Anne said she needed time to prepare—and that preparation ended up lasting more than half a month.
And once that time passed, it was as if she had completely forgotten about the matter. She never brought it up again.
What frustrated Tom was that Wade also didn't mention it.
He had no idea what that dark lord was scheming…
More accurately, he had absolutely no idea what either Grindelwald or Wade was scheming!
One of them, despite the situation being ripe, still hadn't taken any action.
And the other, after hearing Anne say "wait for my notice," really did just obediently sit around waiting.
Tom felt like his brain just couldn't keep up anymore…
While things at Hogwarts remained quiet, there had been major developments on the MACUSA side.
After an extended investigation, Dumbledore had finally led Aurors from various Ministries of Magic to uncover a Pureblood Supremacist stronghold.
Several members of the group were captured, and seven or eight missing hostages were rescued from the site.
Thankfully, aside from some malnutrition, none of them were in any life-threatening condition.
Once there was finally some progress, everyone at MACUSA breathed a sigh of relief.
After the captured members of Grindelwald's Party were sent to prison—with every method employed, including Veritaserum—the Aurors uncovered several new strongholds.
This time, although they successfully rescued hostages from several locations, they didn't manage to capture a single member of Grindelwald's Party again.
At the last raided site, President Picquery stood amid the wreckage, her expression grim.
"President Picquery, we rescued most of the hostages. Why do you still look so unhappy?" Tolliver asked, puzzled.
"Tolliver… are you certain the people we brought back are truly the ones we rescued?" President Picquery said with a heavy tone.
"Of course! Those Pureblood Supremacists were even trained to resist the effects of Veritaserum! It took us a lot of effort to pry that intel out of them, and only then were we able to locate those strongholds," Tolliver said.
"Yes… information that difficult to obtain… of course it would seem reliable…" Picquery muttered to herself.
"President Picquery, I think you should be feeling hopeful. With Professor Dumbledore's help, we're finally seeing the light. And now that these people have returned, MACUSA can go back to operating as efficiently as it used to—"
"No!" Picquery cut him off. "They… need rest. After questioning all the hostages according to protocol, have them go home and take a proper break."
"But… many departments in MACUSA have been paralyzed for quite some time… now that they're finally back, shouldn't we—"
"This is my decision, Tolliver. You just need to pass on the order."
"Yes… President Picquery…"
"Once the questioning is finished, send the transcripts to my office."
"Understood."
"And where is Professor Dumbledore?" Picquery asked again.
"He's tracking the Alliance members who escaped. I believe there should be news soon—"
Before Tolliver could finish, Picquery saw Dumbledore Apparate into view not far away.
Picquery motioned for Tolliver to go carry out her orders, then walked over to Dumbledore.
"Albus, how did it go?" Picquery asked.
"Seraphina… not very well," Dumbledore replied with a frown. "I believe they had already prepared their escape long before we arrived."
"Could it be that they got word when we raided the first hideout?"
Dumbledore shook his head. "If it were you, and you received word that your location had been exposed, what's the first thing you would do?"
"Obviously, I'd move everyone out immediately…" Picquery replied.
"Exactly… but they didn't. They merely prepared—prepared to flee. Then they just waited for us to come. After a token resistance, they abandoned the hostages and withdrew completely."
"I thought something felt off too…" Picquery said. "But the fact that even you couldn't catch the ones who ran proves how thoroughly they planned all this."
Dumbledore glanced over at the hostages who were reuniting with their families. "What do you plan to do with them?"
"I told them all to take a leave and return home… because honestly, I don't know what else to do…" Picquery looked around cautiously, then lowered her voice. "I just can't trust them anymore, Albus!"
"I'm grateful they're safe… but it's because they're all safe—and because Grindelwald released them, almost deliberately under our very noses—that I can't tell whether they've been turned… or if they were his Alliance members from the start."
"…I can't just interrogate every one of these poor people we just rescued with Veritaserum! What would the public think of me? How would the truly innocent among them feel?"
"Besides… these people's willpower is terrifying… even Veritaserum can't guarantee breaking through. I really don't know what to do anymore…"
Dumbledore nodded, then said, "Let me talk to them. One by one."
"You can tell the difference?" Picquery asked, pleasantly surprised.
"Well, it may sound a bit immodest, but I truly don't need Veritaserum to know whether someone is lying," Dumbledore replied with a smile.
"But…"
"Don't worry. I promise it will all be done quietly… though it may take some time…"
…
Morning.
Hogwarts, Great Hall.
At the breakfast table, Tom put down The Daily Prophet, looking at Wade with a mix of surprise and doubt.
Using a Whispering Charm, he said, "Things are unfolding exactly like you said… Last night, Dumbledore really did help MACUSA recover a bunch of hostages with barely any resistance. It was too easy—if they weren't released on purpose, there's no other explanation."
Wade smiled. "Is Dumbledore planning to talk to them personally?"
Tom glanced at the paper again, then said, "Yes… it says here Dumbledore wants to personally question the hostages to gather more clues and capture Grindelwald. Based on your earlier theory, this must be his way of filtering out any Alliance members hiding among them, right?"
"Mm… that's right, Tom. Are you ready? If I'm not wrong, tonight is the night Grindelwald will make his move at Hogwarts," Wade said calmly.
"How do you know that?" Tom asked in shock.
"Because this kind of questioning, to avoid drawing attention, can't be dragged out. Dumbledore needs to question all of them in one go. Otherwise, it'll become obvious to others that they're actually being interrogated—something MACUSA desperately wants to keep under wraps. So for the next couple of days, Dumbledore will be extremely busy, completely focused… too preoccupied to watch anything else."
Just as Wade finished speaking, Anne hurried over from a distance.
She leaned in and whispered, "Tonight… nine o'clock. Meet in the common room."
Upon hearing that, Tom looked at Wade again in disbelief. Anne delivering the message confirmed it—Grindelwald's operation was happening tonight.
And once again… Wade had predicted it?
Anne left in a hurry, not noticing the expression on Tom's face.
"Tom… are you ready?"
"Yeah! Just like you told me, I've prepared everything," Tom replied.
"That's good…"
"So does that mean… as long as we're prepared, Grindelwald won't be able to kill us?" Tom couldn't help asking.
"No… if he really wants to kill us, we won't be able to stop him."
The sense of reassurance Tom had just felt instantly turned to panic. "Then what's the point of all this preparation?!"
"It's useful… it'll help us die with a bit more dignity."
"You… you've got to be kidding me—I'm out!"
"It's too late to back out now, Tom."
"It's not too late. I just won't show up tonight!"
"You don't have a choice, Tom."
"Why not?!"
"Because if I'm going to die, there's no way I'm letting you live."
"What the hell—what did I ever do to you?!"
"It's for the good of the world's future…"
"What?! Am I some kind of catastrophic menace or something?!"
"Tom, do you really have no idea what kind of person you are?"
"....Fair enough."
…
8:40 p.m.
Wade and Tom sat by the window in the common room, quietly waiting.
Tom's face was dark, and he looked completely defeated.
"Here. Drink this…" Wade handed him a small bottle.
Tom's eyes lit up when he saw it.
"Felix Felicis?"
"Mm. When else would be a better time to use it than now?"
As he spoke, Wade pulled out another small vial of Felix Felicis, opened it, and let two drops fall into his mouth.
Tom didn't hesitate either—he let two drops fall into his own mouth.
Maybe those two drops of Felix Felicis would be enough to spare him from death tonight!
Seeing the look of grim resolve on Tom's face, Wade couldn't help but laugh.
The truth was, he'd only said all that to mess with Tom.
In reality, he had thoroughly prepared everything.
After all, he wasn't about to gamble with his own life.
"Tom… the enemy is about to arrive. Let's start with a pot of tea."
As Wade spoke, he lightly swept his right hand across the table.
A steaming teapot and two clean teacups appeared on the tabletop.
No one knew where he'd conjured them from…
"I… I don't want any." Even after drinking Felix Felicis, Tom was still so nervous he felt like throwing up.
"Saying no to tea? Are you even British? Um, really not going to drink?" Wade picked up the teapot and poured tea into both cups.
"I'm not drinking it!" Tom snapped.
"Well, suit yourself… but I'm going to. Who knows, this might be the last cup of tea I ever have," Wade said with a smile.
"Damn it! Wade, you absolute bastard!"
Tom grabbed the cup in front of him and downed it in one go—"Ahh! Phucking Hell!" only to burn his mouth and roll his eyes in pain.
"Kekeke~"
__________
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