great-warnovel Chapter 408 Witnessing Transformation Through Death
Chapter 408 Witnessing Transformation Through Death
Chapter 408 Witnessing Transformation Through Death
"How incredibly careless of you! That was such a tiny clue that I finally managed to find!" Grindelwald said with a gloating tone, seemingly trying to reproach him.
"We've only had the intelligence for a short time, and they've already cut off contact so easily, even sacrificing one of my fire watchers."
He sat on his molten iron throne, feigning a pained expression: "Dolores Umbridge, an ambitious and powerful witch, whose life was dedicated to the cause of the Vigilantes, throwing herself into the most arduous front lines of Fiendfire..."
They made a tremendous contribution to the survival of this world.
Hermione stood in front of him with a sour face. This old man was sure to cause trouble and was probably going to extort her from doing his work again.
"You should have seen Umbridge's death, right? That's exactly where your eyes are most adept, yet you still sent her to assist me," she retorted. This Dark Lord deliberately sent Umbridge to her death; there were plenty of Firewatchers, but he chose the most annoying and unstable one.
Grind smiled and shook his head. "Rather than saying I killed her, it's more accurate to say it was you, isn't it?"
The old man stared intently at the girl with his heterochromatic eyes: "You clearly had a chance to save her, didn't you?"
He monitored the entire process!
"If you had chosen to let Crouch go, you could have pulled that stupid girl out of the pile of dead sooner, and she wouldn't have been buried in the collapsed cave." The Dark Lord put on a pained and sorrowful expression.
"Everyone has to be responsible for their own choices. She was an adult." Hermione was not affected by these words. Umbridge's folly and stupidity contributed to her death.
Besides, capturing Barty and Voldemort would save far more people than saving a fool.
Hermione kept these words to herself, but Grindelwald seemed to understand her thoughts and smiled knowingly.
"And what about the two children on the altar? You watched them being killed with your own eyes."
He stepped down from the throne and patted Hermione on the shoulder: "Don't tell me you didn't have time. The time it takes for a native wizard to attack with a knife is enough for you to cast several spells."
Hermione frowned but remained silent.
"It's because you know Riddle is lurking in the shadows. You can't alert him beforehand. Saving the child is easy, but the subsequent chaos and trouble are something you don't want to face. You know that would let your senior, Tom, escape."
He leaned down and whispered in the little witch's ear, "You have come to understand the value of life and are beginning to know how to value it."
He continued in an encouraging tone, "I'm not blaming you, but rather appreciating your awakening."
"The damage caused by Riddle and Crouch Jr. will cost many more lives, and by comparison, the lives of a foolish fire watcher and a few dubious Muggles seem insignificant."
Hermione closed her eyes, pondering every word Grindelwald said. He was right; without realizing it, she had begun to put a price on her life.
When did this change begin? The process was silent and gradual, everything happened so naturally.
"Albus protected you so well," the old man said with emotion.
"He always reserved the most ideal and beautiful things for the children at that school."
"They always try to apply the ideas from peacetime to the world today."
"Indeed, life is priceless, but there are always things that are more valuable than life, which force us to value it." He sat back on his throne, crossed his legs, and looked at the girl like a kind elder.
"For a greater good—if that good is not more noble than life itself, how can so many children be willing to risk their lives, one after another, under the gunfire of Muggles?"
Hermione gave a wary look, and Grindelwald immediately stopped.
"Albus must have said a lot of bad things about me to you. He will tell you not to listen to any of my enticements."
"That guy will cause me trouble even until he dies, and I'm well aware of that."
He spread his hands: "So I never intended to deceive or persuade you."
"I know that letting you see for yourself will be more effective than any words."
The Battle of Volgograd was a worthwhile one. It destroyed the Soviet Union's largest bridgehead to the west, retaliated against the Green Lanterns' tragedy, saved Regulus and a large number of Fiery Warfare soldiers' lives, successfully dragged Hermione Granger into the mire, and also showed her the real world.
The girl looked dejected; she realized how naive her guardedness and vigilance seemed in the old man's eyes.
"No, rather than saying that he taught me something from real war, it's more accurate to say that he brought back the Finger Witch who had been wandering the borderlands for many years."
Hermione closed her eyes slightly, and memories of the past flashed through her mind.
Coming into this world, to Hogwarts, that cozy castle, the kind professors and classmates, gradually softened her heart, and she began to look forward to the realization of a dreamlike, fairytale world.
The real her, the one who witnessed the shattering of the magic ring and the chaotic battle among the demigods, though she did not disappear, has been forgotten.
The Dark Lord was unaware of the existence of another world, but his accidental encounter allowed Hermione to rediscover the cruelty she had experienced during the Shattered War. He did not try to change the girl's mind, but rather encouraged her to begin seeing the world from her former perspective.
"Alright, that's enough for today," Grindelwald interrupted the conversation.
He knew that haste makes waste, and that it would take time for a child's mind to change, and he had plenty of time.
"I'll continue to keep an eye on Riddle's movements for you. You know, I also want him dead—"
Before he could finish speaking, Hermione turned and left in annoyance: "Alright, I know what else you want to say. I'll do one more thing for you, but you'd better not pick something that will upset me."
Realizing her change in mindset, she felt neither dejected nor fearful, but rather rather irritable.
She promised Dumbledore she wouldn't be influenced by Grindelwald, but it seems she hasn't fully kept her word. The underlying reason is that she already possesses a mature and ruthless soul deep within her.
The Dark Lord won this minor confrontation, but he probably didn't know that what annoyed Hermione was not just the success of his little scheme.
Also because of the half-symbol Hermione saw in Barty Jr.'s memory—a large rune.
She was right; Voldemort did indeed have a large rune, but it wasn't the complete death or anything else she had previously guessed.
It was half of a broken piece. Although it was covered in erosion and twisted and deformed, she recognized it at a glance as the newly formed Great Rune, the missing half of Dumbledore's Great Rune!
"Why did Voldemort gain a new life? How did he steal it from Dumbledore?"
"Those who so blaspheme death, turning every place they go into a ghost town, have actually taken over new life!?"