With a pop, Lupin and Sirius instantly appeared in a bare forest.
The ground, once covered in thick snow, was now crisscrossed with footprints, some of which abruptly vanished partway, just as their own footprints had suddenly appeared.
"This must be the place," Sirius said, looking around. "James and I used to come near here."
"Alright, let's go check it out." Lupin pulled at his scarf, his face grim.
They walked forward through the snow, and at the edge of their vision, a manor appeared. Its high walls stretched endlessly, practically encompassing an entire hillside.
A vagrant loitering nearby spotted the two and immediately grew wary, approaching them with one hand constantly in his pocket, the folds of his clothes subtly revealing the outline of a slender Wand.
Before he could speak, Sirius pulled out a piece of parchment and waved it, and emerald green cursive letters gradually appeared.
The vagrant's expression immediately relaxed. He took the parchment and glanced at it.
"From the British Ministry of Magic?" The vagrant's English had a strong Austrian accent, and his voice sounded a bit rough. He said, "I've seen quite a few of you today… Will Dumbledore be coming?"
"That, I wouldn't know," Sirius said expressionlessly. "Dumbledore has his own arrangements."
"Of course, of course… It is Dumbledore, after all…"
The vagrant mumbled, returning the parchment to Sirius. "Go on in, but don't expect to find anything. They're just poor Muggles."
"Were the nearby Muggles aware of what happened here?" Sirius asked, tucking the parchment into his pocket.
"What do you think? They're like roaches, living everywhere. The first ones to reach the scene were Muggles."
The vagrant yawned, saying tiredly, "Luckily, there was a Wizard living nearby. He intercepted the Muggle before they could report it to the police. We did our best to cast the Obliviation Charm on all the Muggles who saw this place, but… who knows?"
He shrugged helplessly. "I hear Muggle networks are very advanced these days. No one can guarantee whether the news has spread or not."
Sirius thanked him, and he and Lupin headed towards the manor.
Behind them, the vagrant continued to pace back and forth, ready to drive away any Muggles who might stumble in.
After walking a distance, Lupin asked, "From the Austrian Ministry of Magic?"
"That's right," Sirius said. "As you know, they and the German Ministry of Magic jointly oversee Nurmengard. Ever since Grindelwald escaped, both sides have barely rested, and the situation is extremely tense. If Kingsley hadn't helped me get this permit, I wouldn't have been able to bring you in today."
Lupin frowned, looking at the increasingly large manor ahead and the foreign Wizards busy nearby.
The five places Grindelwald attacked were actually not in Britain. Two were small private islands in the sea, and the other three were located in America, France, and Italy, respectively.
This manor was in Italy, near the border with Germany and Austria.
Italian Wizards were famously disorganized and prone to procrastination, with extremely low work efficiency. Moreover, the mastermind behind this attack was the terrifying Dark Lord.
The Italian Ministry of Magic avoided the situation whenever possible, citing "this is an international incident" to pull in the German and Austrian Ministries of Magic, and even warmly invited the British Ministry of Magic to assist, while they themselves hid in the background.
So Lupin saw almost no Italian Wizards here; it was all German and Austrian Wizards, both communicating in German, which Lupin could only understand a small part of.
He didn't interject rashly, just listened and watched silently, recalling the message he had received before setting off—
...
"To be honest with you, Mr. Dumbledore."
The head of FMC, his face bitter, finally couldn't bear the pressure and said in a low voice, "The Streaming Mirror's design has three layers of encryption. Even with an identical Connection Charm, it's… it's impossible to easily hijack our signal."
"The only ones who could do this, besides Aslan's Magic Workshop's Alchemy lab, would be Wade Gray… But the Alchemy lab is impossible; everyone's been working overtime lately for the Communication Peas…"
"Furthermore, each Alchemist in the Alchemy lab only masters a portion of the technique. To achieve this level, at least three people would need to collaborate to… to possibly do it… But even then, it's only a possibility. Because being able to create something doesn't mean you can crack it."
The head seemed to think that Wade Gray, at such a young age, had become Grindelwald's accomplice, feeling both regretful and incredulous, and also worried that the Alliance would soon gain mastery over various magical items—especially the manufacturing method of the Streaming Mirror—which would impact their business. His expression was very complex.
"Actually, Wade Gray disappeared a week ago while he was out," Dumbledore said with a frown. "I've always suspected Grindelwald was the one who did it, and now it seems… it really was him."
...
Upon hearing the news, Sirius had privately tried to comfort him:
"This isn't your fault, Moony, at least not entirely."
"Grindelwald personally made a move; how many people could stop him? Even if he hadn't succeeded then, could you have kept the children locked in the house indefinitely? If they were determined to take someone, you couldn't have stopped them."
"I'm actually glad you didn't notice anything amiss at the time, otherwise I might have lost another friend now, Moony."
After the signal hijacking incident, Sirius also said:
"...All the Ministries of Magic are in a mess, but I think this is a great thing… At least it proves that Wade has unique value to that person. He won't be in danger for a while."
"He's a smart kid, Remus, trust Wade… He'll definitely hold out until we can rescue him."
Lupin knew Sirius was trying to relieve him of his guilt, but he couldn't even manage a reassuring expression.
His pain wasn't just due to his dereliction of duty; it was also because he worried… that when they finally had a way to rescue Wade, Wade might choose the other side.
Unlike the easygoing Sirius, who was always on the go, Lupin had been in contact with Wade for longer and communicated with him more frequently. He had long vaguely sensed… some of Wade's ideas.
Unlike the inherently kind and innocent Harry, Wade seemed to be born with a habit of viewing problems from a higher perspective, and he was more… detached.
Just look at the scenes of blood and fire shown in the video! Compared to the Ministry of Magic, Wade would undoubtedly identify more with Grindelwald's methods—that was Lupin's first reaction upon seeing the video.
Punishing evil and acting decisively, this modern Robin Hood-like approach was undoubtedly very attractive to teenagers.
Lupin worried that the child wouldn't want to come back, and he worried even more that he would do… do certain things within the Alliance, losing his place here.
The only thing to be grateful for was that Wade wasn't without ties here; he had parents, teachers, close friends, and companions. These emotional connections would hold him back and prevent him from heading into darkness.
...
The Streaming Mirror signal hijacking wasn't a one-time event. It kept popping up periodically, rudely interrupting whatever was playing with a ten-second video repeatedly publicizing the Alliance's recent actions.
They'd even learned not to cut in during the most exciting parts of a show, but instead during the brief ten seconds of opening and closing credits, or when Aslan's Magic Workshop played commercials.
Now, wizards worldwide who owned a Streaming Mirror received almost identical signals. Except for news from their respective Ministries of Magic, they watched the exact same programs. The Alliance and Grindelwald quickly became the talk of the entire Wizarding World.
The criticism and resistance weren't as widespread as Lupin had initially expected.
Unlike the tense and fearful attitude of wizards in neighboring countries, those far away, who felt Grindelwald's resurgence posed little threat to them, were mostly cheering him on.
Lupin had met many wizards from other countries through his work, and exchanging contact information in the Book of Friends was basic courtesy. Those wizards' messages to him said:
"It's about time!"
"Have you seen those poor children? I can't believe anyone in the world could be treated so cruelly!"
"Muggles are encroaching on our land, tarnishing our image, even polluting the air we breathe! I really hope someone can rein them in!"
"I understand what you mean, Remus, but he only killed the damned, didn't he?"
"Stay safe, my friend. Even if you join the Alliance, I wouldn't say anything... I think he's a very charismatic leader."
...
A leader?
A leader who kidnaps underage children?
Lupin's anger had nowhere to go.
Grindelwald's frequent attacks on Muggle establishments would typically provoke widespread hostility from the Ministry of Magic. However, their stated purpose was to eliminate evil forces coveting magic and rescue victimized children. This differed from indiscriminate attacks and gained the understanding and support of most people.
What was even more ingenious was that he walked a fine line, almost breaking the Statute of Secrecy but not quite.
Using magic in front of many Muggles, openly attacking Muggles with magic – these were unforgivable crimes in the Wizarding World.
But the Muggles who were attacked either already knew about magic, or afterward, they were either dead or incapacitated victims. The Ministry of Magic, arriving later, could easily use the Obliviation Charm to control the situation, preventing magic from truly being exposed to Muggles.
After each attack, the Alliance would set off a large firework in the sky. Even if Muggles saw it, they wouldn't think, "That's magic." But wizards living nearby would immediately notice, and the Ministry of Magic could quickly arrive to investigate.
This controlled the speed of information spread, preventing panicking Muggles from filming the crime scenes and having it appear on TV or in newspapers, which could become an uncontrollable, large-scale leak for the Wizarding World.
That man had spent fifty years in prison, but instead of becoming an old-fashioned, rigid thinker, he had grown more cunning and elusive.
From Dumbledore's increasingly busy demeanor, Lupin could tell that even Dumbledore found the current Grindelwald more troublesome than before.
...
"Sirius Black and Remus Lupin from the British Ministry of Magic?" A red-bearded German wizard re-examined the identification in Sirius's hand, saying in broken English, "Your people are over there."
He pointed a hand, and Lupin looked over to see several British wizards walking out, accompanied by two others.
Among the British wizards, the one leading was a man in his fifties. His short gray hair was impeccably combed, his blue-black Wizard Robes were without a single superfluous wrinkle, his posture was ramrod straight, and his expression was solemn. He spoke fluently in German with the person beside him, and the short, stout Austrian wizard next to them showed obvious awe on his face.
"It's Barty Crouch," Sirius said with a complicated expression.
Barty Crouch had once been the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. He was known for his tough and ruthless methods against Death Eaters and his open defiance of Voldemort. He had once been someone Sirius admired.
But it was also Barty Crouch who had imprisoned Sirius in Azkaban without trial.
—Although Sirius had brought it upon himself and didn't blame Crouch for it, this incident severely damaged Barty Crouch's reputation. Countless people publicly criticized his previously lauded methods, and the dark history of his son, Barty Crouch Jr., being the true Death Eater was brought up again.
Since then, their subsequent encounters had always been a bit awkward.
Their last accidental meeting at the Ministry of Magic had been over a month ago. Now, Sirius noticed that Barty Crouch looked considerably older than before, clearly having a tough time recently.
Sirius hesitated for a moment, but ultimately, the matter at hand was more important. The two walked toward them.
They heard Barty Crouch say gravely, "...Please understand, Franz, St. Mungo's is under immense pressure right now. They've had to put patients in the hallways..."
"Yes, yes, we all understand," the stout wizard said with a bitter face. "But there are just too many casualties this time, and most of them are Muggles... Our hospitals simply can't cope. Leaving them untreated is effectively letting them die. There are even some British and Northern Irish children among them..."
Barty Crouch mused for a moment, then inadvertently saw Sirius. He paused slightly, then nodded impassively.
"How about this..." Crouch said to the stout wizard, "Patients born in the British Isles can be sent to St. Mungo's. In addition, we can take twenty more patients..."
"Fifty... would fifty be possible?" the stout wizard pleaded. "St. Mungo's healers are the best in all of Europe. Only they might be able to save those poor children..."
"What's going on?" Sirius grabbed an Auror he knew and asked.
"They're the rescued victims. Most of them were transfused with magical creature blood and have undergone some... some indescribable mutations."
The Auror said with sympathy and helplessness, "Muggle hospitals can't treat them at all, and even St. Mungo's might... Sigh, if you ask me, death would be simpler."
Seeing that the people ahead weren't paying attention to them, Sirius seized the opportunity to pull the Auror aside and whispered, "Tell me about your investigation findings..."
Lupin quietly separated from them and walked deeper into the manor.
Wand in hand, he passed through two layers of inspection, both inside and outside the gate. No one questioned him now.
Lupin repeatedly cast detection Spells, trying to discern even a trace of a familiar magical aura from the fire-licked building, or to find any message Wade might have left for them.
But there was nothing. Absolutely nothing.
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