After hearing Professor Watson's confusion, Krum's pupils contracted involuntarily, his heart was shaken.

During his limited encounters with Professor Watson, he had carefully controlled his inner emotions, but unexpectedly, Professor Watson had still noticed.

His mind raced with conflicting emotions. Should he feel panicked by this revelation? Or should he instead marvel at witnessing the legendary abilities of Bryan Watson—the wizard acclaimed throughout the magical world as the most powerful of the modern age, possessing an almost supernatural ability to read people.

Viktor bit his lip, not answering immediately.

But how should he respond to this question?

Should he deflect the question? That probably wouldn't work. Should he simply remain silent and hope the professor would honor his word about not forcing an answer? That seemed equally futile, as the silence itself would speak about his internal turmoil.

After all, Professor Watson had said he wouldn't force an answer.

Bryan sipped his medicinal tea—something he had tasted while pursuing Hermione's case in Germany, he liked occasionally enjoying its unique flavor.

Viktor remained silent, and Bryan wasn't pressing for an answer, just as he had said, it wouldn't matter if Krum chose not to respond.

"Professor Watson, do you think—" As the light and shadows shifted angles outside the window, sunlight fell on Krum's face, pale from the sudden upheaval. He looked at Bryan cautiously, his tone careful. "Do you think what Gellert Grindelwald did was right?"

Quietly, Bryan's eyebrows rose. He had anticipated several possible responses from Viktor, but certainly hadn't expected the young man to ask about this. What connection did this have to his changed attitude?

"Gellert Grindelwald..." Bryan's thoughts drifted momentarily, conjuring images of that old man in thin clothing atop Nurmengard's tower, his aged appearance, and the faint tremors still hidden within his withered body.

"Undoubtedly," Bryan began, "he was a wizard of exceptional talent, possessing magical power that reached far beyond what most people could even have in their lifetime."

He paused, watching Viktor's face carefully for any reaction before continuing. "His raw ability was perhaps unparalleled in his generation—possibly in any generation since the founders of Hogwarts themselves."

Viktor's expression began to shift, and Bryan could see disappointment starting to creep into the young man's face. Clearly, he had been hoping for a different kind of assessment.

Before that disappointment could fully manifest, Bryan raised a hand and continued with greater intensity.

"However, in some ways, Grindelwald also possessed extraordinary wisdom and foresight. More than half a century ago, when the wizarding world was largely content to maintain its traditional isolation, he could already see that the rapidly developing Muggle world would inevitably create powerful forces that would strongly impact and shock the foundations of wizarding society."

Bryan leaned forward slightly, his eyes growing distant. "He understood, long before others were willing to acknowledge it, that the old ways of complete separation between our worlds were becoming increasingly unsustainable. The Industrial Revolution was transforming Muggle society at an unprecedented pace, creating technologies and social structures that would make traditional concealment charms and memory modifications increasingly difficult to maintain."

Viktor's attention was completely captured now, his earlier nervousness temporarily forgotten in the face of this unexpected complexity in Professor Watson's analysis.

"However," Bryan continued, "despite this perceptive understanding of the coming crisis, I disagree with his chosen approach to addressing these challenges."

Under Viktor's increasingly intense gaze, Bryan spoke with complete honesty. "Grindelwald gathered followers from across Europe, using lofty ideals about wizarding supremacy and the greater good as pretense for what was ultimately nothing more than a campaign of conquest and subjugation.

He used war, terror, and genocide as his primary means, attempting to enslave Muggle populations who vastly outnumbered the wizarding community, all in some foolish hope that such actions would somehow highlight and preserve what he saw as wizards' inherent nobility and distinction from lesser beings. Frankly, this was extremely foolish."

"Why?" Viktor blurted out, the question escaping his lips before he could consider whether it was appropriate to interrupt.

Bryan smiled at the young man's obvious engagement with the topic. He gestured toward the floor beneath their feet.

"You must surely know," Bryan began, settling back in his chair, "that Hogwarts School was founded nearly a thousand years ago by four of the most remarkable wizards in recorded history: Salazar Slytherin, Rowena Ravenclaw, Helga Hufflepuff, and Godric Gryffindor."

Viktor nodded, his expression showing that he was familiar with these legendary figures, though he seemed uncertain where Professor Watson was leading with this historical review.

"Now, here's the crucial detail that many modern wizards tend to overlook," Bryan continued, his voice gaining momentum as he approached his central point. "These four extraordinary individuals all came from what we would recognize today as ancient, noble, pure-blood wizarding families."

Bryan paused to take another sip of his medicinal tea.

"You must understand the social and educational context of that era, Viktor. A thousand years ago, magical knowledge was almost exclusively transmitted through family inheritance systems, with occasional master-apprentice relationships supplementing the bloodline traditions. However, even these master-apprentice bonds typically remained narrow, limited, and closely controlled by the established magical families who guarded their secrets."

Viktor was beginning to see the outline of Professor Watson's argument, but he remained uncertain about its ultimate direction.

"So, here's the question I want you to consider carefully, Viktor," Bryan said. "Given this historical context, in an era when magical families were extraordinarily protective of their secrets, when sharing knowledge with outsiders was seen as potentially dangerous or even treasonous, when the entire wizarding world operated on principles of exclusion and isolation.

Do you know why these four great founders, despite coming from the most prestigious pure-blood families of their time, chose to risk universal condemnation, social ostracism, and potential magical retaliation by establishing Hogwarts and openly teaching magic to students from diverse backgrounds?"

Like facing a professor's question in class, Krum frowned thoughtfully before answering uncertainly,

"Because... perhaps those ancient magical families couldn't exist forever in their isolated state? And if magical knowledge remained limited only to family inheritance systems, magic itself would eventually disappear from the world?"

Bryan's face broke into a genuine smile of approval and delight.

"Five points to Durmstrang!" He exclaimed with obvious pleasure, raising his teacup in a mock toast to Viktor's understanding. "You're exactly right."

"The founders of Hogwarts understood something that Gellert Grindelwald either failed to comprehend or deliberately ignored in his pursuit of power. They recognized that magical bloodlines, no matter how pure or ancient, are ultimately subject to the same biological and social pressures that affect all human populations."

Bryan began counting off points on his fingers as he continued.

"Gellert Grindelwald made at least three serious mistakes in his analysis of wizard-Muggle relations, each of which contributed to his ultimate failure and the immense suffering he caused throughout Europe."

"First," Bryan said, extending his index finger, "he operated under the flawed assumption that wizards could successfully force Muggle populations to submit permanently through the application of superior magical power. However, he showed a deep misunderstanding of human nature and historical precedent when he failed to recognize that tyranny regardless of the source of its power, inevitably breeds resistance movements."

His voice grew more passionate as he continued. "Throughout human history, no matter how overwhelming the oppressor's advantages might appear, people fighting for their personal freedom, their families' safety, and their cultural independence have consistently found ways to unite, organize, and resist.

The Muggle population vastly outnumbers the wizarding community by ratios that make sustained magical oppression logistically impossible. Even if every wizard in the world had joined Grindelwald's cause, the sheer mathematics of population control would have made his vision unattainable."

"Second," Bryan continued, extending a second finger, "Grindelwald's plan to destroy or subjugate Muggle populations would have been tantamount to destroying the wizarding world itself."

Viktor's eyes widened at these words.

"The founders of Hogwarts recognized something absolutely crucial," Bryan explained. "They understood that purely family-based magical inheritance, while it might preserve certain bloodline traditions and accumulated knowledge, would ultimately lead to the complete extinction of magic from our world. Magical families intermarry, suffer casualties, fail to produce heirs, or simply see their magical abilities diminish over successive generations."

Bryan gestured expansively, his movement encompassing not just the school around them but the entire magical world beyond its walls.

"However, the vastly more numerous Muggle population serves as an enormous reservoir of potential magical talent. Muggle-born witches and wizards don't just supplement our numbers, they provide fresh perspectives, innovative approaches to magic, and most importantly, they ensure that magical ability continues to emerge in the world rather than slowly dying out through genetic bottlenecking and social isolation."

"Third," Bryan said, raising a third finger and allowing a slight smile to appear across his face, "I can provide you with a perfect example of why Grindelwald's assumptions about blood status and magical ability were not just wrong, but completely prejudiced and counter to observable reality."

Bryan gestured to himself with a self-deprecating chuckle. "You surely know that I come from the Muggle world—both of my parents are what you might call 'proper Muggles,' with absolutely no magical heritage in their family histories as far back as anyone has been able to trace."

His smile grew warmer as he continued. "Yet, as you can observe for yourself, this complete lack of magical ancestry hasn't prevented me from becoming what most people would consider a qualified wizard—and I think we can both agree that's something of an underestimation regarding my actual capabilities."

Viktor nodded slowly, beginning to see the full picture that Professor Watson was showing for him.

"This demonstrates conclusively that Grindelwald's views about the inherent superiority of pure-blood wizards and the supposed inferiority of Muggles were not based on any objective analysis of magical ability or potential," Bryan concluded. "They were simply the prejudiced opinions of a man who allowed his desire for power to override his capacity for rational thought."

Bryan sat back in his chair, feeling satisfied that he had thoroughly explained his position on Grindelwald's ideology and methods. He expected that this comprehensive analysis would help resolve whatever confusion had been troubling Viktor.

However, when Bryan finished his lengthy explanation and looked across at Viktor expectantly, he was surprised to find that the young man's expression showed even greater bewilderment than before.

Rather than the relief or understanding that Bryan had anticipated, Krum's face showed confusion.

"But if that's the case—" Krum said, puzzled, "if you disapprove of Grindelwald, why would you... I mean, study him?"

Now it was Bryan's turn to experience confusion. He was staring at Viktor with complete bewilderment, his mind struggling to understand what the young man was saying.

"Study?" Bryan frowned. "Where does this come from? Something Karkaroff told you?"

"That symbol!" Viktor exclaimed, finally realizing that, as Hermione Granger had said, he had indeed misunderstood something important. However, despite this growing awareness that his assumptions might have been incorrect, he couldn't help but press forward with his question.

"Perhaps you've forgotten—it was just before the Christmas Ball, and I had... I had invited Hermione Granger to be my dance partner, right there at the main entrance to the library—"

Mentioning this brought a touch of melancholy to Krum's heart. If not for his comments about Professor Watson that had angered Hermione, perhaps that charming girl might have agreed to attend the Christmas Ball with him.

"You passed by us then, and I saw you holding a manuscript with the symbol used by Grindelwald and his followers!"

Bryan raised his eyebrows, taking several seconds to understand what Krum meant.

Grindelwald's symbol... Of course—that was the symbol of the Deathly Hallows!

The revelation hit Bryan like a bolt of lightning, revealing a significant gap in his knowledge of wizarding history. He had known, of course, that Grindelwald and his followers had used some kind of identifying mark, but he had never made the connection between that symbol and the ancient legend of the Deathly Hallows.

This was indeed a crucial piece of information that he had somehow overlooked in his research.

Bryan's investigation into the Deathly Hallows had nothing to do with any interest in Grindelwald's political philosophy or magical supremacist beliefs.

Instead, his research had been motivated by a discovery he had made while exploring the memories contained within Helga Hufflepuff's portrait—memories that had revealed the Hallows to be the essential keys required to open what she had called the "Gate of Death," he had encountered in the underground beneath Azkaban prison.

Among the three keys, the Resurrection Stone had once been in the Four Founders' possession and passed down through Slytherin's family line, eventually falling into Voldemort's hands and becoming one of his Horcruxes.

The other two—the Elder Wand and Invisibility Cloak—remained unaccounted for.

Obviously, Grindelwald had also pursued these three legendary magical artifacts, using the Hallows symbol as his mark.

Excluding the Resurrection Stone, had he once obtained the Invisibility Cloak and Elder Wand?

Over the millennia, due to the Invisibility Cloak's concealing nature, its inheritance had few reliable accounts. Bryan thought it unlikely Grindelwald could have obtained it. But the Elder Wand's bloody history had many traceable signs. After Helga Hufflepuff's revelation, he had investigated this aspect.

Through duels and killings, the Elder Wand had changed hands many times. The last traceable owner was Loxias... after that, there were no reliable accounts. But could Grindelwald have obtained it?

If he had acquired this wand... it probably wasn't as miraculous or invincible as the legends claimed, since he had ultimately lost his final duel to...

Bryan's thoughts suddenly stopped, and his expression subtly changed.

Dumbledore had once changed wands, Ollivander had mentioned this personally during the pre-tournament wand inspection. And the wand Dumbledore now used, which Bryan had seen many times, bore certain characteristics that were entirely consistent with historical descriptions of the Elder Wand!

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