"I see. So only those who've passed the trial can open the study from this side," Wade said, then turned to Tom with a grin. "If you ever want a good place to study Dark Magic, you can just come straight to Slytherin's study."
Tom shook his head. "I don't ever want to come near this place again… Besides, once we tell Dumbledore, we probably won't be able to sneak in again anyway."
"All right, then let's go find Dumbledore now," Wade said.
"Wade, did you forget something?"
"What?"
"We're technically out wandering after curfew… How exactly are we supposed to explain how we ended up finding the entrance to a secret trial? Without a proper excuse, how many points do you think we're going to lose? Remember, the Slytherin hourglass only just climbed out of the negatives."
"That's easy, Tom! You're a descendant of Slytherin, right? Just say you were asleep and felt a calling from your ancestor! Then—"
"Ugh! That's so cliché! And disgusting! I'd rather just tell Dumbledore the truth. Knowing his personality, he might even give us some points back after taking them away. After all, we did discover Slytherin's inheritance—and exposed a potential danger to the school!" Tom firmly rejected Wade's ridiculous excuse.
The whole "ancestor's calling" thing made his skin crawl. Besides, this was Dumbledore they were talking about—his Legilimency was terrifying. With Tom's Occlumency still incomplete, one look from him would expose every lie. Better to just be honest.
"You're sure about this?" Wade asked. "What if we lose points…"
"With Dumbledore, honesty is always the ultimate weapon! You're the one who said that," Tom replied.
"Heh~" Wade nodded approvingly. "That's right, Tom. It seems you've really picked up a lot of my finer qualities!"
Tom snorted. "You mean like sneaking around after curfew, secretly studying Dark Magic, and growing dangerous magical plants?"
"I meant the other qualities, Tom! I have plenty of excellent traits—like wisdom, for instance!"
…
The fireplace crackled softly.
Dumbledore, wrapped in a purple nightgown and wearing a rather feminine nightcap, frowned as he looked at the two troublemakers standing before him in the middle of the night.
He had already listened to a rough account of what had happened, and honestly, he'd never met such restless Slytherin students in his life.
"So… the reason you two weren't sleeping at this hour was because you accidentally discovered a trial left behind by Salazar Slytherin, went through a series of near-death experiences, and finally found a study full of Dark Magic manuscripts?"
"Hm! Hm!" Wade and Tom both nodded repeatedly.
"And you also brought out the remains of a Gaunt—a descendant who died in that trial—carrying her bones back here in a bag?"
"Hm! Hm!" Wade and Tom kept nodding.
"And you also found that Slytherin seems to have left a mysterious creature in the school that could one day threaten the students' safety?"
"Hm! ...Hm!" Wade and Tom were getting tired of nodding.
"Do you even know how many school rules you've broken?" Dumbledore asked, sounding far from amused.
Tom went pale and clamped his mouth shut—he knew better than to speak now.
But Wade actually began counting on his fingers.
"Wade? What are you counting?" Dumbledore asked.
"We've broken ten school rules in total, Professor," Wade said earnestly, putting his hand down.
Dumbledore nearly laughed in exasperation. "It seems you know the rules better than I do—the Deputy Headmaster!"
Tom suddenly piped up, "Wade once told me that only by fully understanding the rules can you break them better."
Wade widened his eyes at Tom. "Professor, he's slandering me! I clearly said only by fully understanding the rules can you follow them better!"
Dumbledore sighed at length. "Why don't I just transfer you two to Gryffindor? There aren't enough Slytherin points left to deduct. How dare you venture recklessly into a place you knew nothing about? Don't you realize you might have lost your lives?"
"Professor… we couldn't help it. The moment we went inside, the door locked behind us," Tom said miserably. "And once he'd gone in, I couldn't just stand outside doing nothing…"
"Good thing he did follow me," Wade added. "Otherwise, I'd never have made it through the final trial. That Nokto Gaunt, who died in there, is proof enough of that."
"Tom could've come to find me! You two aren't like her—you have professors who can help you! If you'd done that, you might have avoided all that danger," Dumbledore said sternly.
Wade and Tom wisely kept silent.
"All right… I'll take you to see the Headmaster first. No matter what, Slytherin's legacy is of great importance. As for your punishment, we'll have to discuss it before deciding anything. If you're lucky, perhaps Headmaster Dippet might even award you some points. When we reach his office, you'll recount everything that happened tonight in full."
Dumbledore brushed his wand lightly over his robe, and his nightgown instantly turned into his usual wizard attire.
"Let's go. And it would be best if Grindelwald never hears about this…" he said, removing his frilly nightcap as he opened the office door...
Only to find Grindelwald standing outside, smiling pleasantly!
"Good evening, Albus. Oh? I see I'm not the only one who couldn't sleep tonight—you've got two little night owls with you as well?"
Dumbledore's brow furrowed. This was the last situation he wanted to see.
"When did you get here?"
"I heard you say, 'it would be best if Grindelwald didn't know,'" Grindelwald said with a smile. "So tell me—what little secret is it that I'm not supposed to hear?"
Dumbledore's office door was completely soundproofed by magic, but the moment he opened it, the enchantment briefly failed—just long enough for Grindelwald to catch that one unfortunate sentence.
"Since I already said you shouldn't know, why bother asking?" Dumbledore replied coolly.
"Ahaha~ If I were only asking as a friend, of course you could keep secrets from me," Grindelwald said. "But I'm here as a Senior Investigator from the Ministry. I have the right to know everything that concerns Hogwarts." His eyes gleamed with challenge as he looked at Dumbledore.
"We were caught wandering the castle at night," Tom interrupted before Dumbledore could speak. "Professor Dumbledore was about to take us to see Headmaster Dippet."
"Oh? Is that so?" Grindelwald smiled at him. "If it were merely a case of wandering the halls after curfew, Albus could handle that himself. Why would he need to involve the Headmaster? And if it's such a minor matter, why go out of his way to hide it from me?"
Tom froze, unable to answer, quickly averting his gaze to avoid Grindelwald's eyes.
Then Wade spoke up in an exasperated tone. "It's because of you, really… You've been spending so much time around us lately that when the professor caught us sneaking out, he assumed we were doing something for you."
Tom let out a quiet breath of relief, and Dumbledore immediately caught on.
He stepped forward, placing himself between the two boys and Grindelwald, his gaze cold and steady. "Since you insist on knowing, I'll tell you. You may have an official title now, but you and I both know what kind of man you truly are. I don't want Hogwarts' brightest students falling under your influence. I intend to meet with Headmaster Dippet and advise these boys to stay away from you—and to make sure you haven't secretly placed any Dark enchantments on them."
"That is a very serious accusation, Albus," Grindelwald said, frowning.
"You brought it on yourself, Grindelwald. If you hadn't pressed for answers, we could have at least preserved a little mutual respect, couldn't we?" Dumbledore said, staring him down without yielding an inch.
_________
o(*￣▽￣*)ブSupport and read 12 Chapters ahead of WN at-
Patreon/Captain69