From behind a large tree, Wade quietly watched as Anne concealed herself once again beneath the Invisibility Cloak and vanished from sight.
He had just brought Anne back.
Under the influence of the nightmare magic, Anne had no idea she had been away for quite some time. She simply thought she had just drifted off for a moment.
"What exactly did Grindelwald see that made him place such importance on Tom and me? Even knowing he would have to face Dumbledore, he still came to Britain without hesitation to seek us out?"
"In his visions, did he see something about the ancient magic? Or perhaps… did he simply see the scene of me taking the notebook, and realize how important it would be to me? So he tried to claim it first? Yet he still doesn't understand what's written in the notebook?"
Carrying these tangled thoughts, Wade spent some time making his way back to the dormitory.
As soon as Wade lay down, Tom's voice reached his ears through the Whispering Charm. "You went out again tonight?"
"I did… so you've finally woken up."
"What did you go out for?"
"Nothing much, just to confirm one thing—Anne Rosier is indeed with Grindelwald's party."
Tom turned his head in surprise and glanced at Wade in the bed next to him.
Thinking of how dangerous Grindelwald was, Tom couldn't help but feel a little nervous.
"So what are you planning to do? Should we… tell Dumbledore?"
"First of all, the method I used to confirm she's with Grindelwald isn't something I can present as evidence in front of Dumbledore. Secondly, I think it's best if we keep pretending we know nothing."
Tom frowned. "I really don't understand your thinking… Since we already know her background, I can easily make her expose herself. Why are you pretending not to know anything?"
"If we keep her around, we can use her to mess with Grindelwald whenever we want. After the way that old man played us at Godric's Hollow, doing nothing just isn't my style." Wade said.
Tom was silent for a while, then finally said, "Makes sense. We've got to get him back! But… we'll need to plan this carefully."
"I already have the outline of a plan, but... it would be best if we could figure out exactly what Grindelwald wants to learn about us," Wade said thoughtfully. "I want to know what he's trying to gain through us. Only then can I perfect my plan."
In Wade's view, if they could successfully trick Grindelwald, he'd have no shortage of merit points to upgrade his lousy system.
"That's something we'll have to ask Rosier," Tom said coldly.
"Don't always sound so cold. Be a little gentler with Anne. Even if she's not the sharpest, if you act like that, she'll know you're suspicious, and then we'll spook her."
"Fine… it's just acting, right? I'm good at that too." Since his own safety was at stake, Tom didn't want his recklessness to interfere with Wade's plans, so he readily agreed.
"Based on your experience, what do you think Grindelwald might be interested in?" Wade asked.
Wade figured, Grindelwald was called the Dark Lord, and Tom was the future Dark Lord himself. Maybe they had similar thoughts.
Tom snapped, "What do you mean, based on my experience? You make it sound like I'm the same kind of person as Grindelwald!"
"You're not the same kind of person? That's news to me, Tom," Wade sneered.
"Actually, if you ask me, you and Grindelwald are more alike!" Tom retorted seriously.
"Nonsense! I'm a good man certified by Dumbledore! How can I be like Grindelwald?"
"You're a good man? Haha, I find your words fresh out of a bull's bottom... How many times have you cheated me? Anyway, this is the last time I'll help you! Wade!" Tom said angrily.
...
Nurmengard.
Inside Grindelwald's luxurious office.
Vinda placed a book on Grindelwald's desk.
Grindelwald set down the document in his hand and pulled the book closer to himself. When he opened it, he found that the book contained no content at all; aside from the small page numbers in the bottom right corner, the rest of the pages were completely blank.
However, Grindelwald wasn't surprised in the least. Instead, he flipped the book to a specific page and then waited patiently.
He glanced at the large clock in his office. "It's time."
As soon as he spoke, the previously blank pages of the open book on the desk began to slowly fill with new lines of text!
A slight smile spread across Grindelwald's face.
"Good girl, right on time!"
Vinda's lips curled into a slight smile at his words.
The handwriting on the blank page had now fully appeared.
"I've already successfully approached Wade and Tom and become their friend. Also, I've obtained the notebook."
Seeing this line, Grindelwald's mood instantly brightened.
With a light wave of his hand, a quill beside him floated into the air and began scribbling across the blank page.
"Excellent! You've done very well, truly worthy of being a child of the Rosier family! So then, have you read the notebook? What is recorded inside?"
As soon as the ink touched the page, it was absorbed and vanished without a trace.
Grindelwald intertwined his fingers, resting his chin on the backs of his hands, eyes filled with anticipation as he stared at the blank page.
Before long, new handwriting appeared on the page once more.
"I've read it. Aside from listing a large number of locations, there's nothing else in the notebook. Most of these locations are around Hogwarts, the majority of them in the Forbidden Forest..."
Grindelwald frowned. "Locations... could it be, then, that what those people said was true?" He muttered to himself.
At that moment, the handwriting on the page continued to appear.
"Last night, I used the Invisibility Cloak to explore the three locations closest to Hogwarts. All three turned out to be ruins of some kind of structures. I couldn't tell what these buildings used to be, but they all seem to date back a very long time..."
A trace of disappointment flashed across Grindelwald's face. "Nothing at all... only ruins?"
The words on the blank page emerged again: "I will continue to explore the remaining locations. If I discover anything, I will contact you immediately."
Grindelwald's quill wrote across the page: "Good, stay safe... By the way, have you noticed anything interesting about Wade and Tom?"
There was a brief pause before more words appeared on the blank page.
"Speaking of which, I do have an observation. It's about Wade. He seems to come from a pure-blood wizarding family with the surname Reynolds, but he himself is very secretive about his past."
"This information only slipped out when he was mistakenly insulted as a Muggle-born and lashed out in anger."
"Considering his unique bearing, I personally think this is highly likely. Of course, there's no solid evidence at the moment to confirm whether this is true."
After reading this, a knowing expression spread across Grindelwald's face.
He had suspected as much regarding Wade Reynolds's origins.
An eleven-year-old wizard, even before starting at school, had already managed to tangle with so many of his elite followers, and even taken down several of them.
If he didn't have some kind of background or deep foundation, how could that possibly be?
"Also..." More handwriting appeared on the blank page, "On the night I took the notebook, I saw them sneaking into the library as well. I had just retrieved the notebook at the time and didn't dare take any risks, so I didn't follow them in."
Grindelwald frowned when he read this.
"The library? Could they have been heading to the Restricted Section for the notebook as well? What a pity. If only Anne had dared to follow them in." He said to Vinda.
Vinda asked doubtfully, "Do those two kids also know about the notebook?"
"Hmm... In fact, this notebook is closely connected to them. I can sense it — it's one of them!" Grindelwald stood up, appearing slightly agitated. "I think it's more likely to be Wade, but... these things are hard to say for sure."
Standing by the window, Grindelwald gazed out at the snow-covered mountains, his voice low and heavy. "We have to find out as soon as possible. Only then can we... Time is running out for us. Very short indeed..."
Though Vinda was full of questions, since Grindelwald continued to speak in riddles and refused to explain, even she couldn't press him for more.
________
Read two weeks ahead:
Patreon.com/Captain69
________
Every 200 Powerstones = 1 extra chapter
Every 6 Reviews = 1 extra chapter