MWM Chapter 98

“I think the first thing we should do is get you out of here, then figure out a way to prove your innocence. Otherwise, according to that Rob Cassie, you might be stuck in this prison for life.”

After listening to Newt and Tina’s account, Leo pulled out his wand and aimed it at the iron bars of the cell, casting a spell: 

“Alohomora!”

However, his unlocking spell had no effect on the iron cell.

“Tom, you should leave. The cells here are reinforced with advanced anti-unlocking spells; they can only be opened with a special key,” Tina said, a sense of despair in her voice.

As a former Auror, she was well aware of the situation in the prison. The thought of getting Tom, this kind-hearted wizard, caught up in their mess made her feel incredibly guilty. She now deeply regretted persuading Newt to come to Congress last night.

“Tom, thank you for your help. Tina is right—if you’re caught, you’ll be mistaken for our accomplice. Please take care of that mischievous Niffler for me,” Newt echoed Tina’s sentiment. He didn’t want to drag his newfound friend, who had been so easy to get along with, into this mess.

“I’m not the kind of friend who would abandon you in times of trouble. Leave it to me.”

Leo placed his hands on two of the iron bars, took a deep breath, and pulled them apart with force. The bars bent easily under his strength, creating an opening large enough for a person to pass through.

Indeed, each of the iron cells in the Magical Congress was reinforced with powerful alchemical defenses. Not even a wizard of Grindelwald’s caliber would find it easy to escape without a wand.

However, without the use of magic, these iron cells were no different from those in a regular Muggle prison.

Given Leo’s current physical strength, bolstered by chakra, bending the iron bars with his bare hands was hardly a challenge.

“You wizards are unbelievably strong!”

Jacob, who had been sitting on the iron bed, was so shocked by Leo’s feat that he jumped off the bed.

Newt and Tina, standing by the cell door, were equally stunned.

“N-no, not all wizards are this strong. It’s just him,” Newt stammered. 

They were wizards who could perform magic, but their physical strength wasn’t much greater than that of Muggles. The idea of bending thick iron bars without magic was simply unbelievable.

“I’ve always suspected that I might have giant or troll blood in my ancestry,” Leo joked casually after creating a large enough opening.

Newt and Tina both nodded seriously, apparently taking his comment as the most plausible explanation.

“Hurry, before someone discovers us!”

Jacob was the first to squeeze through the opening, followed closely by Newt and Tina.

“We need to retrieve our wands and the suitcase!”

“They should be in Percival’s office by now.”

Without their wands, Newt and Tina were practically defenseless, and Newt would never abandon the magical creatures in his suitcase, no matter what.

Leo, of course, had anticipated this. He pulled three sets of wizard robes from his small bag and tossed them to Newt, Tina, and Jacob.

“Put these on and follow me.”

…

“Mr. Cassie, have you finished your visit?”

At the prison entrance, the two Aurors smiled and opened the door when they saw Leo, still disguised as Rob Cassie.

“Yes, thank you for today. How about we grab a drink after work? My treat!”

As the Aurors opened the door, Leo, with his wand hidden behind his back, walked out with a broad smile.

After a quick glance to ensure no other wizards were nearby, he seized the moment when one of the Aurors turned his back to lock the door. Leo swiftly drew his wand and, without hesitation, cast a stunning spell on the unsuspecting Auror.

“Stupefy!”

He immediately turned and cast the same spell on the second Auror, who, halfway through locking the door, realized something was wrong and was about to draw his wand.

“All clear, you can come out!”

Leo pushed open the door, and Newt, Tina, and Jacob, their faces partially obscured by the wizard robes, quickly ran out.

“Transformation!”

Leo then transformed again, this time taking on the appearance of Percival Graves, the Head of Magical Security at the Congress.

“Let’s hope everything goes smoothly. Otherwise, we’ll be surrounded by Aurors,” Tina silently prayed, seeing Leo change into Percival’s form. She desperately hoped they wouldn’t run into the real Graves.

Little did she know, the so-called “real” Graves was an imposter himself. If they met, it would be hard to say who would be exposed first.

“Red, take us to my office!”

In the magical elevator, Leo instructed the elderly goblin.

The goblin glanced curiously at the three cloaked figures behind Leo but didn’t ask questions, pressing the corresponding floor button.

Along the way, when other wizards entered the elevator and saw Leo, they respectfully greeted him as their superior. Leo merely nodded in return.

As for Newt, Tina, and Jacob, their cloaked figures drew some puzzled looks, but no one commented further. In America, to avoid detection by Muggles, many wizards had already grown accustomed to wearing Muggle clothes. However, a few traditional wizards still insisted on wearing robes.

These fellow wizards assumed Newt, Tina, and Jacob were among those traditionalists.

After the elevator arrived, Leo, guided by Tina, quickly found Percival’s office.

“The door to the Minister’s office is protected by powerful anti-unlocking spells. Without the key, you can’t open it with just an unlocking charm,” Tina reminded him.

“No need for that. Sometimes, the old-fashioned way works best.”

Leo raised his foot and kicked the office door open.

On the desk inside were Newt and Tina’s wands, along with the suitcase containing a large number of magical creatures.

“You should hide inside the suitcase while I use Percival’s identity to get us out of here.”

After a brief discussion, Newt, Tina, and Jacob climbed into the suitcase, while Leo, still disguised as Percival, casually walked out of the office, carrying the suitcase.

However, as Leo was nearing the magical elevator, something unexpected happened.

He ran into the real Percival Graves—or rather, Grindelwald disguised as him—just stepping out of the elevator.

The situation suddenly became extremely awkward.

But if anyone was more confused, it was Grindelwald. Seeing Leo, his first thought was that Percival Graves must have escaped death and returned.

It was a case of the imposter meeting the fake, with neither being the real Graves.

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