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"I've heard this voice before," Wade said calmly.
"Oh? Who is it?" the senior witch asked.
"Gellert Grindelwald."
At that moment, the door in front of Anne opened, and Vinda Rosier was standing behind it.
"Aunt," Anne called out timidly.
"Yes, Anne, come in," Vinda said, letting Anne enter before firmly closing the door behind her.
Wade and the senior witch paid no attention to the door, walking through it as if passing through a layer of mist.
Beyond the door was a lavishly decorated office.
The man sat behind a large desk, his gaze gentle as he looked at the visibly nervous Anne who had just stepped inside.
"Miss Rosier, welcome... welcome to my family," Grindelwald said warmly as he stood up.
"H-hello, Mr. Grindelwald," Anne replied nervously.
"There's no need to be nervous, Anne… may I call you Anne?" Grindelwald smiled.
"Of course, sir..."
"No need to be nervous, Anne. Since you've joined our big family, we are now family. Would you feel this tense around your own family?" Grindelwald said gently.
"I wouldn't, sir."
"Then relax, child. Would you like some dessert? Perhaps, like your aunt, you enjoy French pastries?" As he spoke, Grindelwald opened a nearby cabinet, revealing the sweets inside.
Anne's eyes widened uncontrollably. It was an enchanted cabinet, extended with an Undetectable Extension Charm, and inside it was filled to the brim with all kinds of desserts...
She had never seen so many sweets in her life!
"Or perhaps you prefer English pastries?" Grindelwald asked.
"No, French is fine," Anne quickly replied.
"Alright then." Grindelwald tapped on the cabinet door, and several plates of desserts floated out and landed neatly in front of Anne.
"Would you like some juice? Or something else? Don't be shy, I have all kinds of drinks here," Grindelwald added.
"A-anything is fine," Anne replied hurriedly.
At this moment, even the senior watching from the side couldn't help but sigh. "This man is truly terrifying. Even when facing a child, he never drops his persona..."
Wade crossed his arms and said, "Of course. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to gather so many loyal followers. Honestly, as a leader, he does have a certain unique charm."
Just then, Grindelwald didn't rush to the point. Instead, he quietly watched Anne enjoy the desserts and juice.
"Is it good?"
"V-very good," Anne replied, a bit uneasy as she set down the pastry. "Sir, do you... do you really agree to let me join your cause?"
"Of course. I welcome any talented witch and wizard willing to join our family. So, when I learned you wished to join, I had Vinda bring you here," Grindelwald said with a warm smile.
"But... even though I want to join, I'm too young, and I don't know how I can be of any help..." Anne said, looking a bit anxious.
"Everyone has their rightful place, Anne," Grindelwald replied gently.
Hearing this, Anne seemed genuinely moved. "As long as you need me, I'm very willing to serve you."
"Not to serve me, Anne, but to serve our great cause..." Grindelwald said solemnly.
"Yes!" Anne nodded earnestly.
Suddenly, as if casually, Grindelwald asked, "I heard that this year you're set to enroll at Beauxbatons?"
"Yes, Beauxbatons. My parents are over there," Anne replied.
"A very fine school indeed..." Grindelwald mused for a moment, then added, "In fact, we happen to have something that requires your help. Our cause needs your assistance."
"Really? What is it?" Anne asked excitedly.
"I was wondering, would you be willing to attend Hogwarts instead?" Grindelwald asked. "Of course, if you're unwilling..."
"I'm willing!" Anne nodded repeatedly. "If it can help our cause..."
Grindelwald's face lit up with joy. "That's wonderful! I believe you will complete this task perfectly. Besides, Hogwarts is no less than Beauxbatons, you don't need to worry about this assignment affecting your studies."
"What do you need me to do?" Anne asked eagerly.
"I need you to help me keep an eye on two people... Like you, they are first-year students this year, and they're extremely important to our cause! So... get close to them, become their friend, and then report everything you learn about them back to me."
As Grindelwald spoke, he pulled a file folder from a drawer.
"All the information about the two of them is in this file. Go through it carefully once you're back. Also, between the two, if possible… pay closer attention to Wade Reynolds," said Grindelwald.
"Understood!" Anne replied eagerly, taking the file. "Is there anything else I should be aware of?"
"There is one more thing… this is even more important than observing your two classmates," Grindelwald continued. "I need you to help me find a notebook and… figure out what's recorded inside it. This task might be a bit heavier, and there's some danger involved… if you're unwilling…"
"Of course I'm willing!" Anne responded anxiously.
A faint smile played at the corners of Grindelwald's lips. "Good. Remember, even if you can't figure out anything, just bringing the notebook back to me will suffice."
"Understood!"
"The people will remember your contribution to our great cause, Miss Rosier…"
…
At this point, the dream gradually faded, the castle and Grindelwald dissolving into white mist.
Anne's clothing reverted to what it had been, her expression returning to a dazed state as she stood blankly amidst the swirling fog.
"This foolish girl, so easy to deceive… But this at least confirms the mastermind is Grindelwald. However… we still don't know what his motive is," the senior remarked.
"Maybe it's still like we speculated before. He might have seen some fragmented images through his prophecy, and in those images, there could have been something that threatens his ambitions. What he's doing now is probably just to confirm it," Wade said. "Because tonight, when I followed Anne, I saw that she was looking for the places marked in the notebook, but once she got there, she had no idea what exactly she was supposed to find."
"Hmm.. What do you plan to do next?" the senior asked.
"I'll do nothing and pretend I don't know anything," Wade replied.
The senior frowned. "If you do that, you won't be able to take the notebook. What about your ancient magic?"
"Heh~ It doesn't matter, I've already memorized everything in the notebook. If you didn't leave anything special inside, then Anne can keep carrying it. Since she can't perceive ancient magic, it won't interfere with my study of it."
The senior sighed and said, "Alright… I'm just worried that in the vision he saw, there might have been something related to ancient magic. That means, in the future, your ancient magic could be exposed and impossible to hide. If that happens… the one who ambushed me might turn their attention to you as well."
"Hmm, that's true.. Well, worrying about that now won't help us. Until we know more, we can only take it one step at a time…"
After pondering for a moment, Wade spoke again, "Keywords: notebook, Wade Reynolds, Tom Riddle."
As soon as the words left his mouth, the surrounding white mist began to swirl once more, and a new scene materialized within the dream.
"Ah... this is Hogwarts, and that's the corridor outside the library," the senior said, her tone full of nostalgia.
"Yes..." Wade quietly watched the scene unfold ahead.
At that moment, the confusion on Anne's face faded again, and her clothes transformed once more.
She was now wearing a translucent cloak, standing at the end of the corridor, silently spying ahead.
Wade understood that because this was Anne's memory, even though she had been wearing the Invisibility Cloak at the time, he and the senior, through this omniscient perspective, could still see her true form beneath it.
Wade sighed helplessly. "So it was her who was spying on us that night."
Just then, in the direction Anne was observing, Wade saw himself and Tom.
Since he hadn't noticed Anne hidden in the shadows when he cast the nightmare spell to disguise the door lock, in Anne's memory, it looked like Wade and Tom had simply opened the library door and walked right in...
Anne seemed to hesitate for a moment, but in the end, she didn't risk sneaking back into the library. Instead, she turned and left.
The senior asked, "Was this the night you went to retrieve the notebook?"
"Yes... and it looks like she was just a step ahead of us! She took the notebook first, and then ran into us," Wade said a little gloomily. "But she probably doesn't know we were there for the notebook..."
...
Anne stood in front of the ruins, looking at the ruins in puzzlement.
The locations recorded in the notebook were all ruins like this.
No matter how hard she searched, Anne couldn't find anything special about these ruins.
After visiting three of them in a row, she was starting to feel dazed, yet still came up empty-handed.
'Forget it, I'll head back for tonight,' Anne thought, assuming she might just be too tired.
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Didn't sleep coz I was catching up to 'I am the Fated Villain'. Now wanted to retire for a day but saw that the review goal has been completed.... Here is the chapter..💀😭
I hope everyone will continue to support this fic!
Read two weeks ahead:Patreon.com/Captain69
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