"Read your opponent's attack lines! Don't overtrust your reflexes!"
"Keep moving! You're not a stationary turret!"
"Yes—like that!"
"Stop relying so much on brute strength! When you fight like a fire dragon, you're no better than a beast. Your moves become predictable!"
"Focus! Don't lose concentration! In battle, even a moment's distraction can be fatal!"
Inside the docks of the Ukrainian Black Sea Shipyard, atop an aircraft carrier that was barely forty percent complete, Grindelwald was drilling Hydrus Lestrange in combat.
"Don't think that having a Dementor's physique makes you invincible! Other than Expecto Patronum, I have a hundred ways to hurt you!"
A streak of red light flashed.
Hydrus was hit and hissed in pain.
"Damn it, you old man! Couldn't you hold back a little?!"
Cursing, she turned into a bolt of lightning and charged straight at Grindelwald—but the man who had pushed Apparition to its absolute peak was not slower than anyone alive.
His movement was silent, eerie, so erratic it created the illusion of multiple afterimages.
An orange magical whip lashed out mercilessly, cracking across Hydrus's body and nearly splitting her dragon scales open.
"ROAR!"
Hydrus exploded with fury and spewed dragonfire. The core of the flame was tinged blue—proof of its terrifying temperature.
It was useless.
Grindelwald had already reappeared behind her. He raised his wand, intent on teaching his student a lesson she would never forget—
In battle, emotion is a liability.
Reckless rage leads only to defeat.
But in the next instant, Hydrus vanished into the firelight.
Grindelwald's gaze snapped upward. He recognized that movement—an advanced Apparition technique derived from phoenix traits.
Given her habits, she would usually choose aerial combat.
This time, he was wrong.
Hydrus hadn't used phoenix abilities at all.
The flames were merely Incendio.
Her disappearance came from the Occamy's shrinking ability.
Dragonfire aftershock. Incendio. Occamy compression.
Together, they perfectly imitated phoenix teleportation.
It was a feint.
A red beam shot up violently from the ground—
Fired by Hydrus herself, now no larger than a thumb.
Grindelwald had misjudged, but a master of combat always left himself an escape route.
The hem of his robes ignited into blue flames, effortlessly blocking the attack.
"Excellent!" Grindelwald praised.
"Now this is more like it!"
"Come again. If you manage to injure me even once, I'll give you three days off."
Hydrus's eyes lit up.
"You said it! No takebacks!"
Grindelwald laughed loudly.
"Of course. I am—"
Two spells flew at him in rapid succession, cutting him off mid-sentence.
Good grief.
Young people these days—no sense of honor. Sneak attacks, deception!
Ambushing a 109-year-old veteran!
…
Leaning against the ship's railing, Vinda Rosier watched the one-old-one-young duel with a smile she never quite let fade.
The aging rose still crushed the younger generation with sheer presence. Beauty revealed itself in bone, and even now, she could still be called beautiful—making one wonder just how breathtaking she must have been in her youth.
"Edmond," Vinda asked, "when do you think Hydrus will finish Gellert's training?"
"That's hard to say," Edmond replied. "I've never reached my great-uncle's level, so I can't judge."
He rubbed his eyes.
"But with Audrey's talent, I doubt that day is very far off."
"Boom!"
Hydrus was sent flying again.
Grindelwald's attacks looked brutal, but his control was absolute—painful, yet never truly injuring.
"That's the seventy-ninth time today I've hit you!"
Hydrus sprang back up with a kip-up, wand flashing as wildly as a passionate conductor. Her mouth lost none of its edge.
"Only seventy-nine! Yesterday I took over two hundred hits! If you keep this level of power—"
"I can fight you all day!"
"Boom!"
Fire flashed.
Dumbledore appeared on the deck, Fawkes the phoenix perched calmly on his hand.
"I'm afraid you won't be fighting all day," the old headmaster said grimly. "Find somewhere quiet. We need to talk."
Fawkes ignored Dumbledore's mood and immediately fluttered onto Hydrus's shoulder.
Watching the two elders and the girl head toward the shipyard's conference room, Vinda snorted.
"I hate that white-bearded old man."
"You've hated him for over half a century," Edmond laughed.
He hopped down from the railing and followed toward the office building.
"Honestly, I don't like him either."
Vinda sighed softly to herself.
"But he likes her…"
…
Inside the conference room, Dumbledore placed a copy of the Daily Prophet in front of Grindelwald and Hydrus.
The headline screamed:
"SHOCKING! Former Minister of Magic Assassinated—Crime of Passion or Suicide?"
"Former Minister Cornelius Fudge was found dead in his residence. The discoverer was suspected mistress Dolores Umbridge. Reliable sources claim Umbridge received special favors during Fudge's tenure…"
"Oh—Umbridge," Hydrus exclaimed. "Fudge really had… intense tastes. Falling for that pink toad."
"Hydrus!" Dumbledore cut in sharply.
"You removed Fudge from office—I said nothing. His intelligence was indeed insufficient for the position."
"But! You should not have killed him!"
Hydrus's eyes widened.
"Professor Dumbledore! Even if you're my headmaster, you can't just accuse me like that! I'll sue you for slander!"
She argued fiercely.
"The pure-blood families removing Fudge already achieved my goal. The new wizarding bank opens next month. Why would I kill him?"
She glared at Dumbledore.
"Even the newly appointed Barty Crouch Sr. has more motive than I do! Or maybe Rita Skeeter wasn't lying for once—maybe it really was a crime of passion!"
Dumbledore's expression didn't soften.
"Truly… it wasn't you?"
Hydrus felt unbearably wronged.
She stared back stubbornly and shouted,
"Don't you know Legilimency? Read my mind! See for yourself whether I did it!"
Dumbledore sighed.
"I can't read your thoughts."
Tears welled in Hydrus's eyes. She tilted her head back, refusing to let them fall.
She pulled out a vial and slammed it onto the table.
"Veritaserum."
"If you still don't believe me, I'll drink it."
Grindelwald immediately grabbed her hand.
"Albus. That's enough."
He patted Hydrus gently.
"If the little water serpent had done it, she wouldn't deny it. This time, you truly wronged her."
Dumbledore let out a long breath, his expression easing.
"Gellert, you know this child's future cannot afford a single stain."
He turned to Hydrus.
"I'm sorry. I was wrong."
"I don't accept it, you old bastard!"
Hydrus pocketed the Veritaserum, spun in place—
"Crack!"
—and vanished from the conference room.
"That was… wizard-style Apparition?" Dumbledore said in shock.
"When did she learn that?"
Grindelwald laughed proudly.
"She mastered it half a month ago. Her progress is beyond your imagination—and yet you're still nurturing that so-called Chosen One?"
He shook his head.
"In a few years, even we won't be her match. Her father even less so. Instead of wasting time on Potter, you should focus on Hydrus."
Dumbledore smiled bitterly.
"I'm afraid she'll walk the same path as her father."
Grindelwald burst out laughing.
"You truly don't understand the little water serpent—she—hahahaha—"
Dumbledore paused.
"…Wait. Where's my phoenix?"
…
The Minister of Magic's office.
Barty Crouch Sr. was buried in paperwork, working relentlessly.
If he wanted to be a good minister, paperwork was unavoidable.
"Crack!"
Hydrus appeared in her true form inside his office.
Fawkes perched on her shoulder, making Barty briefly suspect Dumbledore had transfigured himself into her likeness.
"Hydrus?"
Barty stood up awkwardly. After injuring her last year, the two hadn't met once—yet this very girl had placed him on the minister's seat.
"Mr. Crouch," Hydrus said calmly, "I want to know how Fudge died."
"Ah?"
Barty froze.
He'd imagined countless reasons for her visit—this was not one of them.
"The Aurors are still investigating. We detected multiple magical signatures at the scene—more than one perpetrator. Unfortunately, the body was discovered too late. Much information was lost."
"Please find the killer as soon as possible," Hydrus said bitterly.
"I'm currently suspected of the murder—and so are you. You should take this seriously."
Barty nodded.
"Of course."
"There's one more thing."
She paused, choosing her words.
"Before last school year, the Ministry issued an order regarding me—requiring me to pass all twelve OWLs to advance to sixth year."
Barty's eyes widened.
"That's outrageous. An abuse of authority."
"Exactly," Hydrus nodded.
"In this year's OWLs, I got eleven O's. The only subject I failed was Muggle Studies."
Barty was stunned.
She was a superstar of the Muggle world—and she failed Muggle Studies?
"So I'd like that order revoked, so I can advance normally."
"No problem," Barty said immediately. "That's trivial. Once I find the record, I'll cancel it at once."
Hydrus nodded in satisfaction.
Plan complete.
Bring Fudge down. Lift Barty up. Cancel the order.
No repeating a year.
Perfect.