Hogwarts: Voldemort, don't stop me from studying

Chapter 979 He is coming

"Ding dong ding dong..."

The doorbell of the coffee shop rang crisply. Antoine turned his head to look and saw that it was just a few employees of the Magic Congress coming in to buy coffee. He turned his gaze away without paying much attention.

"Isn't it about time?" Antoine finished the rest of his coffee in one gulp, frowning slightly at the bitterness, and then said, "Let's go, let's get down to business."

Wade withdrew his gaze from observing the other customers in the shop, nodded, and the two walked out of the coffee shop together, turning into a relatively quiet alley nearby.

The alley was piled with miscellaneous items, the sunlight was cut into narrow bands by the tall buildings, and fine dust floated in the air.

Upon seeing this, the two of them couldn't help but stop and watch for a moment.

Ever since Hawthorne and Hughes were ambushed by the floating dust, similar dust particles are no longer seen as harmless natural phenomena, but as potential weapons that could be turned into danger at any moment.

Of course, the dust in the alley is just dust; it has no magical power whatsoever.

"You must be very busy right now," Wade asked. "Doesn't Mr. Grindelwald have any other work for you?"

The Sorcerers have taken over part of Prometheus's legacy and clues, and are also dealing with the new situation following the power shift in the Magical Congress. Theoretically, they are in a time of manpower shortage. As Grindelwald's trusted lieutenant, Antoine shouldn't be "idling" with him.

Antoine chuckled and said, “Accompanying you to complete this task is my recent assignment—it was personally given to me by the master.”

“Alright then.” Wade grabbed Antoine’s arm and said, “Get ready.”

Antoine adjusted his posture and asked with slight surprise, "When did you learn Apparition?"

Wade smiled and said, "Of course... before the league."

next moment……

"boom!"

A soft, muffled sound, as if the air had been forcibly pushed aside, echoed in the alley.

The two figures disappeared into the alley in an instant.

……

"boom!"

After a muffled bang, Leila and Fontana staggered to the edge of a forest clearing.

Beneath their feet lay soft fallen leaves, the air crisp and cool, carrying the unique scent of damp vegetation characteristic of the mountains.

In the distance, the majestic outline of Mount Greylock loomed in and out of the clouds, and between the swirling clouds and peaks, the spire of a towering castle could be faintly seen—that was the Ivermony School of Magic.

Lyra quickly regained her balance and immediately waved her wand to release Fontana from the binding spell.

Finally free, Fontana collapsed to the ground, coughing violently a few times. His face showed no relief at surviving the ordeal, only a deathly desolation and deep exhaustion, as if all his energy had been drained away.

His former authority and confidence as Principal Ilhamone had vanished, leaving only dejection after being defeated.

Leila looked at him, her brow furrowed.

She tidied her somewhat disheveled hair and tattered robe sleeves. Although her face was pale, her eyes burned with a flame of resentment.

"Listen, sir, this isn't over yet!"

Leila gritted her teeth and said, "My decision to leave is not an admission of defeat, but rather an attempt to begin the second phase of the game!"

Fontana raised his cloudy eyes and glanced at her, but didn't react.

Lyra's eyes gleamed with a defiant light: "As long as I am not formally arrested and convicted, my identity will continue to attract those who are equally afraid of being purged!"

She crouched down, looking Fontana straight in the eye, as if trying to ignite the flame in her eyes in him as well.

"I still have decades of secrets inside Congress, the weaknesses of various departments, shady deals, and dirt on countless people... These are my most powerful bargaining chips for the future."

"Once we've settled down for a while, I'll immediately contact our remaining forces in the country, as well as our 'friends' internationally who have been trying to infiltrate the American magical world."

“We are not alone, sir. There are many people who will become our invisible strength.”

Leila softened her tone slightly and said, "For now, we just need to hide and survive! Then we'll try to use every channel to gather more dirt on our opponents. We can also selectively leak some secrets to attack the legitimacy of the regime after I leave."

"And the people are forgetful. Before long, when they realize that their successors can't solve the current problems at all, and the magical world is instead plunged into continuous chaos and scandals... then they'll miss us!" "Cheer up, sir! We must wait for our opportunity as former leaders persecuted by conspiracy... As long as we're alive, there's always hope!"

As Leila spoke, she felt she was almost convinced by herself, and her expression became more optimistic.

But Fontana's reaction remained indifferent. He grabbed a handful of damp soil with his withered hand, then let it slip through his fingers.

“Sir!” Leila exclaimed urgently.

She didn't actually have a deep and inseparable bond with Fontana; it was just that Fontana's strength was essential to her survival plan.

"Finished?" Fontana said in a dry voice, "Do you really think...we can still do these things now?"

"Why not?"

Leila said somewhat anxiously, "For every job I've handled, I've left some backup plans that only I know about. The work at Congressional Headquarters will definitely be in chaos in the short term! They won't be able to find someone to replace me so quickly!"

"Most importantly, we did not plead guilty until we left. As long as we did not plead guilty, there is still a possibility of overturning the verdict!"

"And do you know how many people support me? Countless people across America are tied to our cause! Even for their own benefit, they have to support us in regaining power!"

"If everyone commits a crime, then everyone is innocent! In that case, those who clamor to investigate these matters will be the real sinners!"

"Don't worry, it happened so suddenly today. Soon, there will definitely be voices speaking up for us! I'll write a few letters in a bit..."

She was calculating in her mind whose secrets she knew, and how she could force them to stand on her side without any other choice.

Fontana looked up at Leila, who was speaking with fervor and exuding confidence. After a moment, he gave a bitter laugh, his eyes filled with sorrow and a sense of helplessness at the impending doom.

“No, they will definitely investigate, Lyra…”

Fontana said dejectedly:

"There is no such thing as 'the law does not punish the masses.' No matter how many people are implicated... they will only complain that there are too few, and will not be afraid of too many people being sent to prison."

“Why would you think that?” Leila frowned. “The people in Congress aren’t crazy—of course, there are a few who are—but are they trying to destroy America?”

Fontana asked slowly, "Do you know... why I couldn't break free of the ropes just now?"

Before Leila could answer, he answered his own question, "Because I can't do it."

"Even if the wand is released, my Silent Wandless Charm is enough to easily shatter or twist an iron chain, but I cannot break that seemingly ordinary hemp rope."

He turned his head, his gaze wandering across the grass, searching.

However, the rope binding him, though appearing to be a real object, was actually conjured by magic. It disappeared after Lyra broke the spell.

A moment later, Fontana, looking dazed, looked up at Lyra and asked weakly, "How many wizards in the world do you think could do this with their binding spells?"

Lyra's face paled, and her lips trembled slightly as she said, "...Dumbledore?"

She clung to a sliver of hope, wishing that the person would be Dumbledore.

however--

“No.” Fontana shook his head and said, “Dumbledore has been in England recently and hasn’t even left Hogwarts much… The person who secretly attacked me must be Grindelwald… It’s the Mafia, Lyra!”

He trembled slightly, covered his face, and said painfully:

“We will create a large power vacuum in the upper echelons of Congress, we will sweep countless government employees out of the house, leave a lot of positions vacant... and then replace them with their own people.”

"Do you think they'll stop there, or even welcome you back for the sake of Congress's stability? No, they won't! The list of those held accountable will only get longer!"

"The sins we have left behind are like the Sword of Damocles hanging over everyone's heads. As long as someone refuses to obey them, that sword will fall!"

"In the end, the cultists will spread like mold along the cracks we've made, covering the entire wall! The whole of the American wizarding world will fall into Grindelwald's hands."

“Laila…the demon that your aunt stopped seventy years ago has now been let in by our own hands…and we…we are not fugitives, not gamblers, and certainly not 'former leaders' who still have a chance.”

He spoke word by word:
"We are sinners, Lyra!"

(End of this chapter)