My Hogwarts has a serious problem.

Chapter 202, page 199: So dark, it must belong to the Grindelwald family (long chapter)

"There's too much money."

Lynn sat on the ground and muttered to himself.

"Isn't having more money a good thing?" Yelena asked, puzzled.

Lynn rolled her eyes at her. Sure enough, even as Minister of Magic, she was still a big-breasted, brainless idiot.

"So much money is just sitting in the vault, not circulating in the market. It's just a pile of scrap metal. Besides, the magical world also experiences inflation. If this money had been invested ten years ago, it would have yielded much greater returns, instead of being kept in this vault and having to pay the fairies storage fees."

He stood up from the ground, putting his sunglasses and folding stool into his pocket.

"Let's go and get the paperwork done. Then I need to figure out how to spend at least half of that money."

Spending money is also a very troublesome thing.

After all, with so much money, and about half of the companies in the European magical world owning shares, how should he spend it?

"After we finish all the formalities, you'll need to come with me to meet two people."

Lynn could roughly guess who one of the people she was talking about was: "Is it John Davis, the equity agent for my family in these companies?"

"Yes, he was your family's old butler when your grandfather was still alive, and he was absolutely loyal to your family."

"Who is the other person?"

Herman Grigorovich.

The surname sounded familiar, but Lynn couldn't place it at first. It wasn't until he and Yelena were in Gringotts Hall going through the transfer of the vault that he suddenly remembered that this was the person who made his broken wand.

"The Grigorovich family is that same family that was as famous as Ollivander in Europe for making rods?"

"That's right."

Yelena led Lynn out of Gringotts. The transfer procedures were completed quickly, especially since they were major clients.

Upon learning that Lynn was British, Harvey's attitude instantly became extremely respectful. He then immediately summoned the Gringotts district manager to personally handle the transfer procedures.

This wasn't because British wizards were so respected abroad, but because these goblins were afraid that Lynn would transfer all the money he kept here to Gringotts in England, which would undoubtedly cause them to lose a large sum of money every year.

The annual storage fees for the two vaults owned by Lynn are quite high.

Aside from the Philosopher's Stone, Lynn didn't take anything from the vault. He had originally planned to keep even the Philosopher's Stone in Vault 63, but after thinking about it, he realized that even Gringotts in England was so fragile and vulnerable, allowing people to come and go as they pleased. Switzerland was clearly not a particularly safe place either.

So Lynn ultimately decided to keep the Philosopher's Stone with him.

"Who should we see first?" Lynn asked Yelena after leaving Gringotts.

Yelena thought for a moment and finally said, "Let's go see Gregorovich first. He usually stays in his wand shop. Old John might not be there. He's probably overseeing the financial statements of some magic company right now."

Grigovich's wand shop is located on a magical street in Germany.

Yelena and Lynn arrived here using Floo Powder. The German wizards all looked serious, making them seem unapproachable.

"The Soviet Union's Magic Committee will officially announce its dissolution tomorrow."

On their way to find Gregorovich's wand shop, Yelena chatted with Lynn about the current state of the wizarding world.

"They haven't declared war on you?"

"No, they faced too much external pressure. The magical world had not seen a war for over forty years, and all the ministries of magic did not want any more bloodshed. In addition, after Ivanov died, the radical pro-war faction within the Soviet Union was leaderless. The committee held countless meetings, but in the end, it ended with the dissolution of the Magic Committee."

Yelena took a photo out of her pocket. It was a picture of Lynn after he transformed into the modified Animagus while capturing Ivanov's Obscurus.

"Your arrest warrant has spread throughout Europe, and the Soviet Union is also using this to pressure me, saying that you and I have a close relationship and that I must have harbored you. But unfortunately, they have no evidence, and no one in the international community has spoken out in their defense, so it's all been dropped."

Lynn looked at the photo, tilted his head in thought, and discovered the key point.

Why do you carry my photo with you all the time?

Yelena's facial expression remained calm, but a slight tremor in her hand betrayed her inner panic.

"It's nothing, I just happened to have it with me."

Lynn didn't delve into the matter further, as they had already arrived in front of Gregorwich's wand shop.

Unlike Ollivander's wand shop, Grigovich's was noticeably more flamboyant, with a large and conspicuous storefront.

There were no other markings or information about how many years they had been making cannons; the only thing on the doorplate was their surname: Grigovich.

Yelena didn't lead Lynn straight in through the door; instead, she first explained to him at the door why she had come all this way.

"Before your family obtained the Philosopher's Stone, they made their fortune by trading the fur and organs of magical creatures. The Gregorovitch family was your family's biggest business partner. Most of the common materials they used to make wands were supplied by your family. Even now, old John is still in charge of this business. Even though there is not much profit in it, the two families are already old friends."

As Yelena was talking, she suddenly remembered something.

"However, I heard your parents mention that at the beginning of the 20th century, Grigorovich threatened to sever ties with your family. Later, your great-grandfather went to explain something to him, and the two families reconciled."

Lynn silently calculated the generations in his mind. His great-grandfather was his father's great-grandfather, who should have been Gellert's brother. At that time, Gregorovich's Old Man Wand should have been stolen by that Dark Lord.

Gregorwich saw Gellert's face and recognized him as Grindelwald's scoundrel. He angrily declared that he would sever ties with the Grindelwald family. Later, Lynn's great-great-grandfather explained to him that they had already separated and that what his brother had done had nothing to do with him. He said that the two families would continue to be happy friends.

The above is Lynn's speculation, and he feels that he is basically right about 80-90% right.

"There was no written magical contract between your two families; it was all a verbal agreement. When your parents died, old Gregorovich personally attended their funeral, so he should know that you are the heir of the Lungard family."

Yelena and Lynn were talking when Yelena led him through the door of the wand shop.

The space inside was not cramped at all, but rather quite spacious. The wands were neatly arranged on wooden frames covered with red silk cloth. The bright and gentle lighting of the chandeliers and the smooth, clean, waxed wooden floors all reflected the owner's love of cleanliness.

But in reality, the owner of this shop looks very slovenly.

A tall, elderly man with a full head of silver-gray hair was leaning against the wall, sipping rum from a bottle. He was wearing a robe that looked stained with oil, and his hair, which looked like it hadn't been styled in a long time, was disheveled and hanging loosely behind his head. The deep wrinkles on his face and his slightly hunched back all proved that he was very old.

Grigorovich saw them come in, his body didn't move, but a smile appeared on his face.

"Shaik, what a rare guest! The last time I saw you was at the funeral of Mr. and Mrs. Lungard. I heard that you recently led your people to independence from the State of Su and even became the Minister of Magic?"

"I've heard that sentence three thousand times in the past few months." Yelena stepped forward and gave Grigovich a hug. "But even if I hear it three thousand more times, it doesn't matter, because we succeeded."

Grigorovich chuckled and patted her on the shoulder: "Yes, congratulations, you've escaped from the cage."

As he spoke, he glanced at Lynn and raised an eyebrow, asking a question.

"Oh, is this your son? He's so grown up. Whose is he? Why didn't you tell me when he got married?"

Yelena's smiling face froze instantly. She clenched her fists and then explained, suppressing her anger.

"Didn't you recognize him? This is Alice's son."

Grigorovich was stunned.

"Don't joke with me, Shayk. We attended the funerals of the Lungards; they had no children."

"But he is indeed their child, and Dumbledore can confirm that."

Grigorovich pulled Lynn in front of him, squatted down and carefully examined his face. Lynn did not resist and even greeted him.

"Hello, Mr. Grigorovich."

"Hello," Grigorovich responded, then murmured, "It really does look like her. Those eyes really do resemble his mother's."

"Wait a moment."

He suddenly stood up and started rummaging through the wooden shelf next to him, and soon he found a magic wand.

"Come on, take it, child, and try swinging it around."

Lynn did as he was told, raising the straight wand and waving it, but nothing happened; the wand in his hand was like an ordinary little stick.

[Compatibility: 2%]

The system gave Lynn the lowest compatibility score with this wand, the lowest Lynn had ever seen.

Seeing this, Grigorovich laughed instead.

"I can confirm that you are from that family." He took the wand from Lynn's hand.

"Chestnut wood paired with unicorn feathers, such a righteous combination. It was used by three consecutive leaders of Wizengamo. Only your family would have such an outrageously low compatibility with it."

The translation is: "So dark-skinned, it must be Grindelwald's son."

Lynn was speechless for a moment, unable to tell whether Gregorich was praising or scolding him, but he found this way of recognizing people with a wand very strange.

"Old John should be ecstatic. I chatted with him for a while when he brought me the materials not long ago. He would shed tears every time the topic of Lungard's childlessness came up."

Grigorovich downed the rum in the bottle in one gulp, and he was clearly pleased.

"I have a good relationship with your father, grandfather, great-grandfather, and great-great-grandfather, kid. If you ever need anything, you can come to this shop to find me anytime."

Upon hearing this, Lynn immediately realized that he did indeed have something to trouble him with, and he took out the wand that had broken during his battle with Ivanov from his pocket.

"Mr. Grigorovich, could you please check if this wand can be repaired?"

After using it for two years, he had developed an attachment to it, and besides, the wand he had seized from Ivanov wasn't very handy, so Lynn still hoped that his original wand could be repaired.

Grigorovich took the broken wand from Lynn's hand.

"What a familiar combination. We really are destined to meet. What's your name?"

"Lynn Bellok," Lynn announced his name.

Grigorovich frowned slightly: "Not named Lungard?"

"This name was given to me by my great-great-uncle."

"Zengzeng, it's alright then. Since he named you that, you can call him whatever you want." Grigovich stopped worrying about Lynn's name and focused on studying Lynn's wand.

"The combination of the laurel tree and the Thestral nerves is an unprecedented attempt. You must have bought it from Ollivander?"

"Yes, I'm currently a third-year student at Hogwarts."

"This wand was made because of a bet I made with that old man Ollivander. I said that the perfect combination would only result in a failure, and we needed to find a balance, to harmonize the core and the wand. But he said that the wand would change on its own, that there is no absolute perfection, just like a quiet person who, if he were to erupt, would surely be insane."

He was right; the wand was eventually completed. As a penalty for losing the bet, I left it with him. I never imagined it would end up in your hands.

Grigorovich scrutinized Lynn closely.

"He must have told you what kind of wizard this wand was suitable for, right? Quiet and rational yet insane. I felt back then that this wand would be perfect for your great-great-great-uncle, but he took an even stronger one from me."

That's a very tactful way of putting it. If you had just said it was stolen, I wouldn't have felt ashamed for him.

Lynn silently complained to herself.

"So, is there any way to save this wand?"

"It's beyond repair," Grigorovich said, shaking his head. "The damage is too severe."

Why did you talk to me for so long?

Why not just say "it's hopeless, just bury him"?

Lynn took the broken wand back from Gregorovich: "Can I buy a new one from you?"

He shrugged.

"No need to buy. You can choose any wand from all the ones I have here. Consider it a gift from me."

After chatting for so long, Gregovich finally said something Lynn liked to hear. Although he didn't need the money for a wand, what was that saying again?

It's foolish not to take advantage of a good deal.

Unfortunately, the Elder Wand was stolen by his great-uncle a long time ago, otherwise Lynn would have chosen it without hesitation.

Do you have any recommendations for me?

There are too many wands here, so Lynn plans to have Gregovich help him narrow down the area first.

From now on, updates will be scheduled for 10:00 AM sharp.

(End of this chapter)