Hogwarts: My name is the Unforgivable Curse...

Chapter 315 Clues to the Second Project

"Grindelwald... what exactly is he planning?"

On the way back, Avada tried to guess Grindelwald's thinking: "Inviting my original self to join Nobilitch University at this time can only have one purpose: to let me win the Triwizard Tournament as a 'Nobilitch University student,' or to introduce the university's existence in some special way at the end. In short, they just want to ride on my popularity and the Triwizard Tournament's fame... But what's the point?"

"The fundamental reason why Norwich University cannot be brought to the public eye is not a lack of exposure, but the resistance brought about by the current rigid society—something that cannot be changed by a three-way competition..."

"Wait, are they really planning to cause some big trouble during the Triwizard Tournament?"

He suddenly paused, thinking of a possibility, and then the more he thought about it, the more plausible it seemed: "This tournament was originally a conspiracy prepared by the pure-blood families to eliminate Dumbledore. If it is eventually exposed and revealed, it will undoubtedly be a heavy blow to their reputation... No, that doesn't seem to be the point of just damaging their reputation."

"If we're really talking about reputation, the Death Eaters and Voldemort already pretty much ruined the social standing of the pure-blood families over a decade ago. Now it's basically an open secret that they're only maintaining their current status because of the wealth, resources, and connections accumulated by their ancestors... but what else could it be?"

"Or rather, what is the most direct factor currently preventing Norwich University from going public? And how does Grindelwald intend to use this Triwizard Tournament to eliminate this factor?"

"..."

After pondering for a long time without success, Avada had no choice but to temporarily set aside this problem and turn his attention to another more pressing matter—

"When I asked Goshak how to deal with Dumbledore, she told me that Grindelwald only needed me to keep it from Dumbledore on the spot, and he would handle the rest... He wants Dumbledore to know about the existence of the university?"

"But isn't that just adding fuel to the fire?"

He felt he couldn't understand Grindelwald's thinking at all: "If Dumbledore didn't know Grindelwald existed and just thought it was an educational institution dedicated to improving magical society, that would be fine. At most, he would only interfere and be wary because he was worried that the university's actions were too radical... But what if he knew that Gellert Grindelwald was standing behind the university?"

"Now is precisely the time when we should be cooperating with Dumbledore to fight against the pure-blood families... What is he thinking?"

"Does he think that just because he's been obedient for over fifty years, Dumbledore will be completely unsuspecting of him?"

If he hadn't already confirmed that Grindelwald truly shared the same ideals as the university and fully trusted Grindelwald's wisdom and abilities, Avada would now be considering ignoring Grindelwald's prohibition and going directly to the Nurmengard Tower to find him and get to the bottom of things...

"Forget it, let's think about how to deal with Dumbledore first."

"Although Grindelwald certainly won't tell Dumbledore that my clone is a professor under him... but if they do reach an agreement, then Dumbledore will know that I will become Grindelwald's student in the future, and there will definitely be a lot of pep talks and arrangements, no less intense than the savior package in the original book..."

The thought of Dumbledore's subtle and manipulative schemes made Avada shudder, filled with worry about his next two years at Hogwarts.

Even though he has surpassed Dumbledore in some aspects of scientific research, and has thwarted several major conspiracies with his cunning, and is confident he could escape unscathed from a slightly less aggressive Dumbledore in a real fight… this doesn't mean he's confident he can outmaneuver Dumbledore, a cunning old fox who has lived for over a century and participated in two major wars. Therefore, if Dumbledore really wanted to increase his strength, it would still put him under considerable pressure—at least more pressure than Voldemort.

"And then there's the matter of going to university after graduating from Hogwarts... Good heavens."

He suddenly felt that Grindelwald's instruction was like a bolt from the blue, as if he had suffered almost all the torment: "He can't really let me waste four years in college, can he?"

"If my main body went to Nobiridge University, what could I do besides wasting my time? I already have a professorship there, and I have much better ways to acquire knowledge and connections..."

"Hey, Ken!"

Suddenly, he felt someone touch his shoulder—it came from his own body.

He was currently studying in Durmstrang's school library, and hadn't left even though curfew was approaching, just like most students at Hogwarts and Beauxbatons—after all, the scale of the Durmstrang library's collection was on a completely different level from the other two schools, and many books that should have been in the restricted section could be freely browsed here... If he didn't take the time to look at them, he might miss out on this opportunity.

Furthermore, Durmstrang indeed possesses an extraordinary foundation in dueling and war magic, with many related books not even held in the library of Norbilridge University. This is why Avada, like other students, is so keen to spend time here...

"Baron? Cedric?"

Seeing the figure lurking suspiciously beside him, Avada paused for a moment, then stood up and left the library at his signal: "What's wrong?"

"Keep your voice down—hurry up and follow me!"

Cedric, standing to the side, still wore a hesitant expression, while Baron's eyes gleamed with undisguised excitement: "We might have found a lead on the second project!"

"Oh?"

Upon hearing this, Avada became curious as well: "What is it?"

"We can't be completely sure at the moment... You'll know once you come and take a look!"

Seeing Baron's suspenseful demeanor, Avada had no choice but to follow. He also learned why Cedric had that expression – even though cheating had become an indispensable and glorious tradition in the tournament, he probably still couldn't quite accept it…

So the three of them quietly slipped out of Durmstrang Castle under the cover of night, and after walking another hundred meters or so, they stopped in an open meadow.

"This is……"

Before Baron could offer an explanation, Avada immediately saw the hidden secrets beneath this seemingly ordinary land: "Magic to reinforce the ground? And over such a large area?"

"It was those guys who were just dabbling in the 'investigation team' who did it in the middle of the night."

Baron crouched down, touching the ground with his hand as he explained, "This is what Cedric saw last night when he couldn't sleep... Didn't you say those people were actually staff setting up the second project? And according to Cedric's description, they made almost no attempt to conceal their magic, so it certainly couldn't have been hidden from Durmstrang and Dumbledore. Therefore, this is probably not some conspiracy, but just the location for the second project..."

(End of this chapter)