Andy glanced at Malfoy and thought, 'To be honest, this kid is quite motivated, but his personal abilities are not very good. His intelligence and mental capacity are both average, so he can't pull off big and important thing.'
It's fine to let him do small tasks, but if you ask him to join you in plotting a grand scheme, you're just asking for trouble.
"Dumbledore is still helpful in more than one way."
Andy thought and said, "You probably don't know yet, but Grindelwald escaped from prison."
"Grindelwald...?"
Malfoy was taken aback, and it took him a while to remember who Grindelwald is.
Andy had mentioned the name 'Grindelwald' a few years ago, and Malfoy had asked his father and heard many legends about Grindelwald.
"Gellert Grindelwald?"
Malfoy confirmed, "He escaped from prison?!"
"Yes." Andy said.
Malfoy was stunned. He was considering the impact of Grindelwald's escape.
In Malfoy's view, Grindelwald was as famous as Voldemort, both being dark lords of their time. It's just Grindelwald's time was earlier, so nowadays there are very few legends about him.
"He was imprisoned for fifty years, wasn't he?"
Malfoy was incredulous. "Are there still people who swear allegiance to him?"
Andy: "..."
How should I know?
Due to the lack of reliable sources of information, Andy can hardly get news from Europe, so he doesn't know how many followers Grindelwald has gathered.
But one thing is certain:
No matter what era it is, Grindelwald's cause has a market.
Because the living space for wizards is getting increasingly smaller.
Muggle cities are booming and flourishing.
Wizards on the other hand, can only survive in remote villages, working hard every day trying to make ends meet.
Wizards are a proud bunch. They have magical powers at their command, and with a wave of their wands, they can do things that Muggles can never do.
Under these circumstances, how many wizards would be willing to accept their fate?
What's more, as the Muggles' technology advances, the living space of wizards will inevitably be further compressed.
Anyone with a discerning eye can see the threat posed by Muggles.
For this reason, if Grindelwald can come up with a workable strategy, he will certainly be able to gain the support of numerous wizards.
And even...
Andy believes that if Grindelwald is willing to give up resorting to war, even Dumbledore might help him.
This is not just something Andy blabbers.
Dumbledore knows Muggles very well.
So, did Dumbledore genuinely like Muggles?
That was doubtful!
Don't forget, young Dumbledore was in favour of wizards ruling over Muggles.
Although the death of his sister Ariana made Dumbledore give up such ideas, it wouldn't necessarily make him like Muggles.
There was no link between the two.
Dumbledore is just against war!
"There should be..."
Andy casually said, "Dumbledore has already gone to Europe; we just need to wait patiently for news."
Malfoy's pupils dilated at the news; his expression was changing constantly.
Grindelwald had escaped from prison!
This certainly gave Malfoy a huge shock.
This was extremely significant news.
The Malfoy family needed to find out everything about Grindelwald immediately, including his beliefs, abilities, influence, and methods of operation.
When Malfoy first started school, he was very proud, very proud of his family's heritage.
However, as he grew older, Malfoy gradually learned more about his family. In particular, in the past two years, his father had told him a lot about the family's difficulties.
The Malfoy family does have a lot of money.
But they have lost their influence.
Over the years, his father had managed to maintain a small amount of sway by bribing Fudge. However, with the rise of Bones, the Malfoy family once again lost everything.
With the amount of bribes and donations they need to make for small things due to the lack of influence, at this rate, their family's reserves won't last long.
If they can't return to the centre of power, the Malfoys' decline is only a matter of time.
Not only that, they're also dreaming of returning to the good old days, to an age when 'Pureblood is all that matters.'.
That's what a lot of Pureblood families dream of, too.
So...
Grindelwald might be another option.
"Collins..."
Malfoy asked, weighing up the situation, "Do you think Grindelwald can deal with Dumbledore?"
"I mean, since Grindelwald dared to escape from prison, he must have been well-prepared...right?"
Andy: "..."
To be honest, Malfoy is still too inexperienced.
He doesn't know how to protect his thoughts with Occlumency that well, so his thoughts are completely open to Andy.
And he still wants to play both sides?
Well...that's great!
Because Andy has no plans to be involved in politics and power struggles. Moreover, he can also use this to his advantage if the need comes.
"Who knows?"
Andy said nonchalantly, "Malfoy, you can ask your father to go to Europe to gather some intelligence and find out how things are developing on Grindelwald's side."
"I understand," Malfoy replied immediately.
This was also in line with what he had been thinking. He had originally wanted to ask his father to go to Europe to find out how things were developing on Grindelwald's side.
And...
Malfoy suddenly thought of something.
"Collins, you once spoke highly of Grindelwald, right?"
Malfoy asked tentatively, "Do we have any cooperation with Grindelwald?"
Andy: "…"
Who are you to talk about 'we'?
"Malfoy, this is not your concern!" Andy glanced at Malfoy.
"Yes, I know!" Malfoy's face turned pale.
"You can go back now!" Andy said.
***
"Uh-"
After Malfoy left, Andy raised his arms high and stretched lazily, speechless.
He had a lot on his mind!
It was clear that Malfoy did not just represent himself or the Malfoy family but the Pureblood families led by the Malfoy family.
Well, it could also be viewed as a group with a common interest.
Due to Voldemort's successive defeats, they had collectively rebelled.
They first contacted Andy through the Malfoy family, and then Andy sent them to Dumbledore.
Because of this, they were let off the hook by the Ministry of Magic.
Their power was not that damaged, and the wizarding world was changing again, so naturally they would want to take advantage of the situation and seek even greater benefits for their families.
"Hah..."
Andy yawned.
'Compared to these people, am I not ambitious enough?'
Andy pondered for a while.
'Not really.'
'My ambition is not in power and wealth, but in personal magical power.'
'Compared to these people, I just chose a different path.'
Everyone has their own ambitions.
Andy has always believed that people with different ambitions are not compatible.
However, they can be used.
'Let Malfoy Sr. do some snooping first.'
'As for me... I should focus on my studies.'
Speaking of studies, Andy couldn't help but feel a little distressed.
The study of alchemy was going very well and had now entered the right track. However, Andy had hit a wall in his study of love, and for the time being, he just felt at a loss.
'Maybe... I can ask someone for advice.'
'For example, a certain someone with a love brain.'
----
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