Sure enough, Tom was only polite to others when he wanted to use them.
When asking Professor Dumbledore questions, he respectfully addressed him as Professor.
Once he was done "using" him, he called him sir.
Professor Dumbledore had clearly seen through Tom's little scheme.
Yet all he could do was push up his glasses and stare at Tom with a sharp, stern gaze.
Tom stubbornly met his eyes, his attitude exceedingly forceful.
He believed he had done nothing wrong!
Professor Dumbledore sighed inwardly and looked away.
Cypher noticed that.
He wanted to tell Professor Dumbledore something.
When educating Tom, he could not treat him like a child.
Especially after he had already left Tom with the impression that he was powerful.
He had to remain stronger and more forceful than Tom, suppressing him, so that Tom would obey him. In the end, unable to endure it any longer, Tom would submit to him.
But he had revealed his indecision and weakness from the very beginning.
No wonder Tom would later become the second-generation Dark Lord.
Professor Dumbledore remained silent beneath everyone's gaze for quite a while.
"Does anyone else have any questions?"
He spoke softly, and Cypher noticed that Professor Dumbledore's voice trembled slightly.
Why? Did Tom matter that much to him?
Clearly, Cypher could not voice his confusion in class.
Nor did any of the other students show any sign of raising questions.
The Pure-bloods and the outstanding young wizards all understood what Professor Dumbledore meant.
They were all waiting for Professor Dumbledore to announce the practical session.
As for those young wizards who were like cannon fodder—
They kept their mouths shut.
Cypher noticed that several young wizards from Gryffindor wanted to raise their hands.
Yet, for some reason, they gave up on asking.
Perhaps they did not understand at all and did not know how to put their confusion into words.
The gulf in comprehension between young wizards revealed itself as an insurmountable chasm in this very first lesson.
Cypher sighed.
What he did not know was that these young wizards all came from powerless Muggle families.
They had all been warned by Pure-blood families.
They could come to Hogwarts to study, but they must not do anything that interfered with the school's "normal" learning.
Otherwise...
Once they graduated, with wands in hand and able to cast spells, they would be qualified fighting strength on the battlefield.
Professor Dumbledore clearly knew this.
He parted his lips slightly, then ultimately called on someone to answer.
At this time, he could not yet openly fall out with the Pure-blood factions.
"Since no one has any questions, we shall move on to the next part: Transfiguration practice."
A small wooden block needed to be handed out to every young wizard.
Standing on the podium, Professor Dumbledore completed the task with a mere wave of his hand.
Then he clapped, drawing the attention of the students examining the small wooden blocks in their hands.
"Focus, conviction, feel! Convey!"
With a flick of his wand, the small wooden block became a small dagger engraved with patterns.
"Let us conjure a small dagger to conclude today's lesson."
It was time for free practice.
Cypher did not cast a spell right away.
He knew just how terrible his Transfiguration was.
He examined the block and, based on what he could currently observe—
The wooden block was an ordinary wooden block, without any additional spells that affected magical effects.
In other words, there was no problem with his target. Transfiguration did not require a specially prepared object.
Carefully waving his wand, Cypher tried his best to imagine the appearance of a small dagger.
He succeeded. Although the dagger was covered in splinters, there was no doubt that the wooden block's shape had changed.
However, Cypher's joy instantly vanished when he saw the exquisite, craft-like daggers Luna and Iris had conjured beside him.
Cypher immediately calmed down and began to summarize why he had succeeded this time and how it differed from his previous thoughts.
Just then—
Bang—
The explosion startled Cypher so badly that he shuddered.
He hurriedly turned around.
A young wizard stood frozen in fright.
Wooden splinters hovered before him.
"Do not lose focus. You must have been thinking about what would happen if the Transfiguration failed."
Professor Dumbledore said helplessly as he protected the student with magic.
Then he gave the unlucky boy another small wooden block.
Why not observe what characteristics the other young wizards display when casting Transfiguration?
Cypher had a sudden idea, but as he watched, his state of mind began to collapse.
Before the "joyful spells" cast by young wizards, anything was possible.
Most of the wooden blocks on the Gryffindor side shook violently after being struck by the young wizards' spells.
Quite a few even achieved the feat of catching fire or exploding beneath dazzlingly colorful magic.
The Hufflepuff young wizards, meanwhile, made their wooden blocks exceptionally lively. The most representative example was one block that grew two matchstick-like legs and ran away.
Fortunately, Professor Dumbledore reacted quickly and strangled the mutated object in midair.
Was that living Transfiguration?
Cypher's pupils constricted in shock.
The Ravenclaw and Slytherin young wizards were much more normal. Professor Dumbledore nodded repeatedly, showing his approval of their performance.
Compared to them, he truly was utterly ordinary.
No wonder Professor Dumbledore did not care about him.
Cypher felt somewhat jealous and dejected.
The remaining cannon-fodder young wizards strained until their faces turned red, violently waving their wands and striking the wooden blocks, yet the blocks remained wooden blocks.
If the wooden blocks could express their feelings—
They would probably wear terrified expressions as they waited for a spell that would likely never come.
Even though the scene was utterly chaotic, Professor Dumbledore remained unhurried and composed.
At the most critical moments, he always managed to protect every young wizard and keep them from the harm caused by spellcasting.
However, as more and more young wizards successfully cast their spells, the consequences became increasingly chaotic.
Professor Dumbledore could no longer remain calm.
He loudly emphasized the need to hold firm to their conviction, but the results were poor. He had no choice but to get up and busily deal with the various disturbances.
Class finally ended, and Cypher could see the exhaustion on Professor Dumbledore's face with the naked eye.
During the meal, Cypher was somewhat absentminded.
The observant Luna had noticed long ago.
Not until Cypher picked up his empty cup for the third time and made as if to drink water—
Did she finally fail to hold herself back.
"Cypher, do you have something on your mind? If you can, tell us about it."
Cypher froze, then came back to himself and realized that the cup in his hand truly was empty.
He could not hide what was on his mind any longer. He sighed, never expecting that he would one day need comforting.
Perhaps his younger body had made his way of thinking much younger as well.
"It is not appropriate to talk here. Let us go to my dormitory."
"What? You are actually jealous because Riddle receives more attention from Professor Dumbledore than you?"
Luna, standing to one side, also wore an expression that seemed to say, Are you kidding me?
I hurriedly finished lunch, and this is what you wanted to tell me?
Seeing that Cypher did not seem to be joking—
Luna thought for a while before trying to console him.
"Cypher, have you considered that Professor Dumbledore may feel comfortable letting you grow freely precisely because he thinks you have your own opinions?"
"By not paying attention to you or interfering with you, he has actually helped you avoid being targeted by the Pure-blood factions."
Iris helped as well.
"Wait, targeted by the Pure-blood factions?"
Cypher frowned.
Iris hurriedly covered her mouth, but beneath Cypher's gaze, she gave in.
She explained his special circumstances to Cypher, as well as why more young wizards had enrolled beyond the Sorting Ceremony.
At first, it had not been purely a prank on her part. She had also been curious about who it was that had made Professor Dumbledore go to such lengths to secure a place among the top students.
Knowing part of the truth, Cypher fell silent.
He was far too weak right now. At present, apart from himself, he could change nothing.
Before you continue