Five minutes later, inside the Headmaster's Office.
"..."
In the painting, Phineas Black reluctantly opened his eyes, "What do you want from me?" he looked at William, not in the best mood.
But he was always like that, and William was long accustomed to it.
"Your house was robbed, including your blank portrait—so, go see where you've been moved to, so we can retrieve it." William gestured to the person and ghost behind him, "And it's not me looking for you, it's these two good... great-grandsons of yours—"
After explaining this, William turned and sat opposite Dumbledore, casually grabbing the untouched honey tea in front of the old man and drank it all in one go.
"Professor McGonagall hasn't been in a good mood these past couple of days; if she catches you..."
Seeing the old man seemingly wanting to protest, William said "with all the best intentions," looking as if he was just concerned for him—sure enough, the Old Bee wilted as William's words were indeed true, considering Professor McGonagall's mood had indeed been off due to William recently extracting a "parasite" from her mind—
And then planting it into her friend's head.
Anyone who went through such a thing would find it hard to be in a good mood; with McGonagall's strong sense of responsibility and self-blame, it was evident as even the house points from each House had significantly decreased during this time— the "Director of Moral" had taken action.
"So, how is Gellert's experiment progressing?"
The Old Bee coughed twice, changing the subject.
"Haven't you gone to find him?"
William raised an eyebrow, slightly intrigued, considering he had talked to Dumbledore about Grindelwald conducting unauthorized human experiments.
"He's avoiding me, and I can't enter that room of yours."
Dumbledore shook his head, referring to the Map Chamber, "Besides, Argus seems quite pleased—he's always wanted to learn magic, never resigned to just being the Gatekeeper at the school... this fulfills his wish."
William had also observed Filch's situation; the man had already bought his wand, and now, he barely let it leave his hands, even too lazy to pick on the little wizards when they caused trouble because it allowed him to use magic to solve their mess—
Although he could only perform simple Levitating Spells and Scouring Charms, it was enough to make him extremely satisfied.
Of course, there was no need to worry about discipline issues, as the "Director of Moral" of Hogwarts, Minerva McGonagall, is far more terrifying than any Squib Gatekeeper.
"The progress has been quite smooth; currently, the magic network can cover all of Hogwarts, to about the range surrounding Hagrid's hut. Any Squib who enters this space, upon receiving authorization, can mobilize magic power and perform simple charms—"
Upon hearing Dumbledore's words, William nodded, "Later, according to Gellert's and my concept, we'll gradually expand this network, launch satellites, covering the entire United Kingdom, then Europe, the Atlantic Ocean, and eventually the whole world—finally, with humankind illuminating the technology tree, accomplishing dual ascension of magic and technology, achieving an interstellar civilization, and sending a dimension-reduction weapon to the Trisolarans—"
"..."
Being familiar with William, Dumbledore almost instinctively ignored the last bit of nonsense, taking a moment to digest the meaning in William's previous words; the old man's expression instinctively turned serious, "Covering Hogwarts... then the entire world?"
He gently repeated, tapping unconsciously on the tabletop with his fingertips, "William, do you know what this means? It's not just a technical issue you mentioned, but... a very serious political issue, a technology that could shake the centuries-old foundations of the Wizarding World."
"Foundations? Old Bee, by foundations, do you mean the fragile layer of secrecy?"
Hearing this, William shrugged nonchalantly, "Or the 'Pure-Blood' arrogance that insists Squibs and Muggle-born wizards are inherently inferior? That old man Grindelwald may have had impure initial motives, but he was right about one thing: the times are changing. When Muggles can level a city with a 'metal shell,' are wizards still fussing over which feather core makes the most elegant wand?"
Saying this, William stood up and walked over to Fawkes' perch, looking at the golden-red bird pretending to nap.
The two Blacks from earlier had already left, taking their wall portrait along, so now the room was just William and Dumbledore.
"You should have realized that night, to put it simply, the concept Gellert and I share isn't some world-upending evil plan. To make Muggles no longer see wizards as beings, and to promote the grand fusion of global civilizations, mere magical trickery won't cut it—"
Dumbledore remained silent, not interrupting.
"Of course, Squibs and Muggles will need permission before using magic, akin to applying for a gun permit in the United States; this restriction could even be extended to mainstream wizard groups to make population censuses easier, to prevent any Black Wizards or old mummies from causing trouble in secret—"
"This will surely encounter significant resistance—"
At this point, Dumbledore couldn't help but interrupt.
"Resistance, that's certain, but simply because there's some resistance, does that mean you won't do it — that doesn't sound like your style, Albus."
Grindelwald's voice came from the side, and from the small door in the Headmaster's Office, a somewhat balding old man emerged. Looking at Dumbledore, he confidently said, "Previously, our collaboration failed because of conceptual differences, but now—surely you agree at this point, right? If wizards and Muggles could be like one family..."
"Alright, every time you earnestly say that, it gives me the creeps."
Seeing the earnest ex-Dark Lord talking about wizard-Muggle unity with Dumbledore, William couldn't resist the urge to grumble, rubbing his arms uncontrollably.
"As for how to solve the resistance you mentioned—"
Grindelwald paused, then turned to William, making the conclusion to the question quite self-explanatory.
"However, using violence brings—" Dumbledore sighed.
"Wait, am I really seen as just someone who resorts to violence?" William exclaimed, almost incredulously.
"...What else?"