Chapter 16: Cassandra's Dilemma

While Dumbledore was talking to Grindelwald, a group of foreign wizards rented a house in Hogsmeade that had not been inhabited by wizards for a long time. After they moved the large and small boxes into the room, a blond woman, Christina, who was in London not long ago, walked into the suitcase she was carrying, and after a while, took out a middle-aged man with his whole body wrapped in chains. The middle-aged man was brought to the table, a wizard took out his wand and pointed it at the middle-aged man, while the blond Christine said, "Thomas Reeves! Don't say we didn't give you a chance, now, do as I say or else I can't guarantee your survival."

Thomas Reeves smiled wryly," Even if you make me finish your task, you'll probably kill me after your task is completed."

In the middle of the night, Cedric finally returned to Hogwarts Castle, accompanied by his father Amos, where Dumbledore was already waiting for them. Before he came, Amos Diggory sent a letter to Dumbledore, saying that Cedric sneaked out of Hogwarts because he was worried about himself, and hoped that Headmaster Dumbledore would not mind.

And just when the two sides met at Hogwarts Castle, Cassandra also opened her eyes in her bedroom, only to see her quietly dressed and slipped out of Slytherin's bedroom alone. Cassandra alone, quietly came to the fourth floor of Hogwarts, came to a mirror, read a few words softly, the mirror turned over, and a secret passage appeared behind the mirror.

Cassandra glanced left and right, making sure no one found herself and plunged into the secret passage.At the same time, Mr. Amos also handed Cedric to Dumbledore and said apologetically, "I'm sorry, Headmaster Dumbledore, for causing you trouble!"

Dumbledore stroked Cedric's hair kindly and said with a kind smile, "It doesn't matter Amos, Cedric is a very good Hufflepuff, fully showing the fearlessness and loyalty of a Hufflepuff!"

Hearing Dumbledore complimenting his son, Amoston's smile brightened a bit. Afterward, the two chatted a few more interesting things about Amos' time at Hogwarts, and Amos said goodbye to Dumbledore! After Amos left, Dumbledore took Cedric's hand and walked towards Hogwarts Castle.

In the village of Hogsmeade not far from Hogwarts, Cassandra also stood nervously in front of a house with a red lantern hanging at the door. Although Cassandra looked confused, after taking a deep breath, Cassandra resolutely knocked on the door. After a while, the door was opened from the inside. Looking at the cold light coming from the room, Cassandra, at this time, no longer hesitated and strode into the room.

Cedric, who was sent back to Hogwarts by his father himself, was still a little uneasy, but at this time, walking on the familiar Hogwarts campus, Cedric's mood gradually calmed down.At this moment, Dumbledore's voice sounded faintly in Cedric's ear, "Did you join the Alliance?"

Dumbledore's sudden words startled Cedric, and he involuntarily blurted out and asked, "How do you know?!"

When Cedric finished speaking, he suddenly came to his senses. Just now, he admitted it. Thinking back, he smiled wryly. Dumbledore, however, still held Cedric's hand, walked towards Hogwarts Castle, and answered at the same time, "Very simple, other than that, I can't think of any other reason for the Alliance to let you back."

Hearing Dumbledore's words, Cedric was silent for a moment, and said apologetically," "I'm so sorry, Headmaster, I swore I wouldn't tell anyone what I saw or heard today! However, I've never done anything wrong at Hogwarts."

But Dumbledore did not respond to Cedric's words, which made Cedric full of worries. Finally, when approaching the entrance of Hogwarts Castle, Cedric couldn't help but ask, "Headmaster Dumbledore, will you send me to Azkaban?"

Hearing this, Dumbledore suddenly stopped, looked at Cedric with surprise, and asked,

"What, have you done something illegal?"

Cedric shook his head repeatedly and said, "How is it possible? I didn't do anything wrong!"

Upon hearing this, Dumbledore smiled and said," So, Cedric, why would I send you to Azkaban? Everyone has the right to choose their own way! As long as you don't do anything wrong, I will always be your headmaster!"

In Hogsmeade Village, at an unremarkable house price, Kristin took Cassandra to the door of a room and pushed it open. When Cassandra saw the middle-aged man tied from the chair in the room, even though she had been extremely strong before, she was in tears at the moment.

Outside the door, Christina said loudly, "Thomas Reeves, I brought you to Cassandra. You are a smart man, you should know how to persuade your daughter!"

Afterward, Christina closed the doors for them. Looking at her haggard father, Cassandra asked with tears in her eyes," "Father, what is going on?"

Thomas Reeves looked at Cassandra who fell on top of him and burst into tears. He originally wanted to reach out and stroke his daughter's hair, but when he was about to raise his hand, he remembered that he was now tied to the chair and could only give up.

Thomas Reeves did not answer Cassandra's question, but instead asked, "Now, do you know the identity of that classmate of yours?"

Cassandra's eyes were full of tears, and she nodded heavily. Just now, Christina had told Cassandra the identity of Alyssa.

At this point, Cedric asked Dumbledore a similar question, "Headmaster Dumbledore, did you already know Alyssa's identity?"

Dumbledore nodded without hesitation, and said with a blink of an eye, "Of course, Cedric, I'm the headmaster of Hogwarts."

Hearing this, Cedric was silent for a moment, then asked, "So, on the Hogwarts campus, all students will subconsciously forget to ask Alyssa's surname. Is this what you did too?"

Dumbledore nodded without hesitation, and added, "It's not just me."

Meanwhile, Cassandra posed this question to her father Thomas, "Father, why didn't I find out in the past that everyone ignored her last name?"

Seeing Cassandra's blank expression, Thomas Levo continued to explain, "If it is in the outside world, it may be difficult to make everyone subconsciously forget a person's surname, but in a relatively fixed place, it is much simpler, especially in this place and Dumbledore. Many spells, such as the Confusion Charm, can do this. Of course, it may also be a spell invented by Headmaster Dumbledore himself!"

At the entrance of Hogwarts Castle, Dumbledore also explained to Cedric, "Just a little tweaking of the Confusion Charm will do it, of course, it only works from within Hogwarts. So whenever Alyssa walks out of Hogwarts, I'll be by her side to make sure the spell continues to work!"

Hearing Dumbledore's explanation, Cedric nodded clearly, then shook his head and asked with a puzzled look"Headmaster, why are you doing this? If you are afraid that Alyssa's surname will bring trouble to Hogwarts, then why did you let her enter Hogwarts!"

Faced with Cedric's question, Dumbledore did not answer directly, but instead asked, "Cedric, what kind of person do you think Alyssa is?"

Cedric was silent for a moment, then showed a wry smile, shook his head, and said, "I don't know the principal. If it were before today I would have said Alyssa was a great Hufflepuff! Kindness, integrity, and sincerity are qualities deeply possessed by her, but now, I don't know! Is it all her disguise?"

Dumbledore blinked when he heard Cedric's answer, and then said, "Look, Cedric, that's why I'm doing this!"

Seeing that Cedric was still confused, Dumbledore went on to explain, "Cedric, you and Alyssa are very close friends. Now, since you have doubts about her, so what about the others?"

Cedric suddenly realized, but Dumbledore has not finished speaking, "As a student at Hogwarts, I hope that every one of you in the future can be a remarkable wizard, in one way or another! Definitely not because of your surname!"

In Hogsmeade village, Cassandra also asked her father the same question but got another answer. "Why is Professor Dumbledore doing this?"

Thomas Reeves pondered for a moment, and said with some seriousness, "Cassandra, you haven't lived through that era, you won't understand what the surname Grindelwald represents in the entire wizarding world! Headmaster Dumbledore put her by his side to take better care of her. After all, Headmaster Dumbledore can't do anything to kill an innocent little wizard. However, if the other little wizards in Hogwarts and the families behind them know that the heirs of the Grindelwald family are in Hogwarts, there is no guarantee that those guys will not have any crooked thoughts."

After Thomas Levo finished speaking, the room fell silent again. After a long time, Cassandra asked bitterly, "Father, they asked me to trick Alyssa out of Hogwarts, as long as I bring Alyssa to them, they will let you go. Father, what should I do?"

Thomas Reeves sighed and then said, "When I found out that we were in Hogsmeade, I had already guessed it! They had a good plan, but they took me for a fool! Your father is also the Auror Office of the British Ministry of Magic. They really underestimate me."

"Cassandra, if Alyssa dies here, then the next one will be us! They won't let us leave alive!"

Hearing her father's words, Cassandra's face tightened and she asked nervously, "Father, what should we do then?"

Thomas Reeves smiled, but the light in the room was too dim. Cassandra did not notice that there was a hint of coldness in Thomas Levo's smile. "Of course I promise them!"

Looking at Cassandra's surprised eyes, Thomas Reeves went on to explain, "Promise them to bring Alyssa here! But before you get here, pass on everything that is about to happen here to the British Ministry of Magic! This credit is enough for your father to continue walking up the Ministry of Magic!"

Looking at her father's piercing eyes, for some reason, Cassandra moved her eyes away with some guilt.

The next day, Toby rushed to comfort Cedric. He said," Cedric! Are you all right?"

Cedric said," I'm fine. Luckily, they didn't harm me."

"Those black wizard scoundrels, how dare they hurt you, Cedric. Every one of them should be nailed to a stake and burnt to death." Swore Toby.

Cedric coughed," Actually they were not that bad. After all, they were just trying to save their comrades."

"It doesn't matter," said Toby," I bet their leader is an ugly troll who is ashamed to even look at his face in the morning."

Alyssa who was passing by,"..."

Oblivious to the angry Alyssa, Toby continued," I also guess that the wizard who kidnapped you is an old hag who is ready to drop dead at any moment in her life."

Grandma Rosier who was passing by at that moment heard the remarks said by her dear grandson. Her face darkened and her grip on her wand. Cedric didn't know whether to laugh or cry. In one moment, Toby had managed to insult both the heir and the current leader of the Alliance. Even worse, both of them seemed to want to take out their wand and cast an unforgivable curse on Toby.

Cedric suddenly gave a quick goodbye to Toby and dragged Alyssa back to the Hufflepuff dorms. When he reached there, he couldn't help but laugh at what Toby had said." Judging by Toby's response, he isn't a member of The Alliance."

Alyssa didn't say anything, but she softly whispered," Not yet anyway."

"Ahem, you guys should really discuss secrets like this in the open."

Alyssa and Cedric spun around pointing the wands towards the source of that sound, just to realize that it was actually Wilson Green who spoke those words.

Seeing Wilson, Cedric hurried to explain," Prefect Gree~"

Wilson stopped Cedric mid-sentence," Don't worry guys. I was also inspired by the Dark Lord Grindelwald. I used to love the stories of him setting Paris ablaze and working for the greater good."

Alyssa took the lead," In that case, I would like to formally invite you, Prefect Wilson."

Wilson smiled," It's my honor Lady Grindelwald."