From Hogwarts to Strixhaven.

Chapter 250 Holy White Council (700010000)

"I know what I'm doing, believe me." Gandalf strolled along the uneven paths of Rivendell, with Ivy and Elrond beside him.

After a day of sword training, Elrond invited Avy and Gandalf to stroll in the water garden to admire the moon.

On the way, the two discussed the dwarves' expedition to Lonely Mountain.

"Are you sure, Gandalf?" Elrond asked, "Smaug has been sleeping in the mountain for sixty years, but he is only sleeping, not leaving or dying. If the plan fails, the awakened dragon will bring pain to this land again."

"What if we succeed?" Gandalf asked. "Now the Misty Mountains are full of orcs, the dark forces in the north are eyeing us, and giant spiders have appeared in Mirkwood. Don't tell me you have forgotten the big guys in the Ogre Forest west of Rivendell. The dark forces in Middle-earth have never been far away, they are just lying dormant for the time being."

"The geographical location of the Lonely Mountain is very important. As long as the dwarves take it back, they can strengthen the righteous forces in the East. It can also prevent the Misty Mountains, the Northern Mountains and the dark forces entrenched in Mordor in the South from connecting. This is a crucial step!"

"But it is very dangerous, Gandalf," Elrond continued.

"It would be dangerous to do nothing. Besides, the title of King under the Mountain belongs to Thorin. What are you worried about?" Gandalf's attitude was very firm, even a little angry.

"Don't you remember anything? Thorin's family has always been crazy. His grandfather and father were both confused by gold and did countless crazy things. Can you ensure that Thorin Oakenshield will not repeat the same mistakes?" Elrond slowed down his tone. "Gandalf, these things are not up to us to decide. We can't redraw the map of Middle-earth with the power of two people."

"Not only do we rely on the two of us, but also Ivy!" Gandalf pointed at Ivy who had never interrupted him. "He is also a wizard... and he wears a green robe!"

Elrond seemed to have no reason to refute, so he could only quicken his pace up the stairs.

Gandalf took advantage of the victory and continued: "And Ivy has signed his name on the contract for the expedition to Lonely Mountain! He will ensure that the dwarves complete their mission smoothly! Moreover, even if no one helps, will these dwarves give up their former homes? I don't think Thorin Oakenshield will think that this mission requires the responsibility of anyone who does not belong to Durin's clan!"

"Not responsible for me." Elrond guided Gandalf and Evy to a high platform where several chairs and a round table had been set up.

Following the direction of Elrond's finger, an unforgettable figure was standing on the terrace. She wore a complicated silver crown on her head, and her long curly dark golden hair, dotted with bright silver, was draped over her shoulders. The clear moonlight seemed to decorate her long hair with silver yarn, and her elegant blue robe dragged on the ground, like a clear spring flowing into people's hearts.

Hearing the movement behind her, the figure slowly turned around, revealing a more charming face. Her beauty was silent, but more captivating than many magnificent landscapes in nature.

"Lady Galadriel." Gandalf called her name and took two steps forward unconsciously.

"Mithrandir." Galadriel greeted in Elvish, "Long time no see."

Gandalf also answered in Elvish: "Time may have changed me, but it has never changed the Lord and Lady of Lothlorien."

No matter what age a woman is, it is always right to praise her for her youth. Even Galadriel, whose beauty was beyond measure, smiled when she received Gandalf's compliment.

"I heard you brought friends." Galadriel's gaze moved to Ivy's face, still speaking the very difficult to understand Elvish.

"Ivy Doom." Ivy nodded slightly, imitated Gandalf's gesture and saluted, and also answered in Elvish, "I am willing to serve you, my lady."

Ivy spoke Elvish as well as any wizard or elven lord present, so he immediately attracted attention.

"You call yourself a wizard?" Another majestic voice sounded, and unlike the others, this voice spoke English.

Gandalf's face, which was beaming with joy at seeing Galadriel, froze. He blinked painfully, then put on an enthusiastic fake smile and turned away.

Ivy was very familiar with that smiling face; workers always had that expression when facing their boss.

The person who spoke was an old man in a white robe, who was staring at Ivy with a questioning look.

"Saruman." Gandalf and Elrond saluted together, but Ivy did not.

"You have been very busy lately, my old friend." Saruman looked at Gandalf, "And have you made new Istari friends?"

The so-called "Istar" is a wizard. There are five of them in Middle-earth. They come from Valinor in the far west. Before coming to Middle-earth, they were secondary gods called "Maia" by the elves.

In order to deal with Sauron who created the One Ring, they were sent to Middle-earth by the God King Manwe. But in Middle-earth, their past strength and bodies were abandoned, even their memories were blurred, and they could only appear in the form of old men. Among these old wizards, only Saruman looked the youngest, because he had black hair and a very beautiful voice.

Gandalf looked sideways at Ivy, and then confirmed the reliability of Ivy's identity to Saruman with his own knowledge: "Ivy's magic power is very deep, and mortals who know a little bit of witchcraft power can't reach his level."

Elrond also recognized Ivy's power: "I saw with my own eyes that he released a violent lightning bolt and pierced through a whole army of one hundred orcs."

"Then he cannot be Istar." Saruman made his own judgment. "All Istar who came to Middle-earth were under my control, and I have never received any message from the West."

"Are you really as loyal to your duty as you say, Saruman?" This was the second time that Ivy's voice sounded on the open-air platform, but it once again shocked everyone standing here. "I am Saruman the White Wizard, the first Istar to cross the sea to Middle-earth, the Speaker of the Holy White Council, and the Guardian of Isengard!" Saruman's majestic voice was like thunder roaring across the sky, "Who are you to say such disrespectful words!"

There was no doubt that he used magic in his voice, but the Ravenclaw crown on Ivy's head made him completely immune to abnormal mental effects. If Saruman's body and divine power as a Maia were still there, I'm afraid he could really intimidate Ivy, but at this time he was not only suppressed by Middle-earth, but his real body was thousands of miles away in Isengard. It was still too far to suppress Ivy with just a clone.

"Fortunately, the venue provided by Lord Elrond is large enough, otherwise it would not be able to accommodate so many people." Since Saruman spoke in a pretentious manner, Avy would make jokes. After all, he would not pretend to be Istar for no reason.

Ivy's joke caused Galadriel to let out a chuckle, which completely destroyed the serious atmosphere created by Saruman.

It was then that Ivy began to answer Saruman's previous question: "It doesn't matter what identity I ask. What matters is that at this moment when the dark enemy is ready to make a move, you, the speaker of the Holy White Council, did nothing."

"Since the founding of Rohan four hundred years ago, there has not been a large-scale conflict in Middle-earth for a long time." Saruman said, "The only one who may break the peace now is the dwarf expedition supported by Gandalf. Once Smaug is awakened from his sleep, Middle-earth will usher in another disaster!"

"So you also know that Smaug is just asleep, not dead." Ivy smiled and shook her head. "Darkness has never been extinct in Middle-earth. If we don't completely eliminate it when it is dormant, do we have to wait until it grows stronger again so that the forces of justice are forced to defend themselves?"

"Besides, the so-called peace is simply a joke. New threats are getting closer and closer. There are even traces of orcs on the outskirts of Rivendell. You can't just bury your heads in your arms and pretend nothing has happened." Ivy looked at Gandalf. "The brown wizard Radagast has conveyed his concerns to Gandalf. You should listen to what he has to say."

"Speak, my old friend. Let us hear what the threat is." Saruman cast his cold eyes at Gandalf, as if he thought that Ivy was a helper he had deliberately found. Before the five Istar came to Middle-earth, Saruman had already had a conflict with Gandalf because he believed that he was ranked first among the five wizards, while the Queen of Gods Varda believed that Gandalf was no worse than Saruman.

"A necromancer has appeared in the fortress of Dol Guldur. It is said that he has the power to make the dead stand up again." Gandalf said.

"Ridiculous. There is no such power in the world. The so-called necromancer hidden in Dol Guldur is just a mortal, a mortal wizard who has learned the power of black magic." When Saruman said the word "mortal", he deliberately looked in the direction of Ivy.

"If this is the warning Radagast gave you, then I can only say that you were misled by the fool's words." Saruman's face was expressionless. "The mushrooms in the forest messed up his brain. He is no better than the descendant of Durin's family who has dragon disease. I warned him a long time ago, but he did not know how to restrain himself and had no restraint."

Saruman's words were also pointing to Gandalf. Recruiting Ivy and leading the dwarves on an expedition to Lonely Mountain was also an act of "no restraint and no moderation."

At some point, something wrapped in linen appeared on Gandalf's lap. He picked it up with both hands and placed it flat in front of Saruman.

"What is this?" The perceptive Lord of the Valley had obviously noticed the sinister atmosphere in the air and stretched out his hand to reveal its true face.

"A relic of Mordor." Galadriel was the most powerful elf alive in Middle-earth. Even though her real body was far away in Lothlorien, she immediately realized the truth.

Elrond's hand, reaching for the sackcloth wrapping, flinched before it was revealed.

A dark sword appeared in front of the Holy White Council.

"The Dark Sword of Angmar." Elrond recognized him. "The Dark Sword of Angmar."

"And the Witch King of Angmar is Sauron's Ringwraith." Galadriel's expression was solemn. "He is back?"

"Without the One Ring there can be no Ringwraiths!" said Saruman, "And Sauron's One Ring has disappeared into the Anduin River along with Isildur! So many years have passed, and it has never seen the light of day again. Maybe it has already been washed into the sea with the river."

"We have no evidence of the existence of the Ringwraiths. This is just a magic sword of the northerners. Although it is indeed rare, it does not mean that it belongs to Sauron." Saruman paused, "You just linked several unrelated things together and constructed a false impression of Sauron's return to disrupt your own position."

"You have proven yourself ineffective once again, Saruman the White." Ivy suddenly interrupted, "I think this is what the White Council should focus on. Or do you have other particularly important things to do in Isengard? So that you have to ignore the irrefutable evidence in front of you?"

"Whether the necromancer living in Dol Guldur is a mortal wizard or Sauron himself, this sword can prove that they belong to the darkness. They ignore the darkness in front of them and just hide in the tower of Isengard..." Ivy showed a very strong curiosity, "Can I ask what is in Isengard that has attracted your attention? The other members of the White Council will definitely not hesitate to help."

Ivy has seen the movie "The Lord of the Rings" and knows that Saruman is also a guy who covets the One Ring. He hides in the tower of Isengard in order to use the Palantir hidden inside to search for the whereabouts of the One Ring. This is why he is unwilling to leave Isengard.

But whether it was the information about the Crystal of True Knowledge or the Supreme Ring, he was unwilling to share it with other people in the White Council, so he needed an impeccable reason.

"I must always be on the lookout for attacks from the Orcs from the Misty Mountains!" said Saruman.

"But, if I remember correctly, you have been defending there for four hundred years... If the orcs break through the defenses you worked so hard to build just because you left Isengard and went to Dol Guldur to check on the strength of the necromancer... then this seems to further confirm my initial doubts - doubts about the inaction of the Speaker of the White Council." Ivy's true intentions were exposed at this time. Although he could be said to have accidentally entered the gathering of the White Council members, it would not be wrong to help Gandalf. After all, this man successfully replaced the rebellious Saruman and became the white wizard in the future. This is a fact known to everyone.

"Gandalf!" Saruman suddenly called the grey wizard's name, "You want to go to the Lonely Mountain with the dwarves? You must separate from them in Mirkwood and go to Dol Guldur to investigate. We will all support you then."

"And you! Wizard." Saruman looked at Ivy again, "You have to go too!"

　3000 left!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)