Christmas night.
Austria, a three-story house next to the University of Vienna.
This house looked inconspicuous, with no difference in style from the other houses in the neighborhood.
However, the snow lay perfectly on the sky-blue roof, as if one more snowflake would be too heavy, and one less would be insufficient. The snow at the door was also neatly swept aside.
In appearance, it looked more like a set of blocks arranged by someone with OCD rather than snowflakes randomly falling from nature.
This meticulous beauty hinted at the extraordinary nature of the house's owner.
In the next moment, a graceful figure suddenly appeared on the deserted street.
Despite the cold winter, she wore only a woolen coat outside, with what looked like a very thin ladies' suit inside. The dark red clothes perfectly matched her slender and graceful figure, giving her a smart and elegant air that didn't match her age.
Above her swan-like neck was a soft and delicate face, with black hair pinned up, making her look more like a traditional Eastern woman than a Slavic descendant.
Cynthia Vasilka, the name of this elegant young lady.
She chuckled as she looked at the snow, as smooth as if it had been smoothed out with a shovel.
"Where do Muggles get off being like this," she muttered helplessly. "Your teacher really doesn't make things easy."
Then she strode forward at an unhurried pace.
Clack, clack, clack...
the sound of her high heels on the street was very slight, like her sudden appearance, unnoticed by anyone.
But as she approached the house, with the ringing of bells, the door automatically opened as if sensing her presence, revealing the dim corridor inside.
Cynthia was not surprised by this and walked in familiarly.
There was a sense of familiarity as if she had come home; even though the lights in the house were not on, she could still accurately find her way to the kitchen.
Throwing her coat onto a chair, she skillfully turned on the kitchen light and cheerfully took out the food she had specially prepared for tonight — roast turkey, roast chicken, steak, and various vegetables, along with the indispensable assortment of rich desserts and candies.
"I went to a lot of trouble for you, knowing how much you love sweets," a hoary voice teased.
Cynthia replied without turning her head, "This isn't for you, and you'd better not devour it all like last time."
The old man shrugged indifferently, preoccupied with inspecting the sweets.
"Oh, my favorite lemon bonbons," he said as he picked up a candy and popped it into his mouth. "But first, let me thank you on behalf of Tewell."
Hearing this name, Cynthia finally turned around, watching helplessly as the old man tasted each dessert.
His once frail body had gradually become stronger over the past few years of care, barely supporting the dark green pajamas he wore.
However, the passage of time had left too many indelible marks on his face, only his eyes remained calm and composed.
The man who had hidden his past seemed unsurprised by anything.
"Professor Grindelwald, I've told you many times," Cynthia placed the last dish on the table, "not to eat only desserts, it's not good for your health!"
After hesitating for a moment, the old man decided to leave a lemon pudding for his only student.
As for the rest of the pudding, it naturally belonged to him.
"Yes, yes, I'll save some for Tewell,"
Cynthia's face flushed, her movements becoming a little flustered.
Grindelwald smiled as he glanced at her attire and teased, "He likes elegant attire, but you're only eighteen and can't even properly wear high heels, which doesn't suit your temperament."
Her thoughts being exposed, Cynthia glared at the old man with a flushed face.
"I just occasionally try dressing like this. Unlike you, who refuses to try anything new. No wonder Tewell hates your outdated ideas!"
Grindelwald sat nonchalantly in the main seat, tasting candies as he spoke, "If I didn't care about what he said, why would I come to settle down in this Muggle community?"
"Oh?"
Cynthia looked at the old man in surprise, thinking he simply had a quirk for living in Muggle houses without magical traces.
"Don't think of me as so antiquated. In the days before your parents were even born, I... we had the most radical ideas in the world."
"I guess you didn't notice there's a Muggle university nearby?" Grindelwald sighed, "It's the most famous university in this country."
"I go there every day, observing every Muggle student and their professors, scholars."
"At first, I scoffed at their research, after all, magic is the miracle that surpasses them. But since Tewell took me to the deepest research facility, I realized..."
He unconsciously clenched his fist, a hint of fierceness flashing in his eyes.
"The progress of Muggles is faster than any of us expected. Within a hundred years, their technology will be on par with magic."
"More chillingly, they maintain an increasingly rapid pace of progress!"
Cynthia was not surprised by this speech, or rather, she had long admired Tewell for similar sentiments. So she emphasized, "Tewell anticipated it."
Grindelwald laughed heartily, considering this student to be his greatest achievement in his life.
"Yes, he foresaw this trend more clearly than anyone else, which is why I moved out of Nurmengard."
"I want to see for myself what he can achieve that I couldn't!"
Here, the old man showed a hint of sadness, murmuring to himself, "If only I could have done things differently like Tewell did..."
Seeing him sink into sadness, Cynthia quickly changed the subject, "Speaking of Tewell, why hasn't he come yet? Could he be delayed on the way?"
The girl's clumsy tactics made Grindelwald chuckle lightly, and he also took the opportunity to put away his reminiscences.
"Don't worry, with his abilities, there aren't many who could delay him. He just said he needed to finish dinner with his family before he could come."
Cynthia pouted in disappointment, reaching out to snatch the mini cake that Grindelwald was about to take.
"We'll wait for Tewell to come before eating!"
She had put a lot of effort into tonight's dinner, most of it for Tewell, and she couldn't let it be eaten casually like this, even if it was Tewell's teacher!
"Ding-a-ling."
There was a noise at the door, and soon, a handsome figure that the girl had been eagerly anticipating appeared in the kitchen.
Tewell smiled at the two of them.
"Sorry, I took some time preparing gifts for the students."