Hogwarts: Even Voldemort Can't Stop Me From Studying

Chapter 1110: Chapter 197: The Road of No Return

Perez’s pale face flushed with an almost sickly red, his face twisted into a smile:

”But the Muggles you look down upon are far more sincere than the bureaucrats of the Magic World! They will open all their secrets, all their resources to me!”

Hosone couldn’t help but say, ”Wake up, Reginald! Trusting those Muggles is the most foolish choice.”

”They open their secrets to you only to drain your knowledge and Magic Power, then they will abandon you without mercy!”

”The ’essence of time’ you pursue is nothing more than another ’resource’ they can monopolize and sell!”

”Haha!” Perez laughed, looking at Hosone with an almost superior attitude.

”Fools! Absolute fools! Hosone, do you think I don’t know Muggles have what they want too? Only fools watch what others have gained and hope they don’t want anything!”

”But I don’t care! I don’t care whether those foolish Muggles can achieve immortality! I only care about what I can get!”

”And as for abandonment, it’s even more ridiculous... Why? Because they know only I can unlock the mysteries of Time Magic for them, only I can rescue them from the prison of time!”

”In Prometheus, a Wizard like me is unique!”

He snorted disdainfully:

”Look at that fool Alderich Kubit! For some money... pieces of paper printed by Muggles! Satisfied like a child with candy, selling intelligence, selling his compatriots!”

”He doesn’t understand at all that he’s only touched the most superficial, dirtiest scraps! The truly valuable thing, the power of time itself, he hasn’t even touched!”

”And the result? He exposed himself first, like a ridiculous target... serves him right!”

...

His excited voice seemed to pierce through the night sky, but none of the Muggles living nearby or at Piqueley Manor were disturbed.

Only a raven standing on a branch, completely blending into the night, lowered its head and watched them intently.

Its eyes faintly glittered with a shimmer.

...

On a building farther away, soft light cast from the windows of a penthouse apartment, forming a small patch of brightness.

Antoine stood by the window, looking into the distance—

He knew the biggest upheaval tonight would happen two kilometers away on that avenue but naturally, standing here, he could see nothing.

Antoine turned around, only to see the whole wall was occupied by an enlarged Flow Mirror, on its smooth surface was the tense scene of a few people, even Perez’s excited voice continuing to echo.

From an overhead angle, it was difficult to see the expressions of the other two.

Hearing Perez justify his betrayal as a pursuit of knowledge, Antoine couldn’t resist laughing.

”Listen to this guy’s ’heartfelt words.’ Tsk tsk, if he were at Hogwarts, he’d definitely be like our little friends, a true Ravenclaw—one who pursues knowledge at any cost.”

”I wonder what Vid would think upon hearing this ’no choice’ rhetoric?”

Grindelwald sat on the sofa, holding a freshly poured glass of gin, the light from the Flow Mirror outlining his profile and his silver-white hair tips.

He watched Perez still passionately arguing, as if observing a bug caught in a web, self-important.

”Thoughts?” Grindelwald snickered: ”He’d simply think this person is extremely foolish.”

He slightly tilted his head, looking at Antoine: ”Vid wanted to study time, so he successfully applied for a Time Turner; he wanted to learn Dark Magic, even obtaining Dumbledore’s tacit consent.”

”Ha! Quite true.” Antoine laughed: ”Then how crazy must this guy have been in his youth, to make the whole Magic Congress completely unwilling to trust him with even the scraps of Time Magic?”

Grindelwald’s gaze returned to Perez, eyes seemingly penetrating through time, seeing through everyone’s hearts.

”The difference might be...”

He said slowly, his tone carrying an elusive meaning:

”Vid knows when to appropriately express his desire, and when to restrain—enough to attract attention, receive resources, yet not make others feel threatened.”

He paused for a moment, a slight smirk appearing on his lips: ”Even if what he’s doing is far more dangerous than tampering with a few Time Particles.”

”That kid understands restraint and propriety well...”

He whispered, as if savoring these two words that were almost alien to him in youth.

”That’s precisely what pleases me most about him... hmm, one of the things. He knows where the boundaries of power lie, and knows how to make the ’boundaries’ themselves work for him.”

Perceiving the leader’s pleasure, Antoine couldn’t help but smile: ”So, that’s why you chose him...”

After a moment’s pause, he added: ”But, aren’t you planning to tell him about that matter yet? Having Vid with us would greatly expedite our... progress.”

”No rush... no need to hurry. I still want to see...” Grindelwald muttered, his gaze seemingly directed at someone not present here.

Antoine was puzzled: still want to see... see what?

Perez’s shouting echoed from the Flow Mirror:

”—I don’t care whether those foolish Muggles can achieve immortality! I only care about what I can get!”

This sentence stirred some of Grindelwald’s memories, he shifted his gaze back to the Flow Mirror.

He suddenly thought that perhaps in his youth, he too was as insanely passionate as that pitiful bug below?

Only the things they obsessed over were different...

Back then, how did Dumbledore view his idealistic fervor?

As his thoughts drifted away, Antoine’s voice suddenly rang out:

”Sir, what do you think the situation in the United States will tilt towards after tonight? Will Laira Piqueley and her backers control everything, or can Hosone make a comeback?”

”This is why we’re waiting here, Antoine.”

Grindelwald spoke, his gaze falling on the man with a straight spine, whose body trembled slightly.

”The key figure who can ultimately decide the course of events might not be those skilled in weighing pros and cons... but who are driven to desperation, still gripping their blades... the Hound.”

...

Hosone took a deep breath, suppressing the cold anger in his heart, and said heavily:

”Reginald, listen to me!”

”The Magic World is now facing a crisis far beyond your narrow ’time mystery.’ This isn’t a scholarly debate, nor a simple exchange of interests—this is a war for survival!”

”I know perhaps Laira has said something to you, but she’s not your ally. The Muggles want far more than just extending life for a few years! What they want is to seize, to replace, to consume us all!”

”Once the barrier is opened from within, what’s collapsing is the foundation for us all, including yourself! Turn back, it’s not too late—work with us to stop their conspiracy, protect the Magic World, which is also safeguarding what you truly want to protect—whether it be knowledge or the future!”

Perez sneered: ”Ha, what nonsense are you talking about! Laira! You think your ambitious assistant could tell me anything? Somebody else revealed your plans to me!”

Hosone’s expression slightly changed.

”And—”

Perez spread his arms wide, as if to embrace the floating golden dust under the streetlights:

”I’ve chosen this path! I’ve mastered the power! Do you see? These particles... this is the future! It’s a future you will never understand or touch!”

”The Magic World is already decaying, held by you outdated relics! Only when you’re gone can change happen!”

”I don’t need to turn back; I will walk this path to the end of time!”

His eyes were utterly insane, devoid of reason, and persuasion was now meaningless.

At this moment, Hughes’s long-tightened mouth suddenly formed a sharp, cold curve.

”Then why haven’t you acted yet, Perez?”