Harry Potter and the Great Old Ones

Chapter 564 Hermione Granger's Melancholy
“After Draco Malfoy was expelled, his mother, Narcissa Malfoy, sold everything she owned and begged everyone she could to finally get him transferred to Durmstrang School of Witchcraft and Wizardry,” Tierra explained casually from the side. “And the higher-ups at Durmstrang School of Witchcraft and Wizardry are all pure-blood families from all over Northern Europe. They were afraid that I would use their precious bloodline as leverage, so they recruited a large number of transfer students and recalled students who had been expelled for violating school rules.”

"You can do that?" Hermione exclaimed in shock. "Isn't that the same as not firing Malfoy at all?"

"It doesn't matter, he just ran into us," Tiera said, shrugging. "Besides, it's just Malfoy, what's the big deal? Did you see that tall, strong guy leading Durmstrang's team, with short hair and a high nose?"

"What's wrong with him?" Harry asked uncertainly.

“Sergei Ivanov,” Tiera said. “A Russian, his mother is Nina Romanov, the third daughter of the Russian Minister of Magic, Sharikov Romanov. She is a member of the Romanov family, the most prestigious and illustrious wizarding family in Russia. Because of his family background, the worst outcome for Sergei Ivanov after graduation is to become the secretary to the director of a department in the Russian Ministry of Magic. Also because of his family background, that's the best position he can get. Then he will choose one of his uncles to serve, and after the current Russian Minister of Magic, Sharikov Romanov, steps down or dies, he will elect one of his uncles to take over, thus becoming the Romanov family's mole to control the entire Ministry of Magic.”

"It felt like listening to a medieval stage play," Hermione concluded.

“Indeed, the Russian Ministry of Magic has always been rather conservative and old-fashioned due to historical reasons, which may be related to the high-altitude and cold region they are located in.” Tiera nodded. “But the problem is that Sergei Ivanov is not satisfied with this. He is not content to be merely a spy, a pillar that maintains the Romanov family’s rule. He wants to become the actual ruler.”

"What did he do?" Hermione asked, clearly realizing that Sergei Ivanov belonged to the group that Durmstrang had dismissed and then recalled.

“He imitates Grindelwald,” Tiera said. “He does everything Grindelwald does. Grindelwald gathers followers, he unites with the illegitimate sons of the Durmstrang families, he preaches ideals and instills his beliefs in his followers, he assures his clique that he will help them kill the legitimate heirs of the great families and install them in power—”

“To be precise, he did indeed do it,” Tierra said. “While in school, he and his school group plotted the brutal murder of the first in line to the Ostrovsky family and the first and second in line to the Kuragin family.”

"Thus, I gained the absolute loyalty of Avdegrunia, the short-haired boy to his left behind him, and Lomonrosov Kuragin, the blond-haired, hook-nosed boy behind Avdegrunia." Tiera then pointed out two more boys.

"Of course, in the end their scheme was exposed, and Sergei and most of his clique were expelled from school. Only a few informants remained," Tiera said. "Of course, of those informants, apart from two who were accepted as legitimate family heirs, the others were either killed by Sergei's revenge outside the school or tortured to the point of madness."

“This is too dangerous!” Hermione said in a low voice, frowning, as if afraid that Sergei and his men would hear her.

“Of course, would Durmstrang’s higher-ups send them over if it weren’t dangerous?” Tierra said. “They’re nothing special. They’re rational beasts with an insatiable thirst for power, but they also play by their own set of rules. They won’t easily hurt anyone unless they’re cornered… In fact, when they first arrive in a new environment, they’ll put on a gentle and approachable demeanor to win people over, accumulating power while figuring out the rules of the game in their new environment.”

“The real danger is him.” Tierra pointed to the fifth boy in the row behind Malfoy, a tall, well-proportioned young wizard with blond hair and blue eyes.

“Bachkar Adenauer,” Tierra introduced. “A German, a half-blood wizard. His father worked for the German Ministry of Magic, and his mother was a Muggle.” “He was an extreme racist, extremely hostile to Muggles,” Tierra said. “Whether he was born cold-blooded or his practice of dark magic damaged his brain, he experimented with spells on his Muggle mother, causing her death, and then turned his mother into a zombie.”

“This is terrible…” Harry said with a sigh.

“But he wasn’t expelled for that. He was imprisoned in Belwuf, Germany’s equivalent of Azkaban, by the German Ministry of Magic for using the Imperius Curse to control his father in an attempt to steal important items from the Ministry,” Tierra said. “He’s twenty-five years old, and these crimes he committed when he was fourteen have landed him in Belwuf.”

“This is horrible…” Hermione said. “What, what are these people… what scum!”

"Think about it, these are people who were expelled from Durmstrang, a magic school that reveres dark magic. The best among them is the first Dark Lord, Gellert Grindelwald, who single-handedly started a war in the entire wizarding world. How much better could the worst among them be?"

“Then how did you get them into Hogwarts?” Hermione asked angrily. “Don’t tell me you have no way to deal with Durmstrang’s schemes.”

“Yes, but there’s no need,” Tierra said with a smile. “You hothouse flowers need to grow a bit. Dealing with them under my and Dumbledore’s supervision at Hogwarts is better than encountering these perverts and scumbags somewhere in the future.”

"What if they hurt the students at Hogwarts?" Hermione asked worriedly.

“Oh my goodness, Hermione, you’re usually so smart, how come you’re so confused right now?” Tyella chuckled. “Normally there are two Tyellas and one Dumbledore in this school. Not to mention them, even if Voldemort and Grindelwald joined forces to break in, they would only be a one-way trip.”

"What if they give an inflammatory speech?" Hermione asked, still uneasy.

“Then they’ll have to taste my iron fist.” Tiera raised her hand, clenched her fist, and said with a fierce expression.

“Sergei, is that Tiera?” Avdegrunia, standing behind Sergei, whispered in Russian. “She doesn’t look that formidable.”

Sergei did not answer him, but simply gestured for him not to communicate.

(End of this chapter)