Early morning.
Hogwarts, the Great Hall.
Andy opened the latest issue of the Daily Prophet and glanced over the headlines.
[Shocking! The Ministry of Magic counter-attacked, a large number of Death Eaters were arrested, and the truth behind it was... ]
Below the headline were four dynamic snapshots of the arrested Death Eaters.
Hermione leaned close to Andy to peer over his shoulder at the newspaper. She frowned and asked, "Huh? Why are there only reports about the arrest of Death Eaters? What about Voldemort?"
After Voldemort died, all the magic linked to his name naturally lost its effect.
"I think it's to hide the news."
Andy said as he flipped through the newspaper. "By hiding the news that Voldemort is dead, they can make Grindelwald think that Dumbledore is still dealing with Voldemort."
"In that way, his guard will be down."
Hermione suddenly had a lightbulb moment. "You mean... Professor Dumbledore plans to take advantage of the situation to deal with Grindelwald?"
"Great!"
Hermione couldn't hide her excitement.
"Now that Voldemort is dead, if Grindelwald is arrested, the wizarding world will finally be at peace."
Andy nodded, "That's right."
The current situation was not looking favourable for Grindelwald.
In terms of personal strength, Grindelwald, who was holding the Elder Wand, could not defeat Dumbledore, let alone Grindelwald without the Elder Wand.
If it came down to a one-on-one fight, Grindelwald had no chance of winning!
In terms of intelligence...
Well... Andy knew that Grindelwald, who specialized in divination and prophecy, had suffered more than once at Dumbledore's hands.
He simply can't outwit Dumbledore!
To put it another way... Dumbledore basically outclasses Grindelwald in every way.
Strength! Intelligence!
Grindelwald has no advantage at all.
So, even though Andy has tipped off Grindelwald, he has no confidence in him at all.
"But don't get too happy just yet,"
Andy continued, "If Grindelwald is determined to hide, Dumbledore will never find him."
At the moment, it is Grindelwald's greatest advantage.
If you do something, you will leave traces.
With traces, it is possible to discover clues.
But Grindelwald currently just wants to complete the fusion of mind and magic as soon as possible.
So until then, he will not take part in any activities.
If Grindelwald stays inactive, it will be difficult for Dumbledore to find him.
Hermione was puzzled. "Grindelwald escaped from prison, so he probably wouldn't want to just move to another place and hole up, would he?"
"If he just wants to stay hidden, what's the difference between being outside and being in Nurmengard Castle?"
That's a fair point.
Andy chuckled and explained, "Grindelwald is far from Dumbledore's match, but since he dared to escape from prison, he must have a way to deal with Dumbledore."
"So... he needs a little time."
In today's wizarding world, there are only four exceptionally powerful wizards in the open.
Andy, Voldemort, Dumbledore, and Grindelwald.
Among these four, Grindelwald's strength is undoubtedly the lowest.
Don't be fooled by Voldemort's below-expectation performance; that's just because he was influenced by dark magic, which had affected his intelligence.
In terms of personal strength alone, Voldemort is stronger than Grindelwald.
Because of this, before he has completed the fusion of mind and magic, Grindelwald is arguably without a chance of victory.
Hermione nodded thoughtfully.
"Indeed..."
After a moment's thought, Hermione suddenly asked, "Andy, Professor Dumbledore has the Elder Wand, right? That's one of the legendary Deathly Hallows!"
"Huh?"
Andy raised an eyebrow. "What's wrong?"
Hermione gave a little laugh and said, "Nothing. But...we should have more faith in the professor."
Andy agreed wholeheartedly, "Exactly."
This time, Andy could only support Dumbledore with his faith.
***
After breakfast, when Andy and Hermione were about to go to the library to read for a while, they saw Professor McGonagall walking towards them.
"Mr Collins, please come with me."
Professor McGonagall explained. "Someone is here to see you."
"Okay," Andy replied.
"Miss Granger..."
Professor McGonagall turned to Hermione. "They only called for Mr Collins, so…"
"I understand."
Hermione nodded, then suddenly asked, "Is it Professor Dumbledore?"
Professor McGonagall pursed her lips and did not answer the question.
When Hermione saw this, she did not ask any more questions.
The person who wanted to see Andy was obviously not Dumbledore.
If it had been Dumbledore, Professor McGonagall would not have hidden the information.
***
Andy followed Professor McGonagall to an office. Professor McGonagall stopped and gestured for Andy to go in alone.
That's quite secretive.
Andy did not hesitate, pushed the door open and walked in.
A man was standing in the office.
He was wearing a black suit and a tie around his collar, and he looked meticulously groomed.
He looked at Andy with a pair of sharp eyes behind his gold-rimmed glasses.
Rufus Scrimgeour.
Head of the Ministry of Magic's Auror Office.
Andy couldn't help but feel a little amused when he saw this man.
Scrimgeour... This was Andy's old opponent.
Andy had fought with this man when he first broke into the Ministry of Magic and when he went to Azkaban to rescue Peter Pettigrew.
Well...just an average person.
Bam!
Andy slammed the door behind him.
"You seem a little disappointed to see me?"
Since Andy pushed the door open, Scrimgeour had been observing his expressions and movements.
He did see a hint of disappointment in Andy's face.
This is intriguing.
He is the Head of the Auror Office.
Normally, even adult wizards would be a little nervous when they see him, let alone a young wizard.
Disappointed?
Why?
"Who do you expect to be in the room?"
Scrimgeour continued, "Or rather... who is the person you want to see?"
This question...
Andy thought about it. How should he answer this question?
Well...
Forget it, let's just answer honestly.
"I am indeed a little disappointed,"
Andy said as he sat down in a chair, speaking in a casual tone, "I don't really want to see you at all."
Scrimgeour is neither a powerful person like Dumbledore nor Andy's friend. Andy doesn't need to put on an act when facing him.
"Oh? Why?"
Scrimgeour asked, "Why don't you want to see me?"
When he asked this question, Scrimgeour had many answers in mind.
For example:
Andy harboured secrets that he didn't want the Aurors to know.
So he was looking forward to seeing how Andy would answer this question.
Would he make up a perfect lie?
Andy replied a little unenthusiastically, "Can you be of any help to me? You can't. So…of course, there's no way I'll be looking forward to it."
Scrimgeour narrowed his eyes and asked curiously, "What is it that you would need help with? If it doesn't go against my principles, I might be glad to help you."
----
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