I swung a sword at Hogwarts

"Maybe." John shrugged. "I need to get stronger before that."

"I thought the duel with Grindelwald would allow me to cross that limit."

"The battle between life and death can stimulate the potential of the human body." Drawing out the Elder Wand, John looked at the protruding knot on it, "It seems that it is not enough."

"He's already the strongest, isn't that enough?"

Percy was a little confused, "There's no one in the entire wizarding world more...wait."

He stared at John's old wand.

The previous owner of this wand.

"Are you really going to do that, John?"

He understood a little and said in disbelief: "Fight him?"

The greatest wizard ever, Albus Dumbledore.

Coming to this conclusion struck Percy as ridiculous.

Because he knew John, even though the old man did not support John at times, John never thought of being his enemy.

"The god has fallen from grace, Percy."

John stroked the Elder Wand with his fingers and said calmly, "I made him an offer he couldn't refuse."

Level 8, somehow, seems to be waiting there.

Percy nodded, he stood up and saw Penelope, and asked John, "What do you need me to do?"

"Trust me." John groaned.

...

Chapter 758: Collecting the Deathly Hallows

John was of two minds.

One is to reach the limit under the threat of life and death and break the bottleneck.

The second is the Deathly Hallows.

That’s right, these are the three things Grindelwald once wanted to collect.

Elder Wand, Resurrection Stone, Invisibility Cloak.

A treasure from the three brothers, and also something created by the god of death.

According to rumors, whoever obtains the three treasures will become the master of the god of death.

John scoffed at this because he had seen the guy named Death.

With the Resurrection Stone in hand, he made a deal with the God of Death and resurrected his friend.

He could feel that some of the rules hidden in the Resurrection Stone were indeed useful.

John also felt something different about the Elder Wand's ability to raise any magic by one level.

Even if these three treasures combined cannot make you the master of the god of death, they can definitely bring about some changes.

After the International Confederation of Wizards meeting.

John went to Silverhand Manor.

Tang Mi finally breathed a sigh of relief when he saw John coming back.

"I'm really worried that the adults will go and deal with the Muggles alone."

To Tang Mi, nothing is more important than John's safety.

"How's the werewolf situation?" John put away the Elder Wand.

Werewolves also actively participated in this war.

And before John arrived, those battles also caused losses to the wizards.

When talking about werewolves, the smile disappeared from Tang Mi's face.

"The werewolves sacrificed a lot."

John was silent too.

The werewolf still did not betray his trust.

After a long moment, John exhaled, "This makes me feel very heavy."

Trust is too heavy.

Faced with a group of people who were ready to die for him at any time, he could not feel at ease using them to achieve some goals.

"My lord, is Grindelwald... dead?" A trace of hatred flashed in Tang Mi's eyes.

This is the answer everyone wants to know.

The result of the final battle with Grindelwald during the time their king was missing.

Despite seeing the Elder Wand, Tang Mi was still eager to hear the answer from John.

The villain who caused trouble for the wizarding world.

"No." John lowered his head and looked at the letter on the table. "He survived and will never appear again."

This is a letter from Crouch.

John opened it and asked, "Will you blame me, Donmi?"

"I won't," Tang Mi shook his head and said firmly, "I will only follow you, my Lord."

Sighing, John said, "I need to go away for a while."

"What do you need me to do?"

Same problem as Percy.

John paused and said, "Trust me."

...

"The greatest Minister of Magic, Barty Crouch."

John stood in front of old Batty's tombstone, looking at his friend who was buried there.

He placed his hand on it and patted it gently.

Just like before, he patted old Batty sitting in the chair.

"I disappoint you, old Barty."

John felt full of guilt facing this friend.

"I didn't fulfill our agreement."

He put down the flowers he brought with a complicated look on his face, "I should kill him."

Dumbledore went so far as to kneel down, making it impossible for John to make a decision.

He looked at old Batty, his guilt overflowing at this moment.

He took out the Resurrection Stone and looked at the dark stone.

He laughed at himself and said, "Maybe that's why you didn't come to see me."

He couldn't tell whether the Resurrection Stone showed people regret or ghosts.

As the holder of the Resurrection Stone, he was not able to see the souls he wanted to see.

"Maybe down there you spit on John Wick," John said, "I understand you, old Batty."

Rain fell along the tombstones and John didn't hold an umbrella.

He needs some quiet time occasionally.

The gestures that cannot be shown around living friends can be shown around dead friends.

Little Batty saw him and silently came to John with an umbrella in hand to shield him from the rain.

"I'm sorry, I didn't kill Grindelwald." John didn't look back. He calmly looked at the photo of the family of three under the tombstone of old Barty. "You can leave me now."

Little Barty didn't say anything.

The raindrops hit the umbrella with a crackling sound.

The heavy rain showed no sign of stopping, and the wind came along with it.

The two of them stayed like this for about fifteen minutes.

Little Barty looked at the photo.

Old Batty had a stern face as usual, but his mother smiled gently.

Little Barty, who had just entered school, tried hard to show his demeanor as the only son of the Crouch family.

As the shutter button is pressed, the photo is frozen in those few seconds.

"I saw my father," Barty began. "When I was dying in the Himalayas, I saw my parents. I longed for my mother's arms and begged them to take me away from this painful place."

John listened quietly.

"But they wouldn't let me through," Barty Jr. moved his eyes away from the photo and stayed on the young and tired profile. "I was sad, angry, and scared."

He spoke calmly, but there was some trembling in his tone.

“I told them there was no place for me in this world.”

"But my father said: What about John Wick?"

Little Batty paused, and there was a ripple in John's eyes.

"Father told me that he is already the second king, the second king who defeated Voldemort, and he needs me."

"He told me what I had been avoiding."

"Yes, I have come to regard that young child as my guide."

"Even I didn't notice."

"My father told me last," Barty Jr. slowly half-knelt down, put his right hand to his heart, and looked at the king in front of him, "to be myself and let go of Crouch."

"You always thought that it was hatred that kept me going and kept me alive."

"Great king, you are wrong. This is the first time you have made a mistake in front of me."

Barty Crouch smiled, lowered his head, and said in a pious tone: "I live for you, Barty Crouch, and I have long been a believer of the king."

John never knew this.

The rain slowly stopped, and the last drop of rain hit the tombstone, splashing a water flower.

John looked up.

The sunlight pierced through the gloomy clouds and fell on his face.

The sunshine after the rain is not glaring.

He murmured, "Is that so?"

It turns out that some people have regarded the king as their life.

The king who cannot make everyone happy is too hard on himself.

He raised a smile, stood up and stretched, "Your trust still makes me feel heavy."

"That's because we cherish it, so we can feel its weight." Little Barty looked up at the King of Sunshine after the rain.

A king who can feel the weight is what the magical world desires.

He who abandons trust will never become a great king.

John smiled and ran his hand over old Batty's gravestone.

"Is it because of trust?"

Little Barty bowed and saluted, "What can I do for you?"