"Jino Luthor?"
The logs in the fireplace burned fiercely, driving away the darkness and cold.
In the headmaster's office, Snape's icy face furrowed. He muttered the name over and over, as though it possessed some kind of magic.
"I've never heard of this person. Who is he?"
Snape could not help being curious.
There were only so many important figures in the Wizarding World, yet he had never heard that name before.
Snape shook his head.
"Honestly, Dumbledore, the person Lockhart recommended is probably another fame-seeking fraud."
"I don't know."
Dumbledore shook his head, his expression profound. "I merely thought of another recent incident in the Wizarding World."
"You mean?" Snape narrowed his eyes slightly.
"The wizards of Knockturn Alley being massacred to the last man?"
He looked at the old headmaster. "Who do you think did it? Who had the power to kill hundreds of wizards in an instant?"
Dumbledore looked at him, at the hand resting on his wrist, and gave a helpless, bitter smile. "Well, even that person could not kill every Dark wizard in the blink of an eye."
Dumbledore lowered his gaze once more, staring at the name on the envelope. "Jino Luthor."
"This man who appeared out of nowhere."
Dumbledore sighed and gazed distractedly at the Black Lake beyond the window. "What secrets could he be hiding?"
A week passed in the blink of an eye.
"Bzzzz~"
After stepping off the Hogwarts Express, a pair of polished black shoes and straight-cut trousers landed on the iron platform at the train's exit.
Wearing sunglasses, the tall young man lifted his head and looked at the sight before him.
A vast castle stood faintly amid the depths of the night.
"Hogwarts."
Feeling the night wind sweep across the Black Lake, carrying its damp scent, Jino