"You Wade.. Seems to you're not just ruthless—you've got a pretty thick skin too… Cold and heartless? The one who got your dearest friend killed… wasn't that you? What does that have to do with ? If you'd just put down your wand and stopped resisting, would he have taken his own life?" Grindelwald said helplessly.
"He would have! The mont you grabbed him, his fate was sealed!" Wade said with certainty, his voice tinged with sorrow.
"He knew I'd never surrender, and he knew he couldn't escape from you. So… to keep from being put in a difficult position, he made what he thought was the best choice. He chose to take you down with him… It's just a pity… you.. YOU TOOK MY FRIEND AWAY FROM !"
"Uh… wait… ok.. sothing's off… hang on, let think this through… why do I feel like what you're saying is starting to make sense?"
Grindelwald frowned and scratched his head, feeling a little dazed.
Wade was speaking with righteous conviction right now, but deep down, Grindelwald knew Wade was absolutely not the kind of person to be all noble and self-sacrificing!
"Haah.. my poor friend.. Fuu~ Now don't play dumb!" Wade said coldly, "Don't you get it? Neither Tom nor I would ever willingly serve under you. We'd rather die than surrender!"
"Wade, listen.. I didn't an to.."
"We understood each other. That's why, when Tom was captured, even though I was heartbroken, I.. I couldn't save him… If I had surrendered just to save him, Tom would've blad for it! And I was right. Tom chose to sacrifice himself to keep from giving in to you. After all that, if I just turned around and joined you like nothing happened, how could I live with myself? How could I face Tom's heroic sacrifice?"
Grindelwald replied, "Uh.. wait a minute.. Then why were you shouting about giving him a grand funeral just now? Wrapping his coffin with a flag next year, orphans singing, and all that… You looked pretty cheerful to . I didn't see any grief on your face."
"If I sohow manage to survive you," Wade said somberly, "then what's wrong with giving the brave Tom a proper send-off? WHAT'S WRONG WITH THAT HUH!?? Setting up a grand funeral for a fallen friend—is that not allowed? Smiling instead of crying at his final mont—how is that wrong?"
"And if.." He sighed again. "..If I don't survive you, then whether I smiled or cried doesn't matter anymore.. We'll just be taking the next step together on the great journey called death. Whatever. Why am I even bothering to explain this to you? You've never experienced real friendship. You.. A heartless person like you wouldn't understand."
Grindelwald: "??"
Sotis, Grindelwald really felt that Wade was too much… Can't you just talk about your own issues without constantly poking at my old wounds?
At that mont, even Anne was stunned.
So that's what it was?
It wasn't Wade betraying Tom—it was two close friends, perfectly in sync, sacrificing for each other?
That kind of touching friendship… actually exists?
For the first ti, Anne found herself thinking that the man she had always admired—Mr. Grindelwald—actually did seem like a proper villain…
"Ok.. ok. Just take a deep breath.. I clearly said I wouldn't harm either of you," Grindelwald said, exasperated. "That is, even if you don't join , as long as you lay down your weapons and don't interfere with my objectives, I wouldn't lay a finger on you. I said all of that from the start." He couldn't believe it—he'd been totally upfront, and these two reckless brats still insisted on fighting him to the death.
"Oh really? If Tom hadn't set off that poison bomb, wouldn't you have killed him already?" Wade sneered.
Grindelwald was montarily speechless. Truthfully, he had intended to kill him just now…
But he hadn't planned to at the beginning!
"We don't trust the words of a notorious Dark wizard. And…" Wade suddenly straightened and spoke righteously again, "we won't stand by and let a Dark wizard carry out his sinister goals!"
Grindelwald's eyes widened again. "Wait—didn't you just say you wanted to kill so you could hog all that magical power for yourself?"
"Who says good guys always have to tell the truth? What, I can't lie to a Dark wizard? I was just trying to keep you off guard! No more talk! Co on, let's fight! I'd rather fall in battle than drop my wand and kneel before you! Expelliarmus!"
"Hmm? Sothing's off…" Grindelwald dodged the Disarming Charm, but instantly noticed sothing strange—Wade had stopped using Dark Magic.
For this kid to suddenly give up using Dark Magic and start spouting noble lines… there could only be one explanation…
"You didn't disappoint , Wade!"
A familiar voice ca from behind Grindelwald.
!!!
He whipped around—and there stood Dumbledore at the entrance of the passage, with a blazing red bird perched on his shoulder.
A phoenix.
Grindelwald's eyes narrowed. In the end, he had overlooked the phoenix.
More accurately, he hadn't expected that Wade would actually be able to get the phoenix to deliver a ssage for him…
With a phoenix involved, it didn't matter if MACUSA was sealed off, or if Hogwarts had anti-Apparition wards—Dumbledore could still be brought back quickly.
Because phoenixes could Apparate in defiance of anti-Apparition spells.
"When did you return?" Grindelwald asked, expressionless.
"When you said my student was ruthless and began trying to recruit him… so I've more or less figured out what happened before that," Dumbledore replied, his gaze falling on Tom, lying motionless on the ground.
His eyes carried a deep sadness. "So… you killed my student? Tom… he was a good child…"
"No, I didn't," Grindelwald said, a sudden unease creeping in. "He took his own life…"
"But you held my student hostage and tried to force my other student to surrender," Dumbledore said coldly. "He died because of you, Gellert Grindelwald…"
The mont he heard those words, Grindelwald knew there was nothing left to say between them.
Because Dumbledore had already judged him.
"Wade… take Tom and wait over there. Once I'm done here, we'll…" Dumbledore's voice trailed off, his eyes already a little misty.
He hadn't expected that this child—who once ran roughshod over everyone in the orphanage—would show such conviction when it truly mattered.
"A-Alright…" Wade finally relaxed. The mont Dumbledore appeared, he knew the plan had succeeded perfectly.
Everything from this point on could be left to Dumbledore.
Wade jogged over to Tom and, as he crouched down with his back to Dumbledore and Grindelwald, a small ball of white ointnt appeared in his right hand.
He quietly sared the ointnt under Tom's nose…
Tom suddenly jolted awake, but the mont he opened his eyes, he began retching violently.
"Urgh! Wade! Did you feed actual dung just now?! That sll was disgusting!"
The mont Tom spoke, everyone nearby turned to look at him in shock.
Because dead people don't talk…
Even Grindelwald, upon hearing Tom's voice, felt a wave of relief deep in his heart—without even realizing it himself.
"Wow, Tom, you're not even using inversion when you call my na now. That's real progress. You should just keep calling like that from now on," Wade said cheerfully.
"Hmm?" Tom glanced around, then suddenly rembered he'd inhaled Wade's so-called poison gas earlier!
"Wade, those things you gave earlier—"
But before Tom could finish his outraged accusation, Wade cast a Muffliato Charm and whispered directly into his ear.
"Sssh.. Rember, what you used just now was sleeping gas. Just sleeping gas. Not poison. If you say otherwise, I will make sure you die a hero."
"Er… ahem…" Tom's expression instantly sharpened, and he quickly changed what he was about to say. "...That sleeping gas you gave earlier? Seriously strong stuff. My head's still kind of spinning."
_______
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