Snape's Surprise

Just as Wentworth and Cedric and the others were feasting in the Hufflepuff common room, Snape stood alone in his office; because the door was left ajar, a light breeze drifted in from time to time.

Finally, as the duration of the spell expired, Snape regained control of his body, and the first thing he did was:

"Achoo!"

Snape wiped his nose, where mucus was nearly dripping to his lip. He gave it a quick swipe, then strode out of his office and headed toward Dumbledore's office.

Upon arriving at Dumbledore's office, Dumbledore, dressed in his pajamas, looked at the anxious Snape with a puzzled expression and asked curiously:

"Severus, you don't look so well. What has happened?"

Snape walked up to Dumbledore, stared intently into his eyes, and said slowly:

"Dumbledore, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named has returned!"

Hearing Snape's words, even Dumbledore was momentarily shaken, and he stood up abruptly.

"Severus, he found you? Where is he?"

"He is right here in our Hogwarts, and he now goes by the name—Wentworth!"

Dumbledore: "..."

"Severus, I think you might be mistaken."

Dumbledore said with a smile, then slowly sat back down.

Seeing that Dumbledore did not seem to believe him, Snape, filled with anxiety, recounted in detail everything that had happened that night.

Listening to Snape's account, Dumbledore gradually withdrew the smile from his face. When Snape finished speaking, Dumbledore remained silent for a long while before finally saying:

"Severus, I will get to the bottom of this matter, but Wentworth is certainly not Tom Riddle."

Hearing Dumbledore's stance, Snape could no longer suppress his inner anxiety and shouted:

"Dumbledore, then how do you explain everything that happened tonight? Or are you saying that you arranged all of this, deliberately letting him into Hogwarts, just one year before Lily's child is set to attend?"

"Why? Just for that damn prophecy? He is still just a child! You promised me, Dumbledore, you promised me that you would protect his safety!"

Seeing Snape's emotions becoming increasingly agitated, Dumbledore did not rebuke him. Only after Snape had finished venting did Dumbledore speak slowly:

"Believe me, Severus, I have never forgotten my promise. In fact, the presence of Wentworth will make Harry Potter even safer."

Seeing the look of confusion in Snape's eyes, Dumbledore continued:

"Severus, Tom Riddle is known as the Second Generation Dark Lord, the most dangerous dark wizard in history, but in my view, he is far inferior to Gellert Grindelwald, who is known to the outside world as the First Generation Dark Lord."

"I do not deny Tom Riddle's talent and power, but the reason he is called the most dangerous dark wizard in history is because he excels at creating panic; even his subordinates call themselves Death Eaters."

"But before him, Gellert Grindelwald, the First Generation Dark Lord, was truly difficult to deal with. They had their own platform, and in their later years, they even developed their own faith; they called themselves the Acolytes."

"Therefore, when the Wizarding War broke out, and when Barty Crouch ordered an exception allowing Aurors to be the first to use Unforgivable Curses against Death Eaters, the British Ministry of Magic alone was able to fight the Death Eaters to a stalemate."

"But Gellert Grindelwald and his Acolytes swept across Europe and America. If not for... in short, compared to Gellert Grindelwald, Tom Riddle is just a man with empty power."

After hearing Dumbledore's words, Snape never expected that Voldemort, who in his eyes was terrifying to the extreme, would be rated so poorly by Dumbledore.

But Snape still couldn't help but ask:

"So, what does this have to do with what I told you tonight?"

Dumbledore looked at Snape with deep, profound eyes and said slowly:

"Because Wentworth comes from the Grindelwald family. His name is Wentworth Grindelwald! The new leader of the Acolytes!"

Hearing Dumbledore's words, Snape was stunned for a long time, until Dumbledore pushed a letter toward him.

Much of the content in the letter had been erased by Dumbledore's magic, but the remaining text read as follows:

I have discovered while traveling the world recently that traces of Acolyte activity have reappeared in many countries. You must know that they have been dormant for many years, but now, they have been awakened.

We once thought that as time passed and the Acolyte wizards grew old, they would disappear into history. But now it seems we underestimated their faith; I have even discovered many young wizards who also call themselves Acolytes—they are all descendants of the first generation of Acolyte wizards.

This phenomenon may not be obvious in Britain, after all, when Tom Riddle became Voldemort, many descendants of the Acolytes joined the Death Eaters. But in other parts of the world, the strength of the Acolytes is far greater than we imagined.

I hope you can determine as soon as possible whether Gellert is still in Nurmengard. We have all lived through that period and know how difficult he and his Acolytes were to deal with.

If Gellert is still in Nurmengard, then we must admit a fact: the Acolytes have found the successor to Gellert's will, a younger Acolyte leader who is preparing to lead them in a comeback!

"This letter is from Newt Scamander. I believe you are no stranger to that name."

Snape slowly put down the letter and nodded, saying:

"Of course, Hogwarts still uses the books he wrote as textbooks."

At this point, Snape seemed to understand Dumbledore's plan, but still said with disbelief:

"So, you want Wentworth's Acolytes to face off against Voldemort's Death Eaters? But he is still a child! I don't believe Wentworth would be a match for Voldemort."

Dumbledore waved his hand and explained:

"That is why it depends on us at Hogwarts. Since Hogwarts was able to teach a Tom Riddle back then, why can't the Hogwarts of today cultivate a Wentworth to contend with Tom Riddle?"

"Are you not afraid that Wentworth will also become a terror to the wizarding world in the future?"

"As you said, Wentworth is still a child. That depends on how we choose to cultivate him!"