When Victor Wick left the laboratory, he immediately saw Snape standing outside, looking as restless as an anxious husband...
"Where is Lily?" Snape asked nervously.
He was terrified that Lily would insist on returning to accompany that wretched James and that Victor would actually send her back.
"Right here," Victor said, waving the banner in his hand.
"Mr. Wick, gentler... not so much force... I'm a bit dizzy..."
Lily's voice drifted out from the banner, though her tone sounded a bit strange.
At that, Snape's gaze toward Victor turned peculiar as well...
"What did you do to her...?"
"I'm nourishing her soul so she can remain in this world permanently. Of course, this kind of soul power feels very comfortable for a spirit... It's normal for her to lose her composure slightly," Victor explained, carefully placing the banner into his suitcase.
The suitcase had several charms cast on it to keep everything inside balanced, ensuring that moving the case wouldn't jostle the banner.
This was a spell Victor had learned from Newt.
Without it, back when Newt traveled the world with a case full of magical creatures, the animals inside would have been shaken senseless long ago.
Snape breathed a sigh of relief and instinctively reached out to take the suitcase.
However, Victor pulled back his hand, dodging Snape's grasp.
"What are you doing?" Victor looked at him warily.
Snape frowned. "Naturally, I will be the one to keep it—"
"Severus..." Victor patted his shoulder with a face full of sympathy. "You shouldn't be too greedy... Mrs. Potter gave you a chance to make amends, didn't she?"
Good grief, your idealized first love has long since moved on, and you still haven't let go.
Her child is already grown, yet you still haven't made peace with it. Why bother?
Snape's face turned pale again, and he let out a long, weary sigh.
Though Victor hadn't said it directly, Snape understood his meaning. Lily was willing to give him a chance today—even if she held resentment, she didn't direct her anger at him—simply because she was kind.
But that didn't mean she was willing to spend every waking moment with the man who caused the death of her family... even if they were once the best of friends.
"I am indeed... being too greedy." Snape stared at Victor, his face full of earnestness. "Take good care of her..."
"Don't worry. If you don't trust me, who can you trust?"
Naturally, Victor didn't mention any of this to Dumbledore. After all, the old man's moral standards were far too high; he would never agree to Victor's method of trading dark wizards' lives for the lives of the deceased.
The current Dumbledore was becoming increasingly benevolent. To him, even a dark wizard's life was a life—except for Voldemort.
So, the next day, he only called Harry into his office alone.
When Lily's illusory figure appeared before Harry, the boy froze entirely...
Victor led Lucky out for a stroll, giving the mother and son some private space.
Halfway there, he ran into Fleur, who was coming to find him.
This girl with Veela blood was becoming more charming as she grew older...
Even without any ill intentions, Victor felt that having such a girl wander around him was quite a pleasant sight.
"An old man suddenly arrived at the training center saying he's looking for you," Fleur said nervously.
"An old man? Looking for me?" Victor was taken aback.
When he went to the training base in Knockturn Alley, he usually used the Vanishing Cabinet. Even if he had to enter through the alley, he always covered his face.
Therefore, theoretically, aside from a few people like Dumbledore and Snape, no one should know that the training center was connected to him.
For an old man to suddenly show up looking for him...
"Does the old man have a lot of presence? And none of you could beat him?"
"Yes... Our relationship with you is a secret! So, when we heard he wanted to see you, we attacked immediately!" Fleur brandished her small fist.
Then, she pursed her lips in frustration. "But he's too powerful..."
Victor shrugged. How could someone who nearly conquered Dumbledore back in the day not be powerful?
Using the Vanishing Cabinet, it wasn't long before Victor saw Grindelwald sitting leisurely on the counter in the training center's lobby.
The young wizards stood not far away, wands in hand, staring tensely at the uninvited guest.
"How did you break out again? I heard you made a new agreement with Dumbledore," Victor said, frowning at Grindelwald.
Lucky stood by his side, his fur bristling; he could sense the danger radiating from the old man...
Grindelwald laughed, simply rolling up his sleeve to reveal a magical scar.
It was the mark left by an Unbreakable Vow.
Since the mark was still there and Grindelwald was unharmed, it proved that this "escape" didn't violate his agreement with Dumbledore.
Victor's lip twitched. How did the old man handle things? This guy broke out again, and the Unbreakable Vow wasn't even triggered?
"A private chat?" Grindelwald suggested with a light laugh.
Victor waved his hand. The young wizards put away their wands and vanished instantly. Even Fleur, behind Victor, led Lucky away.
In the lobby, only Victor and Grindelwald remained.
"It seems they have accepted you from the bottom of their hearts." Grindelwald looked in the direction the youngsters had disappeared, his smile kind.
"You can't be regretting it now... it's a bit late for that."
"I certainly won't regret it. As I said, this was meant for you to train from the start," Grindelwald chuckled.
Hearing this, Victor gained a new appreciation for Grindelwald's prophetic abilities.
"Then... can you tell me how you got out?" Victor's gaze fell on the scar again.
"When I made the agreement with Dumbledore, I used a tiny bit of cleverness... As long as I don't cause trouble like I did in the past, I'm not in violation. As for coming out occasionally for some fresh air... such actions won't trigger the mark," Grindelwald explained patiently.
Victor frowned. "A man like Dumbledore wouldn't see through your little tricks?"
"He certainly saw through them. But... Dumbledore and I are both old; he only wants stability. So, he made some concessions... As long as I don't stir up trouble, he won't care about me coming out for fresh air like this." Grindelwald smiled brightly.
Victor felt it was far from as simple as he claimed. Who knew what he had told Dumbledore to make the old man willing to take this step back...
A criminal who could leave at any time was still capable of doing a lot, even if bound by a vow!
In other words, Dumbledore intentionally gave him this freedom? Perhaps he needed Grindelwald to appear at certain times to add more "flavor" to the future?
"Speak plainly. What do you want?" Victor asked, frowning.
He wanted to see what role Grindelwald had arranged for himself this time.
"Lately... you've successfully summoned a soul back, haven't you?"
Grindelwald's tone was casual, but the atmosphere froze instantly.
At that moment, Victor focused all his energy and spirit on him, ready to strike at any second.
"This... is no longer something that can be explained by prophecy, is it?" Victor said, enunciating every word.
Victor was starting to suspect if a spy had infiltrated the group of young wizards. He should have thought of that sooner!
Grindelwald felt the bone-deep pressure with some surprise.
Victor's rate of progress was truly astonishing... He was far more powerful now than during their first meeting in the shack!
"On the contrary, Mr. Wick..." Grindelwald ignored the intense pressure, his expression calm. "I stayed in Nurmengard for decades. I gave up my cause, I gave up everything... After my mind and body completely relaxed, I found my prophetic abilities received a modest enhancement, allowing me to see more... In fact, the first time I sought you out, I already saw a fragment of your soul-summoning..."
"I won't believe you that easily, Grindelwald," Victor sneered.
"That soul is named Lily Evans, isn't it?" Grindelwald asked softly.
The words had barely left his mouth when the terrifying pressure vanished like a receding tide.
Victor put away his wand. "Continue."
The young wizards might guess he was summoning souls, but absolutely none of them knew the person summoned was Lily Evans.
Because he had personally dug Lily's grave... and her tombstone read "Lily Potter."
Therefore, this really might have been something Grindelwald saw through prophecy.
"I gave you this force intending to use their help to make you stronger quickly. However, you didn't disappoint me. You grew strong very fast, and it seems you didn't even use these youngsters... In fact, I feel I can no longer defeat you." Grindelwald looked gratified.
"And?" Victor asked expressionlessly.
"You've grown stronger, which achieves my first goal... So, I plan to start on the second thing... and that is to make Dumbledore stronger as well." Grindelwald smiled.
"What... are you actually trying to do?" Victor could no longer understand Grindelwald's play.
"Actually, my goal is very simple, Mr. Wick... You become powerful, then Dumbledore becomes powerful, and then I can go back to Nurmengard to grow old."
In other words, as long as Victor and Dumbledore both grew powerful, his goal was achieved, and he could watch the future unfold in the direction he favored?
Victor was thoughtful.
"Then, what does this have to do with whether I can summon a soul?"
"A great deal! Mr. Wick... Such a remarkable ability is precisely the key factor that can make Dumbledore complete again!" Grindelwald paused, then continued, "Perhaps with your set of theories, you cannot yet understand the source of Dumbledore's power. But I want to say that the current Dumbledore is not actually complete... There is a piece missing from his heart."
Victor's eyebrows rose. "You mean... his sister, Ariana Dumbledore?"
"I know you can definitely do it, not?" Grindelwald looked at Victor with burning eyes.
Even the current Dumbledore, who was so strong, wasn't in a complete state? Dumbledore the Great Emperor is truly terrifying...
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