Chapter 935: Grindelwald's Scheme
Chapter 935: Grindelwald's Scheme
The gloomy memory realm abruptly came to a halt, and after a moment, it shattered with a bang. Strands of white mist reformed and, under the guidance of the wand, rushed into the vial.
The fireplace in the office reignited, and Ivan casually placed the vial aside. He continued to reflect on the scenes from the memory, lost in thought for a while before turning to Cornell and speaking.
"What do you think about that prophecy?"
"I suspect Grindelwald made it up to fool people..." Cornell said, his eyes flickering.
"We need to be open and honest, Director Cornell", Ivan raised an eyebrow, emphasizing his words. "As I understand it, during the last Wizarding War, Grindelwald successfully predicted Muggles' World War II and the ultimate weapon they developed, didn't he?"
Seeing Ivan's intense interest in the prophecy, Cornell felt a bit helpless and began to regret showing him the memory. He had been worried that someone so young might be swayed by Grindelwald's words or the content of the prophecy.
It wasn't an impossible scenario. In fact, even some prominent figures in the North American Wizarding World were fascinated by Grindelwald's prophecy. Rumor had it that some Pureblood Families were secretly in contact with Grindelwald.
"I don't think that vision proves anything. As Barbara said, Grindelwald has no evidence to support that it's the future of the Wizarding World. He's most likely just using the prophecy to gather supporters", Cornell explained earnestly.
Ivan naturally saw through Cornell's thoughts and shook his head, a mix of amusement and frustration on his face. "Director Cornell, I'm not curious about the content of the prophecy. I want to know to what extent Grindelwald's divination can go."
"This is crucial!" Ivan added solemnly.
If Grindelwald could predict everything he wanted through prophecy, there would be no need to fight. They might as well all surrender.
A powerful wizard who can see the future is almost unbeatable.
But it was clear that this was unlikely. If Grindelwald could foresee the future, he would have known that Ivan would follow him into Nicolas Flamel's tomb and taken precautions. In that case, Ivan wouldn't have been able to steal the Resurrection Stone from Grindelwald.
Cornell finally realized he had misunderstood and quickly responded, "The North American Ministry of Magic has some information on this. Grindelwald's right eye sometimes sees visions of the future, but this ability can't be controlled."
"Can you be certain?" Ivan pressed, his tone heavy.
"About ninety percent certain! After Grindelwald lost the epic duel, the International Confederation of Wizards interrogated him. He admitted this himself, so the information is highly reliable", Cornell explained slowly.
Ivan nodded. At that time, Grindelwald had lost everything and was likely in a state of despair, so he had no reason to hide the truth.
"So, what are your plans for dealing with Grindelwald?" Ivan asked, his tone indicating his concern.
"Decapitation strategy! As long as we find an opportunity to eliminate Grindelwald, everything will return to normal!" Cornell said bluntly.
Once the leader is dead, the followers, no matter how many, won't be able to cause much trouble and will soon quiet down.
Besides, they really had no other good options.
They couldn't possibly arrest everyone who had attended the gatherings, could they?
What a joke!
Cornell was certain that this wasn't Grindelwald's first speech in Europe. According to their estimates, Grindelwald likely had thousands of followers, all of whom were ordinary Wizards who had been swayed by his rhetoric and knew little about the true inner workings of his organization.
How could they possibly arrest so many people?
If they mishandled it, it could lead to major chaos!
Cornell sighed and then remembered another piece of information. He hesitated before speaking. "Additionally, there was an operation against Grindelwald in France last night. They had advance intelligence that he was planning a gathering in Paris and sent seventy elite Aurors to capture him."
"What happened?" Ivan didn't have much hope.
"The situation wasn't good, but at least no one died", Cornell replied.
"Oh, they managed to escape from Grindelwald?" Ivan was somewhat surprised.
"No." Cornell's expression suddenly became a bit strange. "Grindelwald let them all go."
He had been shocked when he received the intelligence last night.
For one, the French Ministry of Magic had acted unilaterally without informing the International Confederation of Wizards, launching this surprise attack on their own.
Secondly, according to the intelligence, at the gathering, Grindelwald hadn't asked his followers for help. He had single-handedly overwhelmed the seventy elite Aurors, capturing them all in front of hundreds of followers. Then, instead of killing anyone, he released them all.
"Really, all of them?" Ivan felt a chill run down his spine at the news.
Grindelwald was proving to be even more formidable than he had imagined.
It was clear that Grindelwald was deliberately putting on a show, likely to change the public's perception of him and to reinforce the words he had spoken in his speeches—how, even to his enemies, Grindelwald could show mercy because of their shared identity as Wizards.
"It seems the European Times' efforts over the past few months have been in vain..." Ivan muttered to himself. They had worked tirelessly to dig up Grindelwald's dark history and discredit him, but Grindelwald had easily turned the tables.
Now, his followers would be even less likely to believe the truths presented in the European Times, as Grindelwald had shown them the "reality" with their own eyes. In many people's minds, the Ministry of Magic was likely seen as the cruel oppressor.
Even if Grindelwald were to reveal his true nature and call for violent resistance, these people would likely believe that the Ministry of Magic had pushed him too far.
Cornell agreed with Ivan's assessment. In fact, there were already signs of this happening.
This morning, over two hundred Wizards had gathered at the French Ministry of Magic, demanding the Minister release the arrested Death Eaters and referring to the warlock who caused the Paris tragedy as a hero. It was rumored that the French Minister was already at his wit's end...
However, there was some good news. After this devastating defeat, France had become much more cooperative. The Minister of Magic himself had traveled to the North American Magic Congress last night and spent the entire night in talks with the Congress Chair, planning to convene a Joint Conference to invite Heads of State to discuss how to address this crisis.
(End of Chapter)
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