Hogwarts’ John Wick

Chapter 582 582: 582: The Book of Ravenclaw, Iron Guard Protection

It seemed the disappearance of the German Minister for Magic had alarmed the International Confederation of Wizards.

The International Confederation of Wizards was the most important organization in magical society.

Its status could roughly be compared to the Muggles' United Nations.

Of course, the International Confederation of Wizards was not the United Nations. Their authority was even greater, and they were responsible for revising the International Statute of Secrecy.

"I remember Dumbledore was once Supreme Mugwump, and Grindelwald also participated in the election before."

John rubbed his chin. Speaking of which, he had personally been the one to bring Dumbledore down from that position.

Grindelwald had also once competed for that seat. At the time, his influence covered all of Europe, and what should have been a guaranteed victory was ultimately ruined.

"Did the German Minister for Magic disappear because he was kidnapped, or because he went into hiding?"

John snapped his fingers, and the newspaper burst into flames automatically.

As the fire gradually died out before him, John said, "In any case, Dumbledore is still around. He'll deal with his old friend."

...

The International Confederation of Wizards convened in Britain.

Why Britain?

Because this place held the First King and Second King of the wizarding world.

Even Grindelwald's influence could not reach inside.

As the local Minister for Magic, Barty Crouch Sr. also spoke during the conference.

"The Minister for Magic has been missing for more than three days. We are currently unable to confirm whether he is alive or dead," said Yale Fan, Director of the German Department of Magical Law Enforcement, in a heavy tone. "But personally, I suspect he most likely fell victim to Grindelwald."

"That conclusion is rather arbitrary," the French representative said. "Grindelwald's movements have all been under surveillance."

"He still has his Acolytes, does he not?" Yale Fan said angrily. "He has never abandoned his ambitions."

"We cannot rule out that possibility," Barty Crouch Sr. said as the host. "We need to understand why he appeared there in the first place."

Everyone's gaze fell upon Yale Fan as Barty Crouch Sr. questioned him. "As I recall, Grindelwald committed serious crimes in Germany before fleeing. Why did your department not attempt to arrest him immediately?"

Yale Fan replied, "He is extremely cunning."

"That is not an excuse."

Barty Crouch Sr. was still suspicious that the German Ministry of Magic had been infiltrated by Grindelwald. He said, "You never attempted to arrest him at all, did you?"

"That is correct," Yale Fan said heavily. "His Acolytes gave their lives for him."

"For those serious crimes, Grindelwald never personally took part."

This was now an age of law. Even the wizarding world could not simply ignore legal procedures.

Grindelwald's followers had confessed to murdering officials on his behalf.

He was like a ghost. After returning from defeat, he had become even more impossible to predict.

"Where is Dumbledore?" Yale Fan said. "He is the only one capable of dealing with him."

"We cannot rely on him for everything," Barty Crouch Sr. said in a deep voice. "He should retire."

Yale Fan widened his eyes and roared, "He is the only person who can stop Grindelwald. We all know that."

The representatives of the International Confederation of Wizards all had different thoughts. Some felt Yale Fan was right.

Perhaps they really did need the former Supreme Mugwump.

But others scoffed at the idea. The French representative said, "The Second King is the one who killed Voldemort."

The moment those words were spoken, everyone thought of that student with terrifying talent.

"Yes, we still have John Wick."

"He was able to kill Voldemort. He could also move against Grindelwald."

"Dumbledore is old now. We need someone new to oppose him."

The French representative's opinion quickly gained support from some of the others.

Yet there were also those who glared angrily at the suggestion, and Yale Fan was one of them.

"Have you forgotten?" Yale Fan looked at those in agreement and said, "He is an ambitious man. Without being granted authority, he will not help you."

Those words gained even more approval.

Johnny Silverhand had already become a name known throughout the magical societies of various countries long before John Wick admitted his identity.

That man was wildly ambitious. He had formed monopolies and purged five pure-blood families.

Compared to Grindelwald, a man like that was even more terrifying, and he was precisely the sort of person the International Confederation of Wizards least wanted to see gain power.

Compared to John Wick, they would rather have Dumbledore, the man who had stopped Grindelwald before, return once again.

Barty Crouch Sr. looked over the crowd. He could tell that the majority still hoped for Dumbledore's return.

"We cannot rely endlessly on others," Barty Crouch Sr. finally said, drawing everyone's attention. "Whether it is Dumbledore or Johnny Silverhand, in the end, their power belongs to someone else."

"The International Confederation of Wizards represents the highest authority. Are we truly incapable of dealing with a Grindelwald who has already failed once before?"

Barty Crouch Sr.'s words caused the room to fall into thought.

Clearly, years of peace had made the International Confederation of Wizards somewhat complacent.

The chaos caused by Voldemort had been confined to a single country, so it had never truly affected them.

But Grindelwald had thrown them into disorder.

Grindelwald was not necessarily stronger than Voldemort.

Coming from Barty Crouch Sr., who had overseen the campaign that killed Voldemort, the statement carried greater weight.

Whether they supported John Wick's rise or belonged to Dumbledore's old faction, both sides ultimately decided that Grindelwald had to be eliminated during this conflict.

After the conference ended, countries across the world almost simultaneously issued warrants for Grindelwald's arrest.

...

Hogwarts.

The Great Hall.

John set the newspaper aside and continued reading the silver-covered book in his hands.

The book, formed from Ravenclaw's accumulated knowledge, recorded many mysterious and ancient forms of magic.

Ravenclaw was undoubtedly the most well-rounded among the four founders. She might have been slightly inferior to Gryffindor in dueling, but in every other branch of magic, she was absolutely exceptional.

John studied the various spells within, including perfected potion formulas.

There was also a magic spell that bordered on the forbidden.

"Protego Custos."

This spell differed somewhat from the Patronus Charm.

The Patronus Charm focused on repelling and defending against Dark Magic, while Protego Custos resembled a summoning spell, similar to Piertotum Locomotor, capable of summoning guardians.

The creation of these guardians was also very unique, usually formed from elements.

Casting it near water could create a Water Guardian formed from water itself, while casting it upon the earth could create an Earth Guardian empowered by the land.

"It temporarily grants elemental matter a physical form similar to Alchemy constructs, though the drawbacks of this spell are also very obvious."

John drew his wand and tapped the water in the cup before him.

"Protego Custos."

The water inside the cup floated upward and formed into a sphere.

Under Malfoy's astonished gaze, the sphere dropped onto the ground without splashing apart. Instead, it stretched out limbs from within itself like clay.

"What the hell is that thing?" Malfoy stared as the sphere grew arms and legs, with something resembling armor covering its body.

A Water Guardian.

Malfoy leaned closer to inspect it, only for the Water Guardian to suddenly turn around and punch him squarely in the chin.

The Water Guardian's arm shattered apart, but Malfoy still cried out in pain.

Furious, Malfoy raised his hand and smashed downward. The Water Guardian remained motionless and was blown apart with a single punch.

Malfoy ended up with water splashed all over his sleeve, his face full of irritation.

John lowered his wand and muttered to himself, "No autonomous consciousness. It requires constant control from the wizard."

This flaw meant that unless the wizard could monitor every direction at once, true protection was impossible.

If there was something the wizard failed to notice, then being ambushed could easily become fatal.

"It can only be useful if used for surprising effects," John concluded regarding the spell.

Class time arrived.

John headed toward the Forbidden Forest.

Hagrid had stuffed his beard into a bag to use as a makeshift mask. Because he had offended Basil, his beard had been plucked into a miserable state.

Seeing this, John suggested, "Why don't you just shave it off entirely?"

"No, Olympe likes my beard." Hagrid was very resistant to shaving it.

Hearing him directly call Madame Maxime by name, John figured the progress between the two of them was going rather well.

Though John felt Madame Maxime definitely would not like Hagrid's current beard.

"Hagrid, trust me. If you shave it off now, it'll have grown back by the time Madame Maxime sees you again."

From John's understanding of Basil, the owl would never stop until Hagrid's beard had been completely plucked clean.

But if Hagrid shaved it off himself, perhaps Basil would feel accomplished enough to stop.

Hearing this, Hagrid felt that John was the person in Hogwarts who understood Madame Maxime best, so his words naturally had to make sense.

Thus, Hagrid painfully shaved off his beard, even ruining a razor in the process.

His weed-like beard was far too tough. If giant hair were collected, it would probably make excellent rope material.

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