"So..."
Grindelwald crossed his legs, his brows furrowed, "You can't get him to talk right now?"
"Haven't figured it out yet, after all, the clues are really scarce, not much chance to try things out—"
William sighed, looking somewhat helpless, "Should have left more alive back then..."
"Ha, wasn't it you who fried them into Brazilian barbecue?"
Newt swirled the chamomile tea in his cup— the three cups of tea had just appeared on the stone table, and Newt knew William was sending a signal— let's have some tea, this is idle chat time, if there's any concern, it's best to bring it up now.
Clearly, everyone present had a good head on their shoulders, and Grindelwald also realized this. He was silent for a moment—
"Did you, or rather, did we do something to me?"
After a brief hesitation, this former Dark Lord, a Black Wizard who once attempted to rule the world, whose name alone could cause earthquakes across half of Europe— chose to be upfront and speak directly. He reached out his finger and waggled it at his temple; evidently, the moment of clarity and enlightenment from minutes ago was still affecting him.
The moment he said this, the surprise was felt not just by William— even Grindelwald himself was taken aback.
The old man blinked, crow's feet suddenly appearing.
He seemed a bit unfamiliar with himself.
"Speaking openly, this really isn't like you..."
William was equally surprised, instantly understanding what Grindelwald was implying— as the main culprit, he certainly knew what Grindelwald meant.
"Otherwise? What else could you possibly do to an old man like me?"
Grindelwald suddenly chuckled with his head down, as if reaching some kind of reconciliation— then he leaned back, settling into a more comfortable position, "Like... docking my Galleon shares? For an old man halfway into his grave, Galleons are merely just numbers..."
"Wow, you speak more irritatingly than me, the wicked capitalist—"
William instinctively flipped the sarcasm switch, watching Grindelwald still adjusting his posture, reaching out to change the chairs for all three to soft-backed ones. The previously sinister and chilly stone chamber was now gratefully basking in sunlight streaming from an unknown source, with a warmth permeating the air—
If it weren't for the unconscious man tied in the center of the room, just looking at the three in this afternoon tea setting, nobody would associate this place with the word "cell."
"Otherwise? Or use charms to torture me? I've done it quite often in the past, with no effect, there's always someone tough—"
"..."
Stuck in between, Newt suddenly realized— or perhaps hadn't quite realized yet, how did the conversation suddenly veer into this direction?
"Don't bother to think, Scamander— I know what you're suspecting, and you're right, I am who you think I am."
Grindelwald noticed the bewildered look on Newt's face, sighing as he sipped his sugared chamomile tea, "Getting you to ask that question is probably tougher than getting you killed— it's been decades, you haven't changed much."
"...!"
Newt's bewildered face turned into shock, his gaze reflexively fixating on Grindelwald's face, as if his eyes could see through the deception beneath.
And Grindelwald did as expected, pulling out a gun from his pocket and aiming it at his own temple—
"This is why I hate you, you punk—"
Witnessing this scene, William instinctively pushed his chair back, despite knowing what he imagined wouldn't happen, yet subconsciously fearing blood might splatter onto him.
"Bang—"
The gunshot sounded, a cloud of white smoke obscured the old man's face, then as the smoke cleared, a face slightly different yet seemingly unchanged appeared before Newt.
"Grindelwald—"
Old Freckles murmured subconsciously, his hand clutching his chest— upon meeting again, my heartbeat recognized you faster than I did.jpg
Of course, the wand already pointed at him seemed to recognize much earlier.
"It's me."
"You—"
"Can you guys— discuss things after putting down the gun and wand?"
William had to act as a mediator, seeing Newt reluctantly withdraw his wand after some hesitation to sit back down though his posture remained defensive. William sighed, "This guy isn't someone I released—" William chose to raise both hands, disclaiming any responsibility as Newt, his thoughts now clear, cast a suspicious glance his way.
"Then he—"
"It was Dumbledore who did it. I couldn't have secretly arranged for a once-world-threatening Black Wizard to teach at Hogwarts under Dumbledore's nose—"
"..."
"At least couldn't have done it before, now... who knows?"
Having just arranged for "Voldemort" to attend school as a student, said William, "Old Man? Don't you have anything to say?" After a round of explanation, William looked up at Grindelwald, who had leisurely gone about enjoying his tea after "setting off" everything, speaking with a hint of annoyance.
"He won't believe a single word I'm about to say—"
"I can't possibly trust anything he says—"
"Oh, you guys really are— strangely in sync."
William didn't know what expression to make at the moment, so after a short pause, he chose to give a round of applause.
"How could it be possible, Dumbledore actually— I need to go ask him—"
Newt finally decided he couldn't continue sharing the same air with Grindelwald, immediately stood and left, forgetting his initial purpose for being there, leaving only a vague shadow behind for the other two.
"...It's the first time I've seen him run so fast."
"Me too."
"...Alright, let's return to the main topic."
Grindelwald nodded, stirring the tea that automatically refilled in his cup.
"Wasn't that the main topic just now?"
"Stop playing dumb, Richard— what did you do to us?" Grindelwald squinted, the amusement in his voice slowly disappearing with each syllable.
"Fine, it's actually no big deal— just some socialization training."
Without waiting for Grindelwald to pad out the conversation with more words, William proactively provided the answer, "Everyone 'close' to me gets imperceptibly influenced to some degree— that's the effect of the Secret Vault. As its Guardian, I naturally get some benefits, although what I just described is more of a side effect, one I can hardly control—"
"A side effect? Then what's the benefit?"
"Benefit? Ha, how did you think I managed to kill fifty-six Death Eaters in ten seconds?"