Hogwarts: Harry Returns from Water Margin

Chapter 273 Harry Meets Grindelwald Again

As Scrimgeour was en route to Azkaban, in the countryside near Nottingham, the Thestral suddenly lurched and landed in a forest.

As soon as the wheels stopped, the carriage door was pulled open from the outside, and the female Auror who was escorting the carriage stood outside and said, "Please come out, Mr. Scrimgeour."

"We'll have to walk for a while."

Although Scrimgeour recognized the two Aurors and had worked with them in the past, he was now a fallen tiger in the plains and in prison clothes, so how could he dare to say anything?

Scrimgeour got out of the car as instructed and asked, "What's wrong? Why are we walking?"

"The Thestral is tired."

Scrimgeour glanced to the side and saw several Thestrals standing under the tree, their wings spread wide and their hooves gleaming. They showed no signs of fatigue. Though he was suspicious, he simply lowered his head and followed.

The three of them walked deeper into the forest, stepping on fallen leaves and withered branches. After walking for about the time it takes to brew a cup of tea, the man, Ao Luo, suddenly stopped, yawned, and said, "Alright, let's rest here for a while."

Scrimgeour's suspicions deepened upon hearing this, and he couldn't help but ask again, "Shouldn't we be heading to Azkaban? Why are we resting here for a while?"

The female Ao Luo glanced at him sideways and said coldly, "We're tired."

These words came out of nowhere, causing Scrimgeour's eyes to twitch. He immediately went to find an old tree, closed his eyes to rest, and sat down leaning against its gnarled roots.

The forest was eerily quiet, save for the rustling sound of the male Ao Luo fumbling for food and drink in the carriage behind. Soon, even that sound ceased.

The male Auror silently took his wand, turned it sideways to Scrimgeour's chest, and said, "Entanglement."

As soon as he finished speaking, the ground around Scrimgeour suddenly cracked open, and seven or eight vines burst out of the soil, binding him and the tree tightly in the blink of an eye.

Scrimgeour was startled. He struggled twice, but the vines tightened even more, binding him until he could hardly breathe. His eyes widened, veins bulging, and he spat out through clenched teeth, "What do you mean by this?!"

The male Auror stepped forward and sighed, "I'm sorry, boss, it's not that we want you dead, it's just that Minister Fudge doesn't want to see you reach Azkaban alive. He has a lot of complaints about you wanting to kill him."

"Blame the minister, don't blame us."

Upon hearing this, Scrimgeour felt a surge of sorrow well up inside him, and he forced a bitter laugh, saying, "If I said that bringing the knife into the courtroom was truly an accident, would you believe me?"

The male Aurora noodle remained unmoved. "This has nothing to do with us."

After saying that, he raised his wand again, about to chant a spell, when suddenly his face seemed to be gripped by a hand, and his features abruptly shrugged.

He was then slammed to the ground by a gust of wind, and his wand flew more than ten feet away.

The woman was terrified and hurriedly tried to pull out her staff, but felt as if she had been struck by a heavy hammer in the abdomen, leaving a dent the size of a bowl. Instantly, her energy dissipated and her muscles went numb.

You must know that when someone plots against you, you must be wary of their schemes; only when impermanence arrives will you realize the danger. The moment this female Auror lay down, a man plummeted from the sky—who else could it be but Harry?

The scarred man clenched his fist, which was the size of a vinegar jar, so tightly it cracked. He grabbed the female Auror by the collar and cursed, "What a pair of treacherous people! My brother Scrimgeour has never treated you badly, yet now you want to kill him, doing such a treacherous and disloyal thing!"

"I'll send you two 'birds' to meet the King of Hell first!"

With that, Harry drew his ring knife, intending to stab the female Auror in the heart.

Scrimgeour, seeing clearly through the vines, quickly sat up and shouted, "Wait! Harry, I have something to say!"

Harry heard the call and abruptly stopped his attack.

Scrimgeour took a breath and said, "This has nothing to do with them. It was Fudge who wanted to kill me. How could those two dare to disobey the Minister's orders?"

"Killing them both would be pointless; it would just add two more lives to the list."

Upon hearing this, Harry first confiscated two Auror wands, then went to Scrimgeour, cut the vines, and helped him up, saying, "Brother, I've been following you ever since you set off from the Ministry of Magic. When I saw this carriage stranded in this remote woods, I knew something was amiss."

He crept closer to take a look, and sure enough, they were about to commit that wicked act!

He glared at the two men on the ground and complained, "Brother is too kind! You're still defending these spineless bastards."

"Given my nature, I'd rather finish them off one by one, then storm into the Ministry of Magic to find that old scoundrel Fudge and wreak havoc on him. Wouldn't that be exhilarating!"

Upon hearing these words, the two Aurors turned ashen-faced and trembled uncontrollably, not daring to utter a single word.

Scrimgeour shook his head, a wry smile on his face. "Actually, I can understand why Fudge wanted to kill me."

"Although the trial documents say that I forgot to hand over the dagger I kept by my body, in Fudge's mind, my purpose was to kill him."

"Besides, he's not exactly brave to begin with, so it's understandable that he wanted to get rid of me, the assassin, beforehand."

Harry, upon hearing this, widened his blue eyes like saucers and exclaimed, "Brother, you're so clueless! It's fine to argue with these two scoundrels, but why are you worrying about that old scoundrel Fudge?"

Scringer said, "I'm not speaking for Fudge, but just speculating on his thinking when he did these things."

Harry replied, "Thinking is one thing, doing is another. It's a done deal that he's sending someone to kill my brother; there's no escaping it. Should my brother just tolerate it?"

Scrimgeour remained silent for a long time before saying, "This will only hasten the disintegration of the magical world."

Then, he glanced at the two Aurors again and said, "And with these two pieces of evidence, I don't think Fudge will be foolish enough to do anything to me again."

Upon hearing this, Harry felt a surge of anger. He was about to expose Fudge's malicious intentions, which stemmed from his fear that Fudge would seize the ministerial position.

But the words were on the tip of his tongue, and he swallowed them back down.

You should know that if he really reveals it, his previous scheme with Percy to harm him will also be exposed. It's like swallowing a bitter pill, his belly full of bitter water.

He was anxious, thinking to himself: Damn it! This plan didn't work out well, and instead caused my brother to suffer this undeserved disaster. It was a complete miscalculation. I didn't expect that Brother Scrimgeour's foolishness was no different from Brother Lin Chong's. It seems that the plan to recruit him will have to be reconsidered and planned more carefully.

Thinking of this, he turned back to the two Aurors and shouted, "You two bastards! If I didn't care about my brother, I would have chopped you both into mincemeat! But for my sake, I'll spare your lives."

He immediately helped Scrimgeour into the car, then called the female Auror to sit down in the carriage, and instructed the male Auror to drive alone outside, so as to prevent the two of them from getting together and having any evil intentions.

With the arrangements made, the male Auror cautiously set off on his Thestral chariot. A sudden whoosh of wind filled the air as it soared into the sky, heading straight for Azkaban.

Once atop the cloud, Scrimgeour turned to Harry and asked, "Harry, where are you going?"

Harry said, "To kill, one must draw blood; to save, one must save completely. I can't let you go; I'll escort my brother all the way to Azkaban."

Upon hearing this, Scrimgeour felt a surge of warmth in his heart, and his throat tightened. He raised his hand to wipe his face, and finally sighed, "Harry, I owe you so much."

Harry laughed and said, "What are you saying, brother? It's so formal for us brothers to talk like this."

Before his laughter had even faded, he suddenly leaned forward and shouted angrily, "You damned driver! Drive the carriage faster! If you delay my brother's arrival in Azkaban, I will not let you off easily!"

The female Auror cautiously peered out the car window for a moment, then pulled back and said to Harry timidly, "Mr. Potter? We're already at sea."

"I think we should be on high alert to prevent Death Eaters or UMNO from launching a surprise attack on us."

"So—can I have my wand back?"

Harry laughed again, "You old hag, you're so ignorant! I'm not afraid, but you're already scared?"

"Voldemort and Grindelwald have long been kept at bay by my schemes, they have no time to cause trouble on the British Isles."

Scrimgeour, who was listening nearby, asked curiously, "You managed to tie them all down? What did you do?"

Harry said, "Brother, do you know about the Dementors that caused trouble in Warsaw, Poland? That was exactly what I used."

"I sent Dementors to patrol day and night, and they will immediately report to me if there is any disturbance."

"Voldemort, disturbed by this, was so frightened that he moved the Ministry of Magic underground and cowered away, not daring to make any rash moves."

Scrimgeour pondered for a moment, then chuckled to himself, "That's right, when I saw the news in the newspaper, I wondered if you had sent these Dementors, but I never had the chance to ask you."

The female Auror beside him, engrossed in the conversation, momentarily forgot her fear and leaned forward to ask, "And what did you do with Grindelwald, Mr. Potter?"

Harry glanced at her, seemingly unconcerned, and continued, "That old Grindelwald may be a prophet, but he's not omniscient or omnipotent. I only sent one person, and he was already overwhelmed and unable to spare any attention."

Upon hearing this, Scrimgeour gasped. "Are there really wizards this powerful in the magical world?"

Harry shook his head and said, "In terms of methods, they're probably not even as good as the average student at Hogwarts."

The female Auror, intrigued, pressed on, "Could she, like Grindelwald, also be a prophet?"

As soon as he finished speaking, Harry's smile vanished instantly. With a "whoosh," he yanked his wand straight at the female Auror's face, the sound like a thunderclap.

"Extremely painful!"

Before Harry could finish chanting the spell, a low shout came from outside the car: "Protect yourself!"

Immediately afterward, a magical barrier, as smooth as a glass dome, appeared and "hummed" as it protected the female Aoruo.

Harry didn't answer, but grabbed Scrimgeour by the collar and yelled, "Let's go!"

With a flicker, he vanished using a teleportation technique. When he reappeared, he was already standing in mid-air amidst the wind and waves.

You ask how the scarred man recognized that fellow? It turns out that the female Aoluo had already given herself away in her words.

Harry only said he sent one person, never specifying whether it was a man or a woman. Yet this woman referred to her as "she," clearly indicating she already knew the person was Rita Skeeter. Harry isn't deaf; surely he could distinguish between "he" and "she"?

He stood still on the cloud and looked down, only to see the male Auror driving the chariot bulging. His flesh was churning and churning. In the blink of an eye, his clothes tore apart, turning into a black robe; his white hair flew wildly, revealing a thin face.

"It's Grindelwald!"

Scrimgeour, who had witnessed everything, roared, "Harry! Give me your wand! I need to send a message to the Ministry of Magic!"

Harry remained silent, his eyes fixed on Grindelwald, a mixture of joy and annoyance in his heart.

Seeing that Harry didn't respond, Scrimgeour grew increasingly agitated and started yelling.

"Harry! We need backup!"

"You must never believe a word he says! No one is better at manipulating people than him!"

Harry, annoyed by the noise, simply pulled Scrimgeour closer. The pendant around his neck suddenly opened, and Scrimgeour's enormous body shrank into a beam of light and disappeared into the box.

Grindelwald below paid no heed, simply waving his wand, and the Thestral turned and sped toward Harry. It stopped in mid-air when it was a hundred feet away.

Grindelwald gave a slight bow. "Long time no see, Harry. You've grown quite a bit taller."

At this moment, another person emerged from the carriage, but it was not the female Aurora; it was clearly that old woman, Rozier.

She leaned forward and bowed to Grindelwald, apologizing, "I'm sorry, Master, I was too excited and accidentally let it slip."

Harry, having seen them clearly, sneered, "What two insane murderers! They've stumbled into English territory disguised as government officials, just to find out about Rita's job?"

Grindelwald neither got angry nor argued; he simply shrugged and said frankly, "We'll have to try to find out. What if you don't recognize me?"

These words reached Harry's ears, but they made him feel strange. He thought to himself: How strange! Back in Hogwarts, this old man always spoke with such certainty and confidence, as if he had everything under control.

Why did you suddenly utter "what if" today?

Harry immediately raised his voice and shouted, "Aren't you supposed to be the world's top prophet? How come you couldn't have predicted that I would see through you today?"

"Ah, of course I can, but I'm not really willing to make prophecies about you anymore."

Grindelwald remained calm and focused his gaze on Harry, saying softly, "After all, you're getting closer and closer to the truth, and it's dangerous to make prophecies about you."

These words were full of hidden meaning, making Harry recall Halpert's words again.

He thought for a moment, then suddenly narrowed his eyes and sneered, "Do you think I'm a three-year-old child, someone you can easily manipulate and fool? You dare to use such paltry words to fob me off!"

"Oh, Harry, I have no reason to lie to you about such trivial matters."

Grindelwald shook his head and chuckled, "Besides, you'll figure these things out sooner or later, so why not let me tell you directly to show my sincerity?"

Harry thought to himself: This old man is a master of empty talk, always spouting vague and deceptive words to fool people. I'll let him ramble on for now and find an opening to finish him off.

If what you say is true, then I'll also be a prophet and get to experience it for myself.

Thinking of this, Harry sheathed his knife and said, "So you're saying you came here specifically to ask me for Dorita?"

F

Grindelwald smiled. "No."

"I'm here to talk about your good friend who went to find the giants, Mr. Rubeus Hagrid."

"By the way, he's in my hands now."