In the evening, the slow-moving Redskins train came to a halt with a clear whistle.
Yvonne packed her bags and got off the train. Looking out at the bustling Wizard's Station, she couldn't help but sigh, wondering how long this peace would last.
"I'll see you next year, then! Harry, Ron!" Ivan said, turning to face them.
"You too, watch your back, Ivan," Harry replied casually, his eyes wandering to the outer ring of the platform, where Sirius was waving at him.
For the first time in five years, he felt happy to be home.
Ron, on the other hand, simply patted Ivan on the shoulder in farewell and left with George and Fred to find Mrs Weasley.
After they had left, Ivan looked at Hermione and then at Mr Granger, who was pushing his way through the crowd outside the platform. "Shall I explain to Mr Granger, Hermione?"
"No need, I can handle it myself!" The little witch blushed and shook her head.
"Then I'll wait for you for three days. If you don't reply, I'll have to come to you," Ivan said with a smile.
Hermione rolled her eyes at him. Three days was too short a time, and she had hoped to spend at least a week testing her parents before trying to convince them otherwise.
"Three days at the most. In fact, for security reasons, you'd better convince them tonight…" Ivan said grimly.
Hermione hesitated for a moment, then replied in a soft voice, "Well, where shall we find you then, Knockturn Alley?"
"No, it's in London! I've bought a new mansion here, and I'll write to you tonight with the location…" Ivan began.
Now that Lord Voldemort was dead, Ivan had no reason to hide, and, more importantly, he was too embarrassed to allow Hermione and her family to live in the dark bunker on Knockturn Alley, so he had asked Topples to find him a suitable home in England a few days ago.
"That's settled, then." Hermione gave Ivan a reluctant hug, then ran to Mr. Granger, whispered something in his ear, and dragged him out by the arm, not giving him a chance to see her, for fear that Ivan would say something ridiculous to his father.
Yvonne watched Hermione hurry off with Mr Granger and shook her head in amusement. Even if they didn't meet now, they would have to in a few days.
During the delay, most of the young wizards stranded at Kingdom Cross Station were picked up by their parents, and the crowd had thinned considerably.
Ivan looked around and soon spotted a familiar figure in the crowd. After nodding at the figure, Ivan straightened his wizard robes, grabbed his suitcase, and headed for the gates of Kingdom Cross Station.
The figure quickly followed suit.
"Have you heard from Grindelwald?" Ivan asked abruptly as they left the station and walked down an alley.
"Not…yet, but the Wizarding Union has sent a large number of people to find him. I'm sure they will soon," Pierce said sheepishly.
Ivan didn't take it to heart. Grindelwald's cunning was evident from their last raid on Hogwarts, and the chances of catching him with the Cloak of Invisibility were slim.
He asked Pierce to keep an eye on North America so that he would be the first to know if Grindelwald decided to cause trouble.
Yvonne had a feeling that he wouldn't be quiet for long, or that he was planning something big.
Even though Ivan had once had an advantage over Grindelwald in a fight at Newmengard, he did not underestimate the infamous Dark Lord.
After all, Grindelwald's body had been at the end of its rope during the battle, and he had fought Lord Voldemort in advance, so it was hard to say how much strength he had left.
His next encounter with the Dark Lord would not be so simple. If his guess was correct, Grindelwald would most likely be free of the Dark Arts altogether, having acquired a young, vibrant body, as Voldemort had last year!
Add to that the Elder Wand and Cloak of Invisibility…
Ivan felt a vague sense of dread. He had trouble estimating Grindelwald's current level of skill. His old wand alone would have increased the odds by thirty percent, to say nothing of anything else.
Yvonne had a toothache at the thought, and an inexplicable urge to rush into the Headmaster's office and point at Dumbledore's portrait and scold him.
In order to get rid of Lord Voldemort, Grindelwald, the more dangerous of the two, was released, along with two Deathly Hallows.
If Dumbledore had trusted him and told him everything about the plan, allowing him to act as the main attacker and assist Snape in defeating Lord Voldemort, Grindelwald would have been in trouble.
Ivan considered this rather resentfully, and even wondered if he should boil a pot of potion and drag Dumbledore out of the Underworld so that he could deal with Grindelwald himself.
After all, Dumbledore had defeated Grindelwald with the Elder Wand fifty years ago, and it would not hurt to try again.
If Dumbledore couldn't beat the Dark Lord alone, they could fight him together, and there would be no morals involved in fighting the Dark Lord.
However, on second thought, Ivan decided against it, fearing that Dumbledore would be the first to deal with him after his resurrection…
While Ivan was lost in his thoughts, Pierce was talking about the changes in the Ministry over the past few months.
After more than half a year of reorganization, he had removed all the troublesome figures and replaced all the important departments with his own people.
Most importantly, the number of Aurors and Hitters doubled to nearly four hundred after taking in a number of wizards from Knockturn Alley, and the training was not as intense as before, as each Auror had to undergo round-the-clock militarisation on Ivan's orders.
It could be said that the entire British wizarding world was preparing for war!
Ivan's tense expression relaxed a little at this news, as he now seemed to have the advantage over Grindelwald in terms of influence.
A few hundred people might not sound like a lot, but don't forget that they are all elite wizards!
If they worked together to cast the Muggle-Expelling Charm, it would send every Muggle in London packing without them even knowing it!