When Li Wade woke up, the sunlight was already shining on the foot of his bed.
It seemed quite late, but no one had woken him up for class or anything.
Li Wade was about to sit up when he saw Dumbledore.
Dumbledore was sitting between Li Wade and Tom's beds, his face showing deep fatigue.
However, his azure eyes shone brightly.
Tom was also awake, seemingly even earlier than Li Wade.
But in Dumbledore's presence, he was as docile as a chick.
"You're awake.
It seems your body is indeed alright," Dumbledore smiled.
"Professor... Grindelwald, he..."
"Unfortunately, he still managed to escape," Dumbledore said helplessly.
"I see..."
Li Wade looked at Annie's empty bed, then at Tom.
Tom shook his head, indicating he didn't know either.
"Don't worry, Miss Rosier is just going for a medical check-up. It's just a routine check-up, nothing wrong with her health."
Dumbledore seemed to see through Li Wade's doubts.
"You and Tom will have to go for a follow-up check-up later."
Li Wade breathed a sigh of relief; he wasn't too concerned about whether Annie's health was fine.
He had thought Annie's identity had been exposed and she had been arrested.
It would be bad if she had been arrested; this spy was still very useful to him.
Since Grindelwald hadn't been caught, it would be a shame if such a valuable experience point could only be used once.
"Wade, last night… I really owe you both.
If you hadn't discovered his plot and sent me the message in time, I can't even imagine what the consequences would have been…" Dumbledore said with some lingering fear.
When he returned, although the entire internal defense mechanism of Hogwarts was fully activated, all the professors, including the headmaster, were unconscious…
If he had still been busy at the Magical Congress of America, and Grindelwald had successfully obtained what he wanted, who knows what kind of damage Hogwarts would have suffered?
At that time, Hogwarts was practically unguarded to Grindelwald.
"Don't say that, Professor, it was just luck..." Livid said calmly.
"In my opinion, it's not like that. I've heard some of the details from Miss Rosier," Dumbledore remarked.
"Before I returned, you not only drugged Grindelwald's henchmen, but you also held him off for a long time until my return... This can't be accomplished with just a simple 'luck'."
"It really was just luck... Professor, even Tom almost died," Livid said helplessly.
Tom's face paled again upon hearing this.
Livid wasn't wrong; if he hadn't followed Livid's advice and made some preparations beforehand... putting a few "drug-filled dung bombs" in his pocket... although it was later confirmed to be poison gas, it still saved his life...
It was a close call!
Grindelwald, enraged, was extremely agitated; the tip of his wand, pressed against his chin, was starting to heat up!
This was enough to prove that Grindelwald's Killing Curse was already imminent... If he had been even a second slower, he would have died!
For Tom, who cherished life so much, the thought of such an experience was terrifying...
"It was my fault, Tom," Dumbledore said apologetically, a look of joy at having something lost and then regained.
Tom felt uncomfortable under his gaze and unconsciously pulled the blanket up further.
"From now on, I will never leave Hogwarts so easily again.
Even if I have to leave, I will be fully prepared," Dumbledore said solemnly.
In fact, he always prepared before leaving, but he never expected Grindelwald to be so ruthless as to sneak into Hogwarts through a secret passage with malicious intent!
"Regardless, you have all rendered a great service! Although Headmaster Depp said that rewards and punishments should be fair, and that your violations of school rules should not be easily overlooked, ... when we reviewed the whole incident, we realized that if you hadn't violated the rules this time, the consequences would have been unimaginable.
Therefore, at Professor Slughorn's suggestion, the professors collectively voted to cancel your punishments.
Furthermore, it was decided that each of you would receive a Special Contribution Award at the end of the term. Your trophies will remain at Hogwarts forever."
After Dumbledore finished speaking, Li Wade simply smiled happily, while Tom's face was full of joy.
Tom had always been a person who loved honor, which was the fundamental reason why he was so concerned about whether his ancestors were Slytherin.
And this Special Contribution Award could be said to be his first personal honor!
Although he didn't actually put in much effort... but you could say he deserved some credit!
Tom, overjoyed, suddenly remembered something.
"Professor, that power... the kind Grindelwald is after.
What have the professors decided to do with it?"
In truth, he wasn't really concerned about the fate of these magical powers; he just wanted to use this question to test whether they truly had some kind of side effect, as Li Wade had previously mentioned.
In his view, if there were no side effects, the professors would definitely use it; if there were, they wouldn't use it, or they would destroy it directly .
"That..." A hint of helplessness flashed in Dumbledore's eyes.
"I remember your nighttime excursions were also in pursuit of this power, weren't they?"
Tom lowered his head, unsure how to answer.
"Yes, we expended a lot of effort to obtain this power, but unexpectedly, when we finally found it, we encountered an accident..."
While Tom remained silent, Li Wade frankly admitted his desire.
In fact, since meeting Dumbledore, he had never hidden his pursuit of power.
When he awakened ancient magic, he had asked Dumbledore what he would do if he couldn't control his desire for power.
Dumbledore had said that since Riverd could ask that question, it meant he had already mastered control of his desires.
He added that having a desire for power was normal; the important thing was not to abuse it.
Therefore, as long as Riverd frankly admitted his thoughts, just as he had before, Dumbledore would understand.
Sure enough, Dumbledore simply nodded, saying nothing more about the matter.
This left Tom speechless.
He was certain that if he had directly admitted his desire for power, Dumbledore's reaction would have been extremely wary!
Of course, what Tom didn't know was that his image in Dumbledore's eyes had actually undergone many fundamental changes...especially after Dumbledore heard that Tom had made the same choice as Livid when faced with Grindelwald's offer of recruitment.
Dumbledore said, "Headmaster Dippet has done some analysis on that power. It can indeed enhance a wizard's magical strength, but... this power contains too much negative emotion.
Absorbing a small amount is fine, but if a large amount is absorbed, although the wizard's strength will be greatly enhanced, the person is very likely to become distorted due to the influence of the massive amount of negative emotion... becoming... no longer themselves..."
"Just like... overusing dark magic?"
Tom couldn't help but ask again.
"That's not entirely wrong, but… it's much more serious than that," Dumbledore said.
"Even wizards who frequently use dark magic don't experience as much negative impact as this."
Tom gasped upon hearing this.
He didn't shy away from using dark magic, believing he could handle the minor side effects.
But this kind of power… severely distorting one's nature?
Becoming someone unlike oneself?
Forget it!
At this moment, Tom was very glad he had completely followed Livid's choice!
The magical power Grindelwald had given him, though not in large quantities, had definitely affected his sanity!
He didn't want his intelligent mind to be corrupted by any factor!
Livid, however, thought of his senior.
She had also absorbed a large amount of this magical power, the "residue."
Fortunately, she possessed talent in ancient magic, so she was more tolerant of this "residue," which was refined using ancient magic, than ordinary people.
Therefore, even after defeating Lanlock and absorbing a large amount of the "residue," her personality and physical form didn't become distorted.
However, the negative effects still existed…the pleasure derived from the massive boost from the "residue" was indeed irresistible.
So, both Professor Morgana, who discovered this power, and the later senior student, became "addicted."
The senior student, after repeatedly pursuing this power, reached her physical limits and, with the help of her close friend, had to seal herself away until now.
Dumbledore, unaware of the thoughts of the two young wizards before him, continued, "Because this magical power has enormous negative effects, Headmaster Depp ultimately decided to destroy it.
Yes… last night, in the presence of all the professors, we destroyed that magical power."
"I see… thinking about it that way, it was indeed fortunate.
If we hadn't encountered an accident and had directly absorbed this magical power, the consequences would have been unimaginable," Li Wade said with a look of relief.
But Dumbledore chuckled, "I don't think you will.
If you truly absorbed this power, I believe you would stop as soon as you sensed something was wrong."
"Professor, isn't your confidence in me a bit too much?
I'm just an ordinary person,"
Dumbledore said pointedly.
"Don't be modest, Wade.
I know you've encountered far greater temptations, haven't you?"
Wade blinked, seemingly confused by Dumbledore's words.
At this moment, Anne returned to her bedside.
Seeing that Dumbledore was still there, she forced a guilty smile.
Dumbledore, however, didn't notice her unusual behavior.
In fact, Dumbledore had initially suspected Anne, wondering if she had taken Grindelwald's orders to lead Wade and the others to the Chamber of Secrets.
But Dumbledore quickly dismissed this idea, because it was precisely because Wade had informed him that he had returned so quickly.
If she had acted on Grindelwald's orders, wouldn't Grindelwald have shot himself in the foot?
Without Wade's warning, he would have succeeded immediately!
He wouldn't be routed and forced to flee in disarray because of his timely return, with almost all of his most elite subordinates captured...
Dumbledore, lacking God's perspective, quickly dismissed this possibility.
"Alright, the first thing I want to tell you is to announce the school's commendation for you. I already discussed this commendation with Miss Rosier before you woke up.
Now that you're all here, I can tell you the second thing," Dumbledore said.
"What is it?"
Li Wade asked.
"Grindelwald suffered a crushing defeat last night, and it's foreseeable that once this news gets out, the situation will become even more turbulent..." Dumbledore frowned, "Grindelwald might still maintain some rationality, hiding and licking his wounds, but many of Grindelwald's supporters might lose their minds and resort to overly radical means of retaliation... And you... if they find out that Grindelwald's defeat was rooted in you, you will become the target of everyone's wrath."
You want to keep what we did a secret from the outside world?"
Li Wade realized.
Yes… although this means the world won't know about your contributions in this incident for the time being, your safety will be guaranteed.
Of course, I still have to be honest with you, if the world knows about your achievements, you will instantly gain enormous fame and fortune… I believe you already understand the pros and cons, so what choice will you make?"
Dumbledore asked.
"Then let's stay hidden, safety first," Li Wade said directly.
"My choice is the same as Wade's!"
Tom was even more decisive; he couldn't be more eager to extricate himself from the whole affair!
If he could do that, he would rather not even take the special contribution award…
He was just here to study…
Safety!
And damn safety!
Anne had no objections either.
In fact, she was still very sad about Grindelwald's failure.
"Very good...you are truly excellent," Dumbledore said with satisfaction.
"Not many people can remain sober when faced with such a great honor!
Well, since the choice has been made, let's proceed accordingly...However, we won't hide everything you've done. After all, we need some credibility for that special contribution award..."
Numont Gard.
Grindelwald slumped into a chair, gazing at the snowy scene outside the window.
Behind him, Vita was reporting on the progress of the power transfer, the losses incurred due to the delays, and of course, Dumbledore's movements.
"Sir?
Are you alright?"
Vita asked with concern.
Grindelwald had been in this state for some time.
Although he hadn't stopped eating or drinking, he was constantly depressed.
"I'm fine, Vita...I'm fine..."
Grindelwald's low voice came from the chair, but his former spirit was gone.
Clearly, this defeat had hit Grindelwald harder than any before!
"...So, according to you, Dumbledore has decided to protect his students by concealing their achievements?"
"Yes...sir, should we deliberately leak the information they're trying to hide?"
"No..."
But...are they really worth it?
Is it because of them that you..."
"It's not because of them, Vita… it's Dumbledore…" Grindelwald's eyes regained a glimmer of light, but it quickly died down again.
"All these years, I've been pursuing the Deathly Hallows to become stronger… but he didn't do anything… How could he suddenly become so strong? What is it about him?!"
Read 100+ Advance Chapter At Pa Treon.
[email protected]/FictionOp12
Remove @ to a...
(End of this chapter )