Hogwarts: This Dark Lord is so evil

High in the depths of the clouds,

Dozens of Night Mare carriages were flying rapidly, maintaining a fixed formation.

In the very center of the convoy was the largest carriage, though it had almost no windows, save for a small vent on the left side.

Inside the carriage, a man with a calm expression was looking at the clear blue sky outside through the vent.

If it weren't for the large pile of chains binding him tightly, one might have thought he was out for a picnic.

"Don't even think about escaping!" President Picquery said coldly. "I'm personally escorting you this time! My wand is pointed right at your neck! If you make any unusual move, I guarantee the Killing Curse will hit you immediately!"

Grindelwald withdrew his gaze from the vent and looked at the agitated woman in front of him.

Then, he looked at the wand emitting a faint green glow.

However, his expression remained calm, as if he weren't the one being threatened by the wand.

"I don't want to reiterate this again, President Picquery, but I still maintain that I am not a criminal, because I am innocent... Although you are certainly treating me like one, I am usually very reasonable and I believe you can be trusted. So, even though the actions of the Magical Congress of the United States of America are very impolite, I still chose to hold the public trial here. Moreover, I came here voluntarily, so naturally I won't escape, please rest assured."

"You're being publicly tried, and you still say you're not a criminal?" President Picquery sneered.

"In fact, the public trial hasn't even started yet, which means that I haven't been convicted yet. Before being convicted, I should be referred to as a suspect, not a criminal. At least that's how it is in the Muggle world. Although I sincerely believe that Muggles have great limitations, I must admit that their rigor in this regard is ten times greater than ours."

"Oh? So you have moments where you praise Muggles? Don't you look down on Muggles? Don't you think they are... maggots, slaves..."

"I have never thought that way, President Picquery. Moreover, such language is very inappropriate," Grindelwald said. "I believe that everyone has a place that suits them. And when I say everyone, that of course includes Muggles..."

"You're just quibbling! A suitable place? To be slaves, is that what you mean by a suitable place?"

"If it were in the past, I would definitely have a good chat with you about some of my ideas, so that your misunderstanding of us could be eliminated, but... the main purpose of my coming to the Magical Congress of the United States of America this time is to clear my name of the crimes that have been unjustly placed on me for so many years. So, regarding this aspect, perhaps we can have a good talk about it later when we have time."

President Picquery sneered, "You don't really think you can clear your name, do you? Even if most of your crimes may not be provable due to the deaths of those Obscurials, but... don't forget, you murdered and impersonated a high-ranking official of our Magical Congress of the United States of America! Countless people saw you revert to your original form that time!"

"I admit to impersonating a high-ranking official, and I don't intend to deny that crime, but... murder? That has nothing to do with me. Actually, there was a reason why I impersonated a high-ranking official," Grindelwald said calmly. "That night, I discovered an Obscurus, which is a dangerous creature. I wanted to subdue it, but I thought that as a wizard from a foreign country, and with a somewhat sensitive identity, acting rashly might cause unnecessary misunderstandings, so I borrowed Mr. Graves' identity. As a result, it still caused unnecessary misunderstandings. You blamed Mr. Graves' death on me, and even without investigation, you threw me into prison, allowing the real murderer to remain at large to this day..."

"Are you saying that you only borrowed his identity, and then we misunderstood?" President Picquery became agitated. "Graves is dead! He was murdered!"

"That was just a coincidence..." Grindelwald paused, then continued, "A very unfortunate coincidence..."

President Picquery looked at Grindelwald angrily, but said nothing more.

After the conversation just now, she had generally understood Grindelwald's meaning.

He didn't deny some of the lesser crimes...

But some of the more serious crimes, such as murdering Graves and then impersonating him...

Grindelwald only admitted to briefly impersonating him! As for the murder part, he was unwilling to admit it at all!

President Picquery was certain that Grindelwald had been impersonating Graves ever since he killed him!

But Grindelwald said that he only impersonated him for one night, and then was exposed that night when capturing the Obscurus...

He even insisted that he didn't know Graves was dead when he was impersonating him!

What Picquery found most unacceptable was that they really didn't seem to have any evidence to prove that he murdered Graves!

To be honest, Grindelwald probably didn't need to do it himself to kill Graves...

So... as long as he didn't do it himself, then this crime would be very difficult to pin on him!

According to the information from the British Ministry of Magic, the charge of murdering Graves seems to have indeed fallen on a member of the Pure-Blood Supremacists.

Now, that Pure-Blood Supremacist has been executed along with other arrested Pure-Blood Supremacists…

Of course, during the initial interrogation, some Pure-Blood Supremacists, under the influence of Veritaserum, claimed they were instructed by Grindelwald.

However, this alone makes it difficult to place the blame on Grindelwald, as those people are dead and cannot testify in court, even with the records of their interrogations… they have lost sufficient weight.

Moreover, Grindelwald has consistently maintained that his words have been misinterpreted!

That is to say, the murder cases and disappearances were all due to his fanatical followers misunderstanding his intentions and acting on their own!

He didn't actually mean it that way!

Grindelwald directly positioned himself as a victim.

His only fault was that his followers were too fanatical, so fanatical that they misinterpreted his meaning.

If his followers committed crimes out of fanaticism, you can't blame the 'idol'!

Therefore, solely on this matter, Grindelwald only admits to briefly impersonating Graves… and would at most be sentenced to a few months in prison.

If he could pay sufficient bail, he wouldn't even need to spend a day in jail…

Grindelwald, with countless followers, is not short of money.

At this moment, President Picquery finally understood that using legitimate means to sanction Grindelwald was almost impossible.

Now, the only way to make Grindelwald bear the price he should bear is…

…

Safe House.

When Levid saw that Grindelwald planned to hold a public trial at the Magical Congress of the United States, he knew that this matter was settled.

Grindelwald would inevitably be able to clear himself of all charges.

Even minor charges that couldn't be cleared could be resolved with money.

Tom said, "I still think there will be important figures who don't want Grindelwald to be exonerated. If these figures start plotting, even without Dumbledore's help, the chances of success are very high!"

"I've said it before, no one can outplay Grindelwald in this game," Levid laughed. "It's more like Grindelwald now most wants someone to use tricks to frame him. That way, as long as the conspiracy is exposed, his victim status will be confirmed! 'See, I told you, people have been framing me all along! That's why my reputation has deteriorated! All my charges are framed by them!' If someone can't resist the temptation and uses petty tricks to harm him, they'll really fall into his trap."

Tom was stunned. "In that case, wouldn't he already be invincible?"

"Not necessarily. As long as the person playing the conspiracy can outsmart Grindelwald. As long as it's not exposed, Grindelwald will naturally be successfully framed with new charges, and then the public trial will become a farce."

"Look, it's not that I'm criticizing you… You yourself admitted that you are better at conspiracies than Grindelwald," Tom muttered softly.

"What did you say?"

"You said before that no one in this world can outplay Grindelwald in conspiracies, and then you said you have many ways to ruin his plans… Doesn't that mean you are better at playing conspiracies than him? You said before that I was wrong… See, it's only been a few days, and you've already exposed yourself!"

"It seems like you're still not convinced… Tom?"

"Levid, didn't you say you're a reasonable person?"

"According to your logic, Tom, my fist is bigger, so my fist is the truth, so, my way of reasoning with you… I hope you can accept it."

"You… Sigh, I still couldn't control my mouth… Okay, come on, be gentle…"

Just as the two were fooling around, the phoenix Fawkes suddenly appeared in the living room, delivering a letter to them.

Levid put down his wand and took the letter to read.

The letter was sent by Dumbledore.

In the letter, he warned Levid and Tom not to go out recently!

Undoubtedly, Dumbledore had prepared for the worst regarding Grindelwald's escape, and he had lost confidence in getting Grindelwald convicted…

After Tom finished reading the letter, his body couldn't help but tremble.

"Looks like I can't go fishing this afternoon…"

"What's there to be afraid of, Tom?"

"Grindelwald might retaliate…" Tom realized his mistake before he could finish his sentence.

Levid was the one who came up with the idea for Grindelwald's escape and comeback… How could Grindelwald possibly retaliate against Levid?

Moreover… now that Grindelwald is on the path to redemption, he can no longer use his old tricks.

Someone preparing to enter politics will not give anyone a chance to seize his weaknesses!

"Looks like you understand… So, are you interested in going to the United States to have some fun? The public trial will definitely be lively…"

"Goodbye!" Tom said and ran away.

This guy must be crazy, the dark wizard that everyone avoids, this guy is rushing to go…

Okay, Grindelwald probably won't do anything to Levid, but I'm not so sure about myself.