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Chapter 430: Lupin: Don't Walk into Darkness
Chapter 430: Lupin: Don't Walk into Darkness
With a snap, Lupin and Sirius appeared in a barren forest, their surroundings devoid of snow. The ground, once covered in thick snow, now bore crisscrossing footprints, some of which abruptly disappeared, just like the sudden appearance of their own.
"This should be the place," Sirius said, surveying the area. "I've been here with James before."
"Let's go and see," Lupin replied, tugging at his scarf with a sullen expression.
They trudged through the snow, and in the distance, they spotted a grand estate surrounded by high walls that seemed to encompass an entire mountain.
A vagrant nearby, noticing their presence, approached with caution, his hand always in his pocket, the outline of a slender wand visible through his wrinkled clothes.
Before he could speak, Sirius waved a piece of parchment, and emerald green cursive letters gradually appeared on it.
The vagrant's expression relaxed, and he took the parchment to examine it.
"From the British Ministry of Magic?" The vagrant's English had a heavy Austrian accent, and his voice sounded rough. "I've seen quite a few of you today... Will Dumbledore be coming?"
"I'm not sure about that," Sirius replied expressionlessly. "Dumbledore has his own plans."
"Of course, of course... It's Dumbledore, after all..."
The vagrant muttered, returning the parchment to Sirius. "Go ahead, but don't expect to find much. They're just poor Muggles."
"Have Muggles in the area discovered this place?" Sirius asked, tucking the parchment into his pocket.
"What do you think? They're like cockroaches, living everywhere. The first person to arrive at the scene was a Muggle."
The vagrant yawned and said wearily, "Fortunately, a wizard living nearby intercepted him before he could call the police. We've tried to cast Forgetfulness Charms on all the Muggles who saw this place, but... who knows?"
He shrugged helplessly. "I've heard that Muggles have a well-developed network these days. No one can guarantee that the news hasn't spread."
Sirius thanked him, and he and Lupin headed towards the estate.
Behind them, the vagrant continued to patrol the area, ready to expel any Muggles who wandered in.
After walking for a while, Lupin asked, "The Austrian Ministry of Magic?"
"Yes," Sirius replied. "As you know, they jointly oversee Nurmengard with the German Ministry. Since Grindelwald's escape, they've hardly had any rest. If it weren't for Kingsley getting me this authorization, I wouldn't have been able to bring you here today."
Lupin frowned as he looked at the increasingly massive estate and the foreign wizards bustling nearby.
In fact, none of the five places Grindelwald had attacked were in Britain. Two were private islands in the sea, and the other three were located in the United States, France, and Italy.
This estate was within Italian territory, close to the border with Germany and Austria.
Italian wizards were notorious for their laid-back attitude and procrastination, resulting in extremely low work efficiency. Moreover, the instigator of this attack was the terrifying Dark Lord.
The Italian Ministry of Magic tried to avoid involvement, citing it as an international incident, and brought in the German and Austrian Ministries. They even invited the British Ministry to assist while staying in the background.
As a result, Lupin saw few Italian wizards here; most were German and Austrian wizards communicating in German, of which Lupin could only understand a small portion.
He didn't interrupt but listened silently, observing and recalling the message he had received before their departure—
...
"I'll be honest with you, Mr. Dumbledore," the head of FMC said with a pained expression. "The design of the Daily Prophet has three layers of encryption. Even with an identical linking charm, it's... it's not easy to hijack our signal."
"The only ones capable of this, aside from the Aslan Magic Workshop's Alchemical Lab, are Wade Gray... But it's impossible for the Alchemical Lab. Recently, everyone's been working overtime for the Communicating Pea."
"And each alchemist in the lab only possesses a portion of the technology. To achieve this level of sophistication, at least three alchemists would need to collaborate... and even then, it's only a possibility. Knowing how to create something doesn't mean you can crack it."
The head of FMC's expression was complex, seemingly torn between pity, disbelief, and concern that the Wizengamot would soon master various magical items, especially the manufacturing methods of the Daily Prophet, which could impact their business.
"In fact, Wade Gray disappeared a week ago while he was out," Dumbledore frowned and said, "I've always suspected it was Grindelwald, and now it seems... it was indeed him."
...
Upon hearing the news, Sirius had also privately consoled Lupin:
"It's not your fault, Moony. Not entirely, at least."
"How many people can stand against Grindelwald when he takes action himself? Even if he hadn't succeeded then, could you have kept the children locked up in the house forever? If they were determined to take someone, you couldn't have stopped them."
"I'm just glad you didn't notice the anomaly in time, or I might have lost another friend by now, Moony."
After the signal hijacking incident, Sirius also said:
"...All the Ministries of Magic are in a panic, but I think it's a good thing... At least it proves that Wade is uniquely valuable to that person, and he won't be in danger for a short while."
"He's a smart kid, Lupin. Believe in Wade... He'll hold on until we rescue him."
Lupin knew Sirius was trying to free him from his guilt, but he couldn't even fake a reassuring expression.
His pain wasn't just from his negligence, but also from his worry... that by the time they found a way to rescue Wade, Wade would choose the other side.
Unlike Sirius, who was always out and about with his carefree personality, Lupin had spent more time with Wade, communicating frequently, and he had already vaguely sensed... Wade's certain thoughts.
Unlike Harry, who was kind and naive, Wade seemed to have been born accustomed to viewing issues from a higher perspective and was more... detached.
Just look at the scenes of blood and fire intertwined in the video! Compared to the Ministry of Magic, there's no doubt that Wade would identify more with Grindelwald's approach—this was Lupin's first reaction upon seeing the video.
Punishing the wicked and acting decisively, this modern-day Robin Hood-like approach undoubtedly had a strong appeal to teenagers.
Lupin worried that the boy wouldn't want to come back, and he was even more concerned that Wade would do something in the Wizengamot that would... make him lose his place in the Wizarding World.
The only consolation was that Wade wasn't completely detached from this side; he had parents, teachers, and close friends here. These emotional ties would hold him back and prevent him from turning to the dark side.
...
The signal hijacking of the Daily Prophet wasn't a one-time event; it happened periodically, suddenly interrupting the ongoing programs with a few seconds of video, repeatedly promoting the recent actions of the Wizengamot.
They had also learned not to interrupt during the most exciting parts of TV shows but instead replaced the short 10-second segments at the beginning and end of programs or during Aslan's commercial breaks."
Nowadays, almost all wizards with the Daily Prophet worldwide receive the same signal, and apart from the news from various Ministries of Magic, they are watching the exact same programs. The Wizengamot and Grindelwald quickly became a topic of discussion throughout the Wizarding World.
The criticism and resistance weren't as widespread as Lupin had initially thought.
Unlike the anxious and fearful attitudes of the wizards in nearby countries, most of the wizards who felt that Grindelwald's resurgence posed no threat to them due to the vast spatial distance were actually cheering.
During his work, Lupin had met many wizards from other countries, and it was customary to exchange contact information. These wizards sent him messages saying:
"It's about time!"
"Did you see those poor children? I can't believe someone could treat them so cruelly!"
"Muggles are encroaching on our lands, tarnishing our image, and even polluting the air we breathe! I wish someone would punish them!"
"I understand what you mean, Lupin, but aren't the ones he killed all deserving of death?"
Not a single mistake in a single sentence, a single word, a single character, a single line, a single page, a single book, a single glance!
"Be careful, my friend. Even if you join the Wizengamot, I won't say anything... I think he's a very charismatic leader."
...
A leader?
A leader who kidnaps underage children? Lupin's anger had nowhere to vent.
Grindelwald's frequent attacks on Muggle forces would usually incite the entire Ministry of Magic's hostility, but their goal was to eradicate the evil forces coveting magical power and rescue the victimized children. This was different from indiscriminate attacks, and it gained the understanding and support of most people.
What's more, that person was treading the line of breaking the Statute of Secrecy without completely crossing it.
Using magic openly in front of a large number of Muggles and publicly attacking them with magic were unforgivable crimes in the Wizarding World.
Even though the Muggles who were attacked were aware of the existence of magic, they either died or became victims unable to move freely afterward. The Ministry of Magic could easily control the situation using the Forgetfulness Charm to prevent the exposure of magic to Muggles.
Each time the Wizengamot carried out an attack, they would set off a large firework in the sky. Muggles who witnessed it would not think it was magic, but nearby wizards would immediately notice, allowing the Ministry to swiftly respond.
This controlled the speed at which the incident spread, preventing Muggles from taking shocking photos of the crime scene and having it broadcast on TV and newspapers, turning it into a large-scale leak that the magical world couldn't control.
After spending fifty years in prison, that person had not become a stubborn old man with rigid thinking; instead, he had become more cunning and elusive.
Lupin could sense from Dumbledore's increasingly busy figure that even Dumbledore found Grindelwald more challenging to deal with than before.
...
"Sirius Black and Remus Lupin from the British Ministry of Magic?" A German wizard with a red beard checked Sirius' identification again and spoke in broken English, "Your people are over there."
He pointed, and Lupin saw several British wizards walking out, accompanied by the two of them.
Among the British wizards, the leader was a man in his fifties with short, neatly combed gray hair. His dark blue wizard's robe was free of any creases, and he stood tall with a solemn expression, skillfully speaking German to those around him. The short and stout Austrian wizard beside him had a clear look of awe on his face.
"It's Barty Crouch," Sirius said with a complex expression.
Barty Crouch had once been the head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, known for his tough and ruthless methods in dealing with Death Eaters and openly opposing Voldemort. He was once someone Sirius admired.
But it was also Barty Crouch who had sent Sirius to Azkaban without a trial.
—Although Sirius had brought this upon himself and didn't blame Crouch, this incident had greatly damaged Crouch's reputation. Numerous people publicly criticized his once-praised actions, and his son, Barty Crouch Jr., being a true Death Eater was brought to light again.
Since then, whenever the two met, it was always a bit awkward.
The last time they met at the Ministry was more than a month ago. At this moment, Sirius noticed that Barty Crouch looked even more aged than before, clearly indicating a difficult time.
Sirius hesitated for a moment but ultimately decided that the matter at hand was more important. They headed towards the other side.
They heard Barty Crouch speaking seriously, "...Please understand, Franz, St. Mungo's is also under a lot of pressure right now. They had to put patients in the corridors..."
"Yes, yes, we understand," the short and stout wizard said with a bitter face. "But there are just too many injured this time, and most of them are Muggles... Our hospital really can't handle it. If we leave them unattended, it's as good as letting them die. There are even some children from Britain and Northern Ireland inside..."
Barty Crouch paused for a moment and, seeing Sirius, gave a slight start before nodding expressionlessly.
"This is what we'll do..." Crouch said to the short wizard, "Patients born in the British Isles can be sent to St. Mungo's, and we can additionally take in twenty more patients..."
"Fifty... Can we take fifty?" the short wizard pleaded. "The healers at St. Mungo's are the best in all of Europe. Only they might be able to save those poor children..."
"What's going on?" Sirius pulled aside an Auror he knew.
"It's the rescued victims. Most of them were transfused with magical creature blood, and some... some indescribable mutations occurred."
The Auror spoke with sympathy and helplessness, "Muggle hospitals can't treat them, and even St. Mungo's might... Well, I say they're better off dead."
Seeing that the people in front were busy, Sirius took the opportunity to pull the Auror aside and whispered, "Tell me about your findings..."
Lupin quietly separated from them and continued deeper into the estate.
With his wand in hand, he passed through two rounds of checks, both inside and outside the door, and no one questioned him further.
Lupin repeatedly cast detection spells, trying to discern a familiar magical aura from the fire-licked building or find the message Vold had left for them.
But there was nothing.
(End of Chapter)
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