"G-Gellert Grindelwald?"

Grindelwald nodded, calmly looking at Quirinus' face.

"No, I don't quite understand what you mean. This isn't a funny joke..."

Quirinus Quirrell seemed to revert to his teaching days, stammering, "Undoubtedly, you are Paracelsus, this hospital is named after you—the Ministry of Magic and the International Confederation of Wizards—I mean, if that's really the case—how could the dark wizard who ignited war in Europe be you—"

"I can be Paracelsus," Grindelwald said, "but Hohenheim is not Gellert Grindelwald."

Quirrell stared blankly at the old wizard, his mind instinctively churning with the files describing that name.

Gellert Grindelwald, recognized by British wizards as one of the most powerful dark wizards of all time, second only to Tom Marvolo Riddle, who later became Voldemort—though perhaps this was only because, for some unknown reason, Grindelwald never extended his terrorist activities to Britain, and the details of his rise were not widely known there.

Beyond the British magical world, Gellert Grindelwald and his followers left their mark on every corner of the magical world.

Just like Voldemort's dramatic collapse, in 1945, when Grindelwald was at the height of his power, Albus Dumbledore voluntarily stepped forward, engaged him in a legendary duel, and ultimately defeated him.

Subsequently, Grindelwald was imprisoned in the fortress he had built himself, disappearing from the magical world ever since.

"Does Professor Dumbledore know about this too?" Quirinus Quirrell asked uncertainly.

"From the very beginning," Grindelwald replied calmly, "From the moment Albus brought this little one to Nurmengard Castle, he probably already guessed and arranged the follow-up, although he still underestimated the power of belief and hope."

He reached out and gently touched the head of the cute, fluffy white ball beside him.

If not for that sentence, even if he saw his own shadow in this child, Albus Dumbledore would not have brought her before his eyes, and there would not have been so many subsequent stories—no matter how important a role Erina played in this, Grindelwald would not ignore the origin that prompted it all.

Albus, are you not willing either?

"Miss Kaslana? Nurmengard Castle?"

Quirinus Quirrell frowned. He didn't understand why this little witch was sitting here, but he had more urgent matters to deal with at the moment.

"Why are you telling me this, Mr. Grindelwald?"

Quirrell said, raising his hand and weakly grasping at the air, miserably, "As you can see, I am now a complete waste. Cowardly, powerless, unable to even cast the simplest Lumos..."

Grindelwald said nothing, looking at Quirrell with a playful gaze.

Under the old wizard's calm gaze, Quirinus Quirrell felt sweat break out on his forehead again. He looked around, seemingly trying to find other topics to divert the pressure, but the room was so quiet that he could even hear his own heartbeat.

"Miss Kaslana is also here, I think, discussing this now..."

The young wizard turned his head, only to see Erina propping her chin up, looking at him meaningfully—that cold, mocking look was nothing like the student who used to raise her hand to ask questions in his class, but more like Grindelwald sitting beside his bed, or another dark lord observing from the sidelines, whose name had not yet been revealed.

"...might not be appropriate?" Quirinus swallowed.

Noticing the gaze cast by the former Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, Erina's lips curled into a strange smile, the little ahoge on her head waving arrogantly, tilting her head cutely.

"There's nothing inappropriate, Professor Quirrell. Grandpa shouldn't mind these things."

G-Grandpa?!

In the somewhat dim hospital room, Quirinus Quirrell's voice gradually diminished.

He suddenly recalled many overlooked details from the past year, and the unpleasant memories buried deep within his mind.

His experience in the Albanian Black Forest, in addition to turning his life upside down, had also left a very deep lesson in Quirinus' mind—in the magical world, a weak appearance does not necessarily mean weakness. The souls hidden beneath weak exteriors may be more terrifying than the strong on the surface.

Thinking carefully, how could an ordinary student with some talent force Voldemort to eat dirt to survive?

Throughout the long history of magic, Voldemort could not be the only wizard to have conquered death and extended his life.

Even excluding Erina Kaslana, whose "true identity" had not yet been determined, Quirinus Quirrell remembered at least three similar beings—and this meant that there must be more...

That's right, and Voldemort!

"Listen to me," Quirinus Quirrell said anxiously, the atmosphere in the room making him increasingly nervous, "The Dark Lord already knows he's been tricked, and he's harder to kill than you imagine, he..."

"Unless all the Horcruxes are destroyed, Tom Riddle will not truly be killed," Grindelwald said.

Quirrell opened his mouth, he was starting to not understand what the other party was saying.

"Horcruxes, what are those things?" he said, "The Dark Lord will come back for me, if he knows I'm still alive, he'll try to kill me by any means, I'll bring danger to Hogwarts."

Grindelwald's smile became even more joyful, the old man nodded with interest.

"Hopefully, if Voldemort comes back on his own accord, that would be a delight."

Quirinus Quirrell was stunned again.

"Voldemort is very dangerous, he simply cannot be kill—"

"Quirinus, oh, dear young man. The world has changed." Grindelwald raised his hand and interrupted Quirrell, "In the time you've been lying in the hospital, we've learned how Voldemort avoided death. We can discuss these things slowly later, the problem now is—you. In our opinion, you are more worthy of cultivation than Tom."

"Sorry, are you mistaken," Quirrell tried to struggle one last time, "I'm just a cowardly, weak-willed, easily succumbed-to-power useless person... and, who do you mean by... 'we'?"

This time, Quirinus Quirrell keenly noticed the information revealed in Grindelwald's words.

And before the old wizard could speak, a crisp voice suddenly rang in his ears.

"To be precise, the requirements of me—Erina Kaslana."

Erina sighed helplessly, unable to resist kicking Grindelwald's stool, and said unhappily.

"Professor Quirrell, you really shouldn't decline. Your acting skills are much worse now than they were at school."

In her original plan, she wasn't supposed to step onto the stage proactively. If not for this old guy's instigation, she would have even considered simply letting Quirinus Quirrell "retire early," after all, she wasn't lacking capable wizards right now.

However, since Quirrell happened to wake up at this time, perhaps this was fate?

Quirinus Quirrell turned his head in astonishment.

What was happening before his eyes was too incomprehensible. The infamous Gellert Grindelwald was not the main character of the entire conversation. A girl who wasn't even twelve years old dared to casually kick the dark wizard's stool.

"Who exactly are you... Miss Kaslana?" he asked cautiously.

"Oh, that's really a difficult question to answer," Erina tapped her lips lightly with her finger, a trace of cunning flashing in her eyes, and said thoughtfully, "The Lord of Gringotts, the Goblin Queen, the Third Dark Lord... there are simply too many identities. So, you really thought I would believe your nonsense and treat you as a cowardly, foolish, ordinary wizard?"

"I don't understand what you're saying..." Quirrell swallowed.

"As the one who was once highly regarded by Professor Flitwick, the next successor to the head of Ravenclaw in the eyes of many, the rising star of the magical world in decades, Professor Quirinus Quirrell, do you really not know what I'm talking about?"

Erina said softly with a smile, staring at the man's pale face.

Quirinus Quirrell, this may be the most underestimated wizard—in recent centuries, Quirrell is one of the few wizards who can directly stay at school after graduation, compared to Gilderoy Lockhart, his potential is much stronger.

If you use a phrase from later online novels to describe it, it is: Quirinus Quirrell, has the potential to be the Headmaster of Hogwarts.

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SN add oil! Try to explode tomorrow to celebrate~ LpL rush duck~