"You did well, Alison!" Grindelwald exclaimed, striding over to the witch and placing his wand against her broken arm.
There was a flash of intense white light, and Alison's trembling stopped. The excruciating pain was gone, replaced by a tingling, soothing sensation.
When the white light dissipated completely, Alison was amazed to find that her broken left hand had regrown and was now stronger than ever.
"Thank you, Mr. Grindelwald…" Alison said happily, touching her new left arm.
Grindelwald had assured her that he would reattach her broken arm, but she had heard about the magic of limb regeneration, so she was worried.
"No, I'm the one who needs to thank you, Alison!" Grindelwald said, his lips curling into a smile as he reached out to caress the witch's cheek. "Your bravery took me by surprise!"
Alison's face turned bright red. Grindelwald's words seemed to have some kind of magical power. It was just an ordinary compliment, but it was enough to stir her up and excite her.
When the other party's slender fingers brushed past her neck, Alison felt her entire body tremble. Then, something cold hung from her chest.
Alison looked down and saw a triangular pendant.
The interior of the pendant was a circle with a vertical line in the middle. At first glance, it looked like a strange, split eye.
"This is the real prize," Grindelwald said. "You have my permission to wear it."
Having witnessed the resurrection ritual, Alison understood that the locket contained part of Grindelwald's soul, and that to carry it with her was to be in Grindelwald's company at all times.
"I promise you I'll keep it safe! Even if it costs me my life!" Alison said fervently, clutching the locket tightly.
Grindelwald nodded, then turned to the wizard tied to the pillar and said casually, "Any last words, Farrell?"
"You're not going to get away with this, Grindelwald! Fifty years ago, we crushed your plans, and this time will be no different!" Farrell snapped, his heart sinking. When he saw Grindelwald reborn from the flames, he knew he was doomed.
However, he would never allow himself to die so pointlessly. He had to find a way to get the information about Grindelwald's resurrection and the creation of a Horcrux to the North American Magical Congress…
At this thought, Farrell continued to curse and swear as he placed his fingers against the pillar behind him. Using his voice as cover, he used his relatively sharp nails to scratch at the engraved words…
Although some of his MACUSA colleagues were able to recreate magical images through magical traces, God only knew how long it would take them to find this place. Perhaps by then, even the traces of their spells would have disappeared, and the information he had left behind would be useful.
Farrell was making calculations in his head, but before he could finish, Grindelwald's indifferent voice interrupted him.
"I can't believe you're still so naive after fifty years, Farrell!"
"I thought you'd remember not to try to make these underhand tactics in front of me…" Grindelwald's strange eyes glowed a ghostly blue.
Farrell's face fell as he recalled that Grindelwald's file contained information that had not been conclusively verified—that Grindelwald, who was skilled in the Dark Arts, was most likely an accomplished Legilimancer…
It's all over!
Realizing this, Farrell's face went pale, and Grindelwald raised his wand, causing a small, heart-stopping flame to erupt around him, which quickly engulfed him.
A high-pitched scream of pain filled the empty room, only to die out in a matter of seconds…
Under Grindelwald's control, the raging fire extinguished itself after devouring Farrell and the pillar.
"Come on, Alison, let's go create a new world… one that belongs to wizards!" Grindelwald said slowly as he lowered his wand.
… .
Two days passed in the blink of an eye. As the holidays approached, the castle became more and more lively, and the trauma of the attack a week ago was gradually washed away by the joy of the holidays.
On the day of departure, the exam results were released, of course.
Ivan had nothing to worry about, as he passed the O.W.L.s and N.E.W.T. exams with a perfect score.
Hermione was not to be outdone, and although she did not manage to skip a grade like Ivan, she did manage to score twelve O's in all subjects.
Harry's grades were much worse, but he was very pleased with them, as he received an "E" (unexpected) in five of his nine compulsory subjects, and an "O" (Perfect) in his Defence Against the Dark Arts exams.
Ron, on the other hand, was much more miserable. Even after a week of intense revision, he only got four E's (unexpected) and none of them were perfect.
The only hope of getting an O (perfect) Care of Magical Creatures exam was a passing grade, due to a mix-up with Thestrals and Hippogriffs.
Despite Hagrid's best efforts as a professor, he was unable to change the invigilator's mind.
"I'm glad they all passed…" Ron muttered to himself as he stared at the report card, relieved to see that the most difficult Divination subject had passed.
As long as he didn't have to compete with straight-A students like Ivan and Hermione, his grades were acceptable, being above average among the fifth years.
Yvonne shook her head at the easy satisfaction of seeing Harry and Ron. The wizarding world was unpredictable over the next few years, and being able to protect oneself was not enough.
"Take this summer off. You won't have such an easy time next year," Ivan said, patting them on the shoulder.
"Huh?" Harry and Ron looked at Ivan in confusion, a bad feeling rising in their hearts.
(PS: In the original book, O.W.L.s were released two weeks after the start of the summer holidays, but there was little mention of exams after that, so they were simply written here at the end of the school year as a minor change.)