NOVEL NEXT Chapter 56: Chapter 54 - A Treacherous Game of Chess (3)
As Asterion contemplated the situation at hand, he noticed the arrival of two individuals, followed by the arrival of a man in a blue robe.
Minerva McGonagall, a Witch of Semi-Special Grade.
Filius Flitwick, a Wizard of Semi-Special Grade.
Albus Dumbledore, The Most Powerful Man in the World.
Seeing Dumbledore arrive last, Asterion internally scoffed. As heir to the House of Black, he had access to the barrier protecting Black Manor. One could say that within the mansion, Asterion could see and feel anything within the mansion's perimeters.
Hogwarts was no different from Black Manor in this aspect. Dumbledore absolutely knew that a fight was happening in the classroom but chose to watch the show from the sidelines.
"Mr. Black, what in Merlin's name happened here!" Professor McGonagall asked, shocked, looking at the destruction in the classroom.
Showing a pensive look, Asterion decided it was time for a bit of politics; he needed to exert pressure on the School Council, and this was a great opportunity for it.
"I should be asking that, Professor. Why, in Merlin's name, was I attacked by a teacher?" He asked, causing Filius and Minerva to widen their eyes.
"Was it Professor Quirinus, Mr. Black?" Professor Flitwick asked with a deep tone, even his small stature couldn't hide the coercion of a Wizard of Semi-Special Grade.
The wizard's reasoning was obvious; they were in the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom.
Looking at Dumbledore still in silence, Asterion nodded, confirming his words, and added, "Indeed, Professor. It was Quirinus Quirrell; he attacked me when I refused to participate in his conspiracy."
"Conspiracy!?" Both of them were surprised.
"Yes, he wanted me to participate in an attack against Rose Potter," Asterion spoke, leaving the two professors even more surprised and equally confused.
"Why would Professor Quirrell attack Lady Potter?" Filius Flitwick, still incredulous, asked confusedly. His eyes widened in shock at the sudden information he was hearing.
But Asterion's next words made the two professors feel like they had entered a frozen cave; a chill ran down their spines as a rare look of fear reflected in their eyes.
"That's because it's not Quirinus, but Voldemort himself, parasitizing Professor Quirrell's body."
"That..." Whether Filius or Minerva, they didn't know what to say at this moment. They had so many doubts in their minds that they couldn't formulate a sentence at this moment.
"That is certainly terrible news, Asterion," Dumbledore spoke, drawing everyone's attention. His blue eyes gazed at Asterion with a gentle and kind look.
"Yes, terrible news for both of us," Asterion replied, his sarcastic tone noticeable to anyone. Although it was bad news for Dumbledore, it was news that impacted him primarily.
Asterion was certain that if news of Voldemort's return spread, some idiots from the Pure-Blood faction would follow their old leader without hesitation. Never underestimate people's hatred and extremist ideology.
But all of this was bad for Asterion; it meant civil war within the Pure-Blood faction.
Something that Dumbledore would likely watch with pleasure, perhaps while eating popcorn. After all, it's a great feeling to see your old enemies killing each other without lifting a finger.
The civil war, besides weakening the power of the Pure-Blood faction in the Wizengamot, would also further weaken the power of the Noble Houses.
Asterion suddenly realized that perhaps the fight against Voldemort was just another conspiracy by Dumbledore against the Pure-Blood faction. This made the heir to the Black family grit his teeth in anger.
The feeling of being manipulated like a puppet in someone else's show was truly unpleasant, leaving a lasting bitter taste in his mouth.
Even though Asterion had managed to achieve his purpose, which was to pressure the School Council to accept his emancipation, he had still been manipulated like a puppet by Dumbledore.
Looking coldly at the harmless-looking elderly man, Asterion felt that his patience was wearing thin. He would try to kill the man sooner or later, preferably sooner.
Pulling the Elder Wand from his robe, Albus Dumbledore spoke gently with a persuasive tone. "Mr. Black, I will take care of things from here on, but I ask that you keep today's events secret for now. We don't need fear spreading throughout Hogwarts."
With that said, he aimed the wand at the ruined classroom, and with a graceful movement of his wand, the entire classroom seemed to rewind in time, and in a few moments, the whole environment was as it was before the fight between Asterion and Voldemort began.
Asterion did not respond and looked at the simple wand in the man's hands, the Elder Wand!
It appeared to be an apparently normal wand, lacking any opulence or beauty, but looks can be deceiving, and this time was no different. This wand was a legendary object in the wizarding world.
One of the three Deathly Hallows!
The cloak, The Stone, and The Wand.
Rumors say that whoever possesses all three would have the power of Death itself.
The Elder Wand, to be wielded, had a single requirement to be fulfilled: defeat its current master. It didn't matter the method you used to defeat your opponent, as long as you did, you had the right to wield it until someone defeated you.
A simple and harsh requirement. Unfortunately, this simple requirement was especially difficult in this era because the one wielding the Elder Wand was none other than the most powerful man in the world, and it was certainly no easy task to defeat Albus Dumbledore.
Dumbledore certainly noticed his gaze on the wand and smiled amiably at Asterion, who returned the kind look with a cold and chilling gazWithout saying another word, Asterion simply left the classroom with a slightly colder expression than usual.
Since Dumbledore liked to play chess, Asterion would make the man bitterly regret playing chess with a teenager without patience. And he had a plan, a childish and rather simplistic one, but victories often came from simple plans.
As he walked through the corridors of Hogwarts, Asterion remembered a phrase he had seen in his past life.
What sets kings apart from ordinary humans is their lack of fear.
"Just you wait..." Asterion strengthened his heart's determination and went to find his lovely cousin, Rose Potter.
He really wanted to see the faces of Dumbledore and Voldemort when things didn't go as they planned.
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Entering the Great Hall, Asterion walked over to the Gryffindor table and stopped behind Rose Potter, who was chatting with some girls she shared the dormitory with.
"Rose, we need to talk," Asterion said, looking at Rose.
Noticing the seriousness in his tone, Rose was surprised and nodded in agreement. She got up, bid farewell to her friends, and walked out of the Great Hall without caring about the thousands of eyes on them.
At the Slytherin table, Pansy Parkinson looked at Daphne with malice and spoke sarcastically. "This is the second time, it seems that the famous ice queen can't satisfy her man and he has to resort to other houses. You should be ashamed, Heiress Greengrass."
A mischievous smile played on the thirteen-year-old's lips as she ate an olive. The other girls also smiled, looking at Daphne.
Daphne offended many people in Slytherin by preventing the girls from approaching Asterion. Everyone dared not say anything because of Asterion, but that didn't stop them from mocking Daphne at this moment.
Daphne listened to everything and remained completely indifferent, but she gripped her fork slightly tighter, showing that she wasn't as calm as she appeared at that moment.
She looked at each girl and noted their names one by one; she would seek revenge, and in a rather cruel manner. But for now, she had to stay strong; if she showed weakness at this moment, these girls would swarm around her like hungry hyenas looking for food.
At the same time, she couldn't help but glance at the backs of Rose and her fiancé disappearing from the Great Hall. This did not please her at all; Asterion was very close to Rose, especially with the rumors that Rose dragged Asterion into a Broom Closet yesterday. Rumors about this had spread like mushrooms after rain.
It affected her more than she expected, mostly because of her jealousy towards Rose, but it also significantly impacted her prestige in Slytherin. Everything was falling apart with the girls spreading rumors after rumors about her inability to keep their king away from girls from other houses.
While eating with an indifferent expression, Daphne noticed that the food had no taste; it felt like candle wax. Nevertheless, she ate everything, maintaining a strong posture.
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Author's Thoughts: It will be explained later why Dumbledore possesses the Elder Wand.
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Next Chapter: Chapter 55 - A Treacherous Game of Chess (4), Chapter 56 - Magical Self-Defense Tactical Training Class (1), Chapter 57 - Magical Self-Defense Tactical Training Class (2), Chapter 58 - Magical Self-Defense Tactical Training Class (3), Chapter 59 - Magical Self-Defense Tactical Training Class (4), Chapter 60 - School Council, Chapter 61 - Mission (1), Chapter 62 - Mission (2), Chapter 63 - Mission (3), Chapter 64 - Mission (4), Chapter 65 - Mission (5), Chapter 66 - Consequences of the Attack (1), Chapter 67 - Consequences of the Attack (2), Chapter 68 - Invasion of Hogwarts (1), Chapter 69 - Invasion of Hogwarts (2), Chapter 70 - Invasion of Hogwarts (3), Chapter 71 - Invasion of Hogwarts (4), Chapter 72 - Invasion of Hogwarts (5), Chapter 73 - Invasion of Hogwarts (6), Chapter 74 - Invasion of Hogwarts (7), Chapter 75 - Invasion of Hogwarts (8), Chapter 76 - Invasion of Hogwarts (9), Chapter 77 - Invasion of Hogwarts (10), Chapter 78 - Invasion of Hogwarts (11), Chapter 79 - Post-War (1).