The Return to Hogwarts

The Resurrection Stone, one of the three keys, once fell into the hands of the four leaders and was passed down through the Slytherin family. It eventually fell into Voldemort's hands and became one of his Horcruxes.

The whereabouts of the other two items, the Elder Wand and the Invisibility Cloak, are unknown.

Grindelwald's use of the symbols of the Holy Relics as his mark is obvious, and he also sought these three legendary magical artifacts.

Excluding the Resurrection Stone, did he ever possess the Invisibility Cloak and the Elder Wand?

For millennia, due to the Invisibility Cloak's concealing properties, there has been almost no reliable account of its lineage. Amosta believes that the possibility of Grindelwald obtaining the Invisibility Cloak is very small, but there are many clues to be found in the bloody history of the Elder Wand. After Helga Hufflepuff gave him some inspiration, he also investigated some related matters.

The Elder Wand has changed hands many times through duels and killings, and the last traceable owner was Lossias. After that, there is no reliable record. But is it possible that Grindelwald could get his hands on it?

If he did obtain this wand, it probably wouldn't be as magical as the legends suggest. After all, it's well known that he lost to [someone] in the ensuing duel.

Amosta's thoughts froze, and a subtle change occurred in his expression.

Dumbledore changed his wand once, when he was checking the Warriors' wands before the game, Ollivander said it himself. And the wand that Dumbledore is using now, Amosta has seen many times, is the Elder Wand!

Chapter 869 Krum's Choice

2024-04-18

Dumbledore changed his wand.

An elderwood wand, which was clearly not made by Ollivander or his father or grandfather.

But why?

Generally speaking, the wand a wizard uses before entering school will accompany him for life. It is the wizard's closest ally and companion, and it is not usually changed. However, Dumbledore changed his wand.

For Dumbledore, there are only two possibilities: either his wand was damaged under some circumstances, such as during his duel with Grindelwald, so he had it remade, but this is unlikely, as wizards in the British wizarding world are already used to Ollivander's wands, and even if he were to have one remade, he would have to go to Ollivander.

The second scenario is more plausible: Grindelwald found the Elder Wand, one of the Three Holy Relics, and in that final duel, he was defeated by Dumbledore. According to the Elder Wand's inheritance rules, Dumbledore obtained this legendary, incredibly powerful wand—the Elder Wand.

The atmosphere in the office became tense and silent. Amosta's brows furrowed slightly, and his eyes were as deep as the ocean.

The 'Tablet of Fate' left by Merlin in the Centaur Secret Realm, which opened that gate of death, still exists in his body. Amostella cannot find it, nor does he know its purpose, but he is not too worried. If Merlin wanted to harm him, he wouldn't have gone to such lengths with the four founding leaders of Hogwarts to guide him.

"Your journey home is in the starry sky"—Merlin's words of wisdom he never forgot.

But Amostella remained puzzled. He was almost certain what the Four Lords and Merlin wanted him to do in the stars. Merlin's revelation was very likely a form of inducement, but what if he didn't accept this inducement and instead stayed quietly in this magical world?

Amosta didn't believe the world would be destroyed so suddenly, and if he had no more attachment to the world he came from, then he wouldn't have needed to take such a big risk to go to space unless something happened in the future that would force him to do so.

What could it be?

After a long period of contemplation, Amosta shook his head slightly, giving up on thinking. There was no point in worrying about things that would happen in the future that were completely unknowable.

But if he really does go to the stars, it means he must put away the Three Holy Relics, including the Resurrection Stone which has become Voldemort's Horcrux, and the Elder Wand, which is very likely in Dumbledore's possession.

Thinking of this, a flicker of hesitation crossed Amosta's light purple eyes.

Does the way the Elder Wand changed hands mean that he will eventually have to have a real duel with Dumbledore to get the wand from him?

This is not something to look forward to.

If the necessity of going to the stars happened after Voldemort's death, that would be fine. But if it happened before that, before Voldemort's death, he would have to face Dumbledore to the death!

Amosta suddenly realized something, which brightened his deep gaze.

He wanted to obtain the Elder Wand, but not to control it. He only wanted to use it as a key to open the gates of death. He only needed to possess it and did not need to abide by the Elder Wand's rule of changing hands.

However, it's necessary to confirm whether Dumbledore's wand is indeed the Elder Wand, lest there be any misunderstanding. It's possible that Grindelwald specially commissioned an Elder Wand because he particularly admired the Elder Wand, and Dumbledore, in mourning his lost love—cough, brotherhood—took Grindelwald's wand.

Suppressing his thoughts, Amosta looked at Viktor, only to find the boy staring at him in fear.

"Oh, don't worry about it--"

Amosta waved his hand with a smile.

"I was just thinking about some things. Where were we?"

"Grindelwald's Mark Professor".

"I can't believe it," Krum said uneasily.

“Oh, the mark—” Amosta sighed softly, leaning back on the sofa, and said gently.

"Here's the thing. The mark you see doesn't actually come from Grindelwald. It appeared in an earlier period of history and is related to some legendary magical artifacts. I think Grindelwald was so obsessed with the history of these artifacts that he used that mark as his own symbol. You understand? It's a misunderstanding."

"Ancient magical artifact—"

Krum's murmur was tinged with confusion; clearly, he had never heard of any legendary item being associated with that symbol. However, he did realize that he had indeed misunderstood something.

"Oh, sorry, Professor—"

Krum put down his teacup, stood up from the sofa, and bowed apologetically.

“I shouldn’t have said those things that were offensive to your statement before I had a clear understanding of the situation.”

Karkaroff was truly incompetent, but he did produce a good student.

Amosta smiled and waved, gesturing for Krum to sit down.

"It's good that the misunderstanding is cleared up. Well, there's something else I wanted to confirm with you, Viktor—"

Amosta's smile faded, and he spoke calmly yet seriously.

"You witnessed everything that happened this morning, Viktor. That's the situation. What are your thoughts on the Three Kingdoms Tournament?"

Seeing Krum still looking somewhat bewildered, Amosta explained softly,

"From my personal perspective, I hope the Triwizard Tournament can continue, not only for the reason I mentioned this morning, but also because the first tournament in centuries being suspended halfway through would damage Hogwarts' reputation. But this is just my opinion. Of the three schools currently participating, Durmstrang is in the worst situation. If you... if you don't want to continue participating, I have no right to force you."

Krum understood, and his naturally somewhat sinister brows relaxed—a sense of respect flashed through his mind.

In this country, the dark wizard whose name cannot even be mentioned has returned. Although he had not personally experienced the fear brought by that dark wizard, he had heard many stories about him, and he roughly understood what the return of that demon meant for this country.

War will soon break out in this country, and Amosta Blaine will surely lead the wizards who refuse to live under tyranny in resistance.

Amosta Blaine is currently overwhelmed with numerous tasks, yet he still called him over to ask, on an equal footing, whether he would like to continue participating in the Triwizard Tournament, even though the answer he received did not align with his wishes.

But his relaxed brows quickly furrowed again; Krum hesitated, his eyes dimming.

"Professor Karkaroff really is."

"I believe Harry wouldn't lie."

Amosta said in a low voice,

"Furthermore, if you know anything about Professor Karkaroff's past and Voldemort's, you should know that there's no way Karkaroff could gain Voldemort's forgiveness—"

Krum nodded heavily, then fell silent again.

Amosta didn't urge them, but simply waited quietly.

“Even if we wanted to continue, with Professor Blaine and Durmstrang having lost the principal, we…don’t know how to continue,”

Krum hesitated.

"The championship match also lost its referee for a while."

"You don't need to worry about that, Viktor—"

Amosta said calmly,

“I had already started working on this before you arrived. I found a new headmaster for Durmstrang. Of course, I need to speak with him in person to be sure it will work out, but I believe he will agree—”

Did they find a new principal for Durmstrang?

Krum was a little stunned. He knew that Professor Blaine was highly respected in the European magical world, but Professor Blaine himself was only the head of Hogwarts' student security office, yet he was being appointed headmaster of another magic school of equal status to Hogwarts.

He had his doubts, but Krum didn't voice them.

In his heart, he hoped the tournament could continue. It was like a fierce Quidditch match being interrupted halfway through, which was unacceptable to both the audience and the players.

In the end, Krum agreed. Before leaving, his gloomy expression finally softened a bit, and he gave Amosta a restrained smile.

“I will tell people the truth, Professor Blaine. Although your Minister of Magic is unwilling to believe that the dark wizard has returned, I believe that this is the truth.”

"Thank you very much for your trust, Viktor, and I wish you good luck in your third competition."

Slightly surprised, Amosta smiled and said.

Chapter 870 Idle Talk

2024-04-19

At the university hospital, Dumbledore also left. Before leaving, he took Barty Crouch the Elder with him, while Gilgamesh was still unconscious. The Stunning Curse that Barty Crouch the Younger had unleashed in anger was too powerful, and Gilgamesh couldn't shake it off for the time being. Dumbledore didn't actively try to wake it up either, perhaps because he knew how cruel the current situation was for Gilgamesh.

Mrs. Maxim soon followed Fleur and Gabrielle out of the small ward.

"Thank you so much!"

When Fleur came out, she strode towards them, her beautiful blue eyes still moist. Clearly, she was quite frightened. Before Harry could react, she hugged him tightly and kissed him passionately on the cheek. She then did the same to Ron and Hermione.

"Although it was that tracksuit that saved Gabrielle, you guys helped too, didn't you!"

Furong said gratefully.

Harry stammered, unable to speak. He himself was unsure when the real Gabrielle and Professor Blaine had switched places. However, he didn't intend to tell Fleur that Gabrielle hadn't experienced any danger.

Madame Pomfrey didn't give them much time to talk. She forced the three of them to drink a potion, and then drew the curtains around their necks to apply white safflower to their wounds.

The potion's effects were immediate. Before Madam Pomfrey could even finish treating Hermione's wounds, Harry, who had drunk the potion first, was already enveloped in a heavy, irresistible, dreamless slumber.