Hogwarts: This Dark Lord is Good?

"I knew it, you're not someone who would settle for mediocrity, Wade!" Tom hadn't expected he'd actually guessed Wade's intentions correctly, and the realization stirred a flicker of excitement in him.

"Of course not! Tom... honestly, if you had the same abilities I do, would you settle for mediocrity?" Wade replied coolly.

"Of course not! If I had your abilities, I'd turn this world upside down!" A flash of red passed through Tom's eyes. "Of course, I wouldn't go about it in such a roundabout way. If I had enough power... I'd prefer to crush everything with sheer force!"

Wade curled his lip.

Tom was still Tom. Sure, he'd changed a bit—but… Ambitious Tom would always be the wizarding world's future headache, the thorn in Dumbledore's side.

After all... how could a wicked little brat change so easily?

Right now, Tom wasn't on the rise yet only because there was an even more "wicked" brat—himself—keeping him in check.

"Tom, brute force might bring you short-term satisfaction, but if you really go down that path, all you'll earn are countless enemies," Wade said.

"If I had that kind of power, why should I care about enemies?" Tom scoffed.

Wade shook his head. "That's a textbook case of building your entire power structure around one person—you. Once you're gone, everything you've built will collapse like an anthill in a flood."

"As long as I don't die, what's the problem?" Tom said confidently. "If I've got that kind of power, who could possibly stop me?"

"That's not how it works, Tom," Wade replied. "Once you have too many enemies, you'll find out just how overwhelming it gets. Don't tell me you really think they'll all line up and challenge you to a fair duel?"

Tom immediately fell silent. With absolute power, sure, he could crush anything in his path—but what if the enemy refused to confront him head-on?

It was easy to say that all schemes and plots were paper tigers in the face of real strength, but… even if no one could touch him directly, the things he worked hard to build would still be vulnerable.

If he was constantly stuck rebuilding everything from the wreckage, he'd eventually lose his mind.

Besides, there were endless ways to stab someone in the back. No matter how powerful you were, there was no guarantee you wouldn't get caught off guard one day...

"That's why, even with great strength, I won't rely on it too much. If you want to achieve something truly great, you need to make lots of friends and keep your enemies to a minimum. That way, even if someone tries something underhanded, you won't have to deal with it all on your own. Even if one day I'm too busy… or simply gone, everything I've built will still keep running smoothly."

Tom suddenly looked him straight in the eye. "So when you talk about minimizing enemies and making more friends… does that include turning Grindelwald into a friend?"

"Heh~" Wade smiled. "There are no eternal friends or eternal enemies. If it benefits both sides… why can't an enemy become a friend?"

"Just like you and me?" Tom's gaze was sharp.

Wade laughed even louder.

"Yeah… just like you and me. Even if I know you're a venomous snake who could bite me at any moment, you're useful to me—so I'll make you my friend. Hmm… my dearest friend!"

"What use am I to you?" Tom frowned. "I probably shouldn't say this, but… if I were you, I wouldn't have kept me around, let alone taught me so much."

"You're absolutely useful, Tom!" Wade said matter-of-factly.

Don't underestimate the value of a walking merit-point piggy bank! Keke~~

Of course, that part couldn't be said aloud…

"In what way, exactly?"

"Your talents can be used by me, Tom. That's all." With that, Wade acted as if he'd lost all interest in the conversation, picked up his wand, and walked toward his room.

Tom stared at Wade's back, eyes dark.

He couldn't shake the feeling that Wade was keeping him around for some ulterior motive.

What role did he really play in Wade's grand plan?

Was it truly, as Wade said, just his talents?

Or was he… just some kind of sacrificial pawn in Wade's grand scheme?

The more Tom thought about it, the more unsettled he felt.

Wade Reynolds was terrifying…

…

Tom soon received another letter from the Ministry of Magic.

This time, it wasn't a warning—it was an official notice revoking his expulsion, along with a short letter of apology from the Ministry.

At the same time, Wade's invention of the Flight Charm was reported in the Daily Prophet.

Alongside that, the story of his friend Tom nearly being expelled because of it was also included as a lighthearted anecdote.

The photo accompanying the article showed a Ministry official flying around one of the Ministry's chambers without using any magical tools.

With Dumbledore's backing, and photographic evidence to support it, hardly anyone questioned the authenticity of the Flight Charm.

Since no one could currently locate Wade in his hidden safehouse, they all started sending letters to Dumbledore instead.

Everyone was strongly urging Dumbledore to release the incantation for this miraculous spell.

However, before Dumbledore could respond, the Ministry of Magic had already stepped in.

The Ministry announced that it was currently deliberating whether to place the spell under official regulation—similar to how the Undetectable Extension Charm was managed.

There was no doubt that this spell could become the next common mode of transportation for witches and wizards, following broomsticks.

But since the spell did come with certain risks—for instance, if one's magical power was depleted midair, the consequences could be dire—it raised significant concerns.

In the long run, this spell wasn't as safe as flying on a broom.

The Ministry's worry about reckless wizards falling to their deaths was only one part of the problem.

The bigger issue was its potential to violate the International Statute of Secrecy at any moment.

Anyone could imagine how shocked Muggles would be upon seeing a person suddenly take off into the air—or plummet from it.

To maintain the Statute, magical authorities worldwide would be forced to devote more manpower and resources.

Eventually, some even proposed that in order to use the spell, one must pass a specialized examination and obtain a certificate issued by the Ministry—much like the Apparition test.

For a time, heated debates raged within the Ministry over how to handle the matter.

However, Dumbledore finally managed to free himself from the onslaught of letters.

In truth, given the Ministry of Magic's usual work efficiency, it would still be a long time before any final decision came out of their discussions…

Which meant that, now that things had quieted down, Dumbledore could enjoy a period of relative peace once again.

Still, the wave of public interest stirred up by the young prodigy was soon overwhelmed by an even more shocking piece of news.

"What the.."

"Grindelwald turned himself in?! Am I seeing this right?!"

Every wizard subscribed to the Daily Prophet read the headline with stunned disbelief.

For a moment, the wizarding world erupted into cheers and celebration.

Grindelwald had long cast a shadow of fear across Europe with the turmoil he caused.

Now that he had surrendered, didn't that mean the war he had launched… was finally over?

People everywhere were quick to credit Dumbledore for Grindelwald's surrender.

After all, his previous victory over Grindelwald at Hogwarts, along with the capture of many of his followers, was still fresh in public discussion.

And the news that several of Grindelwald's followers had just been heavily sentenced had only recently died down!

Without a doubt, Grindelwald's sudden surrender was closely tied to those developments.

However, this news put Dumbledore on high alert!

He knew all too well that his old friend would never give up so easily.

If Grindelwald truly felt remorse and wanted to surrender, he would have done so back at Hogwarts.

But instead, he had chosen to flee, and even left with a threat on his lips before disappearing.

Moreover, although Grindelwald's forces had seemingly suffered a heavy blow last time, his core power base hadn't really been affected.

Not to mention, the American Magical Congress remained heavily infiltrated. President Picquery was still scrambling to identify who among them was secretly aligned with the Alliance party.

Under these circumstances—when things weren't even looking that grim for him—he chose to surrender?

Dumbledore sensed it immediately: his old friend was definitely up to something.

Sure enough, Grindelwald had chosen to turn himself in to the Austrian Ministry of Magic…

Everyone knew that Nurmengard was located in Austria, which made it clear who truly held power within the Austrian Ministry of Magic.

Thus, Grindelwald was able to easily hold a globally broadcast press conference while "in custody."

And during the Q&A session, Grindelwald made a point to clarify something:

That he had not, in fact, "surrendered" as rumors claimed, but had come forward to clear up certain "misunderstandings"—misunderstandings the world had about him.

"...In the past, people have always pinned countless crimes on me without evidence. Simply because my name is Gellert Grindelwald! Just because I advocate for rights that rightfully belong to us wizards!"

Grindelwald shook his head.

"But I am not a dumping ground for their filthy sins! To clear my name of these baseless accusations, I have chosen to cooperate with your wishes and face your trial! Even though I know full well that I am innocent... if the world insists on believing I'm guilty—so be it. But if I reclaim my innocence, then those who've slandered me had best beware. I will wield the law to defend myself!"

Grindelwald's speech shocked the entire wizarding world.

He was accepting a public trial—but he believed he could clear his name in front of everyone?

Impossible. A notorious terrorist dreaming of redemption? In his dreams!

__________

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