The departure time of the Hogwarts Express was forced to be postponed. Except for some parents who came to attend the funeral and were allowed to take their children away from the school directly, the rest of the students were driven back to the castle.

Because of the presence of the Weasleys, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin and others, Harry and his friends were not asked to return to the Gryffindor common room, but were allowed to stay with their families. They were temporarily placed in the school hall. Harry saw many familiar faces, Ernie, Zacharias

Smith, Seamus, Cormac McLaggen, Hannah, Susan Bones, Anthony Goldstein, Marcus Belby, Draco,

Pansy Parkinson, Blaise Sabini...

Many of them were frequent guests at Professor Slughorn's banquet.

These students all had their families or relatives staying, including the Weasleys. They stayed in the hall and talked quickly, stopping from time to time, looking gloomy and anxiously in the direction of the staff lounge, expecting someone to come out-Abaginde temporarily borrowed the school venue to discuss important matters with the Ministers of Magic of various countries.

"Ms. Bones sent a large number of Aurors before going in to prevent unrest..." Percy said seriously. He was wearing a formal suit and had a small meeting with Bill, Sirius, Lupin, Moody, Longbottom and other members of the Order of the Phoenix. When the incident happened, Percy originally planned to return to the Ministry of Magic immediately, but was asked by Mr. Weasley to stay. He argued, "The Ministry needs me now!" As a result, Penelope said sarcastically, "What are you going back for? Preparing a celebration for the exposure of the magic world to the world?" So Percy stayed.

The old and children of the Order of the Phoenix sat together, "There's nothing to worry about!" Neville's somewhat scary grandmother said in a tough manner, and

Mrs. Weasley responded absent-mindedly. Fleur had just sent Madame Maxime away, and when she came back, she saw Penelope and Mrs. Weasley sitting closely together, and pouted in dissatisfaction.

"Oh my god - I saw Madame Maxime kissing that big guy. It's unbelievable, isn't it?" Fleur shook her cascading hair and squeezed in between them. "Maybe it's a friend in need, or it's just a courtesy," Mrs. Weasley snorted in an ambiguous manner.

Ginny was pushed aside and looked very unhappy. She stood up, shook her hair and walked to her two twin brothers, with her beautiful head raised proudly. She looked exactly like another Fleur.

"So you were taught by a dark wizard who had been hiding for half a century for a year. Your school life is really colorful," said Fred. "

Don't be ignorant," George said seriously, "You know, one of us killed another dark wizard with his own hands."

Harry said gloomily, "Thank you, George - I will be happy to share this part of the experience if you want to learn." After that, he glared at Ron, who just let it slip.

Ron looked around, and seemed to be very interested in what Professor Marchbank was yelling on the other side of the hall. The old woman shouted loudly: "Stupid!

Lost your mind! I wonder, when did our government become so keen on making deals with criminals? In my opinion, Dumbledore should not have stepped down at all. Isn't that Abajkinder another Fudge?"

The real Fudge stood in the corner, twirling his hat awkwardly. He also attended the funeral, but he was alone. Even the Malfoys were more popular than him.

Ron retracted his gaze, pretending not to see the look Harry gave him, shrugged and said: "She's right, there is no shortage of people like Fudge in the world.

"I think," Hermione said matter-of-factly, "it's unfair to him to put Abajkinder and Fudge together. At least his original intention was good,

to avoid war. But obviously he underestimated Grindelwald. "

"That's his biggest problem, Hermione. "Fred pointed out.

At this moment, Harry saw a figure flash past the door of the Great Hall. He jumped up from his chair, his heart pounding, but he immediately realized that he had thought wrong. He fell back into his seat and seemed to have lost all his strength.

"What's wrong with you, Harry?" Ron asked in surprise.

Nothing-" Harry opened his mouth, "Well, I thought I saw Dumbledore, but that should be Aberforth.

"Oh, they do look a bit alike." Ginny said, "But I didn't seem to see him at the funeral?"

"He went to classroom seven."

Nearly Headless Nick floated behind her and said, his head shaking. Ginny and Neville, who were closest to him, froze for a moment and silently made way for him.

"Classroom seven?" Ron asked with interest, "Why? Oh-" he understood, "His family is there. "

"Yeah, but he was unlucky today and was almost driven out by the memories of several professors." Nearly Headless Nick said.

"What's the matter? "Harry asked sensitively.

"It's related to a new memory. He is about the same age as Dumbledore. Well, I mean the Dumbledore in classroom seven." Nick said, "I know something about Aberforth. He has been coming here quite frequently recently. I am not the only ghost who has met him at dinner... But he usually just watches from a distance. But today when he saw the new memory, he suddenly jumped out and lost his temper."

"So it's related to the new memory?" George asked thoughtfully, "Who is that person?"

"I don't know. "Nearly Headless Nick said stiffly. He shook his head, and his head fell to one side, his whole face completely upside down. He screamed and quickly stretched out his hands to adjust the position. Harry looked away with a chill.

There was a new memory in Classroom 7, and it made Aberforth so angry, who could it be?

Harry's eyes lit up, he thought of it, he looked at Hermione, from her shocked expression she seemed to have guessed it.

It is very likely the memory of Grindelwald himself. From what Almost Headless Nick said, what Grindelwald left behind should be the memory of his youth, but when did he do it? Did Professor Happ know? If he knew, why didn't he stop it? Was it because of his special relationship with Dumbledore? Did they reach an unknown agreement in private? Harry was so confused that his head was about to explode.

"You can find time to ask Professor Happ. Classroom 7 is his territory. He must know the identity of the memory." Ron said to Nick. He glanced at an inconspicuous door in the auditorium. "But he should be very busy next. Alas, I thought he could detect and stop Grindelwald in advance. But it's also true that it's hard for normal people to imagine Grindelwald's madness." There was a trace of fear in his eyes.

"Why do you say that?" Neville asked in a low voice. Did the professor know something?

Ron shrugged.

"In my mind, he is omnipotent. You know, looking for clues through clues - just like a detective in the mouth of Muggles, but I didn't expect to fail this time. "

"Completely different, Ron." Hermione shook her head and counted on her fingers seriously, "Grindelwald seems to have done a lot of things - summoning the core saints, negotiating with the president of the International Confederation of Wizards, making public the death of Headmaster Dumbledore, making an unbreakable vow, and attending today's funeral - but in fact these things are dispensable and irrelevant to the overall situation."

Harry's somewhat numb mind began to work again. Hermione's words brought him a new direction of thinking. He seemed to have cleared the fog in his heart all of a sudden.

"I know! Grindelwald has only one goal from beginning to end: to expose the entire wizarding world, force the wizarding society and the Muggle society to merge, and

fulfill his and Dumbledore's original dream." Harry said excitedly.

"Then everything he did before was a sleight of hand? Everyone was fooled by him?" Ron looked at the two and asked hesitantly.

"We can only guess at the moment." Hermione said softly: "From the strength Grindelwald showed today, he can complete the plan alone - he may not be able to beat Professor Happ, but at their level, he can leave the battle at any time, so it is so difficult to capture Voldemort alive. Ordinary wizards can't help at all. I even think that once Grindelwald judges that the plan is not going well, he will immediately abandon those details and get straight to the point."

"Why does he make things so complicated?" Ron said irritably.

"Because Grindelwald is also a human being." Harry said slowly, and the memories he saw in the Pensieve with Dumbledore in the past provided evidence for what he said at the moment.

"He is arrogant and conceited. He wants to prove that he is right and wants to personally announce the arrival of a new era to the world. Perhaps he also hopes to let Dumbledore be buried decently. From the moment he escaped from prison, he has been invincible. Everything he did afterwards is just to make the process as consistent as possible with his own wishes while ensuring that the result remains unchanged.

"Then Professor Happ - "

"He may have guessed part of it. "Hermione thought of what Felix had said before, "But he guessed the time not much earlier than us, maybe because of Grindelwald's speech at the funeral, or during their brief fight at the school gate, Grindelwald said something that the professor noticed, and then linked all this together. " "

… Think about it, the professor knows Grindelwald better than we do. We can all immediately think that the negotiations led by Grindelwald are hidden with conspiracy, how could the professor not think of it? Including the public announcement of Dumbledore's death - the professor does not believe that Grindelwald's purpose is so simple, he wants to find out Grindelwald's true intentions, the professor always plans before taking action. This is the fact, Grindelwald deceived everyone. But it was too late,

"But he clearly made an unbreakable oath!" Ron shouted.

"But he clearly made an unbreakable oath!" Abaginde shouted in the temporary meeting in the staff lounge.

The lounge was full of people, each of whom was an undisputed big figure in the wizarding world, the Minister of Magic of various countries, the President of the Federation, and the principal and vice principal of Hogwarts as the owner of this place.

Abakinde stared at his arm absentmindedly. The oath was still in effect, with no signs of being broken.

"Mr. Abakinde, I have also heard about Grindelwald's oath, but I am not sure what your oath is about?" Professor McGonagall asked seriously.

Abakinde licked his dry lips.

"I can guarantee that the alliance process is completely open, and there are more than a dozen Ministers of Magic witnessing it... The oath is two-way: Grindelwald promises not to kill people indiscriminately unless someone attacks him first, and of course sparring does not count; he will not take the initiative to provoke a wizard war; he will not plot to overthrow the existing wizard regime; and what I have to do is, on the premise that he does not violate the oath, I will give up pursuing the responsibility of the Saint, allow him to carry out public activities, and at the same time not issue orders against him."

The people in the lounge frowned. At this time, Felix said, "He really didn't provoke a wizard war." He emphasized the last few words. No one present was stupid. They instantly figured out the key.

"You fool!" Professor McGonagall shouted fiercely, "Didn't you even study his political ideas carefully before the negotiation?"

Abaginde's dark face turned purple. He defended himself: "We didn't expect it. He has never done this before. He has always sought a position in the wizarding world." "

In fact, similar things have happened. An elderly Minister of Magic said slowly: "Before being imprisoned in Nurmengard Castle, Grindelwald had reached the peak of his power twice. At that time, he was ready to declare war on Muggles, but in the end he was thwarted by Dumbledore.

Abaginde's face turned pale.

"Even if Muggles are counted, he is not considered to have broken his oath. After all, he only announced the existence of magic to the world and did not take the initiative to provoke a war... He is really flawless." Professor McGonagall said sharply, and everyone present felt a little uncomfortable.

"Mr. Happ," Abakinde said, with a hint of desire in his tone, "I admit that our work has made a huge mistake. We can't make any more mistakes. Only you have the ability to catch Grindelwald. I ask you to step up. I will let the newly formed Auror team cooperate with you."

Felix gave him a warning look.

"Some things can only be said here, Mr. Abakinde - one of the clauses of your agreement is not to issue orders against him. Unless you plan to break your oath to Grindelwald first."

Abakinde was speechless, as if he had suddenly lost the ability to speak. After a while, he opened his mouth again, and this time his face had completely lost all color, "I, I will resign voluntarily, so it won't count..."

"You'd better not go anywhere," Felix said, "This oath is more or less useful - when we deal with the huge crisis in front of us, we don't have to consider Grindelwald's influence for the time being. He is also restricted by the 'Unbreakable Vow'. As long as we don't cause trouble for him, he can't interfere with what happens next."

"You, you mean..." Abaginde widened his eyes, "he set off a huge wave, but you stood by and watched?"

"I think the word stand by and wait is more accurate," Ms. Bones said, "He won't be our enemy, but he is the source of all the unrest. Don't forget, the problem now is that the wizarding world is exposed to the world, and we must come up with a solution as soon as possible!

The old wizard who spoke before shook his head and smiled bitterly, "It's not one or two people, nor one or two cities involved. There is no way to conceal it. Alas, the Statute of Secrecy... The Statute of Secrecy is completely over. " "

What is Grindelwald waiting for? "Abaginde murmured, and then his pupils dilated with fear, "Needless to say... naturally, we should wait for the situation to fall into chaos. Chaos is what Grindelwald wants to see. Maybe he doesn't have to do anything. The angry wizarding people caught up in the war will naturally tend to his point of view. At that time, he will stand up - because I allow him to act openly - and regard himself as the savior and

declare war on Muggles."

After a moment of uneasy silence. "He even calculated this?" Someone shouted in disbelief.

"Think positively," Felix said meaningfully, "If handled properly, Grindelwald can only stare blankly, and may not even have a chance to show up during the whole process... Who knows!" He leaned back in his chair, staring at the ceiling in deep thought. Would this be Grindelwald's true idea?

How can a good person be more deterrent than a thoroughly bad person?

If the Muggle government and the public realize that once the two sides end up in a war, they will personally help a dark wizard who is hostile to Muggles to break free from the restrictions of the oath, and this dark wizard did not hesitate to use powerful magic to destroy a city decades ago, will they be more cautious and more sincere?

Felix's thoughts were flying, and he was not in a hurry to make a decision. It would be better to talk to some core saints... Grindelwald gave him the method to summon the saints,

but it might not be used. Maybe someone is waiting for him in Hogsmeade now.

The meeting made almost no substantive progress. All that was obtained were some very conservative opinions, such as carefully collecting information from the outside world and

all wizards hiding on the spot. However, the Ministers of Magic could not reach a consensus on what to do next. Their minds were completely bound by the Statute of Secrecy.

Two hours later, the Ministers of Magic from various countries left in a hurry. Now it was unknown what kind of chaos was going on outside. There were too many things waiting for them to deal with when they returned. After these people left, Ms. Bones stayed.

"We have to find a way ourselves." She said seriously, one hand rubbing her forehead painfully. "Everyone has his own position. Abaginde's reputation has plummeted now. He can't convince everyone at all. In the end, it's just wrangling.

"We must do something about this matter, and as soon as possible. We can't passively wait for the results. Felix, I want to know what you think."

Felix spread his hands.

"Grindelwald caught everyone off guard. I don't have a complete plan yet, but there are indeed a few things that need to be addressed as a priority."

Madam Bones and Professor McGonagall looked at him,

"First, the students in the school

..." "Cancel this year's Hogwarts Express," Professor McGonagall said decisively, "Children from wizarding families should be picked up by their parents, or leave through the school fireplace; for young wizards from non-wizarding families, I will have the professors send them home directly."

"The Ministry of Magic will fully cooperate." Madam Bones nodded.

"Second, the security measures around the school must be reinforced; it is not yet certain whether the next school year will open as scheduled, but try to be prepared. And there is a huge shelter here."

The two also had no objection to this.

"Third, Amelia, I suggest you start negotiations with the Muggle government as soon as possible, starting with the Prime Minister. Haven't you been in single-line contact? You must make him realize that this is not a unilateral matter between us. Once a crisis occurs, no one can escape."

"I'll arrange it as soon as possible." Ms. Bones said, "In fact, I have met with that Muggle Prime Minister twice, and he looks-" She shook her head.

"Fourth, stabilize the emotions of all wizards, interview with newspapers, and use magic radios to make your voice heard as much as possible. The pamphlet on guarding against Voldemort last time can also be revised and used;"

"Fifth, public opinion and intelligence-

"Public opinion?" Professor McGonagall and Ms. Bones asked in unison.

"Non-magical governments have a close relationship with their people, and they influence and restrict each other. "Felix said: "Proper guidance of public opinion can make it easier for ordinary people to accept the existence of wizards. Conversely, once they are instigated by people with ulterior motives, their attitudes may become extreme. Of course, we are now focusing on collecting information, but how to collect information is also the key, for example, the attitude of ordinary people towards stylists, their reasons for accepting wizards, and their reasons for opposing wizards; then there are the people who have a significant influence on this matter, politicians, celebrities, opinion leaders, especially those who jumped out at the first time"

"Sixth, the safety and confidentiality of young wizards from Muggle families after returning home"

"Seventh, it is strictly forbidden for any group or individual to contact the Muggle government privately. On this point, I am particularly worried about the attitude of the goblins. The plan of the Pan-Magic Alliance must begin; " "Eighth

, well, I have a suggestion. Send some trusted Aurors to secretly rescue the Muggles influenced by the saints. Don't show up and don't do it too obviously. It may be used in the future."

Just as they were planning, the outside world was in chaos.