Because you are still afraid, still terrified, and still being harmed!"
"When it's not you bleeding, can you pretend not to hear? When it's not your loved ones being killed, can you pretend you still have peace?"
"Wake up, Wizards! This world is no different from fifty years ago; it is still dirty and ugly!"
"Pale words are weak and hollow, but today, I will show you the true face of the world!"
Grindelwald waved his Wand, and the outermost ring of the chandelier spun violently, enlarging and rapidly descending. Some Wizards quickly dodged, watching the ring land among them, slowly rotating in circles.
A moment later, Drayne stepped forward and touched the ring, instantly vanishing.
Then one, two, three… countless Wizards came forward in succession, their speed increasing. The crowded hall rapidly emptied.
Wade hesitated for a moment, then also touched the ring. He was violently hooked, instantly lifted off the ground, and the surroundings became a blur of afterimages. He felt as if he was flying incredibly fast.
Wade landed abruptly. Just as he steadied himself, a surge of Magical Power pulled him away.
"Kid, stay with me," Grindelwald said.
Wade didn't know how this man had distinguished him from a crowd of identical figures. He simply, after taking in his surroundings, quickly cast multiple protective spells on himself.
The other end of the Portkey was a completely unfamiliar place. A white building not far away gave a sense of déjà vu. Muggle soldiers were startled by the sudden invasion of Wizards, but someone shouted, and they quickly drew their guns.
Inside the building, weapons also moved, aiming their barrels at the many Wizards.
The black-robed Wizards appeared intimidating, but not everyone had quick enough reactions, and many didn't even know the Shield Charm.
After a few gunshots, several Wizards bled, screaming as they fell.
Grindelwald powerfully waved his Wand, and blue flames appeared out of thin air, rapidly expanding, sweeping past the Wizards like a surging flood towards the terrified Muggle soldiers.
"Fire! It's on fire!"
"It's a devil!"
"Shoot! Kill that man!"
The soldiers fell into chaos; some tried to flee, others to retaliate. But in the blink of an eye, the flames engulfed them. Dozens, still in defensive or running postures, instantly turned into piles of black ash.
The remaining soldiers completely lost their will to fight, dropping their guns and turning to flee.
Weapons on the walls twisted and deformed under the influence of Magic, exploding with loud roars.
Wade saw that even a few black-robed Wizards were incinerated by the blue flames, but a portion of them bravely and fearlessly pressed forward through the flames, truly unharmed.
Perhaps it was the courage spurred by their comrades' blood and wails, or perhaps they were swept along with no choice, or maybe it was their fear of Grindelwald... Many black-robed Wizards stepped forward into the flames one after another, casting Spells at the fleeing soldiers.
Not everyone could kill as openly as Grindelwald, but even if only hit by a Stunning Spell, they would be engulfed by the flames that followed.
"I know you participated in that operation not long ago," Grindelwald suddenly said. "Does this place look familiar?"
Wade asked, "Is this another research base for The Organization?"
"Research?" Grindelwald chuckled softly. "No, this is a place for modification."
He wielded his Wand like a conductor, making the blue flames engulf everything in front of them like a raging beast, as if even the air was burning, suffocating.
Wade followed behind Grindelwald, gripping his Wand tightly. He looked at the seemingly unguarded back in front of him and emotionlessly averted his gaze.
With a wave of his Wand, an invisible Shield Charm blocked a stray bullet, and translucent ripples appeared in the air.
*"Boom!"*
Amidst a deafening roar, the thick wall collapsed, and the Wizard who had entered first instantly froze.
He was one of Grindelwald's most loyal followers, well-trained, with a tenacious and resolute will.
But at that moment, he stood frozen, his pupils rapidly contracting, completely forgetting to react.
"This... what is this?" The Wizard couldn't help but retreat in horror.
Behind the wall, a scene of hell on earth was revealed before everyone.
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