Hogwarts: This Dark Lord is Good?

High up in the clouds—Fuuush~~!

Dozens of Thestral-drawn carriages flew rapidly in a tight, fixed formation.

At the center of the convoy was the largest carriage of them all, nearly windowless save for a small vent on the left side.

Inside, a man with a calm expression was gazing through that vent at the clear blue sky beyond.

If it weren't for the countless chains binding him tightly, one might have thought he was simply out for a countryside ride.

"Don't even think about escaping!" President Picquery said coldly. "I'm personally escorting you this time! My wand is aimed right at your throat! If you try anything, I swear, the Killing Curse will hit you before you can blink!"

Grindelwald turned his gaze from the vent to the agitated woman in front of him.

Then he glanced at the wand glowing with a faint green light.

Yet his expression remained composed, as though the wand wasn't even pointed at him.

"I really don't wish to repeat myself, President Picquery. I still maintain that I'm not a criminal, because I am innocent… Though you are clearly treating me like one. However, I'm a reasonable man, and I believe your people can be trusted." 

He chuckled a little, "So, even though the American Magical Congress has behaved quite rudely, I still chose to have the public trial held here. And since I came willingly, I won't be trying to escape. You can rest assured."

"Being put on trial and you still say you're not a criminal?" President Picquery sneered.

"Heh~ The public trial hasn't even begun yet. Which means, technically, I haven't been convicted. And until I am, I should be referred to as a suspect, not… a criminal. At least that's how it works in the Muggle world. Much as I believe Muggles have many limitations, I must admit—when it comes to matters like these, their precision and formality far surpass ours, tenfold."

"Oh? Since when do you praise Muggles?" President Picquery snapped. "Didn't you always look down on them? Calling them… maggots, slaves—"

"I've never said such things, President Picquery. And remarks like yours are highly inappropriate," said Grindelwald calmly. "I believe every individual has their own proper place. And by every individual, I naturally include Muggles as well."

"Semantic games. A proper place? You mean slavery, don't you?"

"In the past, I would've taken the time to discuss some of my ideals with you—perhaps even cleared up your misunderstandings. But this time, I've come to MACUSA for one main reason: to clear my name of the countless baseless accusations made against me over the years. As for this topic, perhaps we can revisit it another time."

President Picquery sneered. "You don't seriously think you'll clear your name, do you? Maybe most of your charges can't be proven now that those Alliance members are dead, but don't forget—back then, you murdered and impersonated a high-ranking MACUSA official! There were countless eyewitnesses who saw you revert to your true form!"

"I admit to impersonating a high-ranking official. I won't deny that charge," Grindelwald said evenly. "But as for murder—that has nothing to do with me. You see, I impersonated the official for a reason. That night, I discovered an Obscurial—an extremely dangerous entity. I wanted to subdue it. But as a foreign wizard with a sensitive identity, I thought it would cause unnecessary alarm if I acted openly. So, I borrowed Mr. Graves's identity. Unfortunately, it still led to a misunderstanding. You blamed Mr. Graves's death on me—without any investigation, you threw me into prison, while the real killer remains at large to this day…"

"So you're saying you merely borrowed his identity, and we misunderstood?" President Picquery's voice rose. "Graves is dead! He was murdered!"

"That was just a coincidence…" Grindelwald paused, then added, "A very unfortunate coincidence…"

President Picquery glared at him furiously but said nothing more.

From their earlier conversation, she had more or less grasped Grindelwald's approach.

He wasn't denying the minor charges.

But when it came to the more serious accusations—like murdering Graves and then impersonating him—Grindelwald only admitted to briefly using his identity. As for the murder, he refused to acknowledge any responsibility.

President Picquery was certain that after killing Graves, Grindelwald had continued to impersonate him.

But Grindelwald claimed he only borrowed his identity for one night, and that it was during the attempt to capture the Obscurial that he was exposed.

He even insisted that when he impersonated Graves, he hadn't known Graves was already dead.

What frustrated Picquery the most was the fact that they genuinely seemed to have no evidence proving he murdered Graves.

To be honest, if Grindelwald had wanted to kill Graves, he probably wouldn't have needed to do it himself… Tsk!

And as long as he hadn't done it with his own hands, pinning that charge on him would be very difficult.

According to the information sent over by the British Ministry of Magic, the charge of murdering Graves had, in fact, already been pinned on a member of the Grindelwald faction.

That particular follower had already been executed, along with the others who were captured.

Of course, during the original interrogation, some followers—under the effects of Veritaserum—did admit they were acting under Grindelwald's orders.

But even that wasn't enough to place the blame squarely on Grindelwald. Those people were now dead and couldn't testify in court. Even if their interrogation records existed, they no longer carried sufficient weight.

Besides, Grindelwald had always maintained a single line of defense: many of his statements had been misunderstood.

In other words, the murders and disappearances were all the result of his overly fanatical followers misinterpreting his intentions and acting on their own.

That wasn't what he had meant at all.

Grindelwald had placed himself in the position of a victim.

His only mistake, he claimed, was having followers who were too devoted—so devoted that they twisted his words.

And if a follower commits crimes due to fanaticism, can you really place the blame on the "idol"?

Therefore, if Grindelwald only admitted to briefly impersonating Graves, the most he'd receive would be a few months in prison.

And if he posted a sufficient bail, he might not even spend a single day behind bars.

Grindelwald, who commanded countless loyal followers, certainly didn't lack for money.

At this moment, President Picquery finally understood that trying to punish Grindelwald through legitimate means was now virtually impossible.

The only remaining way to make him pay the price he deserved... was just one.

…

Safehouse.

When Wade saw that Grindelwald intended to hold a public trial at the Magical Congress of the United States, he knew the matter was already decided.

Grindelwald would absolutely be able to clear himself of all charges.

Even the minor ones that couldn't be wiped away could be resolved with money.

Tom said, "I still think there are powerful people out there who won't want to see Grindelwald walk free. If they start playing dirty, even without Dumbledore's help, their chances of success are still pretty high."

"I've said it before—no one plays that game better than Grindelwald," Wade replied with a grin.

"In fact, what Grindelwald probably wants most right now is for someone to try to frame him. Because if a conspiracy gets exposed, then his status as a victim becomes undeniable. 'See? I told you! Someone's been trying to frame me all along! That's why my reputation was ruined! All the charges against me were the result of their schemes!' If anyone can't resist making a move on him now, they'll be playing right into his hands."

Tom was speechless. "So basically, he's already invincible?"

"Not quite," Wade said. "As long as whoever tries to scheme against him can outplay Grindelwald, it'll be fine. As long as they don't get exposed, Grindelwald will be successfully framed with new charges, and the public trial will turn into a complete farce."

"You know," Tom muttered under his breath, "not to be rude, but… you basically just admitted you're better at scheming than Grindelwald."

"What did you just say? When did I even—"

"You said before that no one in the world is better at scheming than Grindelwald. Then you said you had all kinds of ways to ruin his plan… Doesn't that mean you're better at scheming than he is? And you even said I was wrong before… But look at you, just a few days later, you exposed yourself!"

"Sounds like you're still not entirely convinced… Tom?"

"Wade, didn't you say you were a reasonable person?"

"By your logic just now, Tom, my fists are bigger—so my fists are reason. Therefore, the way I reason with you… I hope you can accept it."

"You… sigh, I just couldn't keep my mouth shut… All right, go ahead, just go easy…"

Ugh..

Ack..

Argh..

...

Just as the two of them were horsing around, the phoenix Fawkes suddenly appeared in the living room and delivered a letter.

Wade put down his wand and took the letter to read.

It was from Dumbledore.

In it, he warned Wade and Tom not to leave the house for the time being.

There was no doubt that Dumbledore had already prepared for the worst regarding Grindelwald's escape. He had also lost confidence that Grindelwald would be convicted.

After reading the letter, Tom couldn't help but shiver.

"Ugh.. Looks like we can't go fishing this afternoon…"

"What are you afraid of, Tom?"

"Grindelwald might take revenge…" Tom hadn't even finished his sentence before realizing his mistake.

Grindelwald's plan to escape and turn the tide had come from Wade… Why would he take revenge on Wade?

Besides… since Grindelwald was now committed to clearing his name, there was no way he'd revert to his old methods.

A man preparing to enter politics wouldn't give anyone the slightest chance to catch him out.

"Looks like you've figured it out… So, interested in taking a trip to America? The public trial is bound to be lively…"

"Goodbye!" Tom shouted as he ran off.

This guy must be insane—everyone else is desperate to avoid the Dark Lord, and he's chasing after him…

Well, Grindelwald probably wouldn't do anything to Wade, but himself? That was another story.

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Read two weeks ahead: P^treon: Captain69