This is obviously more threatening than being buried alive.
"Aurora and I are good friends. She certainly wouldn't think I'm complaining about her. I promised to get her a Christmas gift, and if she doesn't receive it, she'll definitely cry."
"Moreover, I've also prepared Christmas gifts for you and Dumbledore. You might not like Christmas gifts, but surely you wouldn't want Dumbledore to go without a decent one this year?" Ian's tone was filled with a hint of tea; he was clearly gambling on Grindelwald and Dumbledore truly being good friends.
"Hahaha~"
Grindelwald laughed very loudly, disturbing the sleeping creatures in the forest. Many dark shadows fluttered in the trees, likely birds resting on the branches at night.
"Someone's here."
Before reaching the distant shack, Ian saw several people in suits. Late at night, instead of sleeping, they followed a nun around this wild place in circles. It was like the game of hawk and chick, with the nun leading and the suited men covering their eyes and placing their hands on the shoulders of the person in front.
The nun seemed to be leading these men in suits to find something—when Ian discovered them, Grindelwald's laughter apparently startled them as well.
"Wizards!"
Seeing Ian and Grindelwald's attire, the nun immediately exclaimed, causing the men in suits to suddenly jerk and violently tear away the cloth covering their eyes.
They reached for something at their waists, but under the night, all Ian could see was a dark mass. He immediately felt his scalp tingle, and his magic wand sparked with blue flames as he raised it.
But Grindelwald was clearly much faster.
"Forgetfulness Spell!"
This was the best portrayal of a character in cosplay, as Gilderoy Grindelwald used Lockhart's signature skill, instantly causing the Muggles to roll their eyes and faint on the ground.
"Some say I'm a Dark Wizard raised by Durmstrang, but I believe that in nurturing Dark Wizards, Durmstrang is clearly far inferior to Hogwarts."
"First there was Tom Riddle, and now there's Ian Prince? Tsk tsk, you guys are something special." Grindelwald turned to Ian as he slowly put away the Fiery Fire.
"That was a gun!"
Ian was still shaken.
He actually wanted to use Avada Kedavra directly.
"I know what they wanted to grab. In fact, people using Squibs to find us have existed for many, many years already."
Grindelwald gave Ian a meaningful look, "You kids now can hardly imagine the fates of wizards caught by them back in the day... When I was in Japan, I once saw them completely dissect a wizard, using every organ to study why we have magic."
"Many said my ideas back then were extreme, but clearly some Muggles are much more extreme than I ever was. Survival of the fittest, this is the inevitable conflict between different species." Grindelwald might have intentionally brought Ian here at this time to "coincidentally" encounter these wizard seekers.
Whatever the case.
He was indeed using these people to lecture Ian, "Look at them, their first reaction upon discovering we're wizards says a lot."
"I never intended to exterminate Muggles, I just don't want Muggles to exterminate us... Perhaps there are friendly Muggles, but if the initiative is on our side, I believe there will be more friendly ones than not. Tolerance and peace? They can only be guaranteed to be fully realized when we are the victors." It has to be said, even after being imprisoned for many years, Grindelwald's speechcraft remained as excellent as Ian saw in Dumbledore's memories.
"Dumbledore doesn't allow me to learn this from you."
Ian quickly brought up the old headmaster, feeling he was being indoctrinated with dangerous ideas. He didn't want to end up brainwashed like those Saints.
"He also doesn't allow me to kill."
Grindelwald shrugged, regretfully glancing at the unconscious people, "However, he didn't say I couldn't help others with rejuvenation."
Alright.
Sure enough, the old tricks are the more ruthless ones.
It seems like he directly reset their memories to factory settings.
"Rest assured, I'm not trying to change your principles, just telling you about some real situations." After saying this, Grindelwald indeed didn't mention the conflict between Muggles and wizards again.
They arrived at what seemed like an unassuming old shack. The walls of the old house were covered in moss, the roof tiles were shattered, revealing the rafters inside. The area surrounding the old house was overgrown with weeds, interspersed with some withered yellow nettles, their leaves glowing with a faint green light in the weak moonlight.
This was obviously an ominous place, with one or two nocturnal creatures darting through this desolate area, their cries sharp and shrill, adding an eerie air to the scene.
"Heh, even if those people searched their entire lives, they'd never find this place. Never mind the gap between Squibs and wizards, the gap between wizards themselves is equally vast." Grindelwald surveyed the old house of the Legendary Clan in front of him. It nestled half-visible between two steep hills, among intertwined thickets.
Ian was also curiously observing. Around the house, thick nettles grew up to the windows, which were very small and covered with thick layers of old grime.