Hogwarts doesn't need a savior

"Mr. Dumbledore, Mr. Grindelwald, the Chief instructed us before he left. If you do not wish to rest, please use this portkey."

This is a witch with a Central European accent, and her tone always seems a bit stiff when she speaks.

Dumbledore accepted it gladly and said with a smile, "He is indeed considerate and thoughtful."

"No, he told me that the chance of you waking up might be smaller than the coin he threw when he left standing upright," the witch said seriously.

"puff--"

Grindelwald couldn't help laughing.

"That's very much his style," said Dumbledore helplessly.

"If I'm not mistaken, the coin is standing upright?"

"Yes."

"That means it should be so." Grindelwald restrained his smile, pulled out his wand and shook it gently, "But I don't think you should come with me, Albus. After all, you don't even have your own wand now."

He was referring, of course, to the Elder Wand.

The moment he saw the Resurrection Stone disappear, Grindelwald knew that his plan had not been in vain, and he also had time to tease his old friend.

"I have never thrown away my wand." Dumbledore said meaningfully, and a simple-looking wand fell from the sleeve of his robe, which he had not taken off during his coma.

Sparks of fire emerged from the tips of the staffs. Even though they had not worked together for many years, the tacit understanding between the old partners remained the same.

"Gellert, do you still have the energy to make a scene?"

"I have slept for so long. If I don't take action now, I will be laughed at by that greedy little devil for the rest of my life."

"Let's go then and see what he wants us to do."

The worn pocket watch hung between the two of them, swaying slightly in the wind.

Grindelwald stretched out his hand, and it just happened to overlap with Dumbledore's hand and shook it.

The Central European witch took a few steps back and bowed slowly.

A moment later, the space was like a sudden whirlpool, taking away the two old men who had just woken up from the hospital bed.

Their destination is not the scorched earth of the Far North, but another scene of a tense, gunpowder-filled confrontation.

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

"…These are all. Whether you use them to make a Philosopher's Stone or just destroy them all, it doesn't matter to me. According to our oath, can you do it now? I admit defeat this time, but I will not admit what you said. I will find a way to break the rules, no matter how many years it takes, no matter what the cost."

Every time he revealed the hiding place of an unknown monster, Merlin seemed to age a little.

When the last cave located deep in the North Atlantic Ocean was revealed, he closed his eyes in despair and only prayed for a quick death.

Lynn nodded and put away the notebook that recorded everything, but he had no intention of taking any action. He just looked at Merlin's face without saying anything.

After waiting for a moment, Merlin frowned when he realized something was wrong.

"Are you going to break your oath?"

"Of course not, it's just that our agreement has not ended yet." Lin En smiled, "I was talking about questions related to those monsters, which include not only their origins and hiding places - but also the meteorite. After all, without it, you alone would not be able to make them become what they are now. So, you have to tell me something related to the meteorite that I am interested in."

"You...!" Merlin's eyes widened. He never expected that there was a hidden word game here. "You are plotting against me."

"How can this be considered a calculation? Everything is in accordance with the rules. I am an honest and trustworthy person and I will not accept slander."

Lin En smiled brightly, his amber eyes were no longer deep, and even the purple shirt shadow that blocked the radiation and high temperature became brighter again.

Chapter 619 Shattered Ambition

"...Can you tell me how you figured out the secret of this thing?"

After only a few seconds of resistance, Merlin gave up and asked dejectedly.

“It’s very simple, because I can be sure that you don’t have the ability to create this magical substance - if you could do it, the tower would not be destroyed so easily, and you would not lose to me like this.” Lin En said frankly with a firm look on his face.

"Although you are telling the truth, it is really uncomfortable to hear." Merlin smiled bitterly, "However, my defeat is not unfair. I originally thought that you were a cautious person with little courage, and you were always looking back and forth. Now it seems that not being able to meet you in person was the most serious mistake I made. People can't just trust their own eyes and ears..."

"I am willing to accept your praise, but now is not the time to say it, and I don't need such praise." Lin En interrupted him, "You can leave your sentimental words for hundreds or thousands of years. Now tell me everything you know, and I will give you a clean, long but temporary death."

Merlin pursed his lips which had turned dark purple, raised the corners of his mouth with difficulty, and his eyes became deep.

"Since you want to know so much..."

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

A tense atmosphere at a military base in central America.

Before the guards on high alert could react, Dumbledore and Grindelwald appeared in the middle of the empty wasteland.

The No-Maj wizard who was mingling among the soldiers recognized Dumbledore at a glance.

There was no exchange of fire and no conversation. He was so shocked that he did not dare to delay. After instructing his subordinates to report the news, he took the initiative to step forward and welcomed the two men into the base - to be more precise, it was the temporary command post of the Magical Congress and the No-Maj Government, which were still in a hidden confrontation.

A fragile balance is being maintained there.

The wizards' extraordinary individual power is against the weapons of mass destruction that the No-Maj's have just verified, and there are also similar weapons with equally deterrent power on the other side of the earth. The three parties gathered together and no one dared to act rashly.

Especially the No-Maj government of the United States, which was targeted by both parties.

This is a game of cowards. The president, who had intended to eliminate both internal and external troubles, is now in a dilemma, with both advancement and retreat seeming to be dead ends.

With every extra second, the tension accumulates more.

The arrival of Dumbledore and Grindelwald was the last straw that broke his stretched-to-the-limit heartstrings.

"Mr. Powell, and Mundungus... I think I have guessed Lynn's plan. It is very similar to his style."

The tall and thin old man walked without hesitation between the two opposing parties. Next to him was Grindelwald, who didn't even have his wand in hand. He looked as relaxed as if he was out for a picnic.

The president's eyes went dark and he felt dizzy.

He knew that there was a problem with the intelligence, and the consequences of this problem would undoubtedly be fatal.

Not only himself, but also all those who support and cooperate with him.

"Albus..." Mundungus let out a long breath, even with a crying tone when he spoke, "I knew it, I knew you would be fine!"

"We are fortunate, Mundungus, that nothing serious has happened to us," said Dumbledore gently. "Now can anyone tell me why you all look as nervous as if you were about to start another war?"

His eyes were fixed on the President, and the soldiers and No-Maj-borns who gathered around him.

With a bang, the president, unable to bear the pressure, fell heavily to the ground.

The blood rushed to his heart and he fainted.

Grindelwald snorted coldly, his eyes full of contempt.

"Don't you even consider your own weight?" The old man, who always acted without scruples, looked down at the people who were already in disarray. "Do you want to challenge my patience with him? Just stand in the corner."

The command post was completely silent. The air was so heavy that it was difficult to breathe, let alone the sound of walking.

If well-trained wizards have terrifying individual power, then legendary wizards like Grindelwald have already gone beyond the limits of common sense, making it difficult for people to even feel fear.

The only one who remained calm was Batty, who was threatening from the other side of the earth.

Through the screen, he looked at the two of them with a half-smile, and said in a deep voice: "Since you have been 'resurrected', it means that Lynn's plan is going smoothly, and my work is not in vain. Ask Fletch for the details. Goodbye."

Dumbledore nodded politely, and the metal plate in mid-air returned to its original shape and fell into Mundungus' hands.

In an instant, everyone's eyes were focused on this old thief who was always unwilling to be exposed to the sun.

"I... Albus... I..." He was a little uncomfortable and spoke unsteadily.

Dumbledore said quietly, "Take your time, Mundungus. Tell me what this is all about."

His words seemed to have some special magic, calming the nervous Mundungus down a lot.

"You told me to keep in touch with Eric after I was discharged from the hospital, so I did. On the day you had the accident, he found me with his Patronus, and I helped him contact Crouch and arranged today's events. He said that we should be on guard against the Muggles in the United States and that we should act separately. This is exactly what happened. After concentrating firepower on bombing the deserted islands in northern Canada, they originally planned to bomb Paris."

Before Mundungus could finish his words, a chilling murderous intent spread out, and even the temperature seemed to drop a lot.

"It is what they say. A bunch of fools who don't know their own limits, and these traitors who betray their own people." Grindelwald's tone was emotionless. "Once we have dealt with the matter over there, it's time to clean up the remaining poison left by those beasts. Where is Lin En?"

"he is……"

Mundungus pointed at the screen covered with snow, looking embarrassed and hesitant to speak.

"Speak back," Grindelwald urged impatiently.

"He's on the bombed island." Mundungus' forehead was sweating. Seeing Grindelwald's anger, he added hastily, "He said there is a way to deal with it, but there is no news yet. Crouch may know. He told me not to worry."

"What did you say - wait, Crouch also knew about this?" Grindelwald rolled his eyes halfway through his sentence, and he instantly calmed down, even smiling a little more. "Then there shouldn't be any problem. You did a good job."

Mundungus was relieved by the simple compliment. He quickly approached Dumbledore and asked in a low voice: "What should we do with these people?"

Dumbledore's face was gloomy, with half anger and half shock in his eyes.

No one dared to interrupt at this time, including those wizards and Muggles who were once ambitious but could only wait for the verdict.

"these people……"

A cold gaze roamed across the huge command post, like an impending judgment.

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

When Euphemia followed the guidance of the World Tree and rushed to the battlefield, the situation was different from what she expected.

The deadly radiation was swept away, and the once scorching earth was now left with only icy ice that hadn't melted for a long time, like a dense forest.

A guy who looked like a human but was not a human was pierced by countless ice spikes and nailed to death in mid-air, motionless.

This made her, who had made up her mind to fight again, feel like she had punched nothing.

But after seeing Lynn, who had been separated for many days, all the unnecessary feelings disappeared without a trace.

Chapter 620: The Gift or Curse of Rules

Even though she was standing next to Lin En and felt the familiar warmth, Euphemia still felt a sense of unreality and emptiness.

Looking at Merlin who remained silent, she lowered her voice and asked in a low voice: "He was the one who brought Dumbledore and Grindelwald together...?"

"Yes, it's him, Merlin. You could say he's an old monster who has lived for countless years and has no real name - just like what Hermione and the others said in the information they found in the library. His true identity is a nightmare, or rather, a combination of a nightmare and a human." Lynn's voice was a little hoarse.

As Euphemia arrived, he relaxed and finally realized the fatigue and emptiness that had been forcibly suppressed.

In contrast, Merlin's face was filled with despair and bitterness.

Even though I had guessed the ending long ago, seeing it with my own eyes ultimately dispelled my last fantasy.

He sighed helplessly and turned his head away as if he couldn't bear to look at this tragic scene.

"I've told you everything I know. Believe it or not, I won't say another word."

"I believe you are telling the truth, but I still have a few questions that I need you to answer for me. You won't refuse to give me the details of the information you mentioned earlier, right?" Lynn said.

Merlin frowned and said with disgust: "You can ask, but I may not be able to answer."

"I will only ask questions that you can answer. I know the scale." Lin En nodded with satisfaction. "First question, you also said that it came from space. What guesses or speculations do you have about its specific origin? Don't tell me you have no idea about this. You are a person who can use its evil magic for your own benefit, and you are very careful."

"You..." Merlin was about to refuse, but his retreat was blocked. He had to speak under the pressure of the oath, "With my limited knowledge, I can't say that I have any analysis. My focus is only on the black magic contained in this stone. As for other things, I am not interested, and I certainly won't waste my time."

"That's why I asked you to make a guess. You should know that we can't lie to each other, and the trick of beating around the bush is useless to me." Lin En said indifferently.

Merlin's brows furrowed tightly.

He suddenly realized that he seemed to have fallen into a trap again.

The oath that was originally meant to make Lin En act as soon as possible has now become a constraint on himself.

But he had no choice, because the price of breaking this oath was not death, which would bring him relief, but some more unappetizing punishment.

"Okay, I'll tell you." After a long mental struggle, he could not overcome this obstacle and had to give in. "About 30,000 years ago, I asked a prophet to tell me some fragmentary information about it."

"Very good. Go on."

"Magic is not exclusive to our planet. There must be unknown life and civilization outside our planet, but we cannot discover them with our abilities. This meteorite is likely from such an alien civilization. Its magic is completely different from ours, but there are some similarities. I have studied the magic on it and mastered some of it."

"Including the metal ball and the magic that gives life to those black monsters?" Lin En continued to ask.

"That's not just magic." Merlin said seriously, "I did make the metal balls, but part of the technology inside them comes from the civilization where those miners live. As for life, it is not given by magic, but the sublimation of intellect. Magic is just a catalyst for it - and by the way, it allows them to evolve in the direction I want."

Lin En raised his eyebrows: "If I ask you what the principle of this magic and catalysis method is, you won't tell me, right?"