Let the Dead Speak!

Efraim's sincere words touched Hermione's heart, and the little witch hugged her tightly for a long time before saying, "But…I'm worried about you!"

"Worried about what I'm going to do?" Yvonne laughed, trying to sound confident. "Don't forget, I'm the best wizard in the whole wizarding world. You've seen the papers, haven't you? Grindelwald has to hide from me!"

Hermione considered the Daily Prophet's report and was relieved to hear it.

Ivan was relieved and quickly changed the subject. "By the way, Hermione, have you read all the memories I gave you?"

The young witch nodded. She had not wasted a single moment of her time in the last six months. She had read every memory Ivan had given her dozens of times, and her alchemical skills had improved so much that she could now create simple magical objects of her own accord.

However, she did not have a clue as to how to infuse pure emotions into a magical object, as Ivan had told her before.

"Don't be in such a hurry. I've been learning this for a long time, but I've only just managed to master it. You still have a lot of time, so you can take your time," Ivan said reassuringly, then proceeded to explain the basics of emotional magic to Hermione.

The two of them chatted as they walked to the Great Hall. As they sat down to eat, a grayish-white owl suddenly flew in from the entrance hall and brought a package to him.

Ivan opened it and found information on Grindelwald and the movements of the Saints, presumably from Pierce.

Hermione was also looking at the report curiously, but the more she read, the more shocked she became.

Since Grindelwald's escape, there have been nearly a hundred attacks on Muggles in Europe, some by saints, but others by extremists who shared Grindelwald's ideals.

This was clearly not a good sign, and added a lot of uncertainty to the Aurors' investigation.

A worried look came over Hermione's face as she read through the reports. Her parents were Muggles, and she was a witch and wizard, so she didn't know what to do if the wizarding and Muggle worlds came to blows.

Luckily, Hermione soon realised that with the entire wizarding community united and less vulnerable than before, it would not be long before Grindelwald was caught.

Ivan, who knew more, was not as confident as the little witch.

He might have injured Grindelwald badly at the North American Magical Headquarters, but Ivan knew that he was only able to achieve such a result because Grindelwald had expended a lot of magic fighting over a hundred Aurors and had been tricked by him using the key.

If he had to fight Grindelwald again, it would be hard to tell who would win.

Crucially, Grindelwald was in possession of a Horcrux, which gave Ivan the greatest headache. If he did not find and destroy the Horcrux, he would be under an undead buff.

It was easier said than done.

The properties of a Horcrux made it easy to hide, and it could be anything from a book to a key or even a button on a garment.

Not everyone was as nostalgic as Tom Riddle, who was fond of turning memorable objects into Horcruxes and placing them in special places.

Even so, the book relied on Harry's ability to detect and destroy Horcruxes.

Ivan rubbed his chin in thought. The only thing he could guess was that Grindelwald was not as deranged as Voldemort, so there were probably only one Horcruxes!

Understanding Ivan's troubles, Hermione asked, "Do you remember Peter Pettigrew?"

"Of course I do. Why?" Yvonne asked, puzzled.

"If Grindelwald is using the same method of resurrection as Lord Voldemort, he's going to need a helper!" Hermione spread out the parchment for Ivan's analysis. "So all you have to do is find out who Grindelwald trusts and try to catch them searching their memories."

"That's right!" Yvonne's eyes lit up, and she happily hugged the witch and kissed her on the cheek.

Flushing slightly, Hermione quickly added, "Actually, my methods don't work the same way, and it wouldn't help if Grindelwald killed the person who resurrected him to keep it secret."

"Let's just try it anyway. If Grindelwald's really that ruthless, there's nothing we can do about it. We can't just let the dead talk…" Ivan shrugged.

However, when he finished speaking, he was stunned.

Wait…to make the dead talk…

Ivan's expression changed as his right hand caressed the Resurrection Stone.

He had not forgotten Grindelwald's words at the Capitol that the Resurrection Stone might actually have the ability to summon the souls of the dead, but that he did not know how to use it properly.

Ivan's impression was that a dead wizard must have known something about Horcruxes — the former Vice President of the Magical Congress of North America, Farrell!

As one of the ingredients for the resurrection of Grindelwald's nemesis, Farrell was bound to watch the ceremony soberly.

After all, based on Harry's personal experience and the incantation, [The blood of the enemy is forced to be offered to bring back your enemy], it seems likely that the ritual must be offered alive in order to be effective…

Thinking of this, Ivan immediately sped up his lunch and decided to go back and look through all the legends and resources regarding the Three Sacred Weapons!

… .

A few days passed in the blink of an eye, and before they knew it, the Christmas holidays were drawing near. Ivan's research into the Resurrection Stone had made little progress, and it was not easy to sift through the many legends and texts.

Ivan, however, was not prepared to give up so easily. Apart from his daily teaching duties, he spent most of his time in the library, even taking out his copy of The Tales of Beedle the Bard and perusing it several times.

On the last day of school, Ivan slowly closed his copy of The Tales of Britain, took the information and notes he had gathered over the past few days, and headed back to the staffroom as usual. However, when he turned the corner, he accidentally bumped into Luna, whom he had not seen for a long time…