Judging from what he had learned through Legilimency, this Madam Modesty Barebone really did have some connection to his teacher, Grindelwald.
Back then, when his teacher had used the Obscurial Credence Barebone, she had been one of the three children adopted by Mary Barebone, the leader of the anti wizard group known as the New Salem Philanthropic Society, also called Second Salem.
It was just that his teacher had disguised himself as someone else at the time, and Modesty had no access to information from the wizarding world, so she knew none of it.
Seeing the confusion in her eyes, Tver had no interest in explaining. He was only using it as a way to get closer to her.
If he really explained how his teacher had indirectly caused her adoptive mother's death and destroyed Second Salem, even Tver would have no idea how to smooth that over...
"I just did not expect that after seventy years, with Second Salem already destroyed, you would still be carrying on your mother's wishes."
Tver looked around the church with curiosity.
Like the children's clothes, signs of age and wear could be seen everywhere inside, yet everything was still kept spotless.
And that let Tver discover this place's secret.
"This is the church that was destroyed back then?"
"That is right. This is the church that was destroyed by magic!"
Unexpectedly, bringing that up only stoked Madam Barebone's anger. She already understood that Tver came from the wizarding world, from the very world she hated.
What she had not expected was that it would spark the children's curiosity behind her.
"Magic? Is there really magic in this world?" a little girl asked in a small, childish voice.
"No, I spoke too quickly. Perrine, take them home. Tomorrow..." Barebone hesitated and glanced at Tver. "Come back again tomorrow..."
The other children still wanted to say something, but the Black girl stopped them. As the eldest, she held back her tears, stared hard at Tver, and led the children out of the church.
Tver almost felt like some kind of villain.
"I did not expect you to hide the existence of magic from them."
After the children left, Barebone seemed to shed some heavy burden and sat weakly down on one of the church's long wooden benches.
"What else could I do? The magic you use can destroy everything we struggled so hard to build whenever you want, and the way young people treat magic now is just too strange..."
At that, she looked up in utter disbelief.
"They actually worship magic. Even though they cannot use the slightest bit of it themselves, they still call every trace of magic cool."
"A wizard blew up the torch on the Statue of Liberty. What exactly is cool about that?!"
"Ahem." Cruz coughed awkwardly and took two steps back.
"Then why did you secretly slip the videotape into the store?"
Barebone's shoulders instantly slumped, and she looked up at the church ceiling with a self defeating air.
"I do not know either... Maybe it was the last thought my mother left behind in me."
Some extreme Scourers passed down their resentment toward wizards for judging them through their family lines.
By the time it reached Modesty Barebone's generation, that chain had actually been broken, thanks to his teacher's inexplicable actions.
And from the look of it now, Modesty had no intention of passing that hatred on.
If Tver left her alone, then once she passed away with age, the Salem organizations in this world would probably disappear completely.
But once the day came when the wizarding world was exposed to muggle sight, new organizations like Salem would very likely rise again from the ashes.
So dealing with Modesty was simple. Preventing anti wizard ideas like those passed down in the Barebone family from reappearing would not be nearly so easy...
"You do not actually hate wizards, do you?" Tver sat down beside Modesty and spoke in a gentle tone.
"What you received was only one sided knowledge passed down from your mother, but you yourself do not truly understand that hatred, do you?"
Modesty looked at Tver in surprise. She did not quite understand what he meant, or rather, she did not understand why Tver was saying so much to her at all.
"It is true that I would not hate an entire group for no reason. But the reason I did not tell the children about you wizards is because I am afraid of you!"
"My mother taught me to hate wizards, and my own experiences also taught me that wizards can destroy everything we worked so hard to build without restraint. They can even erase our memories so that you can go on living with a clear conscience!"
It seemed Tver's gentle expression had relaxed Modesty quite a bit, and she poured out all her thoughts about wizards in one breath.
That also gave Tver a very real understanding of how ordinary people viewed magic.
"We are protecting you!" Cruz could not help shouting back.
"Some evil wizards often spread dark magical objects around, and some of them end up in the hands of you No-Majs."
"If we do not take action, the harm done to you will only be worse!"
"What about the Statue of Liberty?!" As if realizing she had no chance of escape anyway, Modesty gave up holding back and openly argued with Cruz.
Cornered into embarrassment, Cruz stamped his foot in irritation.
"That was just an accident. I was trying to capture an extremely dangerous dark wizard. The fact that the battle did not affect you No-Majs was already thanks to the efforts of those three injured Aurors!"
"Besides, we repaired that damned statue afterward. No one noticed anything!"
After hearing Cruz's explanation, Modesty still held her chin high, but her attitude clearly softened.
"All right, I am grateful to the wizards who protected us. But the problem is that there are still many wizards who intentionally or unintentionally hurt us, are there not?"
"That is exactly what we have always tried to avoid, Modesty." Tver suddenly spoke, drawing everyone's attention to himself.
"I know there is still fear of magic in your heart. So would you be willing to hear the voices of the friendly part of the wizarding world?"
"Me?"
Modesty froze for a moment.
In all her imaginings, she had never considered that something like this would happen. A wizard she hated was willing to listen gently to her thoughts, and even seemed almost humble before her.
Seeing Tver nod in confirmation, she asked, "I... what do I need to do?"
She looked a little lost, which made Tver smile in satisfaction.
"There is no need to be nervous. I only want to invite you to a place. It is a bit far from here, and the altitude is a little high. But do not worry, you will not feel any discomfort. I promise."