From Azkaban

The process of dealing with Tom went smoothly. He successfully cleaned up the mess he had caused, which also solved a problem that bothered him.

"Funeral... we need to prepare well."

Dumbledore leaned back in his chair and suddenly thought of the two letters he had sent to Nurmengard.

"The reply must be on the way."

Volume 1: Chapter 126: Fudge's Collapse

It was a new day and Locke still had no classes. In the early morning, the news that Voldemort had been completely eliminated through the magic network came out, and Locke set off for the library.

The funeral that Sirius prepared for his brother was this afternoon, so Locke still had the whole morning to read.

However, the situation today was different from the previous few days. On the way to the library, Locke was no longer as quiet as before. Students greeted him enthusiastically, and brave students came forward to communicate with him. However, some students were a little too brave.

"Professor Kazir, we've all signed up for your class!"

Several little lions wearing Gryffindor school uniform and emblem surrounded Locke, each with a bright smile on their face.

"Oh, thank you so much for your support. I'm sure you won't be disappointed with my course."

Locke looked at the little lions surrounding him with a smile. He had already noticed that these little guys seemed to have impure motives.

Sure enough, the next moment after Locke spoke, the leading little wizard smiled even more brightly. He took another step forward to close the distance between him and Locke and spoke in a low voice.

"Then Professor Cazier, we are all so supportive of you, can we ask you for a favor?"

This guy was so quiet that those who didn't know would think he was discussing some secrets with Locke. Seeing him like this, Locke's smile deepened.

"Oh, tell me what it is. If I can help you, I will definitely help you."

When the little lions heard Locke's answer, their eyes lit up instantly, and the leading little wizard immediately spoke in an excited tone.

"Yes, we can help! Professor Kazir will definitely be able to help us. It's very simple. We just want to ask you to turn off the anti-addiction function of our magic network."

The real purpose of the picture is revealed: this little guy's map of Yan State is a bit short, and his appetite is a bit big.

"Huh? What did you say?"

To be honest, Locke really didn't expect that these little wizards came here for this. It's only been a few days, how come they have become addicted to the Internet.

"Um...can't I?"

Seeing Locke's smile gradually disappearing, the little wizards swallowed their saliva, and the smile of the leading little wizard also gradually stiffened.

“Of course not”

Locke shook his head decisively. Seeing him like this, the leading little wizard rolled his eyes.

"Well... if it can't be lifted, can you give us more time to use it? Not much, just double it. That should be fine, right?"

"Don't worry, Professor Kazir. We will study hard. We don't want more time for fun. We want more time for study. The time we have now is too short."

"Yes, yes, professor. Three hours a day is not enough for us to study. Please increase it to six hours. Don't worry, we will keep it a secret and won't tell anyone about it."

"Professor Kazir, we will definitely take your classes seriously in the future!"

The little wizards kept making promises one by one, assuring that they were really here to study and definitely not to play.

Watching this scene, Locke found it really interesting. These little guys were asking for exorbitant prices and then paying him back at low prices.

Thinking of this, Locke couldn't help but sigh in his heart. It seems that no matter which world the students are from, they are all the same when it comes to playing.

"Okay, don't say that anymore. I'll pretend I didn't hear it. I won't deduct any points from Gryffindor this time. Let's go now. This won't happen again."

Having satisfied his curiosity, Locke did not intend to continue to tangle with these little wizards. He used a warning of deducting points to scare all the little lions and continued to go to the library.

Later on the road, Locke continued to meet several groups of such students, and most of them were from Gryffindor.

This made Locke sigh again. Even if the mechanism of the Sorting Hat was unreasonable, it did not affect the influence and changes of a group on children at all. In the atmosphere of Gryffindor College, a person's reckless attributes could really be magnified to the extreme.

This also applies to several other colleges, so in Locke's opinion, the effect of the Sorting Hat is not accurate. What is accurate is the style and atmosphere of each college that has been passed down for nearly a thousand years.

The Sorting Hat only sorts the more suitable young wizards into different colleges. The subsequent division of colleges and the impact of the environment on students are the key factors that really determine the results of the sorting.

...............

After that, after sternly rejecting several waves of young wizards, Locke finally rushed to the library, took out the books he had not finished reading from the forbidden library and began to continue reading.

When it was afternoon, Locke called Dumbledore and went to the Black family cemetery on time to attend Regulus' funeral.

There's not much to say about the funeral process. Not many people attended, including Lucius, Snape, Locke, Arthur and his wife, a group of pure-blood family members, and reporters from their family newspapers.

Everything went according to the pre-arranged process. Locke did not participate too much and did not appear on camera. Soon, as Dumbledore finished his work, the two returned to Hogwarts with Snape.

Not long after Locke and the other two returned to Hogwarts, overwhelming news once again swept the entire British wizarding world.

In just two days, two explosive news stories broke, one dealt a heavy blow to the credibility and reputation of Gringotts, and the other dealt a huge blow to the credibility and reputation of the Ministry of Magic.

"It's started! They've started!"

In the Minister's office at the Ministry of Magic, Fudge's hands were shaking as he held the newspaper.

Reading what was reported in the newspapers, and the harsh criticism of the Ministry of Magic and him, Fudge felt angry and helpless.

He didn't expect that even though he had pretended to be deaf and dumb and turned a blind eye to them, the Round Table still wanted to deal with him.

"It's over, it's really over this time..."

Fudge sat limply in the chair. Normally, such an attack should not make him so desperate, but why was Fudge so hopeless?

The reason is simple, because Dumbledore was also involved in this matter and played a major role in it. This is why Fudge really felt desperate.

He had always suspected that Dumbledore was coveting his position as Minister of Magic and was worried that Dumbledore would take away his power.

And now, Dumbledore was cooperating so openly with the Round Table and using public opinion to criticize the Ministry of Magic, mainly criticizing him as the Minister of Magic. In Fudge's view, this was a signal that Dumbledore was ready to take action.

"It's hopeless. It's completely hopeless. Dumbledore and Locke Casirill, these two guys teamed up... Oh my God!"

Fudge raised his hands to cover his head in despair. He didn't have the slightest desire to resist.

He could still rely on Dumbledore's restraint and compliance with the rules to deal with Dumbledore, but Fudge really couldn't think of any way to deal with Locke Casimir.

Fudge knew very well that the guy would not be willing to reason with him like Dumbledore, otherwise he would not have chosen to cover himself with the quilt when facing the prison break.

Volume 1: Chapter 127 Meeting

Only Fudge himself knew about his collapse. Now Locke no longer cared about the Ministry of Magic's wanted warrant. Whether he was wanted or not, it could not shake Locke and the Round Table.

Now the public opinion and information channels of the entire British wizarding community are basically controlled by the Round Table. Even the largest Daily Prophet has been almost controlled.

At this stage, the Ministry of Magic has become dumb and their wanted notice is naturally nonsense.

...............................

Compared with the attack by Sirius' brothers, Voldemort's complete death caused a considerable stir in the Round Table.

The situation of the former leader dying at the hands of the current leader is very dramatic, but all those who know about this matter have only one opinion in their minds, that is, it was a good death.

Especially Lucius, he was the happiest one among them.

He is different from Rodolphus and Sirius. He is an absolute confidant who followed Locke out of Azkaban.

As a later member, Lucius was highly valued by Locke, but he always felt a little too empty in his heart.

Now, he has made a decisive contribution to the resolution of Voldemort. From now on, he has completely drawn a line with the past and is no longer so worried.

“This matter is completely over.”

At Malfoy Manor, Lucius, who had moved out earlier, returned with his property. Standing in the garden in front of the manor, he put his hand on Narcissa's shoulder with a relaxed look on his face.

...................

At Hogwarts, Locke, who had returned to school for a while, was sitting in the library, flipping through a forbidden book he had just found out of the forbidden library with great interest.

This is an ancient book related to blood-cursed orcs and human body transformation. Because the knowledge in it is too dangerous and crazy, it is included in the forbidden library.

Locke's previous intelligence was wrong and he miscalculated Nagini's situation, almost becoming the driving force behind her transformation into a Horcrux. Fortunately, Locke reacted quickly and turned the situation around.

"Old Dumbledore is quite patient. I thought he would come to me after he dealt with Voldemort, but I didn't expect that he has not made any move until now. I don't know what he is holding back."

Locke's hand paused for a moment as he flipped through the book, but then he continued reading. It didn't matter if he didn't find it.

Locke continued to read the book in his hand with his head down, and his eyes widened slightly from time to time because of the crazy records in the book.

I can only say that it is worthy of being a banned book. Apart from the crazy and dangerous knowledge recorded in it, the book itself also carries a very powerful chaos magic that can combine with the knowledge in the book to distort the reader's mind and thoughts without them realizing it.

This is Locke, whose mind is strong and firm, and he can completely ignore this influence.

However, no matter how crazy it is, the knowledge above is very useful. Whether it is the research on the blood-cursed orcs or the research records on human body deformation, it can allow Locke to take a step further on the road of developing the deformation of fantasy creatures.

Locke has made up his mind. Today he will work late into the night and try to finish reading the book in one night, and then start a second reading tomorrow to thoroughly understand it.

While Locke was studying hard, in the Hogwarts principal's office, old Dumbledore, who had been waiting for a long time, finally got what he was waiting for.

"You still like this"

After reading the letter that had just arrived, Dumbledore sighed lightly, put down the letter in his hand, stood up and walked aside.

"Prophecy..."

Looking at Nagini sleeping cross-legged on the wooden platform, Dumbledore thought of the reason why Grindelwald chose to start a war.

"From what happened last night, Professor Kazir's predictions seem to be more stable and clearer. So, he chose to open up a new path because he saw the future."

Thinking of this, Dumbledore couldn't help but feel that Locke and Grindelwald were becoming more and more alike. Both of them chose to stand out because they predicted the future, but...

"It's just that unlike you, he chose another path, a path that...seems more suitable and more likely to succeed."

Thinking back to the words in the letter, Dumbledore became conflicted, wondering whether he should go meet Grindelwald.

It has been too long. To be honest, Dumbledore thought he would never see Grindelwald again in his life. After all... what is lost is lost and can never be recovered.

But Grindelwald knew him too well, just as he knew Grindelwald, and the information in the letter accurately grasped Dumbledore.

"Ugh......."

After another sigh, Dumbledore made a decision. He locked up the sleeping Nagini, and then, under the gaze of the Phoenix and the portraits of past headmasters, his figure slowly became transparent and soon disappeared in the headmaster's office.

As night falls, the always dark Nurmengard is bright today, contrary to usual.

At the top of the tower, rays of light shone through the cracks in the rocks, so bright in the pitch-black environment.

In the room, Grindelwald, who was originally in tattered clothes, has now changed his appearance and is now dressed in the same attire as before.

Although his body was still thin, and his cheeks and eye sockets were sunken like a skeleton, it did not affect the temperament he exuded at all.

Obviously, Grindelwald expected Dumbledore to come, so he prepared everything in advance.

This was the first time the two met again in decades, and Grindelwald had been waiting for this day for a long, long time.

Time passed little by little. Grindelwald sat on the stone bed with his eyes closed. He showed no anxiety or other emotions. He just waited like that. The only sound in the whole room was his faint breathing.

It was unknown how long it had been before a figure appeared at the entrance of Nurmengard accompanied by an explosion.

"For the greater good"

Looking at the lines of weathered but still clear text, Dumbledore's thoughts began to surge uncontrollably, and all kinds of past events came to his mind.

Standing in this position again, Dumbledore was still unable to take the first step, just like last time.

"................."

The mountain top at night was home to the cold wind, and the constant whistling wind made Dumbledore's long beard fly constantly.

In the end, perhaps because he couldn't stand the cold or because he had made a decision in his heart, Dumbledore walked into the tower.

After a while, Dumbledore followed the light to the cell where Grindelwald was, stopped and remained silent.

"Dumbledore, how long has it been? How long has it been since the last time?"

As Dumbledore stopped, a slightly hoarse old voice came from the cell. Hearing this voice, which was as old as his own, Dumbledore's eyes twitched a few times.

Volume 1: Chapter 128: Before we could remember Quirrell, the next person to appear was...

"Forty-five years"

Dumbledore answered Grindelwald as he walked into the bright cell.

"Forty-five years. It's been a long, long time..."

Grindelwald, sitting on the stone bed, opened his eyes and looked at Grindelwald who had just walked into the cell.

Looking at the still old face, Grindelwald suddenly smiled.

"We are all old, but Albus, I find that you seem to be more than just old."

There are too many emotions in Grindelwald's eyes, but his eyeballs don't look cloudy at all.