"You still have the heart to joke?" Tom asked, looking at the devastation around them.
"Why not? We won in the end. Am I supposed to look miserable?" Wade asked in surprise.
Tom pointed at the ashes and fragments of bone on the ground. "But you killed people, in front of everyone."
"I had no choice. Besides, they attacked the Hogwarts Express. That crossed a line for far too many people. Even the Ministry won't have much to say about it," Wade replied calmly.
Across the British wizarding world, regardless of profession or social class, everyone sent their children to Hogwarts.
Yet these people had attacked the Hogwarts Express and placed all those children in danger.
In other words, by attacking the train, they had offended the entire British wizarding world at once.
When someone harmed their children, everyone would respond in the same way.
Even if Wade had spared them, the Ministry would have sentenced them to the Dementor's Kiss.
"I know that." Tom shrugged. "But you still killed people. Even though you were justified, from today onwards, your classmates will see you differently."
"You mean they won't feel as close to me as before, and they'll instinctively fear and respect me instead?" Wade understood what Tom meant.
"Exactly. That might make it harder for you to mingle with everyone as easily as you used to," Tom said, getting to the heart of the matter.
Wade smiled. "Don't worry. I considered that problem a long time ago. In fact, the timing is about right."
"What?" Tom asked in confusion.
"Didn't you notice that I deliberately prolonged the battle and made it look extremely dangerous?" Wade asked suddenly.
Tom recalled what the elderly witch had said earlier.
"He could clearly have ended the fight quickly, but instead he insisted on putting on such a performance."
Tom stared at Wade in surprise. "Why did you do that?"
"Today's attack was unexpected, but it also gave me an opportunity to show everyone what I'm capable of," Wade explained. "Yes, after today, they may genuinely fear and respect me. But that's exactly what I want. If you want people to trust and follow you more easily, inspiring a certain degree of awe is an effective approach."
Tom suddenly understood.
It was just like Grindelwald and Dumbledore.
Why did the Ministry take Dumbledore's opinions so seriously?
Because Dumbledore was highly capable and immensely powerful. Even Grindelwald was wary of him, so everyone treated him with great respect and gave considerable weight to his words.
Why were Grindelwald's followers willing to risk their lives for him and obey his every command?
Again, it was because Grindelwald's overwhelming strength filled them with awe.
The words of the strong carried a very different weight from those of the weak.
"I understand now," Tom said.
"You understand again?" Wade asked in surprise.
"If you're strong enough, whatever you say becomes the truth!" Tom declared firmly.
"No, no! You've misunderstood. That's not entirely what I meant..." Wade waved his hand.
"I can't be bothered thinking about anything more complicated. I'll wait until I'm strong enough. Then I'll naturally understand!" Tom interrupted him.
Wade drew a sharp breath and found himself at a loss for words.
I explained all that, and this is the twisted lesson you took from it? What happened to the magic of love?
How do you resemble Dumbledore's favourite student in any way?
While Wade complained inwardly, Dumbledore and Headmaster Dippet approached.
Grindelwald followed behind them, his expression terrifyingly dark. He looked even angrier than Dumbledore.
Wade understood why.
It had not been long since the chaos of Grindelwald's campaign across Europe.
Back then, whenever something terrible happened, people simply blamed Grindelwald. More often than not, they were probably right.
Over time, making Grindelwald the scapegoat had practically become politically correct.
So how could today's incident be any different?
At the crucial moment when Grindelwald was trying to change his ways, something had happened that offended the entire wizarding world.
And there was a very real possibility that the blame would be placed on him.
If the situation was mishandled, all the effort he had made recently could be wasted. Of course his expression was grim.
Dumbledore was an honourable man. Had he been as calculating as Grindelwald, he could have pinned the entire incident on him within minutes.
Then, regardless of whether Grindelwald had actually been responsible, much of his recent work would have gone to waste.
"Professor..." Wade had barely begun greeting him when Dumbledore pulled him closer.
"Wade, are you hurt?" Dumbledore anxiously examined him. Only after confirming that Wade had no injuries did he finally breathe a sigh of relief.
"I'm fine. You should check on the others first. A lot of people were badly injured when the train stopped," Wade said. "Oh, right. There were also those Aurors. I don't know whether they're alive or dead."
"Don't worry. The Healers are already treating the injured students. The Aurors are fine as well. They were fairly lucky. It seems the giant didn't continue attacking them. They were knocked unconscious when the locomotive was struck," Headmaster Dippet said.
His gaze swept once more across the ashes and fragments of bone scattered over the ground.
"Did you do this?"
Wade nodded. Many people had witnessed it, and besides, he was the only person present capable of such a thing. There was no point hiding it.
Headmaster Dippet narrowed his eyes. He already knew Wade could use ancient magic.
The attackers had died so horribly that they had clearly been destroyed by Wade's ancient magic.
What terrifying power.
"They sent more than a hundred people and even unleashed a giant. Not just anyone could pull off something like this," Headmaster Dippet continued.
Giants and wizards had never been on good terms. Controlling one well enough to intercept the train was no simple feat. It proved that the people behind the attack were highly capable.
"I captured quite a few of them. Let me interrogate them. We'll know everything once I question them!" Wade said eagerly.
They had prisoners. There was no need to keep guessing. They could simply interrogate them.
And when it came to interrogation, no one present was better suited than Wade.
"Leave it to me," Grindelwald said, his expression icy. "I also want to know who was responsible."
To be honest, he almost admired the attackers. Even at the height of his madness, he would never have dared do something that offended the entire wizarding world like this.
"Why did all of you arrive so late?" Tom demanded.
Dumbledore, Dippet, and Grindelwald did not take offence at his forceful tone. Tom had every right to be angry.
Not just Tom. Every student present had reason to be furious.
Had Wade not been there, who among them could have withstood an attack by more than a hundred wizards and a giant?
They had arrived far too late. Without Wade, they might have found the ground covered in bodies.
"This was a planned attack," Dumbledore said with a frown. "When we received the message and prepared to leave, Hogwarts and the Ministry were attacked as well."
Wade was genuinely shocked.
This was an enormous operation.
Who could possibly launch simultaneous attacks on the Ministry, Hogwarts, and the Hogwarts Express?
And if the attackers had managed to delay the Aurors, Dumbledore, and the others, then the forces sent against Hogwarts and the Ministry could not have been weak.
Hogwarts had Dumbledore, while the Ministry had Grindelwald and his Alliance.
"Did you capture anyone alive?" Wade asked.
Dumbledore and Grindelwald shook their heads at the same time.
When powerful wizards truly wanted to escape, they simply Apparated away. Even Dumbledore and Grindelwald could not capture them in time.
After all, neither of them knew nightmare magic. They could not make their enemies Apparate back to the same place as Wade had.
"It seems whoever is behind this has considerable influence," Headmaster Dippet murmured.
"Then let's hurry and interrogate the prisoners!" Wade urged.
They had living captives. Why were they still standing around speculating?
"Fine." Grindelwald turned and walked away.
Wade and the others quickly followed.
Wade hurried to Grindelwald's side and asked, "You really weren't behind this?"
"If I had this kind of power, do you think that muddle-headed professor of yours would still dare act so arrogantly in front of me?" Grindelwald replied irritably.
"True. You aren't capable of this," Wade agreed.
Grindelwald glared at him again.
But it was true that his Alliance lacked the ability to carry out an operation of this scale.
The captives had been placed inside a temporary tent by Grindelwald's followers and guarded by a squad of elite Aurors.
As for the giant, the newly arrived Aurors had no idea what to do with it. They could only hit it with several more Stunning Spells and send someone to summon a Magizoologist.
Strictly speaking, giants were not classified as magical creatures under the law.
But desperate circumstances called for desperate measures.
Grindelwald lifted the tent flap and stepped inside, only to rush back out less than a second later.
He seized a nearby Auror by the collar.
"Where are they?"
"Er..." The elite Auror flinched. Grindelwald looked particularly vicious at that moment.
Wade lifted the flap and looked inside as well.
The tent was completely empty.
Every prisoner who had been bound so tightly had disappeared.
"Minister Fawley ordered us to take them back to the Ministry..." the Auror said, struggling against Grindelwald's grip.
"That idiot!" Grindelwald released him furiously. "Anyone capable of carrying out an attack like this clearly has enormous influence. The best way to deal with these prisoners was to interrogate them immediately, right here. Take them back to the Ministry? How could he possibly guarantee that nothing would happen along the way?"
Prisoners were usually placed in transport wagons and taken back to the Ministry.
There were far too many opportunities for something to go wrong during the journey.
Wade found the whole situation suspicious.
No matter how foolish Fawley might be, he was still the Minister for Magic. There was no reason he would fail to consider something so obvious.
He also should have known how much pressure Grindelwald would face over this incident.
The best thing he could have done was nothing at all and leave everything to Grindelwald.
Why would he take the initiative to assume responsibility and bring the prisoners back to the Ministry for questioning?
"Who delivered Minister Fawley's order to you just now?" Wade asked.
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Read 12 Advance Chapters—P@t- Captain69