Chapter 656: Secret Talk

The atmosphere in the bar suddenly changed. Felix saw two people put their hands in their pockets as if nothing had happened. Then the man sitting opposite cleared his throat, and several secret hands were placed on the table again.

"Mr. Hepp, I assure you that there will be no fighting tonight. We come for peace."

"It doesn't look like it," Felix turned his head slightly, "At least Mrs. Rosmerta would not agree." At this moment, the bar's landlady was quietly staying behind the bar, busy with her own business, and seemed to be completely unaware of the undercurrents here.

"She will be fine," Noel paused and said in a strong voice: "Just to avoid trouble."

"Then untie it, otherwise I would think you have malicious intentions."

Felix smiled, but his tone was insistent and could not help but refute.

After a few seconds of silence, Noel nodded slightly, and a light flashed in the corner. Mrs. Rosmerta's eyes changed from confusion to clarity, but were immediately replaced by fear.

She screamed.

"Mrs. Rosmerta, I'd like to order another glass... just iced lemonade." Felix said gently. Mrs. Rosmerta looked over here carefully and said in a panic, "Oh, oh, okay, Mr. Hep." She had calmed down by the end.

The bar counter made a tinkling sound, which seemed a bit harsh in the quiet space.

"Mr. Hep, I have been abroad for the past few years and I have heard your name every once in a while, but none of them can catch up with the invention of the exclusive wand, and its impact even exceeds the fall of Voldemort. Do you want to hear it?" the man asked.

At this time, Mrs. Rosmerta brought the lemonade over and placed it on Felix's side, so that he would have two glasses to drink. Of course, there was nothing on the opposite side, and she did not ask the man sitting opposite her what he wanted. Instead, she glared at him fiercely, then quickly flashed back behind the bar, looking around with a little vigilance.

Felix pushed the cup to the other side and made a gesture of invitation, "It's mine."

"Then I have to say thank you." Noel said in a flat tone, picked up the cup and took a sip, then said: "Future World Company has grown into a giant, and stores can be found in every magic community. It is said that the underwater mermaid tribe can now record its own songs."

Felix's heart moved, and he arranged for the company to recruit a group of employees from humanoid magic races during the summer vacation. In his mind, this is the seed of the Pan-Magic Alliance. After several years or even more than ten years of running-in, on the one hand, it will open up new sales channels for the company, and on the other hand, it will also be able to experience how to deal with different races, thereby establishing a set of effective communication methods based on mutual trust.

As for the branches all over the world, they are also an important means to promote ancient magic. Magic cards, wizard cards, magic booklets... are all sold at half cost price. Not to mention - Felix just thought of it - the existence of these branches is an invisible constraint on Gringotts. At

present, it seems that the plan is progressing well.

"...As far as I know, almost every Ministry of Magic is arguing over the issue of exclusive wands. You know, although there are not many Squibs left in the wizarding world, most of them still live in the No-Maj society, but... they also have relatives, especially those whose parents are still alive, who almost got the news at the first time. Of course, not all Squibs are willing to come back, and many have already established their own families, but it must be admitted that almost all Squibs are obsessed with magic, and they don't mind having a wand, even if it can only be used to clean the room or command a small gadget to float around."

The man grinned.

"A few days ago, some Squibs went to the headquarters of the Magical Congress of the United States to protest. They are not without support behind them - many of them even come from very prestigious magic families and have relatives with the bigwigs who sit in the Woolworth Building and make decisions."

"What about the Reform Council? What did they do?" Felix asked.

"These people have good ideas, but their methods are still immature. One day, they will stand at the decision-making table and consider these headaches. Their opinions are irrelevant now."

The man said, and his expression clearly showed disapproval. He continued:

"The new president of the International Confederation of Wizards, Babajide Akinbade, is in a state of panic. The magic ministries of at least twelve countries have proposed to formulate an international law around exclusive wands and include squibs in the management scope, with an effect similar to the Statute of Secrecy... I also heard that the British representative of the Confederation, at the instruction of your lady Bones, also submitted a proposal, which was taken very seriously. Akinbade is ready to resign."

Bang! The goblet in Madam Rosmerta's hand fell to the ground and shattered. Everyone looked at her. She seemed to be frightened by these cold eyes, and her hands and feet were not very flexible to restore the cup to its original state. Then she squeezed out a stiff smile to everyone.

"So -" Felix said slowly: "What role do you play, or what role are you going to play - after showing me your excellent intelligence ability. God, I'm not sure whether to tell Minerva. She is very concerned about the future of those children. If she finds out that she is just worrying in vain, she will be very angry..."

"That Professor McGonagall?" The man smiled slightly and said: "She is serious and responsible enough under her stern appearance. Maybe the following information can comfort her. We only sent three groups of people. In theory, the requests for help from other families should be true."

"In theory?" Felix repeated.

"This is the crux of the problem. You seem to think that we can represent all the saints, but this is not the case at all." The man said: "Mr. Hep, I wonder how much you know about the saints after 1945?"

The fingers on the table paused.

"Anxious and scattered?"

"Almost, but more complicated." The man said, "My grandfather is a saint," he said straight to the point, "his status... barely responsible for mobilizing believers in a country, delivering messages, and collecting intelligence."

Felix curled his lips, "I didn't expect him to be a big shot."

"Not really, there are dozens of people like him, just like Gringotts all over the world, every country has some people who have lofty goals and run for sacred causes, and the rest... can only be regarded as civilians who identify with our ideas."

"So that's how the saying of 100,000 saints came about." Felix nodded.

"...Since the end of that duel that shocked the world, well, I didn't witness that duel with my own eyes, I saw it through the diary left by my grandfather, and just by reading the text, I can feel the shock and awe he felt... and despair." The man's face was a little pale, and he said unwillingly.

"Despair?"

"The two most powerful people in the world, at least that was the case at the time... I personally have great respect for Mr. Dumbledore. I remember a description in the diary: invisible blades covered the battlefield, as if separating two worlds. No one dared to approach the front battlefield, where a ray of sunlight could easily take the life of the adventurous..."

Felix thought for a moment. Without the adjectives, can Transfiguration do this? Of course it can, as long as the object of transformation is replaced by the ubiquitous air... Well, thinking about that scene is still quite scary.

"...After Mr. Grindelwald's failure, several protests broke out among the people around the world. Perhaps it was for this reason that my grandfather was not held accountable, but from the people I visited after growing up and following the diary, these former saints either hid their identities or were the focus of the local Ministry of Magic."

"Mr. Noel, I don't think your purpose is to complain to me and explain that your family has been suppressed by the Ministry of Magic openly or secretly." Felix interrupted.

"Of course, Mr. Hap." The man said immediately: "To a certain extent, since Grindelwald, no one has been able to gather such a huge force. The few people who are unwilling to fail can only stir up riots in a small area, and their end is not too good. It can be said that it has changed from a force that can influence the history of the wizarding world to a bucket of pearls scattered all over the world, and is even controlled by ambitious people... All this is because of the lack of a leader."

"I seem to understand, you want to rescue the former leader."

"No, Mr. Hap." The man said softly: "Even Mr. Grindelwald did not set foot on British soil during the heyday of his power, let alone the dozen of us. What I want to say is..."

"If Mr. Grindelwald had stayed in Nurmengard, the world would only gradually forget him, but from the moment he stepped out of Nurmengard Castle, whether he wanted to or not, he had returned to everyone's sight, or to put it another way... he had the ability to influence the wizarding world again."

"Even if he does nothing and has changed his name now, the world will move because of him. We are just the first batch... It can be predicted that there will be a steady stream of people in the future."

"It sounds like some kind of tacit threat."

"No." The man said seriously, "Just a piece of advice. The two largest wizarding organizations in the world - the Saints and the International Confederation of Wizards - are not monolithic. It is almost inevitable that the news will leak out. At that time, the eyes of the whole world will be focused on Hogwarts, even Mr. Dumbledore..."

"It just sounds troublesome enough," Felix murmured, "So do you have any good suggestions, Mr. Noel?"

"This..." The man was silent for a moment, and his tone became hesitant, "It's just a suggestion, a vague idea..." Felix looked at him expectantly. "First of all, we have to be able to contact Mr. Grindelwald and find out his thoughts... Of course, we need a middleman who can't arouse suspicion. Students can't do it, and professors who are not aware of it can't do it..."

"I am very suitable." Felix said eagerly.

"That's right." The man seemed to be encouraged, his nose wings expanded slightly, and his blue-green pupils became deeper and glowed slightly. "It's best to find an opportunity for us to meet. It can't be at school, as it may easily cause misunderstandings. We don't want to cause any trouble for Mr. Grindelwald, do you understand? I have an informant in the International Confederation of Wizards, and he told me some secret things. There are rumors that--" He lowered his voice.

Felix leaned forward and got closer.

"The current chairman, Akinbad, may break the contract in order to divert attention. I absolutely don't want this to happen. I am willing to stand with you and contribute my strength, Mr. Hep, what about you?"

Felix hesitated, "Dumbledore--"

"You can't tell him. What I mean is that you have to be careful in the early stages, and Mr. Dumbledore has some prejudices against the saints--of course, this is completely understandable, as we have been hostile before. I think that, at least before resolving Akinbad's troubles, it is not advisable to create unnecessary trouble."

Felix slowly closed his eyes, as if weighing the pros and cons.

"This is almost the best way. Mr. Hep, what do you think?"

"My idea - well, I have to confirm its authenticity first."

"That's easy. Remember the informant I mentioned before? I have a copy of the meeting minutes he sent with Akinbad's autograph on it. It can't be faked -"

"You are really powerful, Mr. DeWitt."

"Thank you for the compliment! Mr. Hep, I am absolutely sure that some of us are in crisis. I just - what did you call me!" The expression of the man in front of him froze. He could hardly believe his ears and stared at Felix blankly. How did he know his real name?

"Oh, you see, I have to apologize to you." Felix spread his hands.

"I'm too irrational - Dumbledore is good enough in this regard. He rarely directly invades other people's brains, even those who are hostile to him. But I can't do that. I can only control myself from using it in daily life to avoid losing too much fun. Listening to students explain why they didn't finish their homework is one of my favorite ways to entertain myself.

But if I encounter blatant hostility, especially when I meet a stranger for the first time, curiosity will make me want to move. If this person is still chattering in my ear, and seems to be thinking about me, this curiosity will be even stronger..."

"What did you do to me?" The man, whose expression gradually became gloomy, finally changed his face when he heard this, and he shouted loudly.

"It's not you... Although I am most curious about you now." Felix said softly. The man took a breath and looked around. His companions - seemed to be trapped in some strange illusion, and two of them were snoring, but he didn't notice it before.

The man stumbled back, and the movement was so big that he even knocked over the chair. He hurriedly pulled out the wand from his robe and pointed it at Felix, and the tip of the wand trembled slightly.

He said a lot today, most of which were true, especially the part about Grindelwald and Dumbledore's strength, so he could underestimate Hyp's wisdom, but he would not underestimate his fighting ability.

Felix crossed his hands on the table and looked at the man with interest, without any intention of taking action.

The sound of pushing and pulling tables could be heard all around. The two of them saw from the corner of their eyes that more than a dozen wands were pulled out from various parts of the wizard's body with a dull expression in the corner. On the chest, waist, side, sleeves, these people raised their wands at the same time, ready to recite spells at any time.

Dewitt was no longer calm, and the expression on his face was extremely ugly.