America.
Credence struggled in his sleep.
In his dream, he seemed to have returned to Grindelwald's side.
That bewitching power coiled around his neck, as if it were about to strangle him.
"We will not fail, Aurelius."
The man's whisper echoed by his ear.
Aurelius Dumbledore.
That was Credence's name, given to him by Grindelwald.
On the day he left Nagini's side, he learned of his origins and also received a wand.
That voice seemed to understand the ending that was about to come, yet he was still confident.
It was as if he had never failed.
Clearly, he had seen those futures.
During the International Confederation of Wizards election in Bhutan, Grindelwald used Dark magic to turn the dead Qilin into a tool for seizing power.
Before that, he had seen the prophecy in the pool. The dead Qilin's sibling was still alive.
That was a fatal mistake, yet Grindelwald was so relaxed.
"Victory is right there. It is waiting for us to take it."
"And I have already seen the seed I planted begin to sprout."
This was the last thing Credence heard from Grindelwald when he resolved to leave him.
Seed?
What seed?
At that time, Credence, who had been following Grindelwald, had been weakened by the Obscurus eating away at him. He did not understand what Grindelwald meant by a seed.
Over the years, Grindelwald had constantly instilled in him the idea that once Dumbledore was killed, everything would turn in the Acolytes' favour.
But what was the result?
Credence had not succeeded. He was no match for Dumbledore at all.
Why was a man who could see the future still so confident when he knew he would fail?
Credence had no answer. At least, he had not seen one while he was alive.
He died in Godric's Hollow.
If not for the necklace John had given him, he would never have been able to leave that place.
"The seed I planted begin to sprout."
...
"Haa! huff.. huff.."
Credence woke with a start.
He was covered in cold sweat. He rubbed his face with his hands, feeling the coldness of his palms as he tried to wake himself up.
"Did you have a nightmare?"
A warm body drove away the chill.
Nagini asked softly.
Credence shook his head and said, "I dreamed about the past."
Nagini was fully dressed, just like back when they had depended on each other for survival, leaning close at one another's side.
She asked softly, "What was it about?"
"Grindelwald." Credence held the hand on his shoulder. "I saw Grindelwald and remembered what he said to me."
"He said the seed he planted had sprouted. I'm worried. He was always so mysterious..."
Credence's voice caught, and he said apologetically, "I think I'm too obsessed with the past, Nagini."
"No, Credence." Nagini smiled. "Everything added together is what makes you."
Every time Credence went to sleep, he felt afraid. Afraid that he would not wake up again.
Afraid that he would miss Nagini once more.
"His pendant." Credence reached toward his chest and said, "It feels very strange. I feel as if that thing is inside my body."
Nagini covered it with her hand and said gently, "It's beating, isn't it?"
Nap time ended.
Credence had to go to work.
Yes, work.
Even a Dumbledore had to work part-time at a Johnny Silverhand branch.
"Lady Snake," Johnson said respectfully to Nagini.
Then his gaze shifted to Credence, with the distinct feeling of someone looking at the pretty boy kept by his boss.
Johnson felt utterly heartbroken.
Boss, can you not see all these muscles on me?
You chose this guy? His thigh isn't even as thick as my arm.
Johnson was melancholy.
Credence leaned close to Nagini's ear and asked, "He seems very sad, Lady Snake~?"
Nagini smiled.
There had been some personnel changes in District Thirteen, the wizarding settlement in America, but they were harmless.
Johnson was responsible for the branch's security work, while Paul was responsible for sales and business negotiations.
Credence found a job at the counter.
The flamboyant Paul glanced at Credence, whistled, and said, "Don't mind that big guy. He's just jealous of you."
"Er... thank you." Credence nodded in thanks.
Paul shrugged and said, "I don't understand why you want to come here, but since you're working here, you still need to remember the rules."
He placed the monocle over his right eye and said, "The first rule is to wear your glasses properly."
Credence put on the monocle, and the things inside the counter before him changed appearance.
"Oh my God, I just remembered there's business in District Seven. I'll leave this place to you for now."
Paul suddenly remembered that the goods for District Seven still had not been delivered. He patted Credence on the shoulder and quickly left.
Credence looked toward the door, where Nagini was watching his uncomfortable appearance with amusement.
"Peace and quiet is good enough." Credence smiled and watched Paul leave.
His first customer arrived.
Credence asked, "May I ask what you need..."
His voice caught, and his gaze fell on the person's collar.
A symbol made of a triangle, a circle, and a vertical line appeared before his eyes.
The other person said calmly, "I need the wand behind you."
From the corner of his eye, Credence saw three more people dressed the same as him.
"I'll get it for you."
"Thank you, Aurelius."
The moment that voice sounded, Credence's eyes widened.
He slowly raised his head and looked at the person's face.
At that moment, that face seemed to become Grindelwald's.
His pupils contracted.
A red light struck the person.
Immediately afterward came Johnson's roar, and the customers in the shop collapsed one after another.
Credence looked toward the place where the red light had come from. It was Nagini.
She was holding a wand.
"They are Acolytes!"
Credence came back to his senses and looked over again. That person's face had changed back into someone else's.
This was not the first time Nagini had faced such a situation. She said calmly, "Johnson, send them to the Magical Congress. We will close for the day."
"Understood, Lady Snake."
Johnson nodded and sent the people who had been knocked down to the Magical Congress.
...
"Acolytes?"
John received news that Acolytes had appeared at the Silver Hand branch.
Strictly speaking, however, they could not be counted as Acolytes. Those people were admirers of Grindelwald.
What puzzled John was why the other party could say Credence's name.
"Aurelius Dumbledore?" John murmured to himself. "Grindelwald."
"Seed? What did Grindelwald plant?"
The mysteries surrounding Grindelwald had increased.
He was impossible to see through.
The only thing that could be confirmed was that Grindelwald was still alive.
And he was manipulating everything from somewhere.
"Is Griffiths one of his people?" John suspected that the Polish Minister for Magic was connected to Grindelwald, or perhaps was Grindelwald himself.
He was not the only one. Dumbledore, who understood Grindelwald, thought the same.
Neither of them had absolute certainty or evidence.
The only thing they could be sure of was that Grindelwald was alive.
After Acolytes entered the branch in America, John began paying attention to the situation in France.
However, the other party seemed to have gone after Credence and did not appear in France.
Credence also did not know why Grindelwald was looking for him.
What John cared about more was that the other party knew Credence had awakened.
Yes, awakened.
In truth, Credence's end half a century ago had not been death.
Credence's death had stemmed from the Obscurus eroding his body.
Young wizards would die from the erosion of an Obscurus in childhood. Credence managing to survive into adulthood had already been a miracle.
What John had done was to use an enormous amount of magic as the final seed to preserve his life.
When Credence lost consciousness and hovered on the edge of death, it was also when the Obscurus was at its weakest.
At that time, the magic would wash through Credence's body, replacing and weakening the power of the Obscurus, like a form of indirect domestication.
It was just that this process was extremely long. John had originally calculated that it would happen on the day he set the temporal anchor.
But Credence seemed to have awakened early and gone to find Nagini, missing John's letter.
If Dumbledore had not received the letter, John might have been stranded in the past because of this mistake.
Credence was already extraordinarily gifted. Even without any basic magical education, he had grown up while enduring the erosion of the Obscurus.
During his time beside Grindelwald, he had learned how to use magic and could initially control the Obscurus. It was only because the power was too great that he had been unable to resist its erosion.
By the time he awakened, the power of the Obscurus had been weakened to the point where it could no longer affect Credence, and he naturally brought it under control.
This method could not be used on Ariana, because she could not control the Obscurus.
"It seems the answers to everything are in Poland."
John pondered for a while. Now, all the questions were centred on that Polish Minister for Magic.
As for what the truth was, they could only wait for Tommy's return.
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