Nurmengard_1

Hermione and Ron were puzzled as to why Ivan trusted Snape so much.

Harry wanted to say something, but hesitated. He suspected that Snape had another important reason, and that was that Snape had been eager to find out what the Headmaster had left him while teaching him Occlumency.

However, thinking about the will in which Professor Dumbledore told him to trust Snape if he had to, Harry swallowed the words he was about to say, as he could not be certain whether Snape was working for Lord Voldemort or spying on him.

… .

After breakfast, Ivan said goodbye to Harry and the others and took Ravenclaw's Diadem with him to the Restricted Section for another book or two.

Along the way, Ivan went over and over Harry's story, peeling the silk from the cocoon, and soon had a pretty good idea of Snape's plan.

Needless to say, this must have been another of Dumbledore's dying orders to Snape, presumably to get rid of the Horcrux attached to Harry.

Yvonne wondered why Snape had kept it from her. They were supposed to be on the same page when it came to dealing with Lord Voldemort, and working together would be far more effective than fighting him alone. Was Snape not worried that something might go wrong?

Or was there more to this than he'd thought?

Ivan was deep in thought for a long time, but he was not in the mood to look through the book in his hand. Just as Ivan felt that he had vaguely grasped some clues, he was interrupted by a soft click beside him.

Irritated, Ivan turned his head and saw his unexpected visitor. He raised his eyebrows and asked curiously, "Winky, did you need something?"

"Mr. Harls, Winky…Winky just got some information in the kitchen about Mr. Dumbledore…" Winky, a small house-elf, stammered as she looked at Ivan in fear.

"Stop, we'll talk about it later…" Ivan raised his hand to stop Winky from continuing. He looked around and saw that there were no students staying near the Restricted Section, but Ivan was still worried. He led Winky out of the library and into an empty classroom.

Ivan had been trying to find a way to complete his mission with the house-elf army for over a month, and he had made Winky go offline to collect information on the house-elves.

Especially figuring out what they were thinking and who they were working for, whether it was the Headmaster of Hogwarts or the school itself.

Dobby could not be allowed to do such work, as he would only make a mess of things, or argue with the Hogwarts elves over ideas.

Thus, Ivan had to choose another spy, and being new to Hogwarts and in a state of confusion, Winky was the best choice.

Winky, in particular, did not require elvish rights, nor did she want a salary, but rather wanted to work for the rest of her life as a house-elf.

It was an easy request to fulfil, and the rest of the story followed. It only took him an hour to convince Winky to work for him…

"You can talk now," Ivan said.

Winky did not hesitate to tell him what she had heard from the other house-elves.

"You're saying that one of the elves knew where Headmaster Dumbledore went some time ago?" Ivan asked in amazement.

Winky nodded and replied cautiously, "They say that Sir Dumbledore spent a great deal of time in the Tower of Nurmengard…"

"Newmonds?" Yvonne murmured to herself, thinking that the place was familiar. She searched her memory and found it to be a prison, where Dumbledore had imprisoned the Dark Wizard Grindelwald after his defeat in a duel in 1945.

Dumbledore apparently went there to see Grindelwald, presumably to get rid of the Dark Arts on his right arm!

As one of the most powerful Dark Wizards in the world, Grindelwald was no less accomplished in the Dark Arts than Lord Voldemort, and he was also the one most likely to break it…

However, it seems that Dumbledore and Grindelwald were unable to undo the spell, merely delaying its release.

But how did the house-elves know about this?

Ivan looked at Winky in surprise, waiting for an answer.

"Mr. Dumbledore has asked us to deliver meals to Mr. Grindelwald regularly…" Winky said shrilly, wincing.

Although it had only been at Hogwarts for a short period of time and was unable to take on the task, from what it had been told by the other house-elves, it did not seem like a good job.

Ivan nodded at Winky's words.

The prison had been built by Grindelwald at the height of his power to house some of his opponents. It had been abandoned for a long time, and Grindelwald was presumably the only prisoner inside.

Dumbledore could not very well hire someone to look after this felon, so the only option was to have the house-elves of Hogwarts look after him.

Ivan was suddenly overcome with emotion. Dumbledore's death had been shrouded in layers of mystery, many of which he could not solve.

Finally, there is a new way in — Dumbledore visited Nurmengard during the time he was playing Vanishing, and stayed there for a long time.

Grindelwald was the original owner of the Elder Wand and had a strong connection to Dumbledore, where Ivan believed many of his doubts could be answered.

"Winky, go to the kitchen later and ask who's the elf in charge of Grindelwald's meals today, and find a way to take over," Yvonne said.

"But, sir, Winky… Winky doesn't know where Nurmengard is… it might not be delivered in time," Winky said sadly, clutching her dirty clothes.

"No, there's no need to trouble you. I'll see to it myself!" Ivan said firmly, not wanting any elves to interrupt their conversation.

Ivan dismissed Winky and headed to the Room of Requirement to change into his battle robes.

Although he was only going to Newmengard to meet Grindelwald and ask him a few questions, and there was no need to fight, he had to be prepared for the worst.