Grindelwald initially paid no attention until he took the photograph, then his entire body seemed to freeze, motionless as if someone had pressed pause.
The two old men in the photo were smiling radiantly, almost blindingly so.
One was naturally Dumbledore—he'd recognise that man even if he were reduced to ashes.
As for the other old man whose shoulder Dumbledore had slung an arm around...
Though he hadn't seen him in decades, that familiar sense of irritation, along with that recognisable suitcase...
Grindelwald instantly knew his identity.
"Newt... Scamander!"
The last time Wayne had seen Grindelwald lose his composure like this was... well, the last time.
Ahem...
He remembered it should have been during their first meeting.
Back then, he'd brought Jerry out to say hello to Newt on his behalf. At the time, Grindelwald's murderous intent had been undisguised. Had he been holding a wand without Dumbledore present, he'd have struck immediately.
Just then, Jerry also sensed the shift in atmosphere and curiously poked his head out from the pocket, squeaking twice.
This thoroughly stirred the hornet's nest.
Niffler. Dumbledore. Scamander.
Unpleasant memories from bygone days flooded Grindelwald's mind all at once. His eyes reddened slightly as the wand he'd just acquired began emitting a faint glow without him noticing, the Dark Lord's aura erupting forth.
"Lawrence, what's the meaning of this? Deliberately provoking me?"
The smiles of the two old men in the photo were like blades stabbing viciously into his heart, with Wayne being the one wielding the knife.
"Don't get so worked up, old Gellert." Wayne sighed, his shoulders shifting slightly as he effortlessly suppressed Grindelwald's aura.
"There aren't many elders left from your generation. After all these years, can't you let go of past grudges?"
"Let go my arse!" Grindelwald swore uncharacteristically, his killing intent palpable. "The day I get out, Scamander will be the first one I settle scores with."
"You won't get that chance. Dumbledore will protect him."
Grindelwald sneered, "There'll be times when he's not around."
"At least not this year. Senior Newt is currently a professor at school. Are you going to kill someone right under Dumbledore's nose?"
Grindelwald froze. "He's teaching at Hogwarts?"
"Care of Magical Creatures. The Headmaster went to great lengths to invite him."
Squelch!
Wayne twisted the knife, rubbed salt in the wound, then stabbed again.
Originally, Grindelwald had thought Newt was merely visiting Hogwarts, and that the photo with Dumbledore was something Wayne had orchestrated specifically to mess with him.
But now it appeared this wasn't just a visit—this was practically cohabitation!
Bang!
A palm imbued with rage and formidable magical power slammed onto the wooden table, instantly shattering it and scattering books everywhere.
Fine. Just fine.
Here I am worrying about your safety, terrified you'll be overwhelmed by the endless Horcruxes.
Meanwhile, you're employing my arch-nemesis and grinning like an idiot.
Teaching students how to deal with me, is he?
My sincere concern might as well have been thrown to the dogs. Grindelwald felt like abandoning everything right then—screw the Horcruxes, screw the research.
However...
Grindelwald narrowed his eyes, sharp glints flashing within them as he waved his hand to collect the books, then pointed out the window and began cursing loudly: "Get lost, kid. The only reason you're still alive is thanks to your background and strength. I was kind enough to help you, and you deliberately provoke me?"
"Next time I won't come to you, so don't you dare show up!"
Huh?
Wayne stared at Grindelwald in confusion.
This wasn't right... the reaction wasn't intense enough.
After being humiliated by Newt like that, how had he adjusted his emotions so quickly to redirect his anger towards me?
Wayne couldn't figure it out, but Grindelwald was already shooing him away. With a scoff, he flew out the window and vanished into the night.
"Brat, trying to laugh at my expense, are you?"
Grindelwald casually restored the table to its original state, put away several experimental items, and then transformed the shabby stool into a rocking chair. He lay back, closing his eyes in contemplation.
Newt had teamed up with Dumbledore again, and this was a slight he wouldn't swallow.
He'd just suddenly recalled a prophetic vision that had once appeared, sparking an idea to go out and see for himself.
But not now. Grindelwald knew any chance of leaving would be inextricably linked to Wayne.
Since the other hadn't mentioned it, if he rashly escaped Nurmengard, he'd undoubtedly be beaten black and blue by that old-and-young duo.
Grindelwald deduced the key factor in his escape must relate to changing circumstances—or perhaps Lawrence was planning some new scheme.
With this thought in mind, revenge could wait. There'd be opportunities later.
His sights weren't just set on Newt—he intended to thoroughly annoy Dumbledore, too.
Grindelwald let out a chilling laugh.
He wondered what expression Dumbledore would wear upon discovering he'd created a Horcrux and escaped Nurmengard.
The mental image alone was enough to excite him.
Casually picking up a book, he began his research.
He wouldn't be like that fool Voldemort, recklessly creating Horcruxes just because he knew the method.
When it came to matters of the soul, no amount of caution was excessive.
...
"What's that old man thinking?"
Back at Hogwarts, Wayne still couldn't fathom Grindelwald's thoughts, but the system points didn't lie.
[Congratulations host for completing achievement—'The Headmaster's Temptation', reward: 500 points.]
Wayne had no energy to critique the system's naming skills, but since the benefits were given, he couldn't be bothered to complain.
Harry had paid this semester's tuition that morning. Combined with contributions from Daphne, Astoria, and Umbridge, his points had surpassed the 30,000 mark.
Having previously drawn the Tome of Amplification and Intentional Punch, with two epic rewards already accumulated, this was guaranteed to be a legendary tier.
Wayne immediately performed a hundred consecutive draws, ignoring the purple cards to directly open the diamond-coloured one.
A crimson rune merged into his brow as he felt a bloodthirsty power surge through him.
[Congratulations, host, obtained legendary-tier Domination Rune: Dark Harvest.]
[Dark Harvest: Defeat opponents to claim their soul energy as a reward. Each soul harvested permanently increases the host's magical power based on the opponent's strength, up to legendary peak. All Domination Runes can be upgraded when collected.]
An immensely powerful talent.
This single ability could forge a formidable wizard.
Even if one started with poor strength, they could gradually work their way up from weaklings.
After absorbing the rune, Wayne also understood that so-called soul power didn't refer to a human's actual soul, but rather a higher form of dissipated energy that could be converted into one's own magical power through empowerment.
This meant he wouldn't have to worry about accidentally defeating his allies during practice and harming their foundations.
Though Dark Harvest was powerful, it had a cooldown period.
Each person would only regenerate this energy after a year's interval, with its effectiveness halved from the second time onwards.
Perfect timing—he had lessons with Harry and Malfoy tomorrow. He'd test the effects on them.
Having settled on this plan, Wayne browsed through his other rewards.
To his surprise, there was an unexpected delight among the purple-tier rewards.
[Aery: When using offensive or shielding spells, summons Aery to deal multiple instances of damage or enhance shield effects.]
Wayne tested it out—Aery's power wasn't particularly strong.
At best, it added icing on the cake, serving as a harassment tool.
But what pleased Wayne wasn't Aery's power—it was finally drawing another Sorcery talent.
Glancing at the system panel, he only needed Arcane Comet to complete all Sorcery runes and evolve Gathering Storm.
Feeling lucky today, Wayne tossed in all his remaining points.
He wasn't hoping for any powerful skills or talents—just that single Arcane Comet would suffice.
Yet disappointment struck—after two hundred draws, not a single talent appeared among the purple cards, while the gold cards yielded two pieces of equipment.
Another Tome of Amplification, and a Blasting Wand.
Wooden shaft, golden tip.
Far longer than his current wand—about seventeen inches. Gripping it, Wayne found its compatibility with him wasn't the slightest bit poor compared to his original wand.
No sluggishness when casting spells.
The enhancement was even more terrifying, nearly matching the effects of his Knight Does Not Die Empty-Handed buff.
It almost made him want to switch wands outright.
But he ultimately abandoned the idea.
The Blasting Wand was too thick and large—its swings would be noticeably slower than his original, indirectly affecting his casting speed.
"System, how do I synthesise equipment?" Wayne asked.
The system promptly provided instructions.
[Consume 30,000 points to unlock the Equipment Furnace for synthesising legendary-tier equipment.]
[Spend 50,000 points to upgrade to Divine Forge for ultimate equipment synthesis.]
Seeing the floating text, Wayne's eyelid twitched violently.
Just unlocking synthesis privileges costs 80,000 points—nearly the price of a demi-god tier reward.
"Does synthesis itself cost extra?" Wayne felt foreboding.
Damn, this dogshit system resembled when he scammed young wizards—scheme after scheme.
The system directly displayed an image this time—a price chart for synthesising various equipment.
After reading it, Wayne's vision darkened.
Truly, his system—absolutely fucking predatory.
All synthesis costs were ten times the in-game prices he remembered.
For example, Rabadon's Deathcap required 36,000 points just for synthesis, while Void Staff needed 25,000.
"Seriously? This is daylight robbery," Wayne couldn't help but say. However, his system, while reasonably intelligent when answering questions, became unresponsive when money was involved—not uttering another word.
The frustrated young man could only lie in bed sulking.
To be fair, twenty or thirty thousand points for a pseudo-divine artefact wasn't actually expensive at all.
He'd gone to great lengths to organise the Holy Grail War, just to obtain one pseudo-artefact, and now they were being openly sold at fixed prices—this was practically a steal.
The problem was that he needed to save his points for the dragon king inheritance draw, forcing him to choose between the two.
"Still poor..."
Wayne sighed. He'd originally become quite laid-back about earning points, but to acquire his six divine items sooner, he'd have to put in more effort.
Next week, he'd torment Umbridge again.
Wayne pinned all his hopes on the pink toad—she was the only target he could farm points from without feeling guilty.
The students' wallets deserved another round of emptying, too. What did children need with so much money? Better to let him take care of it for them.
...
In the morning, Wayne's first task after waking was restocking the vending machines, along with putting up new card posters and notices about the first-purchase reset.
Soon, a long queue formed in the entrance hall. Wayne even dragged George and Fred over to pitch the machines to first-years and explain the game rules.
The professors didn't oppose students playing games—they actually helped young wizards learn quickly, memorising spells and the basic traits of magical creatures, making later teaching much easier. It was education through entertainment.
Meanwhile, Wayne took Astoria to Hogsmeade for the opening ceremony of Celia Store's branch.
Though not an official visiting day, the shop was packed with local villagers.
Nagini was so busy she couldn't even spare time to greet them. After a short while, not wanting to cause trouble, Wayne and Astoria went next door to the Three Broomsticks for a quick meal before returning to the castle.
...
By evening, Harry and Malfoy found themselves in class together again after a year apart, their animosity as strong as ever, barely restraining themselves from outright fighting.
"You can fight whenever you like, but first let me assess your current level."
Wayne arrived and, with a wave, expanded the room several times over, a square duelling platform rising high.
The youth climbed the steps and looked down, asking:
"Who's first?"