Hogwarts: This Dark Lord is so evil.

Chapter 458 Ministry of Magic Affairs in Charge! What are you, a professor, doing causing trouble?

However, it turned out that the Minister of Welfare was not mentally corrupted by the Imperius Curse.

In fact, Grindelwald employed a more sophisticated method than the Imperius Curse... cooperation and mutual benefit.

Admittedly, Grindelwald has never denied his ambition, the welfare minister is well aware of this, and Grindelwald is also well aware of this.

Therefore, Grindelwald instilled only one idea in him.

I do have some ulterior motives, but they don't conflict with your interests, because I've never wanted to be Minister of Magic.

Therefore, I will not take your position, and you should not trip me up. We can become partners and help each other.

In that case, you can sit comfortably in your position as Minister of Magic until retirement without any problem.

If you have any troubles, I will fulfill my duty as a good subordinate and handle things properly for you.

When I need something, I don't expect you to lend a helping hand, I just hope you won't make things difficult for me...

In fact, from the time Grindelwald joined the Ministry of Magic until now, he has indeed kept his word.

Normally, they never interfered with the Minister of Welfare's power.

Even when the welfare program offered him a position in the Department of Education, he obediently accepted.

As the Vigilantes gradually joined the Ministry of Magic, many new faces appeared under the Minister of Welfare's command.

However, when Grindelwald did not give orders, these people usually worked for the Minister of Welfare as employees of the Ministry of Magic.

The Minister of Welfare quickly discovered the efficiency of these guys.

These people are really useful!

Those people from before were nothing but idiots compared to these UMNO members...

Even if Grindelwald wanted to take his position, the welfare minister would have no power to resist.

Now that Grindelwald has given him the respect and power he deserves, why can't he do the same?
Therefore, when Grindelwald overstepped his authority by mobilizing a large force from the Auror office to attack the vampire's castle, the Minister of Welfare didn't even ask a single question.

If this continues unchecked, will the Ministry of Magic eventually become a stronghold of the Visored?
That's something the next Minister for Magic should be concerned with...

So what if Grindelwald rules the world?
Welfare is a wizard, a beneficiary of the system, not a Muggle, so what is he worried about?

Therefore, when Grindelwald finally made his move after lying low for so long, and Dumbledore came to remind him, the Minister of Welfare felt that Dumbledore was just making things worse.

Dumbledore didn't realize it until he was asked to leave the Ministry of Magic, and perhaps even the Minister of Welfare himself didn't know that he had become a member of the Sorcerer Party...

There was no trace of magical control, only the simplest exchange of benefits...

Dumbledore didn't think too much about it and turned to look for Grindelwald.

He can't just do nothing...

However, Grindelwald seemed to be wary of him and didn't give Dumbledore a chance to find himself.

For a powerful wizard to slip away from someone is incredibly easy, especially with his spies everywhere...

Dumbledore had barely appeared when someone tipped him off; it's no wonder they couldn't capture Grindelwald.

It wasn't until early the next morning that Dumbledore arrived at St. Mungo's in a depressed mood.

Li Weide had already gotten up and was leaning against the raised pillows, reading a book.

His complexion looked much better.

A night's rest allowed him to recover his physical and spiritual strength.

Li Weide is also summarizing his experience. At this stage, although the Hogyoku can theoretically allow him to use ancient magic frequently.

However, it also puts a great strain on the body.

The depletion of soul power is not a big deal, after all, Li Weide's soul power is not weak now.

However, this thing also consumes a lot of physical strength!
Li Weide is still too young and not very strong.

If it weren't for the time I spent practicing Gryffindor swordsmanship with Slytherin, which gave my body some exercise...

He certainly couldn't have lasted that long lasting when he used the ancient magic power from the Hogyoku last night.

Therefore, he needs to work on his physical fitness before he gets his hands on the magic stone.

According to Slytherin, Gryffindor's arms are thicker than Livid's thighs!

A true wizard is one who can wield a wand, wield a greatsword, and get even more excited when enemies get close...

"Professor? What's wrong?" Li Weide put down the book in his hand and asked with concern.

Dumbledore looked terrible; besides being tired, he looked even more troubled and depressed.

“Your affair must be Grindelwald’s doing… He’s trying to make a big deal out of your situation. I went to see the minister last night, but he seems to have completely sided with Grindelwald. I… I can’t stop him,” Dumbledore said bitterly.

Li Weide blinked, thinking to himself, "So, you're only now realizing you couldn't stop him?"

From the moment Grindelwald decided to "turn over a new leaf" and join the Ministry of Magic, Dumbledore could no longer stop him.

Because from that moment on, Grindelwald's power transformed from pure force into authority...

"So, was my decision to refuse to join the Ministry of Magic really a mistake?" Dumbledore sighed.

In the past, Dumbledore would have preferred to shoulder any difficulties alone and solve them by himself.

But now, I don’t know when it started, but when he encounters a problem, Dumbledore seems to have developed a habit of coming to talk to Rivendare.

“Professor…we can never assume we’ve taken a path we’ve never walked,” Li Weide said softly. “So, you can’t let a temporary setback make you think your initial choice was wrong.”

“That’s very well said…” Dumbledore pondered the words for a moment before continuing, “But if I had joined the Ministry of Magic back then… with my abilities, I wouldn’t have held a low position… then I could have stopped Grindelwald’s actions, couldn’t I…”

“But then we would lose the best professor Hogwarts has ever had, wouldn’t we?” Li Wade interrupted Dumbledore.

"This……"

Li Wade's flattery left Dumbledore momentarily bewildered. Was his position in Li Wade's heart really that important?
Li Weide continued, "Professor, I am very fortunate that you are my professor. I believe that many students feel the same way. Moreover... what makes us who we are is not our ability, but our choice."

Li Wade's words surprised Dumbledore, because he felt they sounded familiar...

“Professor, you’ve already made your choice, haven’t you? That’s why you are our professor, not a cold-blooded politician in the Ministry of Magic. Compared to a shrewd and capable Minister Dumbledore, I still hope to see a gentle and learned Professor Dumbledore…” Although Li Wade’s words sounded like flattery and bootlicking, they still warmed the heart of the bewildered Dumbledore.

When he was feeling lost about his initial choice, Li Weide's words gave him renewed strength!
“You’re right, Wade… I’ve made my choice. So, I am now Professor Dumbledore… and as a professor, I should be able to do things that a professor can do but a minister cannot.”

"That's wonderful! This is the Professor Dumbledore I remember, always so confident!" Li Weide offered another light, flattering compliment.

Flattery will get you everywhere... Even someone as wise as Dumbledore still derives great satisfaction from Rivendare's flattery.

"By the way, can you tell me how Grindelwald used my situation to his advantage?" Li Weide seized the opportunity to ask questions and gather information.

After all, his analysis last night was just speculation.

Since Dumbledore stayed up all night trying to stop Grindelwald, he must know very well what Grindelwald had done.

So Dumbledore recounted to Rivendell what he had seen and heard the previous night.

The process was largely as Li Weide had guessed, because the UMNO members didn't even bother to pretend; a group of them impersonated Muggles and then used confusion spells in front of the Muggles' doors...

Even if Dumbledore sees them, they won't panic. Even the Minister of Welfare is helping them, so what are they afraid of? You, Dumbledore, dare to attack a Ministry of Magic employee?

When Livander heard that the Ministry of Magic staff were "too late" to erase so many Muggles' memories because of the sabotage by the Vigilantes, Livander knew that Grindelwald's job was done.

"When those Ministry of Magic staff were erasing the memories of some Muggles, did some Muggles stand up and express their objections?" Li Wade suddenly asked.

“Indeed… they are very averse to having their memories erased…” Dumbledore frowned. “In the past, when the Ministry of Magic staff erased memories, they acted swiftly, leaving Muggles no time to react. But this time… the Muggles actually knew about their memories being erased long ago… This shows that Grindelwald’s people are condoning this… the news has already spread…”

"Then... Professor, did you notice any Daily Prophet members at the scene?" Li Weide asked again.

“This…it does seem so!” Dumbledore frowned. “Now that you mention it…the reporters arrived far too quickly. They seem to have been waiting there all along…the riots had barely started, and before even the Ministry of Magic had arrived, the reporters were already here…”

Li Weide now somewhat understands what Grindelwald is trying to do...

He didn't care whether the Muggle riot would be quelled in the end; he just wanted the seemingly reasonable things said by these Muggles to be published and seen by more wizards...

As a result, it's inevitable that some more sympathetic individuals within the wizarding community will agree with the Muggles' views and sympathize with their plight...

Even if there were no saintly people like that, Grindelwald would still bring them into existence.

With a little provocation from the writer and some encouragement from their own people, a debate about the International Secrecy Act can easily be sparked!

Humans have a natural tendency to blindly follow others, and wizards are human too, so of course they are no exception.

As the debate continued, many wizards, even those who were not originally on the same side, joined both sides for various reasons, each holding their own opinion.

In the end, no matter how many people support abolishing the secrecy law, it will have laid a foundation for the future abolition of the International Secrecy Law!

If Grindelwald were any smarter and turned this topic into a controversial one, the buzz wouldn't die down and would continue indefinitely.

When the time is right, Grindelwald will deliberately arrange events that highlight the dangers of secrecy laws... and then these events will happen to be reported.

Then more and more people will side with the other side, and the controversy will grow!

Grindelwald isn't afraid of controversy, but he is afraid of stagnation, because stagnation can't shake the secrecy laws.

Whenever controversy arises, people will start to speculate about what the world would be like without secrecy laws…

Grindelwald's actions have brought the issue of whether to abolish or maintain the Law of Secrecy, which ordinary wizards considered irrelevant, closer to their lives. This has shaken the Law of Secrecy's firm position...

"Why would Grindelwald want to have the reporters report on this? It wouldn't do him any good to have the Ministry of Magic's image of incompetence reported on..." Dumbledore couldn't understand.

Although Dumbledore was intelligent, he had never seen the hype tactics of later generations, so he didn't immediately understand the connection between them.

Li Weide naturally wouldn't deliberately expose him. In fact, he also had some doubts about whether things would really happen as he had just thought.

If it were just because he implied that Grindelwald could use his ability to kill the Wolf King as leverage, he could go to such lengths.

Grindelwald can truly be described as a one-in-a-million rebellious genius... He really has a talent for causing trouble.

"Professor, what are your thoughts now?" Li Weide asked.

"Let's put the reporters aside for now. The most important thing right now is to get Grindelwald to stop this hypocritical act of crying wolf... and restore order! If more and more Muggles know about wizards, then the Law of Secrecy will truly be meaningless..." Dumbledore said with a worried expression, "But... if the Minister of Welfare doesn't help, there's really nothing I can do... I'm just a professor, I don't have that kind of power..."

Grindelwald is openly and honestly playing dirty tricks, even using his power to speak for himself, which is completely different from the methods of terrorists in the past.

Therefore, due to a momentary oversight, Dumbledore, who had become a force to be reckoned with, was powerless against Grindelwald despite his immense strength.

When did it become your place as an ordinary professor to handle matters at the Ministry of Magic?

Unless Dumbledore is willing to risk everything, he'd be taking the Elder Wand and going after Grindelwald!

“Professor…didn’t you join the International Wizarding Federation?” Li Weide suddenly said slyly.

Dumbledore's eyes suddenly lit up.

The International Federation of Wizards is not an empty shell with no power.

Every member there is one of the most influential figures in the wizarding world of their respective countries.

The enactment of the International Law on Secrecy was inseparable from the joint efforts of the International Federation of Wizards!

Whenever major chaos occurs that a country's Ministry of Magic cannot handle, it's the International Confederation of Wizards' turn to step in...

So...who says Dumbledore doesn't have power?
"I know what to do! I'll be going now... I'll come see you again next time..." Dumbledore said, and hurriedly left the ward.

At this moment, Tom, who had been standing quietly to the side, couldn't help but say, "Does Grindelwald know that you're secretly sabotaging me like this?"

Li Weide laughed and said, "I'm not trying to trip him up... I'm actually helping him."

"Isn't this considered sabotaging me?" Tom frowned at Li Weide.

"Tom... Grindelwald's main power is currently concentrated in Britain, so no matter how much trouble he causes, his influence is limited to Britain... But if the International Wizarding Federation gets involved, it will be a different story... This matter will become an international event! A controversial topic within one country will become a controversial topic worldwide. Don't forget... the secrecy law applies to the whole world, not just Britain."

"What controversy?" Tom asked, looking completely bewildered.

Tom didn't understand the controversy in Li Weide's words because Li Weide's analysis was all reasoned in his mind and not spoken aloud.

"Oh...it's nothing. Don't ask, go! Go cook me two dishes!"

"Hey! Do you think I'm keeping a pet elf?!"

(End of this chapter)