Wade saw that Grindelwald seemed unlikely to recover anytime soon, and his eyes involuntarily darted towards the door.
No one came in.
A turning point… a turning point…
Was this the turning point?
Should he seize this chance and Apparate away?
In Grindelwald's current state, he wouldn't be able to suddenly interfere with Wade's Magic.
Wade pulled out his Wand, gave it a decisive flick, and then his face immediately darkened.
The air felt like a solid mass; just a slight movement in place brought an intense feeling of restraint.
Seeing this, Grindelwald, though still coughing, let out a hoarse laugh.
Wade: "…!"
He gritted his teeth, his hand gripping his Wand twitching restlessly.
Just then, the door suddenly swung open, and Drayne strode in, bringing with him a chill and the scent of blood. He glanced at Wade, then unhesitatingly went to Grindelwald's side.
"Sir!"
Drayne knelt, quickly retrieved a bottle of pale golden Potions, and helped Grindelwald drink it.
Grindelwald's condition quickly stabilized. When he lowered his hand, a smear of blood was visible on his palm.
Drayne lowered his head and offered a handkerchief.
For some reason, even so, Grindelwald was still laughing, his body shaking with it.
Drayne looked at him worriedly, then glared at Wade. His gaze was angry, but not hostile.
"Günther…" Grindelwald finally managed to stop laughing, asking in a low voice, "Have they been caught?"
Drayne quickly turned back and said, "Yes, sir."
"Bring them in," Grindelwald said.
"Yes, sir."
After standing up and bowing, Drayne took two steps back and exited the room. As he passed Wade, he suddenly whispered, "Lord Grindelwald isn't well, and he shouldn't get too agitated. Watch your words when you speak, don't tell him inappropriate jokes!"
Wade met his gaze and belatedly realized that Drayne seemed to think he had told Grindelwald some earth-shshattering joke that had almost made their leader laugh himself to death.
Wade was speechless. Faced with this terrible misunderstanding, he didn't know how to refute it.
Drayne didn't wait for his reply, turning and hurrying away.
At that moment, Wade felt a gaze on him. He slowly turned around and saw Grindelwald looking at him with an unsettling expression.
"Wade Gray."
Grindelwald seemed to grind the name between his teeth, scrutinizing Wade from head to toe, then slowly repeated, "Wade Gray…"
He asked, "Did Dumbledore give you private lessons?"
Wade: "…?"
He blinked, then decisively said, "Yes."
Of course, Dumbledore had taught him lessons, shown him the lives of two Dark Lords, and personally taught him Apparition.
—Although Wade felt that Grindelwald's meaning of "lessons" wasn't this, but… could he deny it at a time like this?
Absolutely not.
Dumbledore was powerful, resourceful, and highly respected. Any blame Wade couldn't bear now, the Headmaster could easily shoulder.
While a great person's far-sighted strategy was correct, it shouldn't come out of the mouth of a thirteen-year-old child like him.
Hearing his answer, Grindelwald was silent for a long time, then seemed to mutter to himself, "I thought all these years he had been avoiding reality, avoiding the past, hiding in that school as a professor with no desires… I never expected…"
Grindelwald looked at Wade with a new kind of curiosity, murmuring, "Yes… he's a professor… he taught a student like you…"
Wade remained silent, only hearing his own heart pounding furiously.
*Thump-thump-thump!*
As if responding to his heartbeat, there was suddenly a knock at the door. Wade quickly pulled up his hood. Immediately, Drayne entered with two other black-robed Wizards, who were using Spells to control three people.
There was an elderly man with dark skin and a full beard; a woman who looked forty or fifty, still charming, with an elegant and refined hairstyle; and a young man, handsome, wearing three or four gem rings on his hands.
They immediately recognized who was in charge of the room and all cast pleading glances at Grindelwald, seemingly trying hard to say something, but their mouths were tightly shut, unable to utter a single word.
Drayne leaned in and said, "Sir, these are the managers and administrators of this place. As for the young man, he's said to be the son of a Muggle dignitary."
Grindelwald nodded and said, "Antoine."
A black-robed Wizard quickly stepped forward and bowed.
Grindelwald pointed at Wade and said, "You take this boy back first. The remaining work requires his assistance."
"Yes." Antoine Moreau gestured to Wade, then put an arm around his shoulder and led him away.
As he walked out of the room, Wade heard Grindelwald's voice from behind him:
"Even among Muggles, some have exceptionally strong wills. To avoid wasting time, greet them before attempting Legilimency."
"Yes, sir." Drayne didn't hesitate, casting the Spell: "*Crucio!*"
The Muggle in charge in the room let out a whimpering cry of pain. Even enduring inhuman agony, he couldn't make a sound.
"Let's go."
Antoine Moreau grabbed Wade's arm, pulled a lighter-like object from his pocket, and pressed down firmly.
With a click, the two instantly vanished from the spot!
...
Wade was back in the dark gray castle.
The castle now seemed vast and silent. Antoine Moreau appeared with Wade on a circular platform.
He saw the distant hillside covered in pristine white snow, and a brown bear slowly walking at the edge of the forest.
"Come with me, Wade!" Moreau pulled him through a small door into the castle and asked, "Do you know how to edit the footage we recorded?"
"A little," Wade said.
"Excellent!" Moreau said happily. "I thought I'd have to kidnap an editor from Aslan! This saves so much trouble... My dear Hannah, can I borrow your scissors?"
As Moreau passed a woman carrying a basket, he suddenly reached out and snatched the scissors from her basket, then grinned.
The woman froze for a moment, then flew into a rage: "You thief, put those down! I'm not finished with my work yet!"
"Sorry, sorry, I'll be done with them in a moment!"
Moreau shouted loudly, pulling Wade away quickly.
They ran into a room filled with Streaming Mirrors of various sizes. Moreau peeked outside, saw no one chasing them, and quickly closed the door.
He solemnly placed the scissors in Wade's hand, then the Master Mirror with the recording, and said, "Alright, get to editing! I need to return these to Hannah when you're done."
Wade looked at him with a strange expression and asked, "Who told you that you need scissors to edit videos?"
"Huh? Isn't that how Muggles make movies?"
Moreau scratched his head, looking bewildered. "You cut the film with scissors and then paste it together... I was curious once and snuck in to watch... uh..."
He picked up the Master Mirror, then realized, "There's no film in here... right?"
"Of course not," Wade sighed. "We're Wizards, we use Wizard methods. You should return those scissors."
Moreau gave a sheepish smile, tapped his Wand, and the scissors immediately flew up shakily, then quickly flew out through the window.
Wade was a little worried the scissors flying out like that would turn into a dangerous weapon, but it was too late to stop them. He shook his head and tapped the Master Mirror with his Wand.
The recently recorded footage instantly appeared on several nearby Sub-Mirrors.
The video began with the Wizards arriving at the base via Portkey.
Wade reviewed the footage while teaching Moreau how to edit.
"The Spell is actually very simple—do you know the Magic for extracting memories?" Wade asked.
"Of course, I do," Moreau said.
"Then it's simple. You need to treat the video as the machine's 'memory,' and then select the parts you need."
As Wade spoke, he lightly flicked his Wand.
At that moment, the video showed the Wizards charging into the base. A silvery-white mist was flicked out by his Wand, coiling around the tip, looking very similar to memory mist.
"It's actually no different from cutting and pasting film, just more flexible and simpler. But to make a video impactful and engaging, it can't just be such monotonous operations."
"Then what should I do?" Moreau asked humbly.
"First, choose impactful scenes... You need to use appropriate color schemes... The timing and method of camera transitions are also very important..."
Wade performed some operations, and the Sub-Mirror screen immediately split into two, with each half playing a different scene.
Moreau asked doubtfully, "Wouldn't that make it hard to focus on one half and watch carefully?"
"Precisely. So to see the other half, people will watch it a second, or even a third time," Wade said.
Moreau tried it himself and found it to be true, giving a thumbs up in admiration.
Wade continued, "Don't be afraid that the audience can't see clearly. Sometimes, an overload of information can be more captivating..."
"Adding eye-catching subtitles and titles is also important; it helps people immediately understand what you want to convey..."
"Bloody scenes are more bearable in black and white... And sounds of screams can make many people uncomfortable and physiologically disgusted, so it's necessary to replace them with suitable music..."
"I've learned how to change colors, but how do I change the sound?" Moreau asked, quickly making notes in a small notebook and seizing the opportunity to interject.
"You just re-record it. Use a Silencing Charm on the original video, then overlay it with new music."
Wade demonstrated it for him.
"Wait, is that it?" Moreau asked in surprise. "This is too short, isn't it? So much useful footage wasn't included! I think... I think it could be longer!... Can it?"
Perhaps because Wade was currently in the role of "teacher," Moreau's voice sounded inexplicably cautious.
Wade shook his head and said, "Do you know what 15-second reading is? Too much time will scatter attention. Content between 12 and 15 seconds is more likely to leave a lasting impression..."
"You can split the video into several segments to make it more memorable and engaging, then combine them into a full video of about half an hour. It's best to play it around dinner time."
At this time, short videos hadn't yet become popular among Muggles, but Wade could draw inspiration from their success.
After teaching the editing methods, he had Moreau practice editing two videos himself until he had completely mastered the technique.
Moreau looked at his work and suddenly turned to Wade, saying, "You actually agree with Mr. Grindelwald, don't you? Otherwise, you only needed to tell me the Spell for extracting and combining segments; there was no need to teach me all this."
The image in the Sub-Mirror continued to play, and the flickering light illuminated Wade's face, giving him a profound expression that seemed beyond his years.
He looked at the grotesquely decaying bodies of the people in the video and whispered, "I just feel that such things shouldn't happen on this planet… That's all."
"Really?" Moreau seemed not to hear him, grinning, "Wade, I'm waiting for the day you truly become one of us… I don't think it's too far off…"
"Antoine!"
Someone suddenly burst into the room, covered in blood, his cloak badly scorched. In his palm was another Master Mirror.
"This just finished… Mr. Grindelwald just led us in attacking a wealthy Muggle's estate! You really should have come to see it! That guy built a basement like a palace, where he kept hundreds of… Oh!"
He suddenly saw Wade, especially his obviously underage face, and immediately swallowed the rest of his words, almost biting his tongue.
"This… this is…"
"Mr. Grindelwald's captive and guest," Moreau said, taking the Master Mirror from his hand and waving him away. "Alright, hand this over to me! Go get treated quickly."
"Captive? Guest?"
The Wizard was ushered out by Moreau, full of questions, and limped away.
...
Order of the Phoenix, meeting room.
*BANG!*
The door was practically slammed open, and a tall figure strode in quickly. Though he wasn't injured, his face was exceptionally pale.
"Dumbledore!"
Kingsley Shacklebolt, usually a calm and composed Auror, now had undisguised shock in his eyes.
Dumbledore quickly stood up and walked towards him, asking, "Kingsley, what happened?"
"Is there any news about Wade?" Lupin asked urgently.
"No," Kingsley shook his head, swallowed, and looked at everyone. "But… that person has made a move… Grindelwald…"
Everyone's expressions changed.
"The Ministry of Magic has received the latest news—" Kingsley continued. "That person attacked five Muggle locations in one day, leaving the Alliance's mark in the sky with fireworks. And… and… at each location, they found… found…"
"Found what?" Sirius asked impatiently. "Have you suddenly started stuttering?"
Kingsley thought of the scene and for a moment couldn't find the words to describe it.
He pulled a stack of black and white photos from his pocket, pushed them forward, and said, "See for yourselves…"
...
Although the Weasley Family's finances were tight, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley weren't the type to skimp on everything. On the contrary, they were very good at using their limited money to add as much joy to their lives as possible.
Because of this, in the crowded living room of the Burrow, they managed to clear a large space to place the Streaming Mirror, currently the most popular item in the Wizarding World.
After dinner, Mr. Weasley was still working and hadn't returned. Harry, Michael, and several of the Weasley children were already huddled on the rug in front of the Streaming Mirror, while Mrs. Weasley sat on the sofa at the back, knitting and watching "television."
Recently, a TV series about aliens and supernatural phenomena had been playing, full of Muggles' wonderfully imaginative ideas and realistic special effects, enough to captivate everyone.
Although Michael and the others were still worried about Wade, when the tense, mysterious opening theme began, the two of them still squeezed into the crowd and sat down.
On the screen, the protagonist had just caught the alien villain red-handed when the mirror suddenly flashed and blurred.
"Strange, is it broken?"
Fred and George were rolling up their sleeves, ready to fix it, but the picture suddenly returned.
"What is this?" Ginny asked in surprise.
Everyone looked up to see that the aliens and the male and female protagonists were nowhere to be found. In the mirror was a large, dark mass of Wizards. They surrounded a building like birds of ill omen. One of them raised his Wand high, and blue flames exploded.
Mrs. Weasley's face immediately turned deathly pale!
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