Hogwarts: This Dark Lord is so evil

“I don't find anything funny about this…” Dumbledore said calmly, “Looking at you now, I know what I would become if I were to be tainted by power… Therefore, it is a very wise choice for me not to get involved in anything related to power.”

“Oh? Really? That doesn’t sound like something the Great Sage Dumbledore would say!”

“Great Sage? Heh… No matter how others compliment me, I know very well that I have never been a good person…” Dumbledore said with a wry smile, “How could a good person be friends with you? Back then, I knew what kind of person you were, but… I still selectively ignored those parts that shouldn't have been ignored… and then became close friends with you. From beginning to end, there wasn't much difference between you and me!”

The smile on Grindelwald's face gradually disappeared, “You really should have stood with me…”

“I will never stand with you again, Gellert.”

“Why not? Just because everyone says I'm a bad person?” Grindelwald sneered, “Even if I am a bad person, as long as what I do can bring benefits to the wizarding world, does it really matter whether I am a bad person or not?”

“Really? Look at what you've done… Even if you can clear your name and deceive everyone, can you deceive yourself? You know better than anyone else what you are doing all this for.”

Grindelwald was silent, a look of annoyance appearing on his face.

This was the first time since he had been imprisoned in the dungeon…

“I can protect President Picquery without your intervention…” Dumbledore paused, then continued, “To be honest, if her plan wasn't destined to fail, maybe… I would have participated.”

Dumbledore's words made Grindelwald laugh in anger.

“Heh… Do you want me to die that much, Dumbledore?”

“I have never wanted you to die, I just want you to give up this unrealistic ideal and properly atone for the sins you committed in the past…”

Dumbledore took one last look at Grindelwald, then disappeared at the door.

“I will not give up… I will make you realize that the future we planned back then was absolutely correct! Sins? Excuses! You are just a half-hearted coward!”

…

“Where is Dumbledore now?”

President Picquery sat in her chair, looking serious.

Beside her, someone immediately replied, “After he left here, he has been staying at his residence and has not left.”

“Is that so…” President Picquery's expression relaxed slightly, “We can't let him ruin our plan.”

“Madam President, do you really think Dumbledore will help Grindelwald escape out of old friendship?”

“I have to prepare for every possibility!” President Picquery said coldly.

“But… If Dumbledore really decides to help Grindelwald, who can stop him?”

President Picquery glanced coldly at this subordinate who liked to tell the truth, “I naturally have my plans.”

The subordinate didn't say anything more.

He understood why President Picquery was angry…

Because he had asked the key question.

How could Dumbledore possibly help Grindelwald? If he really wanted to help, no one could stop him! What's the point of watching him?

For example, right now, Dumbledore is ostensibly staying obediently in his room.

But in fact, whether he is really still in the room, how could those amateurs possibly keep an eye on him?

Therefore, President Picquery's measures against Dumbledore are just a facade.

She has only one purpose, which is to leave herself a way out…

In case there are any loopholes in the plan that lead to failure, she can directly push Dumbledore out as a shield!

If her plan fails, it means that Grindelwald can escape, and Grindelwald's escape will inevitably cause an uproar.

If at this time, there is a little bit of inside information showing that Grindelwald's escape is related to Dumbledore…

Then, even if the evidence she forged is exposed, she can later explain it as… the real evidence was switched by someone.

As for who is so powerful that they can do this in the Magical Congress of the United States?

She doesn't need to say much.

The biggest suspect will naturally fall on Dumbledore, so she, Picquery, can escape from the vortex caused by this incident!

Even, because she implemented the practice of tailing Dumbledore, she may even be considered to have foresight afterwards!

This is a politician, who will always leave a way out for themselves, even if it means stabbing allies in the back…

President Picquery took out a document from the table and handed it over, “Take this and bring all the prepared witnesses from the safe house.”

“Understood.” The subordinate took the document and walked out of the office.

However, when he walked to a deserted place at the corner of the corridor, his face underwent a drastic change.

A moment later, he turned into another person.

If President Picquery was still here, she would definitely recognize him.

This person is Abernathy, the former Auror who had defected to Grindelwald long ago…

One of Grindelwald's most trusted assistants.

Unlike Vinda, he is better at personally carrying out infiltration missions.

He looked at the document in his hand, a smug smile on his face.

After he took the document and left, several more figures appeared in the corridor.

They followed Abernathy's footsteps silently…

…

Dumbledore's residence.

Leif and Tom were playing wizard's chess, bored.

Tom looked pale as he watched his king being cut down from the throne by Leif's knight…

This was the tenth game he had lost.

“I say… can you stop playing? I want to study.” Tom said with a wry smile.

“Why? Playing chess is so enjoyable, why study? Studying is so boring…” Leif began to reset the chessboard.

Tom's face turned green.

Leif was crushing him every game, of course he was happy!

If Leif were the one being crushed, Tom would bet that the minimum dark magic the chessboard would encounter would be Fiendfyre…

“Ahem, do you think Dumbledore can stop Grindelwald?” Tom quickly changed the subject.

“He can't stop him. At most, he can only extract President Picquery from this matter.” Leif said with a smile.

“But how will he do it?” Tom asked curiously. “No matter what, if the plan fails, President Picquery will definitely be in danger.”

“It's very simple, he just needs to do nothing.” Leif said helplessly, “As long as he does nothing, then turns his back properly to his ally, and gets stabbed by his ally.”

“Are you saying that President Picquery is going to stab him in the back? How is that possible?” Tom was shocked.

“Didn't I say, there are no permanent friends, only permanent interests…” Leif pointed outside. “Those amateurs outside can't even keep an eye on you, how could they possibly keep an eye on Dumbledore? President Picquery is such a shrewd person, how could she not understand this? But she still did it… This shows that she is putting on a show…”

Tom refocused his attention on the chessboard: “These guys' conspiracies are too complicated… I still don't like being so tortuous…”

Leif smiled: “There's no way, even with Grindelwald's strength, you can't just kill your way through. Then you have to play some small conspiracies…”

“I'd rather rack my brains on the chessboard…” Tom said with a cold face. “So, Dumbledore really decided to remain silent and let President Picquery stab him?”

“He's just that kind of person, isn't he, Tom? Just sacrificing a little bit of reputation can protect an enemy of Grindelwald…”

“I just think he's stupid. Who would knowingly jump into a pit in front of them?” Tom said disdainfully.

“Well… this form of stepping into a pit is called sacrifice…”

“I will never understand…” Tom looked at Leif and suddenly said, “You really are a good student of Dumbledore, don't you have any thoughts of helping him?”

“Respecting his wishes and staying obediently in the room is what Dumbledore wants most… Besides… is it really just us who can't bear to let him step into the pit?” A meaningful smile appeared on Leif's face.

“Who else is there?” Tom asked.

“Would you bear to let me step into the pit? Sometimes, the enemy may also give you a hand, as the saying goes, there are only permanent interests…” Leif suddenly asked.

Tom laughed, “If you stepped into the pit, I would definitely bear it, but… it's just a pity that it's too difficult to let you bastard step into the pit, otherwise, I would definitely give you a push!”

…

Three days passed in a flash.

Leif was right, Dumbledore had been staying in the house ever since his outing on the first day.

He really didn't do anything anymore, calmly facing the big pot that was about to be thrown over.

This day at noon, after finishing lunch, Dumbledore took Leif and Tom and left the room where they had stayed for three days.

Because on this day at noon, Grindelwald's public trial will be opened in the Great Hall in the face of wizards from all over the world.

The Great Hall, like the Wizengamot courtroom of the British Ministry of Magic, is located underground.

When Leif and the others arrived, they were surprised to find that the underground space where the Great Hall was located was terrifyingly large…

Except for the normal courtroom configuration in the middle, the other places were stepped seats.

“For this public trial, they specially expanded the space with the Undetectable Extension Charm…” Dumbledore muttered, looking at the huge circular space in front of him.

“This can seat thousands of people, right?” Leif put his hand on his forehead, looking at the “summit” position at the highest point.

A public trial, the location is like a concert…

“Our seats are in the front.” Dumbledore smiled.

“That's great! No need to sit on the summit!”