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Sorry for the mishap. This is the correct chapter.l IDK how that chapter got scheduled lol.
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The skirmish in Godric's Hollow shook the entire British wizarding world.
For the first time, Grindelwald, who had never made a move in Britain before, had openly appeared within the country and even initiated a riot!
The Ministry of Magic had to work very hard to make the Muggles living in Godric's Hollow forget what had happened the previous night.
...
The next morning, Wade saw the huge headline in a Prophet newspaper that Dumbledore had brought over.
—[Godric's Hollow Riot! Has Grindelwald Officially Declared War on the British Wizarding World?]—
The accompanying image showed the Pureblood Party attacking a house, surrounding it with constant spells...
It wasn't clear where the photographer was hiding at the time, but the moving picture effect was quite impressive, the sense of oppression brought by the Pureblood Party was fully captured.
By this time, Wade and the others were no longer in Godric's Hollow.
Because they were targeted by Grindelwald, Dumbledore had taken them away during the night.
Although Wade thought that, given Grindelwald's character, since he had let them go this time, he likely wouldn't come after them again.
After all, if Grindelwald had wanted to forcefully take them, he could have done so the previous night, before Dumbledore arrived.
There was no need for a second time.
When they got off the Thestral-drawn carriage again, they had arrived at a new place.
This place looked like a small town, but the buildings in the town were filled with the distinctive colors of the magical world.
Since everything here was so openly magical, it was clear that this was a purely wizarding settlement.
"This is Hogsmeade," Dumbledore said as he jumped off the carriage. "It is the closest wizarding village to Hogwarts."
At this point, Tom also got off and curiously looked around.
Seeing the unabashedly magical world style around him, Tom's eyes sparkled with excitement.
Since this was a wizarding village, he didn't need to hide everything about the magical world like he did at the orphanage or in Godric's Hollow.
In other words, he could cast spells freely.
Because Professor Hicks had been seriously injured during the battle with the Pureblood Party and needed to be observed at St. Mungo's for a while, Dumbledore had personally brought them to their new place of residence.
Wade suddenly asked, "Professor... the house in Godric's Hollow was attacked. Mr. Kowalski and his family are okay, right? I heard they were supposed to arrive today."
When Dumbledore heard that Wade was concerned about Jacob's family, a faint smile of relief appeared on his tired face. "I had them return... This is my fault, Wade. I never expected Grindelwald would make a move against you... and almost dragged my dear friends into a life-or-death crisis..."
Dumbledore seemed a bit shaken. While Grindelwald might not have been willing to kill Wade and the others, he definitely wouldn't go easy on Jacob...
If Jacob and his family had arrived earlier and been captured by Grindelwald, the outcome would have been truly tragic.
"So they aren't coming?!" Wade was a bit speechless. He'd spent an entire day learning the Brain Locking Spell, and now it seemed like it hadn't been needed?
But, he couldn't say the Brain Locking Spell had been useless. At the very least, it had improved his acting skills, and he could occasionally tell little lies in front of Dumbledore.
Overall, gaining another useful skill wasn't a loss...
"This isn't your fault, Professor... Who would have thought that Grindelwald would launch an attack because of us? We didn't even know who he was before..."
"I'm glad to have your forgiveness, Wade. In fact, you could say you were dragged into this because of me... He was in London at the time, so some of my actions couldn't have escaped his notice. That was my oversight..."
"No, no, no, the cause of everything should be because of me. If I hadn't acted impulsively, you wouldn't have had to arrange so much for us, and none of this would have happened..."
"How can saving someone be considered a mistake?" Dumbledore shook his head repeatedly. "The mistake is mine, I didn't plan properly, I didn't maintain secrecy..."
Tom, who had been watching these two endlessly argue about taking responsibility for everything, rolled his eyes and said sarcastically, "By your logic, the root of the mistake is actually me. I should have stopped Wade back then, right?"
Hearing Tom's words, Wade and Dumbledore stopped.
Just when Tom thought he could finally settle down and rest at their new place... Wade suddenly stared at him and asked, "Yeah! Why didn't you stop me?"
Tom widened his eyes, looking at Wade in shock. "Didn't I stop you?"
"Did you?"
"I did!"
"Then why did I still go?"
"You... when did I ever have the ability to stop you?"
"You couldn't stop me, so it's your fault! It's all your fault, Tom!"
Tom: "Huh?"
"You just like to bully me, the honest one, don't you? I've never met someone so shameless! Just wait, once I can beat you... I'll settle both old and new scores!"
"Hahaha~ You two really get along well... What a great friendship.." Dumbledore mused, thinking back to when he had a friendship like that. Back then, they used to argue and bicker like that, too. It's a pity that now...
Tom, with a dark expression, angrily retorted, "Friendship? I've known him for less than half a month!"
"Adversity reveals true friendship, Tom... What does it matter if you haven't known each other long? After everything we've been through, isn't that already going through hardship together?"
"Ah! I've had enough! Professor... can you send me somewhere else? If not, just throw me into another orphanage, I don't care!"
"..."
Of course, Dumbledore would never send Tom to another orphanage.
With Tom's temperament, only Wade could handle him. If he went somewhere else, he would surely return to his old ways...
Dumbledore would never let that happen. He didn't want another person more difficult to deal with than Grindelwald to emerge in the future!
A moment later, the group stopped in front of a pub, while Toby, using the Levitation Charm, carried all the luggage behind them.
In a wizarding settlement, Toby obviously didn't need to hide anymore.
Wade also told Dumbledore about Toby's background.
In response, Dumbledore said that Wade's good deed had been repaid, and after reminding Wade to treat Toby well, he didn't say much more.
In his view, having another house-elf to take care of them was a good thing.
"Hog's Head Inn?" Tom struggled to read the nearly illegible name on the dirty sign.
"Yes, the owner here is my brother. You'll be safer here than in Godric's Hollow," Dumbledore said.
However, his expression seemed a bit uneasy.
"Professor, what's wrong?"
"Well... actually, my relationship with my brother is a bit... complicated... Anyway, let's go inside." Dumbledore took a deep breath and pushed open the pub door.
It was a pub with an atmosphere similar to that of the Three Broomsticks. In Wade's eyes, the clientele seemed almost the same too...
"Welcome, what would you like to drink—"
Behind the bar, a tall, thin man stood, looking down as he wiped a glass.
Wade noticed that the man had the same bright blue eyes as Dumbledore and two small mustaches above his lips.
This must be Dumbledore's younger brother, Aberforth.
At that moment, Aberforth looked up. Upon seeing Dumbledore, his already stern face immediately dropped.
"So... that bastard managed to escape from your hands again last night?"
Wade wasn't sure if he should proceed with the test, feeling nervous and anxious...
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