Hogwarts: Voldemort, don't stop me from studying

Chapter 978 Go Drink Coffee
The parliamentary atrium was once again filled with various sounds: hurried footsteps, peaceful discussions, and the chanting of spells by wizards.

With a wave of the wand, the ruins created in the battle were quickly restored to their original state, and the ordinary wizard, who had no suspicion or official position, could finally leave.

People hurried along, their faces showing the weariness of surviving a disaster.

The deceased's body was carefully placed to one side, covered with a clean white sheet. Suppressed sobs echoed in the courtyard; these were the deceased's family members who had rushed over upon hearing the news.

Clinch Barrett knelt before the weeping family members, and despite it not being his responsibility, he apologized softly with a look of remorse, trying his best to explain the situation in a gentle tone, promising to investigate and provide compensation.

At this moment, his ordinary round face held an extremely sincere expression, which somewhat soothed his emotions that were on the verge of collapse.

Amidst this busy scene, Wade had already taken off his light blue healer's assistant uniform and was now wearing an inconspicuous dark wizard's robe. He walked to the area of ​​the explosion ruins that had just been roughly cleared out below the podium.

The charred ground and shattered stone slabs were interspersed with faint traces of blood, almost crimson, mixed with the soil, indistinguishable from each other.

Wade bent down and picked up the dead ant from beside a pebble. It was a very small ant, blackened by burning, and looked like a sesame seed.

He straightened up, gathered the wreckage into his palm, and as he turned around, he saw someone walking up behind him.

It turned out to be Antoine without any disguise.

"You just showed up at the headquarters of the Magical Congress of the United States like this?" Wade asked, somewhat speechless.

“So what?” Antoine shrugged. “I’m an emeritus professor at Salem College. I was invited to the ceremony by a formal invitation from Congress. They can’t just arrest me.”

Vid asked in a low voice, "Even knowing you're a UMNO?"

“If they knew, they would be even less likely to touch me.” Antoine tilted his head and said casually, “Your business is finished, how about we go out for a drink?”

Wade shook his head and said, "This is just a temporary pause, but it's not over yet."

“You still need to rest for a while,” Antoine advised. “You don’t need to push yourself too hard when it comes to other people’s business.”

The two walked side by side toward the outside of the Capitol building, the midday sun shining down from above, giving them a warm feeling.

The streets were almost deserted, so Wade spoke more casually: "Is this still 'someone else's business'?"

"Ha!" Antoine burst out laughing. "I knew I couldn't hide it from you! When did you figure it out?"

“That Director Barrett,” Wade said, “looked at Mr. Grindelwald several times while issuing orders. And Mr. Devers, who was assisting him, was also one of your men, wasn’t he?”

“That’s right,” Antoine said with a smile. “The people he called at the beginning were all people he was sure wouldn’t oppose him. Otherwise, if someone refuted him to his face, it would be very difficult to get back on the throne.”

Wade slowly exhaled, not at all surprised.

The Prometheus Project is backed by top Muggle conglomerates. Cleansing them means astronomical sums of wealth, real estate, rare magical materials, and cutting-edge Muggle technological research data.

Vid himself only took a portion of it, while the UMNO party also reaped substantial gains.

Amidst the chaos and upheaval, a significant power vacuum emerged within the Magic Congress, nearly paralyzing the government.

At a time like this, it might not be too difficult for Grindelwald to declare that he wants to become the new Speaker of Congress.

But that person made a different choice than he had in his youth. He no longer pursued superficial rule and obedience, but instead supported proxies and controlled key nodes to exert decisive influence. This kind of "rule" was undoubtedly cheaper, easier to achieve, and harder to be replaced than taking power directly.

However, this approach also has a major drawback.

Wade whispered a reminder: "When Cornelius Fudge first became Minister for Magic, he also listened to Professor Dumbledore, but it wasn't long before he felt that Dumbledore was an obstacle to him."

“Yes, that’s what power is. It can easily change a cowardly person.” Antoine smiled and said, “But Mr. Grindelwald is not Dumbledore.”

He glanced back at the Capitol building behind him and said to Wade:
“Dumbledore can tolerate stupidity and betrayal, but Mr. Grindelwald? He never gives anyone a second chance to betray him.”

He smiled confidently and said:
“Clinch Barrett knows that too. If he forgets… I’ll have it engraved on his tombstone.”

Wade didn't stop walking, and his expression didn't change much. He just nodded almost imperceptibly, and then sighed softly.

Sometimes, he wished Dumbledore could be more decisive. But the thought that he himself had benefited from the headmaster's tolerant education prevented him from voicing his objections.

The emotions contained in that sigh were too complex. Antoine turned to look at him, but he couldn't tell what Vader was thinking from his face.

So he asked, "How about going to the Red Hat Bar? It's not far, and their Dragon Blood Whiskey is really strong! They also have Spicy Ice Dew, which makes your ears feel cold after drinking it, and it's very popular with minors."

Wade asked, "Aren't minors prohibited from entering bars here?"

“We are wizards! We don’t have to abide by Muggle laws,” Antoine said seriously. “Besides, you look at least twenty-five years old, definitely over the age limit.”

“No need.” Wade walked across the street without stopping. “I’ll just go to Oak Coffee Shop. Their freshly ground coffee is pretty good.”

"Oh?" Antoine raised an eyebrow, a playful smile curving his lips. "Is it because the coffee really tastes good, or... is it because of the lady who sat with you there drinking coffee earlier that you thought the shop was nice?"

Vader said calmly, "I'm not in the mood to think about those things right now, Antoine. And..."

"And what?" Antoine pressed, seeing that he seemed hesitant to speak.

Wade shook his head and didn't continue.

This time, almost the entire upper class of the American magical world was drawn into the conflict. Some were related to Prometheus, some secretly supported the Purgers, and many more were Lyra's interest groups.

Among them, the highly influential Vanderbilt managed to remain uninvolved, not participating in the events and almost unaffected by those groups, a result that always puzzled Wade.

Today, witnessing Barrett's performance in taking charge, observing the reactions of many in the room, and seeing Barrett's arrangements for the subsequent work with Congress under Grindelwald's direction, Wade gradually realized—

Vanderbilts were not actually trying to protect themselves; they simply chose a riskier, more profitable approach.

Grindelwald, who appears to be active in Europe, has actually already placed his own pawns in the American wizarding world—Vanderbilt, a collaborator of the Sorcerer Party in America.

Therefore, Barrett always consulted with others when arranging other matters. However, when it came to promising medical expenses and compensation, he completely disregarded anyone's opinion.

Because subconsciously he knew which part of the property he had control over... He knew he had an enormous amount of money backing him.

In today's American magical community, only Vanderbilt can give him this kind of confidence.

(End of this chapter)