Meeting room at the Order of the Phoenix headquarters.
The round conference table was full of people, and everyone was whispering about the reason why Kingsley called the meeting: what was Voldemort doing in Nurmengard.
After Harry and his companions entered the conference room, the whispers inside suddenly stopped. People stopped talking and turned to look at Harry and his companions. Most of them greeted them with smiles and eagerly arranged for them to take seats.
"Sorry to have kept you waiting."
Harry couldn't help feeling a little embarrassed when he realized that everyone was waiting for him. Most of the time, he was usually unwilling to waste time attending boring, unimportant meetings, but Kingsley obviously thought it was necessary for them to attend today's meeting.
"We were discussing what the You-Know-Who was doing in Nurmengard."
Kingsley nodded to Harry and the other two, motioning them to take a seat, and continued, "When most of the European Aurors rushed to Nurmengard, a fierce battle had already broken out in the wizard prison. I think the You-Know-Who and Grindelwald couldn't reach an agreement, and the fight between the two ignited Nurmengard Prison, causing many Nurmengard prisoners to fail to escape in time."
"Not long after the Aurors rushed over, they were faced with a group of terrified birds that had escaped from Nurmengard Prison. There were very few dark wizards who actually survived the fire, which was the main reason why the Aurors were able to easily win after launching a surprise attack."
"Of course, I think most of the people present here already know the details of this part, but what I want to talk about today is what exactly did the mysterious man go to Nurmengard for?
Well, the problem is back to square one.
Kingsley gestured to everyone to be quiet and continued to reveal more information to everyone.
"According to the information we got from the Death Eaters, the mysterious man should be looking for the legendary wand - the Death Stick."
Having said that, Kingsley suddenly turned his head and looked at Harry and the other two.
After feeling many people staring at him, Harry knew he had to say something.
"The death stick that the mysterious man is looking for should be the elder wand used by the eldest brother in "The Story of the Three Brothers"."
But his words made most people in the conference room frown.
"The You-Know-Who is frantically searching for the Death Stick. There is no doubt that he is trying to deal with Albert." Harry knew that people might not be able to accept it for the time being, but he continued, "Moreover, not long ago, some kind of connection was established between the You-Know-Who's wand and I, which caused the You-Know-Who to suffer a lot. That's why the You-Know-Who can't wait to get a powerful wand to solve the problems that bother him."
"It's just a fairy tale," said Mrs. Weasley.
"As far as I know, the You-Know-Who has indeed been looking for such a wand all over Europe," Kingsley said softly. "Before invading Nurmengard, the You-Know-Who had been looking for Gregorovitch, a wand maker as famous as Ollivander. Because it is rumored that Gregorovitch once got that wand, but the wand maker was temporarily hidden by Albert and Dumbledore."
There was a sudden whisper in the conference room.
"Later, the mysterious man targeted Grindelwald for some unknown reason. Perhaps the legendary death stick was in the hands of the previous Dark Lord."β¦.
Kingsley's words shocked everyone.
If the mysterious man really possesses the legendary Death Stick, the consequences will be disastrous.
"I asked Anderson, and he told me not to worry. The You-Know-Who is not the master of the Elder Wand and cannot unleash the true power of that wand."
"So, You-Know-Who still got the Death Stick?"
"have no idea."
Kingsley shook his head and looked at Harry.
"Albert doesn't like taking risks."
Harry was not sure, but he was not worried about Voldemort getting the Elder Wand. "That's good, let me talk about another thing." Kingsley made a quiet gesture to suppress other noises, and continued, "Anderson once mentioned that there will be a decisive battle between the two sides. The time is ripe, perhaps soon. He hopes we are ready."
As soon as Kingsley finished speaking, there was a commotion at the scene.
People never thought that the decisive battle in the wizarding war that Albert had mentioned would actually come.
They were panicking because they were not prepared.
People looked at Harry and the other two, but Harry obviously didn't understand clearly either.
After the meeting, Harry, Ron and Hermione returned to the room to discuss the so-called decisive battle, but Albert kept it strictly confidential, which led them to suspect that this matter was related to Voldemort's acquisition of the "Death Stick".
But none of the three knew how Voldemort could get the Elder Wand, and the reason was very simple. Albert must know where the Elder Wand was, and he would never allow the mysterious man to get such an invincible wand, not to mention that Voldemort planned to use it against Albert.
"Maybe, next time we meet, we can ask him where the wand is." Ron suggested, "If we can use the power of that wand, we will have a much better chance of defeating the You-Know-Who in the end."
"I know where that wand is!" said Harry suddenly.
"Harry, do you know where that wand is hidden?"
Ron froze, looking up at Harry in disbelief.
"Hogwarts, we should have thought of that earlier," Hermione murmured.
"The Elder Wand is hidden in Hogwarts?"
Ron's eyes moved back and forth between Harry and Hermione, as if trying to confirm the truth from them.
"A long time ago, Gregorovitch got the Elder Wand. I remember Mr. Ollivander mentioned this." Harry ignored the surprise on Ron's face and analyzed the whole thing by himself: "So, the You-Know-Who had been looking for Gregorovitch all over Europe at first, but Gregorovitch was hidden by Albert, which resulted in the You-Know-Who's work being in vain for a long time."
"But in fact, the Elder Wand is no longer with Gregorovitch, but was taken away by Grindelwald." Hermione exchanged glances with Harry and continued her analysis, "Don't forget, Grindelwald's Saint Badge is the mark of the Deathly Hallows, which means that Grindelwald must have studied the Deathly Hallows. If Gregorovitch had foolishly boasted that he had cracked the secret of the Elder Wand, I think it's not surprising that Grindelwald came to him. Grindelwald made himself more powerful with the Elder Wand and became the most dangerous Dark Lord in history. β¦.
"Dumbledore finally defeated Grindelwald and took the Elder Wand. He is the master of the Elder Wand." Ron's eyes widened and he muttered, "So, the Elder Wand was taken to his grave by Dumbledore?"
"Then we should go to Hogwarts!" Ron turned his head suddenly and said anxiously, "Harry, go get the Elder Wand before the You-Know-Who!"
"Dumbledore wouldn't want me to have it, and..." Harry and Hermione were both surprised that the other would say that.
"We must stop the You-Know-Who from getting the wand that never loses, otherwise who will be able to defeat him then?" Ron was anxious and tried to convince Harry, but his efforts were in vain.
"Calm down, Ron. Even if we rush over now, it's too late. The You-Know-Who noticed the whereabouts of the wand before us. Besides, do you think Albert will really allow the You-Know-Who to take the wand?" Harry comforted.
"You mean Albert has already taken the Elder Wand." Ron couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. This was indeed something Albert would do.
"I don't know. Even if the wand is still there, the You-Know-Who is probably not the real owner of the wand."
"Snape, the You-Know-Who shouldn't be hard to guess."
Speaking of this, Ron suddenly felt a little gloating, "Do you think the mysterious man will kill Snape?"
"Not Snape, I suspect this is a chain of traps, and specially prepared for the mysterious man." Harry suddenly understood why Albert had put the plan forward. He had already dug a big pit in advance, waiting for the mysterious man to jump in!