“Tsk…
An unexpectedly well-mannered Dark Wizard?” Isaac stood by the window, watching the trespasser pick the lock using Alohomora, and couldn’t help but marvel at the efficacy of a Hogwarts education.
“And here I thought he would use a blasting curse to blow the door off its hinges.”
It had to be said, Hogwarts truly felt like the compulsory education standard for the British wizarding world.
Most Dark Wizards operating in Britain had received their foundational education at Hogwarts.
Such schooling ensured that, provided their brains hadn’t been completely fried by the Dark Arts, these rogue wizards still knew how to select the appropriate spell for the situation.
For instance, when confronted with an iron gate, this invading wizard still relied on a standard unlocking charm.
Just as he stepped into the garden, the Dark Wizard suddenly looked up, his eyes locking directly with Isaac’s as the boy stood by the window.
Isaac raised his wand, gave him a small wave, and then stepped back, disappearing from view.
“Hmph!
A brat who doesn’t know life from death.” The Dark Wizard narrowed his eyes and immediately strode toward the two-story house.
“Gellert, I’m a bit curious.
Do all wizards who study and use the Dark Arts eventually end up looking like this—completely devoid of reason?” Isaac walked quickly, but he didn’t panic or run blindly through the villa.
He held his wand ready, cautious but entirely unafraid.
He even possessed the presence of mind to analyze the mental stability of Dark Wizards with Grindelwald, who was currently walking right beside him.
Isaac’s behavior back in Diagon Alley had been perfectly consistent with that of an ordinary young wizard, so it was barely reasonable that the tracking Dark Wizard hadn’t grown suspicious then.
But now, the intruder had already broken into his home and walked brazenly into the courtyard.
The two had even made direct eye contact through the glass, and instead of panicking, the young wizard had smiled and greeted him from the window.
Wouldn’t any normal person stop and wonder if they were walking into a trap?
This Dark Wizard, however, did not.
Not only did he fail to reconsider, but he actually charged forward even more fiercely.
“What is your definition of a Dark Wizard?” Grindelwald maintained his elegant, elderly demeanor.
He followed not far behind Isaac at an unhurried pace, completely disregarding the wizard breaking in below.
He certainly possessed the capital to ignore such a low-level threat, and more importantly, his physical body wasn’t even present.
Isaac also lacked the ability to throw this intruder directly into Nurmengard.
Having not seen Grindelwald for several days, Isaac strongly suspected that the old man hadn’t manifested this time for his sake, but rather for Dumbledore, who was currently hiding somewhere nearby.
Fine, fine, so the older generation is just using me, a first-year student, as a convenient bridge for their romance, right?
“Wizards who use the Dark Arts?” Isaac thought for a moment and offered an uncertain answer.
Grindelwald laughed heartily upon hearing this, remarking that if one followed Isaac’s standard, at least ninety-nine percent of the wizards in the entire British wizarding world would have to be locked up in Azkaban.
This young wizard was even more extreme than he was.
“To be precise, it should be wizards who abuse the Dark Arts,” Grindelwald explained smoothly.
“A wizard’s will shapes magic, and likewise, magic erodes a wizard’s will.
Controlled use of the Dark Arts does not lead to a drastic change in temperament, but abusing them accelerates the magic’s erosion of one’s sanity.”
Grindelwald offered the most straightforward comparison available.
“Just look at the Acolytes and the Death Eaters—my followers would never allow themselves to look like raving lunatics.”
Grindelwald harbored nothing but disdain for the junior who called himself Lord Voldemort.
When Grindelwald was actively restructuring Europe, he was never called a “Dark Lord,” because he wasn’t a mere terrorist.
He could be classified as a reformer, a dictator, or even the most dangerous criminal alive, but no one ever called him a Dark Lord.
It was only after Tom Riddle emerged that people coined the term.
During the years following the Dark Lord’s disappearance, some people retroactively categorized Grindelwald among their ranks, but the title was never officially recognized.
If any proper authority truly wanted to define Grindelwald as the first Dark Lord, the very first thing they would have to do is disqualify Voldemort from the title entirely.
It was no joke; the Acolytes who once followed Grindelwald were all individuals driven by ideals and grand ambitions.
No matter how twisted their methods, those people possessed deep convictions.
And what about the Death Eaters?
A small core of refined egoists leading pure-blood families, surrounded by a majority of lunatics whose brains had been utterly ruined by the Dark Arts.
Even Voldemort himself was someone whose mind had long since snapped.
Isaac didn’t particularly care how much Grindelwald despised Tom Riddle; his focus was entirely locked onto a different matter.
Since the proper study and utilization of the Dark Arts wouldn’t make a wizard lose his mind, could he perhaps cram a new spell at the absolute last minute?
“Gellert, Gellert!
How about you teach me your Protego Diabolica?
Let’s give the British wizarding world a taste of the blue gas stove shock!”
Honestly, ever since Isaac had confirmed which world he was in and found himself able to see Grindelwald, he had been coveting Protego Diabolica.
Strength is temporary, but looking cool is forever—and Protego Diabolica happened to be both incredibly strong and exceptionally cool.
If others didn’t know Grindelwald and lacked this opportunity, that was their misfortune, but he had the ultimate advantage of proximity!
Uncle Gellert, I want to take care of you in your old age!
The expression on Grindelwald’s face beside him became quite peculiar.
It wasn’t annoyance, nor was it surprise.
It was more like: I knew you brat would eventually ask for this, but I didn’t expect you to actually have the sheer nerve to say it out loud.
To catch Grindelwald completely off guard twice with the exact same attitude—was that something an ordinary person could pull off?
Eventually, those shifting expressions smoothed into an amused sneer, and Grindelwald said crossly, “Forget it.
A brat like you can’t even meet the basic prerequisites for Protego Diabolica.
Do you know the Fiendfyre Curse?
Have you mastered the Fidelius Charm?
And Legilimency…”
By the end of his sentence, even Grindelwald could barely keep a straight face.
This kid really thought highly of himself, expecting to master such an advanced array of magic in a matter of seconds.
Did he truly think he was Merlin?
Even Merlin would have to sit down and study them.
“Children should just play with the things children are supposed to play with.” Leaving behind that final remark, Grindelwald vanished from Isaac’s sight.
Isaac wasn’t at all annoyed by Grindelwald’s sudden departure; Uncle Gellert simply possessed a sharp tongue but a soft heart.
At the exact moment Grindelwald vanished, Isaac sensed that he had unlocked a prophetic vision tied directly to the old man’s knowledge.
Why is it said that Seers are creatures who toy with time?
Aside from their ability to perceive images of the future, the primary reason is that they can process visions spanning hours, days, or even years in the mere span of a split second.
In the very next second, inside the villa’s main hall, Isaac and the invading Dark Wizard came face-to-face in reality.
“Stupefy!”
“Wingardium Leviosa!”
Isaac bent his knees and snapped his head down, narrowly dodging the red jet of light sent by the Dark Wizard, and immediately targeted the intruder’s wand with a Levitation Charm.
A transmigrator’s refined focus and raw willpower gave Isaac an immense advantage in precision; in the next heartbeat, the Dark Wizard’s wand tore free from his grip and flew into the air.
“Engorgio!”
The wand, which had been as slender as a conductor’s baton, suddenly swelled to the proportions of a heavy baseball bat.
The Dark Wizard, who had instinctively lunged forward to snatch his weapon out of mid-air, found himself swinging an unwieldy block of wood at empty space.
The sinister magic that had been brewing in his throat fizzled out instantly.