Hogwarts: Dyroth Grindelwald

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"Yes, now that we have Wentworth, our Pureblood Party will become even stronger!"

Rookwood chimed in enthusiastically.

While Rookwood and Abernathy were dreaming about the bright future of their Pureblood Party, Wentworth—the very person they were counting on to lead the Party to glory—was busy seeking out Cedric and Green.

"You're saying... you want to learn Dark Magic?"

Cedric looked completely shocked.

But Wentworth nodded firmly.

"You saw what happened yesterday. I don't know who's targeting me, but this kind of thing—it's not the first time. I need to be able to protect myself, and fast. And the quickest, most effective way to do that... is Dark Magic."

There was a sense of urgency in Wentworth's voice now.

Cedric and Green exchanged a troubled look. After a moment, Cedric spoke hesitantly.

"Wentworth, we get why you're worried. But Dark Magic—it's dangerous. It can slowly twist the way you think."

Wentworth, however, shrugged it off.

"Some people pick up a weapon to kill. Some pick one up to protect others. It's not the magic that's good or evil—it's the wizard who wields it."

Cedric was momentarily at a loss for words. He was just about to argue back when Green stepped in and stopped him.

"Let's not get into a debate about whether magic is good or bad. The real issue is—we're just regular students at Hogwarts. We don't even know any Dark Magic!"

Green held his hands up as he said it.

Wentworth frowned and asked, "Then do you know where at Hogwarts I can learn Dark Magic?"

Seeing how serious Wentworth was, Cedric could only sigh and speak earnestly.

"Wentworth, just give it up. This is Hogwarts, not Durmstrang. We don't have any tradition of teaching Dark Magic here. The only place you might find something like that would be the Restricted Section in the library. But without a professor's permission, there's no way you're getting in."

Wentworth looked a little discouraged. But he had to admit, Cedric had a point.

Just then, Green suddenly spoke up.

"Hey, maybe we're thinking about this all wrong. Whoever went after Wentworth is clearly a Dark wizard. And if Wentworth wants to fight Dark wizards, then maybe what he needs is someone more qualified... like our Defense Against the Dark Arts professor!"

Wentworth's eyes lit up at the idea. The three of them hurried to the Defense classroom, but Ilona wasn't there.

So they stood at the doorway, planning to wait for her to come back—when they heard a familiar voice from the end of the hallway.

"What are you young gentlemen doing here?"

It was Dumbledore, strolling over. His gaze swept over the three of them, eventually settling on Wentworth.

Wentworth hesitated at first, but after a short silence, he decided to tell Dumbledore everything—his concerns, his plan, all of it.

Dumbledore frowned. This was exactly the situation he'd feared.

Even though he didn't fully believe that someone who'd gone through Pureblood Party training wouldn't already know some Dark Magic...

Just last night, he had deliberately let Wentworth face off against a Dark wizard alone, hoping to see what the boy was capable of. But Wentworth had held back, using only standard Hogwarts spells—except for that one moment at the very end.

To Dumbledore, it looked like Wentworth was trying to use this situation as an excuse—so he could start openly using Dark Magic. And that was something Dumbledore absolutely could not allow.

He knew all too well how seductive Dark Magic could be to young witches and wizards. He could already imagine the kind of admiration Wentworth would get from other students if he started showing off those kinds of spells at Hogwarts.

There was no way Dumbledore would allow his school to become the birthplace of a new Pureblood Party.

With that in mind, he spoke slowly:

"Wentworth, I understand your fear. But you must remember—when you gaze into the abyss, the abyss gazes back at you. Dark Magic is that kind of abyss."

"There are plenty of other ways to fight Dark wizards."

Wentworth realized from Dumbledore's tone that his hope of learning Dark Magic had just been dashed—but honestly, he'd kind of expected it.

So instead, he said:

"I understand, Headmaster. That's why we wanted to talk to Professor Ilona. Could you maybe ask her to give me some extra training in the evenings?"

This was Wentworth's real goal all along.

He wasn't confident that Ilona would agree if he asked on his own. But if Dumbledore were the one to suggest it, she probably wouldn't say no.

But instead of answering right away, Dumbledore fixed his gaze on Wentworth's eyes, studying him closely—like he was trying to read something deeper.

That made Wentworth a little uneasy.

Truthfully, Dumbledore was torn.

He'd been keeping an eye on both Wentworth and Ilona for some time now. That's how he'd been able to show up so quickly the moment Wentworth stepped into the Defense classroom.

Dumbledore was now almost certain—Ilona came from the Wuzui Party. And in his eyes, Wentworth's request was just another excuse to openly study dark magic at Hogwarts.

After all, dark magic was the Wuzui Party's specialty.

So, after a short pause, Dumbledore finally said slowly:

"Wentworth, Professor Ilona is already busy enough teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts to the entire school. I doubt she'd have the time to give you extra training every night. Plus, if other students found out, it might stir up some resentment."

"How about this—I'll introduce you to a wizard outside the school. You can meet with him every weekend to study dark magic defense. How does that sound?"

At first, Wentworth was a little disappointed that Ilona wouldn't be tutoring him herself—but to his surprise, Dumbledore was actually offering to find him a private tutor. That caught him off guard in the best way, and he quickly nodded in excitement.

But then Dumbledore hesitated again. After thinking for a moment, he added:

"Just so you know… this tutor is a bit… special. I want to be upfront with you before you decide whether you still want to go through with it."

Seeing Dumbledore's expression, Wentworth raised an eyebrow, curious, and asked tentatively:

"Professor Dumbledore, what exactly do you mean by 'special'?"

Dumbledore paused once more before finally answering:

"The tutor I'm talking about… is a werewolf.

"....."