Snape's Astonishment

As Wentworth and Cedric and the others feasted in the Hufflepuff Common Room, Snape stood alone in his office. The door was open, and a small draft kept blowing through.

At last, when the spell wore off, Snape regained control of his body. The first thing he did was—

"Ah-choo!"

Snape rubbed his nose. His runny nose was almost at his mouth, so he wiped it with one hand and hurried out of his office, heading for Dumbledore's.

When he arrived at Dumbledore's office, he found Dumbledore in his pajamas. The headmaster stared in surprise at Snape's anxious expression and asked curiously, "Severus, you don't look well. What happened?"

Snape walked over to Dumbledore and stared intently into his eyes. Then he said slowly, "Dumbledore, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named has returned!"

Even Dumbledore was shaken by Snape's words. He sprang to his feet. "Severus, has he found you? Where is he?"

"He's right here at Hogwarts. He goes by Wentworth now—"

Dumbledore: "..."

"Severus, I think you may have made a mistake."

Dumbledore smiled as he spoke, then slowly sat back down.

Seeing that Dumbledore didn't seem to believe him, Snape hurriedly recounted everything that had happened that night in detail.

As Snape told his story, Dumbledore's smile gradually faded. When Snape finished, Dumbledore remained silent for a long while, then said, "Severus, I'll get to the bottom of this, but Wentworth definitely isn't Tom Riddle."

Hearing Dumbledore's response, Snape could no longer contain his anxiety. He shouted, "Dumbledore, then how do you explain everything that happened tonight? Or was this all your doing? Did you deliberately let him into Hogwarts, the year before Lily's child is due to come here?"

"Why? Because of that damned Prophecy? He's just a child! You promised me, Dumbledore. You promised you'd keep him safe!"

As Snape grew more and more agitated, Dumbledore didn't reprimand him. Only after Snape had let it all out did Dumbledore speak slowly.

"Believe me, Severus. I've never forgotten my promise. In fact, Wentworth's presence will make Harry Potter safer."

Seeing the confusion in Snape's eyes, Dumbledore continued, "Severus, Tom Riddle is called the Second Generation Dark Lord, the most dangerous Dark wizard of all time. But in my view, he's nowhere near as formidable as Gellert Grindelwald, whom the world called the First Dark Lord."

"I won't deny Tom Riddle's talent and power. But the reason he was called the most dangerous Dark wizard of all time was that he excelled at spreading fear. Even his followers called themselves Death Eaters."

"But before him, Gellert Grindelwald, known as the First Dark Lord, was truly difficult to deal with. His followers had their own cause, and in time, even developed a faith of their own. They called themselves the Acolytes."

"So when the wizarding war began, and Barty Crouch made an exception by allowing Aurors to use the Unforgivable Curses first against the Death Eaters, the British Ministry of Magic alone was enough to fight them to a standstill."

"But Gellert Grindelwald and the Acolytes under his command swept across Europe and the United States. If not for... In any case, compared with Gellert Grindelwald, Tom Riddle is just a man with power and nothing more."

After hearing Dumbledore's words, Snape couldn't believe that Voldemort, who seemed like the embodiment of terror to him, was rated so poorly by Dumbledore.

Still, Snape couldn't help asking, "So what does that have to do with what I told you happened tonight?"

Dumbledore gazed at Snape, his eyes deep and unreadable. "Because Wentworth comes from the Grindelwald Family. His name is Wentworth Grindelwald—the new leader of the Acolytes!"

Snape took a long time to react to Dumbledore's words. Then Dumbledore slid a letter across the desk to him.

Much of the letter's contents had been erased with magic. The remaining passage read:

While traveling around the world recently, I discovered traces of Acolyte activity in many countries. They had been dormant for years, but now they've been roused.

We once thought that, with time, the Acolyte wizards would grow old and disappear into history. But it seems we underestimated their faith. I've even found many young wizards who also call themselves Acolytes. They're descendants of the first Acolyte wizards.

This may not be as apparent in Britain. After all, when Tom Riddle became Voldemort, many Acolyte descendants joined the Death Eaters. But elsewhere in the world, the Acolytes are far more powerful than we imagined.

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

If Gellert is still in Nurmengard, then we have to face the truth: the Acolytes have found an heir to Gellert's will, a younger leader ready to lead them as they rise again!

"This letter is from Newt Scamander. I believe you're familiar with the name."

Snape slowly lowered the letter and nodded. "Of course. Hogwarts still uses his books as textbooks."

At this, Snape seemed to understand Dumbledore's plan. Yet he still found it hard to believe. "So you want Wentworth's Acolytes to face Voldemort's Death Eaters head-on? But he's still a child. I don't think Wentworth could stand against Voldemort."

Dumbledore waved a hand and explained, "That's where Hogwarts comes in. If Hogwarts was able to educate a Tom Riddle back then, why can't Hogwarts now nurture a Wentworth to stand against Tom Riddle?"

"Aren't you afraid Wentworth will become a terror to the Wizarding World himself?"

"Just as you said, Wentworth is still a child. It all depends on how we raise him!"