Adelaide huffed as she mentally compared herself to Lord Voldemort—clearly, she had a much brighter future!
She was only twelve this year; when Lord Voldemort was twelve, he was still just little Tom, buried in library books to stay at the top of his class, with no sign of any Death Eaters yet. Unlike him, she was already maneuvering among numerous "friends," and once she returned to the Borgin family for Christmas to form her own alliance, she would have the preliminary framework of her own faction established.
However, in the face of Grindelwald's disappointed scolding, Adelaide lowered her head silently, looking ashamed as she admitted her mistakes. She promised to train even harder to improve her strength and strive to have a final showdown with Lord Voldemort before graduation, climbing to the top by stepping on his head—ahem.
As Adelaide made her promises, Dumbledore's expression grew darker and darker. Wasn't this having the opposite effect?!
He had originally wanted Grindelwald to give Adelaide a proper education, making her realize her shortcomings and work for the future of all mankind—but now the theme had completely derailed. Although Gellert had given Adelaide a harsh lecture, the direction was entirely wrong. Adelaide was practically treating becoming a Dark Lord as her dream career after graduation!
How could you let Adelaide go and fight Lord Voldemort's main soul right now?
This is completely disrupting my entire plan!
If Lord Voldemort's main soul isn't successfully resurrected, how will the soul fragment inside Harry be cleared?
Dumbledore felt it was necessary to have a serious talk with Grindelwald about Adelaide's education.
The more he thought about it, the more he felt his previous ideas were too naive. To think that just a few sweet words to Gellert would make him obediently follow his advice and properly educate Adelaide—in reality, this guy's worldviews were skewed to begin with!
Dumbledore had also paid a significant price for this—it was the first time he had spent an entire day with Gellert in the intensive care ward at St Mungos.
During that day, he not only had to try and change Adelaide's worldview but also work hard to correct Gellert's twisted thoughts. By the end of the day, Dumbledore's throat was practically smoking, but these two Grindelwalds, one old and one young, simply wouldn't give him any face.
Clearly, with their exceptionally brilliant minds, they should have understood with just a few hints, yet they insisted on pretending to be clueless with innocent eyes. When pressed, Gellert would act as if he were having a medical episode, and Adelaide would immediately cooperate with teary eyes, putting on a show of a doting grandfather and a filial granddaughter. The two of them would occasionally exchange complex glances, curing Dumbledore's low blood pressure through sheer frustration.
Finally, Dumbledore had no choice but to use his trump card—using the successful passage of the "St Mungos Danger Report" previously submitted by the Acolytes in the Acolytes as leverage. Only then did he manage to "persuade" these two troublesome Grindelwalds to temporarily refrain from making a move against Lord Voldemort's main soul.
Before leaving, Adelaide and Gellert Grindelwald exchanged a meaningful look; their strategy had succeeded.
As early as Saturday night, Gellert Grindelwald had sent a secret letter to Adelaide through Amandine, asking her to cooperate with his performance today. The goal was to get Dumbledore to use the "St Mungos Danger Report" as leverage.
In fact, ever since Adelaide had performed a soul search on Lord Voldemort and confirmed that this main soul knew nothing, she had lost interest in it.
As for Gellert Grindelwald, he had even less interest in destroying Lord Voldemort—the anger, jealousy, and grievances he had displayed in front of Dumbledore were all an act.
Gellert Grindelwald had always viewed himself as a reformer who would save the Wizarding World. In other words, he believed that he, rather than Harry Potter, should be called The Chosen One of the Wizarding World.
What was Lord Voldemort compared to him? He might be jealous of Harry Potter or Newt Scamander, but he wouldn't even spare a glance for that so-called Dark Lord.
His purpose in putting on this show today was because he felt that the preparations for the third stage were almost complete, and it was time to begin the final stage.
Although his Transfiguration was superb, he couldn't keep pretending to be ill and remain imprisoned in St Mungos Hospital forever. Setting aside his grand ambitions, even the fact that he could only see Dumbledore once a week and was often stood up was something Gellert Grindelwald could hardly bear.
Since the Acolytes had successfully established a foothold in Britain, Gellert Grindelwald had been patiently waiting for a perfect opportunity, a loophole to exploit, or a chance to be reasonably moved from the Ministry of Magic's close surveillance.
On the night of September 1st, 1991, this long-awaited moment finally arrived.
When those thirty-odd Death Eaters launched a suicide attack on St Mungos, the Wizengamot, upon receiving the news, acted swiftly.
They wrote a protest letter overnight and submitted it to the Acolytes; the formal name of this protest was the "St Mungos Danger Report."
This report detailed the current emergency situation and pointed out that Gellert Grindelwald was in extreme danger.
Because Gellert Grindelwald had been transferred to St Mungos Hospital in Britain, the remnants of the Acolytes chose to settle in Britain, further compressing the Death Eaters' sphere of influence (the pure-blood circles).
The frenzied Death Eaters, in order to protect their territory, were determined to assassinate the spiritual leader of the Acolytes, the currently bedridden and defenseless Gellert Grindelwald. (The Death Eaters, who were being chased all over the mountains by the Acolytes: Meow meow meow?)
The report emphasized that to maintain the stability and peace of the entire European Wizarding World, it would be best for both the Acolytes and the International Confederation of Wizards to take a step back:
The Wizengamot demanded that the Wizengamot approve the transfer of Gellert Grindelwald from St Mungos as soon as possible. In exchange, the Wizengamot would allow the Wizengamot to place Gellert Grindelwald under the close supervision of Albus Dumbledore, President of the International Confederation of Wizards and Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot.
As the most powerful White Wizard in the Wizarding World and the only person Lord Voldemort feared, having Dumbledore personally supervise Grindelwald was undoubtedly the safest choice.
This way, not only would the British Ministry of Magic have no need to worry about Grindelwald taking the chance to escape, but the Acolytes would also no longer have to fear that Lord Voldemort would try to assassinate their leader.
Such an arrangement was the best solution for everyone.
Dumbledore had originally been hesitant about this. He knew that once Gellert was moved within his sphere of influence, the Ministry of Magic, out of respect for him, would certainly withdraw all the Aurors guarding Gellert and replace them with members of the Order of the Phoenix.
And his ambiguous feelings for Gellert might lead to a great mistake... but now, for the Greater Good—to train The Chosen One—he had to make concessions to ensure that the two members of the Grindelwald Family wouldn't make a move against Lord Voldemort's main soul.
Dumbledore sighed; there was no other way... Fortunately, there was some good news today. For instance, by the time he returned to Hogwarts at this hour, Minerva should have finished handling all the official business.
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