Dumbledore's answer was deafening.
Those azure eyes gazed silently at William through the half-moon spectacles, as if trying to find even the slightest hint of a joke on his face.
"The Wizarding World might be able to use... your military deterrence, but what about the Muggles? It's hard for us to ascertain their attitude towards wizards, right? Acceptance? Rejection?"
"So we've always been shrinking back, and it's precisely this kind of thinking that has dragged the Wizarding World to the brink of destruction!"
"...Isn't that a bit too serious?"
"How could it be!"
William has always been someone who used reason to convince others, only choosing to act when faced with intractable imbeciles (though he's encountered quite a few) — so, at this moment, he pulled out a blackboard from the wall, and started writing and drawing data on it, "This, is the census data of the British wizard population in recent years—"
"...Why would such a thing exist?"
Dumbledore was slightly puzzled, after all, most wizards — yes, not all wizards are willing to be exposed under the Ministry of Magic's supervision, and with wizards being creatures that look and live exactly like Muggles, a "census" is an extremely difficult task.
"I made Fudge do it."
William blinked and answered matter-of-factly, "Otherwise, should we let these people sit on those positions doing nothing? Have you forgotten? Previously, almost all the Black Wizards in England were completely sha... *cough cough*, wiped out. It's necessary to let those guys do some population census and interact more with Muggle officials—"
"Is the data reliable?"
"I invented a magical device, based on Revelio (Revealio), adding a method to detect if the object contains magic power, so they only need to pretend to be Muggle repairmen to fix water pipes and conduct detection at the same time. Also, to avoid angering those wizards being detected, I added some other features…"
"Other features?"
"Yes, I made this thing…"
William said as he put on sunglasses, and pulled out a silver metal stick, "Come on, say cheese?"
"…?"
With a flash of white light, the two old men sitting opposite William blinked uncomfortably.
"The data's reliable… when did you put on glasses."
"This thing works quite well."
William nodded in satisfaction, to avoid falling into some strange "loop", he did not hide it again, but quickly repeated what he had just said—
"…So," he started to conclude, "the Wizarding World's population is showing a clear negative growth and aging, as wizards generally live longer than Muggles, so you old fossils occupy more than forty percent of the Wizarding World — not to mention, a wizard's child isn't necessarily a wizard—
"Moreover, even at the end of the twentieth century, there are still pure-blood families engaging in close-relative marriages, resulting in half of their children being disabled…
"So, Albus, realize the severity of the problem, it's a crucial subject concerning the life and death of wizards—"
"Actually."
After hearing William's speech, Dumbledore finally couldn't help but sigh, and raised his hand to remove his glasses, pinching the bridge of his nose, "Although I am still the nominal president of the International Confederation of Wizards, things aren't that simple, even if you convince me, it won't be of much use…"
"I know."
"Then why are you…"
"Convincing you is just to let you know what we're doing, I hope we still share the same ideals, Albus…"
Grindelwald picked up where William had left off, looking at Dumbledore with genuine emotion in his words.
"You…"
"Could you two old men consider the young people in the room?"
William said while cleaning the blackboard, grumpily complaining, "So, Dumbledore, do you really think I would act like a Black Wizard, waving my magic wand to knock on every pure-blood family and Ministry of Magic official's door, then hand out the Avada Kedavra curse as business cards?"
"I must say, the scene you described is very much like your style."
Beside him, Grindelwald added lightly, earning an annoyed eye roll from William.
"Actually, the plan is simple, the core is 'enticement' and 'binding'."
William sat back in his chair, leaning against the backrest, his fingertips tapping lightly on the desk, "Think about it, once our 'magic network' successfully covers the whole United Kingdom, and all Squibs gain the ability to perform magic, what will happen if I broadcast this on television next?"
"...Worldwide, all Squibs like Mr. Filch would go crazy because of this matter."
Dumbledore wasn't a fool, he could naturally imagine the world William spoke of.
"Yes, so international cooperation would naturally follow, of course, if it does tread on the interests of certain groups or families in the meantime…"
William didn't finish the latter half, but from his "sinister" expression, Dumbledore already understood what he intended to do — naturally, he also understood that William wasn't saying all of this to seek his approval but rather to inform him of what was inevitably going to happen.
"…I will help you."
Dumbledore sighed, as if he had no other choice.
"Don't think of it too badly, after all, we're not here to take away their livelihoods, moreover, we're actually handing them a bigger, more golden opportunity, it just depends on whether they want to accept it—"
William laughed, "Imagine, Dumbledore, what this magic network means? It signifies an entirely new market — maintaining the network requires alchemical products, tools with engraved magic patterns, a vast amount of magic power channeling materials, in regions where the network covers, magical transportation, communication, even new entertainment… how many Galleons can be earned here?"
"Those fools most likely won't understand long-term development, but they'll surely understand the allure of immediate Golden Galleons."
William glanced at Grindelwald, with an inexplicable tone, "They may look down upon Muggles and Squibs, but they definitely love golden Galleons. When joining the new world offers benefits far exceeding the cost of maintaining the old order, what do you think these 'smart people' will choose?"
"They will wipe their mouths with the most luxurious silks, then sit down at the table elegantly, asking for the largest piece of cake."
Grindelwald calmly added, fully understanding the nature of such people.