Chapter 300: Chapter 300 Gellert Grindelwald
Austria, Alps.
The cold wind whistled, and jagged mountains intersected each other. On the west side of the ridge was a parallel deep valley. Thick clouds were surging in the sky, covering the peaks.
It should be a hot summer day, but the snow on the top of the mountain was still icy cold, and it formed a strand of smooth veins along the ridge.
Near the snow line, there was a lonely black tower standing on the edge of the cliff, dilapidated and dusty, as if it had been silent for centuries.
Suddenly, a diamond-like silver beam penetrated through the clouds, and a beam of moonlight illuminated the entire mountain top, illuminating the snow on the top of the mountain, and adding a rare color to this lonely tower.
In the highest and darkest room in the tower, there was a thin, wrinkled old man, who raised his head on the cold and hard wooden bed and looked at the only window in the room that was narrower than a human head.
The bright moonlight poured into the window and shone into the old man's turbid blue eyes.
With the help of this moonlight, the old man's lonely eyes flashed a trace of surprise.
He saw an elegant bat flying lightly in the light and flew into the dim room with the moonlight.
The bat landed on the only tattered blanket in the room and turned into a tall silver-haired man.
"Gellert Grindelwald?" he asked softly.
The room was too low, and Dracula couldn't even stand up completely. He could only lower his head to look at the old man with sunken eyes, wrinkled face, and lying on the hard bed like a skeleton.
"Oh, if you hadn't told me, I would have almost forgotten my name." The wrinkles on the old man's face squeezed together, and he squeezed out a rather sarcastic smile and said hoarsely.
"To be honest, I thought I would see a great wizard who was still strong and strong after years," Dracula was silent for a moment, and then said in a flat tone, "I didn't expect to see an old man who was down and out."
He looked around with disdain, waved his hand, conjured a chair on the tattered blanket and sat down, and then he finally straightened his back.
"If you are comparing me to that despicable, lying bastard, I'm sorry to disappoint you." Grindelwald was too lazy to move, and spitted at the bedside with contempt, "I spent fifty years in this garbage dump, while he lived happily for fifty years."
"As far as I know, Dumbledore has had no chance to live happily in the past few decades." Dracula corrected, "After dealing with you, the first generation of dark devil, another dark devil appeared a few years later, and his evil is even worse than you."
"It's just a baby that Dumbledore found from an orphanage," Grindelwald sneered, "I have to thank that little thing. If it weren't for asking me how to deal with him, I'm afraid Dumbledore wouldn't even bother to write me a letter."
"You two are still communicating?" Dracula asked in surprise.
"It's just a meaningless act to kill time." Grindelwald said self-deprecatingly, "Or maybe it's just some preferential treatment he gave me out of pity for me as a defeated warrior."
"So... you've never thought of escaping from such a bad life?" Dracula's eyes flashed a red light, and his tone was also a bit tempting, "Are you willing to stay here for the rest of your life, until you die of old age in a dim room in the tower?"
Grindelwald looked into Dracula's eyes, his eyes were confused for a moment.
But the next moment, he laughed hoarsely, as if he was not affected at all.
"Is this the charm magic of the vampire clan?" Grindelwald laughed hoarsely, "Count Dracula really thinks highly of me, an old thing who is dying."
Dracula stared at Grindelwald's turbid blue eyes and frowned slightly.
"Do you know me?" Dracula asked.
"Of course, it's too obvious."
Grindelwald finally moved, sat up from the bed, and leaned against the rough wall beside the bed.
"In the few letters Dumbledore wrote to me in the past few years, apart from Voldemort, you are the one mentioned the most." A look of hatred or envy flashed across his face, "He seems to be very happy to pull you into the same camp..."
"I have never been in the same camp with him." Dracula retorted casually, "A good man who is willing to abandon his life as a pawn for the sake of others' survival, I am not interested at all."
"Hehe, good man..." Grindelwald's mocking expression became more and more intense, and he sneered, "Just because he is a good man, do you have to break up with me, a bad man?"
A piece of news that shocked the entire wizarding world was on the front page of the Daily Prophet -
"The One Who Must Not Be Named Is Back!"
In a brief statement on Friday night, Minister of Magic Cornelius Fudge confirmed that the One Who Must Not Be Named had returned to the wizarding world and was once again active.
"I have to announce with great regret that the wizard who calls himself the Demon King - oh, you all know who I mean - is still alive and active among us again."
Fudge said this when addressing reporters. He looked tired and embarrassed. After this incident, his reputation and prestige in the British wizarding world completely dropped to the freezing point.
In addition, Fudge was turned into a low-level vampire by Dracula, and it was difficult to completely hide all traces of his actions... For example, he had not given a speech in the sun for a long time, and had not attended the Ministry of Magic staff dinner for a long time.
For this reason, some senior officials within the Ministry of Magic questioned him, and Fudge was so busy that he had to follow Dumbledore's advice.
"It is also regrettable... We have to report that the Dementors in Azkaban have rebelled on a large scale, and they have expressed opposition to continuing to work for the Ministry of Magic. We believe that these Dementors are currently working for that demon."
"We strongly urge the people of the magic world to remain vigilant. The Ministry of Magic is publishing a preliminary defense guide for families and individuals, and will distribute it to all wizard families for free in the next month."
These precautions and countermeasures were proposed by Dumbledore, and Fudge arranged them intact.
After saying this, he hesitated and gritted his teeth.
"In addition, we must strive for all the forces we can strive for." Fudge stood on the podium and said with difficulty, "For example, goblins, centaurs, some kind werewolves and giants, and... vampires, are all forces we can unite."
"I have sent cooperation intentions to all ethnic groups defined as 'humans'. I hope everyone will put aside their past grudges and stop having ethnic prejudices..."
After saying this, Fudge seemed to be exhausted.
He worked hard to win the base of pure-blood families for four years, but basically declared bankruptcy after these measures were spoken out - most pure-blood families have never been willing to accept cooperation with other ethnic groups.
Of course, Fudge has now become a vampire, and this is a last resort; moreover, more pure-blood families have joined Voldemort, and whether or not to get the support of pure-bloods is actually irrelevant to Fudge...
The Ministry of Magic's statement has aroused the vigilance and anxiety of the entire magical community, even though they just received the Ministry of Magic's assurance last Wednesday: "No matter what rumors are currently circulating, the claim that the mysterious man is once again active among us is pure nonsense."
What exactly prompted the Ministry of Magic to make a 180-degree turn in its attitude, few wizards know the details.
But one thing is certain, the mysterious man who cannot even be named led a group of followers, that is, the Death Eaters known to everyone, and entered the Ministry of Magic on Tuesday night.
"Albus Dumbledore, who has resumed his positions as Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, member of the International Confederation of Wizards, and Chief Wizard of the Wizengamot, has not yet found time to speak to us..."
"He has insisted over the past year that You-Know-Who is not dead as everyone hoped and believed, and he has once again gathered his supporters to regain power. Meanwhile, the Boy-Who-Lived--"
Hermione jumped over the newspaper in her hand and looked at Harry.
They were all in the infirmary ward at this time, and Harry sat with Ron at the head of his bed and listened to Hermione reading the front page of the Daily Prophet.
In fact, Ginny, Neville, and Luna's injuries were basically healed by Madam Pomfrey in the blink of an eye, but they were all forced to stay in the hospital for observation because they were worried that the Death Eaters' dark magic would cause any additional sequelae.
Roff also came to the infirmary and brought Luna the latest edition of The Quibbler edited by her father.
"Harry is the 'boy who lived' again, right?" Rolfe sat down next to Luna, smiling and joking, "I remember the newspaper said a few days ago that Harry was a little wizard who was bewitching and liked to show off."
"Yes, they are praising you highly now, Harry." Hermione said, continuing to read the article, "Well... he has never wavered in his position and has been forced to endure ridicule and slander..."
Just then, Harry's little fan, Colin Creevey rushed in like the wind.
"Harry, the Daily Prophet has urgently printed an extra edition of the newspaper, did you see it?" he shouted breathlessly.
"What happened, has Voldemort started to make trouble with his minions again?" Ron asked curiously.
Colin Creevey shook his head and handed over a newspaper with the ink not completely dried yet-
"Emergency notice! The protective magic of Nurmengard was destroyed last night, and Gellert Grindelwald is missing!