Hogwarts: Third Dark Lord

"What are you trying to do?! Let go of him!"

As Waylin lunged at Wentworth, Cedric, who had finally come to his senses, rushed forward angrily, shoving Waylin off Wentworth.

At the same moment, everyone saw clearly for the first time that the person who had stopped Waylin earlier was none other than this year's new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, Professor Ilona.

Professor Ilona stormed over, her eyes blazing, glaring at Waylin as she coldly asked,

"What exactly were you trying to do just now?"

Waylin stammered, trying to explain, but before he could utter a word, Professor Ilona snapped,

"Slytherin, thirty points from your house!"

This was too much for Waylin, who looked utterly aggrieved as he protested,

"Professor Ilona, you can't just deduct points from Slytherin! They started it!"

He pointed at the Hufflepuff and Gryffindor students standing nearby. But Professor Ilona didn't even glance their way, instead adding,

"Questioning a professor? Ten more points from Hufflepuff!"

At this, the Slytherins finally experienced what students from other houses felt whenever faced with Professor Snape's unwavering bias.

At that moment, Professors Snape, McGonagall, and others arrived, having been alerted to the situation. Even Headmaster Dumbledore was present—a rare occurrence, as such events hadn't happened at Hogwarts in years.

Seeing Snape, his Head of House, Waylin rushed forward, complaining loudly,

"Professor Snape, Hufflepuff and Gryffindor ganged up to bully us Slytherins! You must stand up for us!"

Hearing this, Kirk and the Weasley twins stepped forward in unison, shouting,

"Rubbish!"

The scene quickly descended into chaos as students clustered around their respective Heads of House, each voicing their grievances at the top of their lungs—a veritable wizarding Rashomon*.

Meanwhile, the Ravenclaws stood off to the side with Professor Flitwick, happily observing the drama as though watching a show.

As the chaos threatened to spiral further out of control, Dumbledore raised his voice above the fray,

"Silence! Don't you all have classes to attend? If I'm not mistaken, morning lessons are about to begin."

"Now, everyone except the students whose names I call, return to your classes immediately."

Dumbledore named Waylin, Kirk, and the Weasley twins, then turned to leave with them in tow.

"Well then, since everyone is here," Professor Ilona remarked, addressing the gathered Hufflepuff and Slytherin first-years, "let's proceed to Defense Against the Dark Arts together."

At this, Cassandra wasted no time, quickly following behind Professor Ilona while shooting Wentworth a venomous glare.

When the group reached the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom, they were surprised to find that the usual desks and chairs had been completely cleared out.

Seeing their puzzled expressions, Professor Ilona addressed the class,

"This is my first time as a professor, so I'm not entirely sure how to lecture. But one thing I believe in is this: to truly master Defense Against the Dark Arts, practice is key! Practical combat is the best teacher!"

Some students exchanged nervous glances, while others looked eager. Wentworth, however, was positively thrilled. He had been longing to delve into magic for quite some time. But just as his excitement peaked, he felt an intense gaze upon him. Turning toward it, he found Cassandra staring at him intently.

Recalling Professor Ilona's emphasis on practical combat, Wentworth couldn't shake a sense of foreboding.

Meanwhile, as the students headed to their lesson, Dumbledore escorted Kirk and the others to his office, accompanied by Deputy Headmistress McGonagall, who had no morning classes.

Throughout the walk, Kirk vehemently described the atrocious behavior of Waylin and the Slytherins in ambushing the Hufflepuff first-years, while Waylin accused the Hufflepuffs and Gryffindors of shamelessly ganging up on Slytherin. The Weasley twins, on the other hand, grinned ear to ear, clearly enjoying the whole ordeal.

Dumbledore, however, remained silent.

Upon reaching the office, he led the group to the Pensieve. Drawing his wand, he asked impassively,

"Who wants to go first?"

The students exchanged uneasy glances.

After extracting memories from each of them and reviewing them, Dumbledore dismissed the students.

As one of the greatest white wizards in history, Dumbledore—who had outlasted two generations of Dark Lords—was not one to rely on hearsay. His method was simple and effective: retrieve their memories and judge for himself.

After viewing the recollections, Dumbledore fell into a pensive silence.

"What is it, Dumbledore? What did you see?" McGonagall, waiting nearby, finally broke the silence, unable to contain her curiosity.

Instead of answering, Dumbledore stepped aside, inviting McGonagall to view the memories herself.

After watching, McGonagall frowned and remarked,

"It seems clear that the Slytherin students instigated the trouble. Professor Ilona's deductions were justified."

But Dumbledore slowly shook his head.

"That's not what concerns me."

McGonagall, catching on quickly as an old friend and colleague, hesitated before asking,

"You're worried about Wentworth?"

Dumbledore nodded, and McGonagall sighed deeply.

"Indeed. His eloquence was evident even before the Sorting Ceremony, and his remarkable charisma is reminiscent of Gellert Grindelwald as the stories go."

"I must admit, I didn't expect this. In just a few days, Wentworth has already shifted Hufflepuff's entire demeanor. The old Hufflepuff would never have acted like this! Truly, the Grindelwald bloodline is not to be underestimated."

Yet Dumbledore remained deep in thought, prompting McGonagall to ask,

"Did I say something wrong?"

Dumbledore nodded, then replied,

"You're right, but it was to be expected, wasn't it? What truly concerns me is not the similarities between Wentworth and Gellert, but their differences."

"If Gellert once surrounded himself primarily with pure-blood elite wizards, Wentworth is now consciously aligning himself with the far more numerous half-blood wizards."

"Wentworth is making the Pureblood Party movement more inclusive. And in doing so, they may become even stronger than before."

[TL/N: Rashomon or the Rashomon effect describes how parties describe an event in a different and contradictory manner, which reflects their subjective interpretation and self-interested advocacy, rather than an objective truth.]

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