"Our captain! Charl... Charl Bulstrode!" the Auror hurriedly replied.
The Auror's heart nearly stopped. After all, the world-famous Dark wizard Grindelwald was gripping him by the collar with a vicious expression.
All he could do was hope Grindelwald would not lose control and hit him with a Killing Curse.
"Bulstrode?" Wade rubbed his chin.
"You know him?" Grindelwald asked, turning towards him.
"No, but Bulstrode is one of the Sacred Twenty-Eight. They're an extremely old pure-blood family," Wade replied.
"Why are you still talking about pure-bloods? Does that matter now?" Grindelwald frowned.
"Doesn't it?" Wade asked in return.
Grindelwald froze for a moment. As he gradually calmed down, he finally released the Auror's collar.
"Urgh..."
The unfortunate Auror fainted the moment Grindelwald let go.
The Aurors assigned to guard the tent were all fairly inexperienced.
For a newly recruited Auror, Grindelwald's behaviour had been far too terrifying.
"Pure-bloods..." Grindelwald finally sensed that something was wrong.
Minister Fawley, who ordinarily would never dare offend him, and a pure-blood family dependent on his support were now both risking his anger by interfering in the matter.
Bulstrode had openly taken the prisoners away, yet Grindelwald had somehow failed to notice.
And if the prisoners were already gone, why leave someone guarding an empty tent?
That proved they had been removed secretly. The guard had been left outside to stop Grindelwald from immediately discovering that the tent was empty.
That made no sense.
Wade took out a bottle of Elixir to Induce Euphoria and poured it into the unconscious Auror's mouth.
Dumbledore watched Wade's actions with approval, while still remembering to glare at Grindelwald.
Seeing Dumbledore's expression, Grindelwald felt slightly sick.
Now that Wade was feeding the Auror a potion, Dumbledore thought he was a good person.
If he felt so sorry for the Auror, why hadn't he stopped Grindelwald earlier?
"Which way did he take them?" Dumbledore asked.
The Auror had just regained consciousness. Under the effects of the potion, he was finally less frightened and shakily pointed east.
Dumbledore looked in that direction and realised it led towards Hogwarts.
Grindelwald said nothing. He simply took a broomstick from one of his followers.
Whoosh!
Watching Grindelwald shoot into the sky, Dumbledore turned to Headmaster Dippet.
"Go. I'll keep watch here," Dippet said.
Dumbledore nodded, rose into the air, and pursued Grindelwald.
"You're not going?" Headmaster Dippet asked Wade.
"There's no point. With the two of them together, there aren't many people who could stop them," Wade replied.
"That doesn't sound like you, Wade. I thought you'd be curious," Dippet said.
"The problem is that, judging by what the enemy has already shown, too much time has passed. I don't think chasing after them now will reveal anything useful." Wade shrugged. "I'd be better off staying to help the Healers. As you know, I'm fairly capable at healing magic."
Headmaster Dippet stroked his beard. "You could still go with them. I've already inspected the students, and none of them are seriously injured. With the Healers from St Mungo's here, their minor wounds will be treated in no time."
Wade's pupils contracted slightly.
"No one is seriously injured?"
"That's right. It really is a miracle," Headmaster Dippet said with a long sigh of relief. "Thank goodness. Otherwise, I don't know whether Hogwarts could even have remained open."
Wade found that extremely strange.
When he had first made his way towards the locomotive, he had clearly seen many students who appeared to be badly injured.
"You seem surprised," Headmaster Dippet said.
"I am. When I first left the train, I clearly saw many people with serious injuries," Wade replied.
"Is that so? I'll ask the other students." Headmaster Dippet turned and hurried away.
Everything that had happened that day seemed strangely unsettling.
"I think the elderly witch healed them," Tom said from beside him.
Wade turned towards him. "Did you see her do it?"
"No. But out of everyone on the train today, she was the strangest. And judging by her behaviour, she seemed to be an ally rather than an enemy," Tom said. "You saw that protective spell. None of us had ever seen anything like it, and not just anyone could cast magic that powerful. So if the seriously injured students were healed, she is the most likely person responsible."
"Where is she?" Wade asked.
"She vanished in the blink of an eye. And... she seemed to see through your final trick," Tom said gravely.
Wade was clearly surprised.
There were not many people left who could easily see through his nightmare magic.
At the very least, it would take a wizard on Grindelwald's level to sense that something was wrong.
"She had that kind of ability, yet she simply stood aside and watched? I'm still a child," Wade said with a frown.
No matter how powerful Wade was, he still looked like a boy of thirteen or fourteen. Most adult wizards would never stand by while he faced so many enemies alone, especially when the elderly witch was clearly extremely powerful.
"Anne asked her, but she said she wasn't skilled in combat and only knew supportive magic. Also, could you stop saying that you're only a child? It makes me want to vomit," Tom said helplessly.
Wade automatically ignored the second half of Tom's remark and decided that not a single word the elderly witch had said could be trusted.
A healer of that caliber who only knew support magic?
Please. This wasn't a game.
"Let's leave that for now. We should check on everyone else first," Wade said.
"Mm..." Tom followed him, then suddenly used a Whispering Charm. "Why didn't you tell Dumbledore and the others that those people were after you?"
Wade glanced at him. "You're overthinking it. I simply didn't have time to mention it."
Tom eyed him suspiciously. "Honestly, if you hadn't personally killed so many of those wizards, I would have thought you'd arranged the entire attack just to put on a show."
"I don't command that kind of power, and attacking the Hogwarts Express would be incredibly foolish, Tom. But yes, someone has set their sights on me," Wade replied.
"I'm not surprised in the slightest. The tallest tree catches the strongest wind. Haven't you noticed that you've been drawing far too much attention lately?" Tom frowned.
"You think they wanted something from me?" Wade understood what he meant.
"Why wouldn't they? Wade, do you have any idea what the things you've produced are actually worth? That Dragon Pox potion alone could restore a declining pure-blood family to prosperity. And if I remember correctly, the formula was never publicly released. When Professor Slughorn handed it over, the Healers at St Mungo's had to swear a binding agreement not to disclose it."
"Oh? How do you know that?"
"Damn it, do you never read the newspapers? Besides, you casually produced a completely unprecedented formula and acted as though it meant nothing to you. Doesn't that suggest you possess many other things of even greater value? You're no different from a three-year-old walking through the streets carrying a giant gold brick!"
"There aren't many people in this world who follow the rules, but there are plenty of desperate criminals who don't. Not everyone fears the family supposedly backing you from thousands of miles away. Their reach only extends so far, understand?"
"If I were you, I'd return to the safe house and hide there. It's not as though a bastard like you actually needs to attend school."
Wade snapped his fingers. "Your analysis is excellent, Tom. I was thinking the same thing. It seems you've truly matured over the years. But I still have to go to Hogwarts. This concerns our cause. I went to all that trouble fighting just now, and the impact has already been made. This is precisely the time to press the advantage. How could I hide away now?"
"What exactly are you planning?" Tom could not understand Wade's thinking. Shouldn't staying alive come first? No matter how powerful Wade was, open attacks were easier to avoid than hidden ones. Even a lion had to sleep eventually.
"What am I planning? Tom, haven't I told you already? Hail Hydra!"
...
The Hogwarts Express was temporarily out of service.
Aurors flew in from the direction of Hogwarts aboard Thestral-drawn carriages.
Hogwarts had not been closed, so the students still had to be brought safely back to school before any further decisions could be made.
The students boarded the carriages one after another.
Headmaster Dippet found Wade just as he was about to climb into an empty carriage.
"The seriously injured students were indeed healed by that mysterious witch," Dippet said. "But we still don't know who she is. Mrs Purkins, who normally sells snacks on the train, was unable to come because of illness, so this woman was only a temporary replacement."
"She didn't even give a name?" Wade asked.
"She did. The name she registered was Helora Paris. I've asked the Ministry Aurors to investigate, and we should have an answer soon. Anyone wishing to sell refreshments aboard the Express must first apply through the Ministry, so there should definitely be records." Headmaster Dippet sighed. "Although she left without a word, which is suspicious, she undeniably saved many students."
"Perhaps she simply dislikes attracting attention, unlike someone else," Tom said. "Once everything was over, she left."
Wade pretended not to notice the barb in his words. "That's certainly possible. Hopefully that's all it was. At least then we'd know she was a good person."
"Roar!"
In the distance, the giant had regained consciousness. A large group of Aurors, led by Newt, were attempting to subdue it again.
"Headmaster, what will happen to the giant?" Hagrid, who had remained silent until now, suddenly asked.
Headmaster Dippet had clearly met Hagrid before and knew about his unusual circumstances, so the question did not surprise him.
"The Ministry will first determine which giant tribe he came from. That may help us discover who hired him. As for the giant himself..." Headmaster Dippet paused. "He attacked wizards, Hagrid."
The implication was clear.
Once they had extracted the information they needed, the giant would be executed.
Wizards were willing to coexist with non-human beings, but only so long as neither side attacked the other.
The giant had broken that rule.
Hagrid fell silent, then climbed into the carriage.
Headmaster Dippet turned back to Wade. "After this incident, many students may become hostile towards giants. And that hostility may also be directed at Hagrid, so..."
The attack would make many students hate giants even more. Almost no one knew that Hagrid was half-giant, but his size alone could easily invite speculation.
That could lead to serious bullying.
"I understand. Isn't handling situations like this one of the reasons the Mutual Aid Society exists?" Wade agreed.
After speaking for a while longer, Wade climbed into the carriage as well.
The Thestral-drawn carriage rose into the sky.
Wade looked down at the stranded Hogwarts Express, his eyes flickering thoughtfully.
____
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Read 12 Advance Chapters—P@t- Captain69