The fire in the fireplace roared, warming the room.
Wade tossed a few pine logs into the fireplace, poked them twice with the fire tongs, then nestled into the sofa and began to read.
After he helped Morrow edit his videos and taught him how to use the software, Wade's treatment quietly improved significantly. Drayne not only moved him to a suite with a fireplace but also had many Magic Books sent to him.
The downside was that most of the books were in German, and some even used ancient script.
Wade hadn't learned German, so he requested a dictionary. He read with difficulty, trying to understand as he went along.
Fortunately, English and German shared common root words from long ago, and their writing had similarities; some words were even identical. This made it less challenging than learning an entirely new language.
Morrow would also stop by when he was free, sometimes to help Wade translate German books into English, and sometimes to teach him German writing and reading. When Wade mispronounced a word, Morrow would often hold his stomach and laugh so hard he'd pound the floor, making Wade wonder what kind of associations he was making.
The book Wade held now documented ancient German magical incidents, even including events mistaken for Magic that were actually just Muggle persecutions of one another.
In England, or rather, at Hogwarts, this type of book was rarely seen. Most were likely hidden away, forbidden for students to access or read. Wade had seen a few at the Black Family Home, but not many.
However, Grindelwald didn't mind young Wizards learning about the dark history.
For example, in the 16th century, the archbishop ordered the cleansing of witches, Protestants, and Jews. Hundreds of people from 22 villages in Trier, Germany, were burned alive. Many were local sheriffs, judges, and council members; even priests were not spared.
The author was a direct witness to the Witch Hunt, and he wrote at the end of his record:
[The unfortunate Weber family were the only true Wizards who perished in this incident. When their neighbor knocked on the door, he might have thought they were inviting him for a couple of beers as usual, never expecting a sharp axe to greet him instead.]
[After Weber's death, his wife and two children under ten years old were not spared. Even more tragically, the neighbor who first attacked them gained nothing from this betrayal; instead, he was suspected of demonic possession and sentenced to immediate execution.]
[From the capital to the mountain villages, from Trier to Saxony, from governors to shepherds, no matter their status or where they lived, anyone suspected of being a Wizard was subjected to extreme punishment.]
[Hanging, burning, dismemberment, slow slicing, quartering, explosion... people used every torture they could imagine against their own kind, even if there was only one Wizard among a thousand, or even none at all, they still resolutely carried out this slaughter.]
[They showed no concern about accidentally killing their own kind, or perhaps that was one of their original goals.]
[The executions were cruel and terrifying, yet the onlookers applauded. They cheered and laughed, seemingly forgetting that they themselves could be the next victims. This collective madness filled me with deep fear, as if everyone had transformed into demons, and the human world was a terrifying hell.]
[The Notice-Me-Not Charm doesn't always work. Squibs and talented individuals hidden among Muggles can see through the disguise of Magic.]
[I no longer dare to use Magic. I burned all my Magic Books and hid my Wand in the deepest part of the basement. I narrowly escaped this round of cleansing, but when will the next round come?]
[The Schmidt family lost contact over two months ago. I don't know if they're still alive. This evening, I unintentionally fixed a broken wheel with wandless Magic. I wonder if Miller next door saw it; I keep feeling like he's looking at me strangely.]
[Perhaps hiding among Muggles isn't a rational choice. The only way to truly protect ourselves is to completely distance ourselves from them, even to live deep underground like ancient Wizards, to avoid encountering the same tragedy.]
[Life will certainly be inconvenient away from people, but compared to the fear of waiting for the butcher's knife to fall, being able to sleep peacefully is better than anything...]
"Knock, knock, knock."
The door was knocked a few times. Wade put down his book, called out, "Come in!" and then added a few more logs to the fireplace.
The room was actually quite warm, but the content he had just read left him with an enduring chill.
"Hey, Wade!"
It was indeed Morrow who entered. He said with a smile, "You're reading again! Everyone's back, and there's a feast in the Great Hall. Come join the fun with me!"
"A feast?" Wade shook his head. "I'm not going."
"I know you don't want to reveal your identity, don't worry, I've got everything ready!"
Morrow took out a bottle of Polyjuice Potion and placed it on the small table beside Wade. He said, "Go, or I'll worry you'll turn silly staying in your room all day! Besides, Mr. Grindelwald didn't say he was imprisoning you."
Wade looked at the bottle of Polyjuice Potion, and his heart stirred.
He wasn't very interested in feasts, but he did need to get out. Especially after reading that historical account, which was more terrifying than any horror story, Wade felt an urgent need for human warmth and bustle to dispel the chill.
He put down the book, picked up the Potions, sniffed it, then tilted his head back and drank it.
...
A few minutes later, Morrow and a young Wizard with brown hair and fair skin walked through the corridor together.
"How about it? The guy I picked for you has a good look, right?" Morrow said. "From now on, I'll call you Braun!"
"Brown?"
"Right, you were 'Gray' before, now you're 'Brown,' so you don't accidentally forget your name."
They passed through the Entrance Hall and entered the Great Hall where the feast was being held.
Unlike the bright and colorful Great Hall at Hogwarts, the Great Hall of this castle seemed to be gray as well, dimly lit and filled with smoke.
Long tables seating a dozen or so people were arranged around the Great Hall, laden with food and drinks. A few people by the fireplace were playing guitars, accordions, and other instruments, singing and chatting.
Most people were eating and drinking, some circulated with their wine glasses, others puffed on long pipes or cigarettes, and a dozen or so were dancing in the open space in the center, with others standing by, watching and cheering them on.
Wade had expected Grindelwald's feast to be very serious, or perhaps elegant and refined, but surprisingly, it was more like the atmosphere of a common tavern.
"Feel free to eat, or sing, or you can even invite a pretty girl to dance!"
Morrow leaned in beside him and said, "It's fine if you want to have a couple of strong drinks today! If you get drunk, I'll take you back! Do whatever you want, my dear friend, you've earned a share in this victory!"
His voice was a bit loud, and a brown-haired girl passing by with a plate happened to hear him. She glanced at Wade, pursed her lips, and smiled. Her smile, revealing two small canine teeth, was quite charming.
Wade casually picked up a glass of red wine but didn't intend to drink it. He walked over to the fireplace, found an empty stool, sat down, and leaned against the wall, listening to the people singing.
"The winds of Magic blow through the quiet town, ancient bells shatter dreams... Under the old oak tree, Wizards and elves dance together. Centaurs guide the way, brave youths embark on their journey of discovery... A thousand years of stories passed down, ancient promises protect the land..."
"What promise is this song referring to?" Wade casually asked the person next to him.
"It was over a thousand years ago, who knows now?" Morrow said with a shrug.
"A thousand years ago?" Wade asked.
"That song is probably about Merlin's time. I heard that back then, all races could live openly, and Wizards were highly respected," a witch nearby said sadly.
"No need to dwell on the past, Mary." Another person clinked their glass against hers, saying breezily, "We're creating a new era!"
"That's why I want to follow Mister Grindelwald!" a Wizard with a small mustache loudly declared. "I'm tired of hiding!"
"But lately, those guys' defenses have gotten stronger. They all know someone's hunting them! More people are getting injured," Mary said worriedly.
"Muggle weapons are indeed terrifying, but the young lads also lack practice," another older person said. "M'Bie, is your Shield Charm always a beat too slow? Didn't someone shoot your leg off last time?"
"That was a sneak attack! A sneak attack!" M'Bie said angrily. "Can you block a bullet coming from behind?"
"I haven't been injured, isn't that the best proof?" the previous speaker said, shaking his head proudly.
Many people chuckled, comforting M'Bie. "Don't worry, scars are a man's medals! Or maybe you should put more scar cream on it?"
"Just having your leg broken is already good; that idiot Nubel was shot dead!" someone else added.
"When fighting enemies, casualties are always unavoidable."
Drayne appeared out of nowhere. After interjecting a sentence, he looked at Morrow and said, "I was looking for you, Antoine. Where's the person I entrusted to your care? Why isn't he in his room?"
Morrow patted Wade's shoulder and said, "Here he is! Oh, usually nothing happens, but just when I finally bring someone down for a couple of drinks, you have to interrupt."
He complained casually.
Drayne looked at Wade in surprise, and as their eyes met, he finally recognized the true form of the young brown-haired Wizard.
"My apologies, I have two bottles of Riesling from Moselle; I'll send them over later," Drayne said seriously. "But for now, please come with me."
"I don't really like to drink."
Wade put down the untouched red wine and asked as he stood up, "Is something wrong?"
Seeing everyone around them look over curiously, Drayne said, "It's about… weapon-related issues."
He cautiously avoided calling Wade by name, and didn't even mention the word "Alchemy."
Even though they all knew that Wade didn't want to reveal his true name and appearance because he wanted to return to his old life, none of them "exposed" him. In fact, they actively helped him conceal it.
This respect and consideration even gave Wade the illusion that he had become their companion.
The two walked through the crowded hall, Drayne deftly fending off a few drunken revelers. Some young people gathered, laughing loudly and cheering for their recent victories.
In contrast, Drayne, with his perpetually cold expression, seemed like an anomaly. Wade even appeared more integrated into the current environment than him.
Behind them, Morrow was a step late. He drained his cup of wine then hurried to catch up.
Stepping out of the Great Hall, Morrow took a deep breath of the crisp night air, shook his head, and suddenly thought of something.
"Mister Grindelwald didn't come to the banquet… Is he injured? Or unwell?" Morrow asked.
Drayne gave him a cold look and said, "That's not for you to ask, Antoine."
Morrow, however, wasn't intimidated by his cold demeanor and pressed on, "Why are you looking for Wade?"
"None of your business," Drayne said. "You can go back to drinking."
"No, you made me responsible for looking after him, so I'm his temporary guardian!" Morrow insisted. "If you're going to cause trouble for someone under my care, do you expect me to just sit back and do nothing?"
Drayne gave him a cold stare. Seeing that Wade was also looking at him, he thought for a moment and finally decided to reveal some of the inside information.
"Tonight's operation, we encountered an unimaginable counterattack…"
...
Other than the first day, Wade didn't participate in the Alliance's attacks, but he had to help Morrow edit videos every day, so he generally understood what they were doing, even more clearly than most of the participants.
After the island that bred the Obscurus was razed, the person in charge committed suicide, and the Ministry of Magic believed the matter was over. However, Grindelwald, who had escaped from prison, disagreed.
He personally led his people to capture all the subordinates, family, and friends of that person in charge. He went through their memories one by one and finally discovered the base where Wade had been taken for the attack that day.
Then, using the same method, they found a second, third, and fourth… They attacked five of The Organization's bases consecutively before temporarily quieting down.
During their attacks, the Alliance even encountered Werewolves and Vampires, but these two types of dark creatures, which ordinary Wizards greatly feared, had almost no resistance against Grindelwald.
These past few days, it seemed the Alliance had ceased their activities, but in reality, it was only because their operations had become more covert, and their targets had begun to shift to individuals of extraordinary status.
Celebrities, politicians, tycoons, famous judges, university professors… many figures familiar to Wade turned out to be members of that Organization.
Standing by his bedroom window, Wade had more than once seen familiar faces dragged into the castle like dead dogs, their usual impeccably dressed appearances replaced by fear or distortion.
These people not only provided a large amount of intelligence but also contributed significant wealth, which was one of the reasons for the Alliance's recent high spirits.
They also changed their method of killing. Instead of grandly declaring it Magic, they would extract all the information and then use the Imperius Curse to control the target to commit suicide.
Neither Legilimency nor the Imperius Curse left any traces on a corpse, and the Imperius Curse was difficult to accurately detect even with Magic.
As a result, apart from the Organization's participants who knew their people were disappearing in large numbers, to everyone else, these were all isolated incidents, leading them only to lament the immense pressure of modern society, without any further questions.
Originally, these operations involving the capture of a single-digit number of Muggles were not very dangerous. Most of the difficulty came from how to avoid the sight of others and the monitoring of modern technology, as well as accurately finding the target to deal with.
However, in an operation tonight, the Alliance suffered an unexpected defeat.
Wade followed Drayne through several corridors, descending several flights of stairs, and finally saw Grindelwald in a spacious basement.
At the same time, he saw seven or eight corpses lying on the cold, black stone floor. Grindelwald was lowering a white cloth, allowing it to cover the terrified face beneath.
"Sir," Drayne said, "Wade Gray is here."
At this moment, Wade's attention was drawn to something in Wawerlett's hand nearby.
It was a small crystal vial, shimmering with tiny golden specks.
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