Hogwarts doesn't need a savior

During the last few days of the school year, they were no different from usual, and were even more polite and courteous.

Only the sharp-eyed Snape noticed it slightly, but even he couldn't figure out the deeper reason behind it.

Lynn's second year at Hogwarts ended like this, with some unfinished "holiday work" to be continued.

So does Dumbledore.

As he grew older and felt more and more powerless, he had stood alone in the headmaster's secret room countless times, silently staring at the Hufflepuff notes that would disappear at any time and return without anyone noticing not long after.

No one knew what he was thinking, including his most trusted comrade and partner, Minerva McGonagall.

The heir chosen by Godric Gryffindor once again found himself in a situation where he was unable to make a decision with the courage and determination he had always had, and he even felt more conflicted than ever before.

Gellert Grindelwald, a man entangled in love and hate for nearly a hundred years.

Student Tom Riddle is still plotting a comeback.

Perhaps the organization Leviathan is hiding a huge conspiracy.

Now he has another student, a challenger who is younger and more energetic than everyone else.

A myriad of events entangled his mind, making his already troubled emotions even more tangled.

"Lynn Eric..."

Compared to those two old acquaintances, old rivals, and those conspirators whose identities are still unknown, the person he cares most about at this moment is perhaps Lin En, whom he personally invited to the school.

The brief invisible confrontation convinced him that his previous judgment had unfortunately come true.

This is a powerful opponent that even with the Elder Wand in hand, I am not sure I can win.

And...what made the old man feel most distressed was that he was only thirty-one years old, standing at the same level as himself.

This means that compared to himself and Grindelwald, who have completely given up on any means of prolonging their lives and calmly embraced aging and death, he will still have at least dozens or hundreds of years of his prime, or even hundreds of years.

After all, standing behind him is his old friend, the alchemist master Nicolas Flamel, whom he himself cannot see through.

The contradictions and worries that had been suppressed in his heart for more than a decade and had always been deliberately concealed by him suddenly erupted after this showdown conversation.

Reason, emotion, and those fanatical ideas of youth that remained in the last century, countless complicated and broken thoughts are entangled in my heart.

Even Dumbledore himself didn't know whether he was worried about the uncontrollable young man who finally stood at the same height as himself, or the self who died in the summer when he was sixteen.

This is a question that has no answer.

All he could do now was wait.

Waiting for the promised moment to witness a duel between legendary wizards that has not actually happened for more than ten years.

-----------------

While Dumbledore was questioning his inner self at Hogwarts, Lynn, far away in Birmingham, was very busy.

The core members of the Stargazers gathered together. They had just learned that Lynn was about to have a decisive duel with Grindelwald.

There was also the explosive news that Dumbledore would be a witness - Brian and Sonia expressed great anxiety and restlessness about this.

As leaders of the militant faction within the Stargazers, the two of them were particularly wary of Dumbledore's magical powers and methods.

For a long time, Dumbledore and the Order of the Phoenix have been important imaginary enemies in their eyes, ranking only after Voldemort and the Death Eaters, and even above Grindelwald and the Witch Party.

Even after knowing Lynn's growth and transformation, they were still worried about the uncertainty in this duel, especially Dumbledore's possible reaction.

But this was Lynn's decision, and it was approved and supported by Euphemia, so they had no choice but to accept it.

Over the next month, they will each do their part, gathering stargazers from around the world to prepare for every possible scenario on the day of the duel.

Euphemia was certain that Rosier and the remnants of her Witch Party would make similar arrangements.

Lynn, Dumbledore, Grindelwald, the most powerful wizards in the world, will have a major meeting in Nurmengard Castle that may determine the direction of the wizarding world for decades to come.

They must take precautions early, not only against each other, but also against Dumbledore as a witness.

But these are not what Lynn considers.

Everyone in the living room was busy as he kept running, and in the training ground underground, he was also sweating profusely, training his Transfiguration with an intensity and intensity beyond the imagination of an ordinary wizard.

After reaching an agreement with Euphemia, he started the final special training almost non-stop after the end of the school year.

Being prepared has always been his good habit, and it is also the main reason why he has been able to succeed in all these years without any real setbacks.

This was the case in the past when he was unable to compete with the three top wizards. Now, with the improvement of his spells and the accumulation of his trump cards, he is ready.

Ancient magic and modern magic.

Spellbook, floating cannon and alchemical doll.

The "stargazer's final shortcoming" mentioned by Grindelwald is no longer what it used to be, and the debate that has not yet been completed is about to enter its long-awaited "second half".

Everything is ready, only the final period of accumulation is missing.

-----------------

July of this year passed so quickly that people didn’t even realize that this summer was exceptionally hot.

The Quidditch World Cup is in full swing, with the final scheduled for August 8nd. The entire European wizarding world seems to be immersed in joy because of this sporting event, except for the Russians who are still rolling in blood.

Later that month, the resistance led by Dmitri Mikhailov captured one of the last two major strongholds of the Provisional Ministry of Magic, the wizarding community of Saint Petersburg, completely isolating the Provisional Ministry of Magic headquarters in Moscow.

The established Aurors and strikers either fled overseas or changed their flags and joined Dmitry's army. Only a few blood-stained villains are still trying to fight a desperate battle in Moscow, but victory is only a matter of time.

Under the influence of Dumbledore, the envoy of the International Confederation of Wizards has appeared openly at Dmitri's headquarters in Kodostoretse to coordinate the establishment of the new Russian Ministry of Magic.

At the end of the month, the Greengrass family sent a message saying that they were ready to eradicate the blood curse for Astoria, but Dumbledore and Lynn did not reply - they did not have enough leisure and spare time to pay attention to this matter.

Regardless of what kind of time Dumbledore had been through, at least this month, Lynn had done very little.

Headed to St. Mungo's to complete regular treatment for Frank, Alice and his wife and check on Neville's practice.

Write back to Cedric and accept his and his father Amos Diggory's invitation to visit his home - the time is agreed to be before the Quidditch World Cup final.

I also corresponded with Mag and Barbie separately to finally confirm Doris's teaching position and course division arrangements.

Apart from that, he never dealt with anything else and hardly ever left the house.

Until the appointed time arrives.

Chapter 391 Lynn vs Grindelwald

Austria, Nurmengard Castle.

The sky is high and the clouds are light, and the warm August sun shines on the legendary arena of fifty years ago.

All traces of the past have been completely washed away by time and no trace can be seen anymore.

Grindelwald stood alone on a tall tower, dressed in a black robe, his silver-white hair neatly combed.

Outside the castle gate, Wenda Rosier changed into the same dress she wore when she was young, paired with a top hat and veil. You could still vaguely see some of her former appearance, and her temperament seemed more cool and unworldly, just with more time.

As Grindelwald's most trusted assistant, she is here to welcome the incoming distinguished guests on behalf of the leader of the Witch Party.

The first to arrive was Dumbledore.

The tall figure stands out against the lush green hills.

He ignored Rosier and went straight into the castle, approaching Grindelwald who was resting with his eyes closed.

Neither of them spoke, standing side by side by the window of the tower, feeling the slightly hot wind - just right for their age.

-----------------

They didn't have to wait long.

At ten o'clock in the morning, Lynn and Euphemia appeared in the sight of the three people at the same time. However, they did not walk slowly like Dumbledore. Instead, they broke through the barrier of the Anti-Apparition Spell and landed directly in front of the castle gate.

"Welcome, Eric, Fox."

Rozier raised his eyebrows, then quickly regained his composure, his words showing politeness and distance.

"Hello, Ms. Rosier." Lynn greeted her with a smile, raised his head and looked at Grindelwald and Dumbledore standing on the high tower from afar, and said loudly, "It seems that we are a little late. Are you still going to enjoy the scenery up there, Gellert?"

"Of course not. In fact, I've been waiting for so long that I'm almost getting impatient."

He was responded by an old voice that came from far away. In the blink of an eye, Grindelwald, dressed neatly, fell from the sky and landed in front of Lynn without any obstruction.

With a wave of his wand, the anti-Apparition spell that had been hanging over the castle for decades completely disappeared.

Dumbledore still stood in the tower, looking down at his old friend who had picked up his original wand again, with mixed feelings in his heart.

Even the old wand in his hand seemed to sense the restless atmosphere and began to tremble slightly.

This elderberry wand, which symbolizes fate, death and absolute power, always has incomparable sharpness and cunning.

Especially for wizards with great power.

Dumbledore knew this very well, and he held it tightly, staring intently at the two people who were walking towards the open space after saying something, and at Euphemia and Rosier who were following behind them.

Suddenly, the two groups of backs in the sunlight seemed to overlap somewhat.

"This is really..."

Shaking his head silently, Dumbledore stroked his long beard, walked down the steps slowly, and followed from a distance behind.

Their destination was the place where the duel took place that year, a rare "death place" among the vibrant mountains and fields.

There are countless bare yellow earth, potholes of various sizes that have not been filled in half a century, and darkness everywhere.

These are the scars from the duel that year, and they have not healed to this day.

"You have a good sense of ritual, Gellert." Lynn said jokingly as he stepped on the hot yellow soil.

Grindelwald looked calm: "It's not a ritual. It's just that I never fall in the same place twice."

"Then you have to break this routine today."

"I don't think so. Instead, you should think carefully about how to accept the reality after losing."

Their eyes met and a faint smell of gunpowder filled the air.

Euphemia and Rosier each walked to the opposite sides, wands in hand, and in an instant, the bumpy and uneven duel site disappeared, replaced by flat land.

A simple but majestic duel.

After doing all this, the two did not put away their wands, but looked at Dumbledore who was standing not far away with a hint of vigilance.

He was the nominal witness of the duel, and also the potential troublemaker that these meticulous women feared the most.

"It seems that you are ready. Then, it is time for me to witness your duel, right?"

Facing the hostile gaze, Dumbledore hid all his emotions under a calm tone.

Grindelwald didn't turn his head, and neither did Lynn.

They continued to stare at each other without giving in.

An unruly man who doesn't look like a centenarian at all.

It is as calm as an ancient well, just like Helga's legacy.

The hot wind blew up grass clippings and sand, brushing past the two of them, briefly dispelling the scorching heat of the sun.

After an eye contact that was hard to tell who was better, they each raised their wands to salute, turned around a dozen steps, and dropped their wands to their sides.

Only then did Dumbledore feel their gazes.

He said nothing more, but raised the Elder Wand above his head. The essence of magic power lingered at the tip of the wand, and without warning, a striking golden light burst out.

In an instant, red lights of varying order shot out from the hands of the two men in confrontation, and intersected in the air at a speed that was difficult to capture with the naked eye.

"boom--"

The same stun spell exploded in the collision, and boiling magic power surged on the ground beneath their feet.

The hard earth and rocks suddenly cracked, the hot wind seemed to stop in an instant, and even the sound lost its medium.

There seemed to be silence, but also as if the sounds formed an indistinguishable linear structure - in the dusty smoke, rays of magic light of various colors lit up in an interlaced manner.

Although neither of them was good at dueling magic, in the initial stage of the duel, this pair of wizards, old and young, with very different styles, chose this simplest and most direct way of testing.

Rosier would turn her head quietly from time to time, and glance at the battlefield out of the corner of her eye, which she was powerless to intervene in and might not even understand clearly - she was worried about Grindelwald's condition.

Euphemia looked at Dumbledore calmly, her slender body like a female leopard ready to pounce.

From the day of the agreement, she was the only one who never doubted whether Lynn could win - no matter if the opponent was Grindelwald, Voldemort or Dumbledore himself.