The Door Was Blocked

As Dumbledore's voice faded, the vast room fell into a long, heavy silence. After a good while, Gellert let out a cold sneer and spoke:

"A car accident? Albus, do you have any idea how powerful a bloodline blessing I cast for my brother when I sent him away? At the very least, for five generations, he and his children were guaranteed not just prosperity, but a life free from illness and disaster! Could a mere car accident possibly take their lives?"

Hearing Gellert's words, Dumbledore furrowed his brows.

"Are you implying that the death of Wentworth's parents was the work of a wizard?"

Gellert sneered as he replied:

"Need you ask? A bunch of cowardly rats, too afraid to come for me, so they struck at them instead. This grudge, the Grindelwald family has noted it down!"

Hearing Gellert's words, Dumbledore couldn't help but ask with a hint of tension:

"Gellert, what are you planning to do?"

Gellert glanced at Dumbledore and said coldly:

"Rest assured, Albus, I will not step out of Nurmengard. I only hope that, at the appropriate time, you will tell Wentworth about this. The grudge of the Grindelwald family should naturally be avenged by a child of the Grindelwald family!"

Hearing Gellert's assurance, Dumbledore let out a long sigh of relief, then continued:

"You can rest easy, Gellert. At the right time, I will tell him. Furthermore, both I and Hogwarts will stand behind him, no matter who his opponent may be."

Upon hearing Dumbledore's words, Gellert showed no gratitude; instead, he cast a wary look at Dumbledore and asked:

"Albus, why do I get the feeling that you are planning something? At first, I thought your letting Wentworth enter Hogwarts was a form of alternative custody, but considering the magical world is far from peaceful, I figured he would at least be safer by your side, so I acquiesced. But now it seems your motives go beyond that!"

"Not only did you acquiesce to my followers entering Hogwarts, but you are also making such a clear-cut declaration of support for Wentworth, regardless of who his opponent is. Are you planning to realign yourself with my Acolytes? After all these years, have you finally realized that I was right?"

Dumbledore smiled slightly at this and laid out the entire conversation he had with Snape that evening.

Hearing Dumbledore's account, Gellert retorted irritably:

"So that's it. Dumbledore, after all these years, you haven't changed a bit. You always love to use others to achieve your own ends! But I hope you understand that every gift from the Goddess of Fate has its price marked in the dark!"

Dumbledore nodded and said with a heavy, earnest tone:

"Gellert, we are both old now. The future of the magical world lies on the wands of the young. As for the price marked by the Goddess of Fate, I have already prepared the chips. I only hope you can promise me one thing."

Hearing this, Gellert looked at his old friend across from him, sensing something, but he did not speak.

Seeing that Gellert offered no response, Dumbledore stared straight into his eyes. After a long silence, Gellert finally said coldly:

"Speak!"

Dumbledore chuckled softly and said:

"Gellert, if I should meet with an accident, the agreement between us shall be declared void! I hope that if that day truly comes, you can step forward and guide the young ones a little further. After all, their growth still requires time."

As Dumbledore's voice fell, only the sound of howling cold wind remained in Nurmengard, and neither man spoke again.

The next morning, Wentworth, having slept soundly, walked out of his dormitory and headed to the school's Great Hall for breakfast with Cedric, who had been waiting for him.

Afterward, Wentworth said his goodbyes to Cedric, Coke, and the others, and prepared to head to the classroom with the rest of the Hufflepuff first-years. This morning's lesson was Defense Against the Dark Arts, held jointly with the students of Slytherin.

But no sooner had Wentworth and his group stepped out of the Great Hall than they were surrounded by a group of Slytherin students in dark green robes, led by the Slytherin prefect, Vane.

"Senior Vane, what is the meaning of this?"

Seeing this, Wentworth couldn't help but ask.

Yet, faced with Wentworth's inquiry, Vane merely cast a look of contempt and remained silent, leaving Wentworth completely bewildered.

"Senior Vane, if you have something to say, just say it. If not, please excuse us, we have a class to attend."

Seeing this, Wentworth had no choice but to speak again.

This time, Vane replied coldly:

"Wait!"

At this point, Wentworth was certain that the other party was looking for trouble.

Although Wentworth appeared to be an eleven-year-old student, his soul was that of an adult; how could he endure such humiliation? He couldn't help but respond with equal coldness:

"And what if I say I won't wait?"

Vane, across from him, let out a mocking laugh and drew his wand.

Just then, Cedric, who had just emerged from the Great Hall, flashed out from behind Wentworth, stood in front of him, and drew his own wand.

"Senior Vane, what are you trying to do?"

Vane curled his lip in disdain and said:

"What, a second-year, already daring to stand up for others? I thought such foolish things were only done by those brutes in Gryffindor."

"If you look down on our second-year juniors, how about you and I, a fifth-year, have a little spar? Vane!"

At this moment, Coke's voice rang out, and immediately, Coke was seen leading a group of Hufflepuff students, swarming forward to surround Wentworth and Cedric.

Seeing this, the Slytherin students behind Vane surged forward as well.

The once-spacious corridor outside the Great Hall was instantly packed tight by Slytherins and Hufflepuffs, while the students from Gryffindor and Ravenclaw gathered in the distance, watching the scene with curious eyes.

Seeing that the situation seemed to be escalating, Vane was clearly feeling a bit guilty and couldn't help but speak first:

"Coke, yesterday you led people to block the path of our Slytherin first-years. Today, we are blocking your first-years; that's not too much to ask, is it?"

As soon as Vane opened his mouth, Cassandra, who was hiding behind the Great Hall doors eavesdropping, couldn't help but cover her face!

To say something like that when nothing had even happened yet, just to find an excuse for himself—it was a complete embarrassment to Slytherin!

With that, Cassandra waved for the Slytherin first-years to follow, and she took the lead, stepping out of the Great Hall.

Outside the hall, watching Cassandra emerge, Wentworth couldn't help but find it amusing; he could only say that she was truly a Slytherin, never willing to suffer even the slightest loss.

Seeing Cassandra walk out with her head held high, ignoring her surroundings and preparing to leave with her chest puffed out, Wentworth had no intention of letting it end just like that; if he let Cassandra leave like this, wouldn't it make it seem like Slytherin had gotten the better of Hufflepuff?

"Senior Coke, if it really came to a fight, could you beat Vane?"

Wentworth asked softly from behind Coke.

Coke: "I couldn't!"

Wentworth: "..."