— — — — — —
Dumbledore hadn't bothered lowering his voice.
The way he said it, casual and unhurried, sounded less like an answer and more like a declaration. A notice to Pierce that his time was up. A warning that no one in this world would be able to protect him.
The Great Hall fell into a deathly silence.
McGonagall's expression was particularly vivid. In fact, every Hogwarts professor looked as though they were seeing their colleague of decades for the first time.
Was that really something he would say?
In the minds of most staff and students, Albus Dumbledore had always been the wise, gentle elder. He rarely showed real anger. No matter how thorny the problem, he would at most knit his brows slightly, then calmly arrange a solution and dissolve the crisis before it truly erupted.
When had he ever read a newspaper headline and immediately set off for the headquarters of the International Confederation of Wizards to demand accountability?
Maybe…
Maybe he was just talking tough?
Cornelius Fudge shouted "I will never coexist with evil!" every other week, yet no one had seen him actually do much to the Death Eaters. If anything, he seemed to attend their banquets often enough.
Some words were meant for public consumption. Not to be taken literally.
The headmasters from other schools wore equally complex expressions. To be honest, deep down, most of them sided with Pierce.
Ariana had become a bridge between Dumbledore and Grindelwald, once bitter rivals. When the two strongest voices in the world stood on the same side, the rest of them, already weaker, would be drowned out entirely.
They were all people of status and influence. Who wanted their own presence diminished? Who wanted more suns rising overhead?
But after witnessing Dumbledore's reaction today, those private calculations were swiftly buried.
Forget it.
If anyone had spoken up just now to echo Pierce, they might have been the first to get "cleaned up."
"How interesting…"
Only one person in the hall was smiling.
Grindelwald tilted his head slightly, peering past McGonagall and Flitwick toward the headmaster of Ilvermorny.
"Fontaine, Pierce is one of yours, isn't he?"
"What are you implying, Mr. Grindelwald?" Fontaine's expression didn't change. "Pierce is just an American wizard. He graduated from Ilvermorny nearly fifty years ago and has no connection to the school now."
He gave a faint smile. "If a British wizard commits a crime, surely you wouldn't hold Dumbledore responsible for all of Britain?"
"True enough," Grindelwald nodded lightly. "But one case is an exception. What about a pattern?"
"Graves provoked Riddle. Now he's dealt with. Then comes Pierce. Oh, and before that, a vampire who also happened to drift over from your side of the ocean."
He rested his chin on his hand.
"Is the American magical community harboring some grudge against Europe?"
Fontaine's face stiffened.
The accusation was blunt. Too blunt. He could feel suspicious gazes gathering around him.
"Mr. Grindelwald, I am merely the headmaster of a school," Fontaine said, shaking his head. "The matters you're referring to are political. They have nothing to do with me. If you truly have concerns, perhaps you should speak with the President of Magical Congress ."
He wasn't especially afraid of Grindelwald.
The Blood Pact still existed. That was his greatest safeguard. As long as he didn't actively provoke Grindelwald, the terms of the pact meant Grindelwald couldn't harm him.
Even so, the sensation of being watched by a venomous serpent made a chill creep up his spine.
"Thick skin," Grindelwald muttered coldly. "Don't worry. Once I've stabilized things on my end, I'll make sure to investigate America thoroughly."
"Finally, it's America under investigation, not us," Okoye said with a hearty chuckle. "Gellert, you know how things are at Uagadou. We've had a rough time lately. I'm cheering for you."
Grindelwald's lips twitched. He knew Okoye was deliberately lightening the mood, breaking the tension before it escalated further.
He let it pass, granting the man a bit of face.
After all, not many people could call him by his given name so casually. That alone spoke volumes about their shared history.
For most who eventually stood at the pinnacle of magical power, there was a common stage in their journey. When their craft hit a bottleneck, they traveled the world, absorbing different philosophies and magical traditions from every corner. Only by blending those ideas could they break free of the narrow cave that had confined them.
Back then, when Grindelwald was preaching "wizards ruling over Muggles," he was already a wanted man across the magical world. He had to disguise himself just to sneak into libraries.
Unfortunately, his ignorance of African magic gave him away the moment he slipped into Uagadou.
At that time, Grindelwald was not yet the dark legend who made the world tremble. He was powerful, certainly, but surrounded by a group of elite professors, he had no real chance of winning.
It was Okoye, already headmaster then, who stepped in and did him a favor. He allowed Grindelwald full access to Uagadou's library, no restrictions, no secrets withheld.
They hadn't kept in touch much after that, but Grindelwald never forgot the favor. Whenever he encountered enemies of Uagadou, he tended to go easy on them. Most were simply locked away instead of eliminated.
That was just how he was.
If it had been Voldemort, anyone who knew that embarrassing chapter of his past would have been dead long ago.
...
The conversation on the high table wound down, but the low murmur at the long house tables below swelled like water at a boil.
Students forgot their breakfasts entirely. They clustered in small groups, whispering furiously, faces lit with excitement, tension, and disbelief.
"Merlin's beard," a Hufflepuff muttered under his breath. "I've never seen Dumbledore that fierce."
"What do you mean never? Didn't his wand glow green the other day?"
"That's different! Using the Killing Curse on a Dark Lord is normal."
"Still… I kind of envy Ariana," someone else whispered. "Grindelwald's disciple, a brother who's that protective… who in the magical world would dare mess with her?"
"What about the Greengrasses? You think Riddle is easy to provoke?"
Most of the talk was pure envy.
Glances kept drifting toward the Gryffindor table. Two girls sitting near Ariana looked close to tears.
As for Ariana herself, she was glowing inside.
Looks like my big brother finally figured it out.
Family comes first. If you can't protect your own sister, what right do you have to meddle in the world? Better to make certain people understand exactly who they shouldn't cross.
She felt no guilt whatsoever about having maneuvered Albus into this position.
It was for his own good... For the greater good.
"Tom, I want to watch the drama unfold."
Daphne's eyes sparkled. "What do you think Dumbledore will do? Is he actually going to kill Pierce?"
Tom nodded. "It's not just you. I'm curious too."
Dumbledore going all out…
Whether he walks away as a White Lord or a Dark Lord might depend on what happens next.
Still, there was one concern nagging at him.
The Elder Wand was in his possession.
Without it, what would happen to old Dumbles? Would he get hurt?
Well, probably not. Even without the Elder Wand, Dumbledore was still Dumbledore.
No, he couldn't just sit around waiting for news. Gossip and spectacle were the true engines of productivity.
Tom's decisiveness shot through the roof.
"Daphne, tell Hermione and the others I'm heading to America. I'll give you a live update. Prepare your Lume-Lens."
"Can you take me with you?" Daphne's eyes lit up instantly.
Tom had intended to refuse.
But under the full assault of her pleading, starry-eyed gaze, his resolve crumbled.
In the end, he brought her along, and the two of them quietly slipped out of the school together.
.
.
.