Magical Studies at Hogwarts...

Chapter 263 The Recluse

"The Dark Lord's disciples storm the Vatican"

"Yesterday, the infamous Death Eater Ike Strayder stormed the Vatican Palace, and the world-famous St. Peter's Square was nearly destroyed by his magic. Dozens of Aurors from the Italian Ministry of Magic and guards from the Papacy were defeated by him. If Albus Dumbledore had not arrived in time, he might have even lost his life on the spot."

"Italian Minister of Magic, Mr. Greco, stated that Ike Strayder is a dark wizard even more terrifying than the Dark Lord, and that all national ministries of magic should be on high alert, establish rapid and timely information exchange channels and emergency response measures to protect their national assets from loss."

"It is understood that the vicious attacks that occurred in Greece, Iraq, and Egypt were all carried out by Ike Streid. It is foreseeable that Rome, or rather the Vatican, will not be his last stop..."

In a small shop in Berlin, Germany, old man Fu was eating breakfast while reading a newspaper. Ike sat opposite him, not paying much attention, his mind focused entirely on the egg sandwich in front of him.

"You've really made a name for yourself this time, Ike," Old Voldemort chuckled. "There's no one in the wizarding world who doesn't know your name now."

"Look what they're calling you? The Dark Lord's disciple, the Dark Lord's successor?"

"What do you think, Ike?"

Ike put down his half-eaten sandwich, wiped his mouth, and said, "Teacher, don't joke around. What's in the newspapers is all exaggerated."

"But you did accomplish those things, didn't you?" Old Fu put down his newspaper, his hand naturally landing on a small box on the table. "Greece, Iraq, Egypt, and Italy—you really accomplished a great deal on this trip... and you also did a very good job of the tasks I assigned you."

"I'm sorry, teacher." Ike lowered his head slightly. "I only got this one. I failed on all the others, especially in the Vatican. Not only did I not find the Holy Grail, but..."

"Don't worry about it, Ike." Old Fu waved his hand, a hint of a smile in his crimson eyes. "I didn't expect you to accomplish everything. Getting the Fruit of Life is already a great achievement."

"Thank you, teacher." Ike looked up, his expression filled with excitement and gratitude, which made Old Fu very gratified.

"You are my student, the one who will carry on my work. There's no need for such modesty. You are far more outstanding than the others," Old Voldemort said. "Moreover, you brought me the skeleton of an angel. This is a very valuable collectible. It doesn't matter that I didn't get the Holy Grail. It's just something that was used by a Muggle in mythology. Maybe it was made up by those guys in the church."

Upon hearing this, Ike nodded subconsciously, appearing obedient. Old Fu smiled, finished his breakfast, stood up from his chair, and gestured for Ike to leave the shop. Before leaving, Ike casually cast a forgetting spell on everyone else in the shop, making them forget everything that had just happened.

Once outside, Old Voldemort extended his left hand for Eckhart to hold, then waved his wand and Apparated away from where he stood. When he reappeared, he was already on the outskirts of Berlin.

It was a desolate and barren land, overgrown with weeds as far as the eye could see. As soon as it appeared, Old Voldemort pointed his wand at the air in front of him, and a ripple spread out, changing the scenery before him. A dense forest appeared behind the ripple, and a wooden house could be vaguely seen.

Without hesitation, Old Fu stepped through the ripples, with Ike following closely behind, heading towards the wooden house.

As I approached, I saw a hunched old man with gray hair standing in the doorway, his wand trembling uncontrollably. He was so old and thin, as if a gust of wind could blow him away. Yet, he was in good spirits, his eyes were bright, and his voice was strong and resonant.

"You are not welcome here, intruders! Leave now!" the old man shouted, but Lao Fu showed no sign of stopping, and even had a playful expression on his face.

Seeing this, the old man raised his wand, but a red light flashed and before the old man could react, the wand flew out of his hand, spinning and flying into Ike's hand.

"What...what are you going to do?" The old man was very flustered and took several steps back until his back was against the door before he stopped.

Old Fu walked straight up to him, gently pinched the old man's face with his thin fingers, and said, "Grigovich, perhaps you have forgotten, but I visited you more than twenty years ago, but you refused to see me. To be precise, this was the first time we met."

"Who...who are you?" The old man's body trembled, his eyes filled with fear.

"You should have heard of my name, though now people prefer to call me by another name... the Dark Lord."

"The Dark Lord... the Dark Lord!"

"That's right, that's right." Old Fu smiled, and with a forceful pull, Grigovich crashed through the door behind him and fell into the house, landing heavily on the floor. This disheveled appearance made Old Fu laugh even more.

He looked around Gregovich's house with great interest, then with a flick of his wand, dragged Gregovich into the living room. He casually tossed him back onto the floor, sat down on the sofa, and crossed his legs.

"I've heard a rumor that at the beginning of the century, you acquired a powerful wand, which honed your family's wand-making skills... So, I'd like to know, where is that wand?"

"A wand? A wand!" Grigovich's eyes widened, and he shrank back into a ball in the face of the aggressive old man.

"Yes, wand, you know what I'm talking about... Don't even think about lying to me!"

Old Voldemort leaned forward, his red pupils fixed on Grigorovich. Grigorovich suddenly burst into laughter and tears, shouting, "Hahaha...you're looking for the Elder Wand!"

"The Elder Wand... Heh heh heh, that's my Elder Wand!"

"The Peverell family's treasure, said to have been forged from the finger bone of Death, possesses unimaginable power... Hahaha..."

"Yes, yes, Elder Wand, tell me where it is?" Old Voldemort asked impatiently and fiercely.

"No! No! No!" Grigovich suddenly burst into tears, her expression turning vicious. "Damn thief! Damn thief!"

"My Elder Wand... my Elder Wand!"

Old Voldemort asked again, but Gregorovich kept repeating the phrase "My Old Wand," laughing and crying at the same time. Seeing this, Old Voldemort completely lost his patience, grabbed Gregorovich, pulled him close, and slammed the wand against his forehead, saying, "Leechence!"

Grigorovich rolled his eyes and trembled violently, but Old Fu seemed not to notice, carefully examining Grigorovich's memories. After a long while, he finally released Grigorovich, letting him slump onto the floor like a rag doll.

Ike watched this scene quietly from the side, and knew at a glance that Grigorovich was dead. It was to be expected; he was already quite old, and to be subjected to such torment by Old Voldemort was entirely predictable.

"Teacher, how is it?" Ike asked softly.

Old Voldemort gently rubbed his head and replied, "The Elder Wand isn't with the Gregorovich family; someone stole it from him."

As he spoke, he stood up from the sofa, beckoned Ike to walk outside, and said as they went, "Let's go, we still need to see that thief..."

"Where are you going, teacher?"

"Austria, Neumorgad..."

(End of this chapter)