It really was a case of saying something so shocking it left everyone speechless.
Even Kraft's eyes widened in astonishment.
"You... what did you say?!"
He could only think that his ears, perhaps because he was getting too old, had started playing the most outrageous tricks on him.
"He said he wants to become the Dark Lord."
Aurora thoughtfully recalled her conversation with Ian.
Then,
she added,
"Oh, right. He also wants to go to Nurmengard to study under his grandfather. He said it would help him graduate." Aurora felt she'd summed it up perfectly.
Short and to the point.
After she finished,
she picked up her notes again.
From beginning to end,
the German Girl's tone had remained perfectly calm.
As if she were talking about some ordinary bit of family gossip.
However,
Kraft's emotions were clearly not as stable as hers.
"?????"
Kraft was completely dumbfounded.
He didn't know much about Hogwarts, but even so, he couldn't imagine its graduation requirements being so difficult that someone had to go to Nurmengard to seek out Grindelwald.
And another thing!
What did he mean, he wanted to become the Dark Lord?!
Were young wizards this daring these days?!
"Dumbledore's school has produced another ambitious young man! Hahahahaha! The greatest White Wizard in the world? How laughable—and how ironic!"
Once the initial shock had passed,
Kraft burst out laughing.
He hadn't doubted Aurora's words for a second.
After all,
this was exactly the sort of thing he and many Acolytes wanted to see: Dumbledore had raised a Voldemort, and now there was another boy at his school who wanted to become the Dark Lord.
Could anything make the Acolytes happier?
Nothing!
To them, this was the best possible proof of Dumbledore's hypocrisy! Otherwise, why would one misfit after another emerge from his school?
"Excellent, excellent. I underestimated that little fellow's foolish ambition. But this isn't a bad thing for us. You could try winning him over with a few small favors."
"I've observed him. He has a good talent for magic."
Kraft laughed so hard he could barely catch his breath. He sat down in an old rocking chair to rest, then offered his advice earnestly.
His cloudy eyes
were now filled with excitement...and anticipation. The Acolytes were always willing to fan the flames whenever something could tarnish Dumbledore's reputation.
"Winning him over? Grandfather taught me about that, so I gave him a book."
Aurora paused, then added,
"My own book."
The girl emphasized this point,
probably because she didn't want Kraft to think she'd given Ian a book from a shop.
However,
Kraft didn't really care about that.
All he cared about was that Aurora had already tried to win Ian over.
"Excellent! Putting what you've learned into practice—that's a sign of growth!"
Kraft clapped happily.
"For children your age, winning their loyalty isn't difficult. I'd say you already have your first follower."
Kraft had great confidence in Aurora.
Not only because she had inherited that extraordinary talent,
but also
because he knew how strikingly beautiful Aurora was. To most boys her age, she would have the irresistible allure of a "white moonlight"—the girl they could never forget.
That, too, was an advantage she could use.
Kraft looked at the little girl before him with hope and approval.
However,
Aurora shook her head.
"I don't think a book is enough to make someone swear loyalty to me." She seemed perfectly clearheaded as she closed her notebook and put it away in a drawer.
"Of course, of course. It can just be a beginning."
Kraft was still smiling.
"Methods that work on other young wizards probably won't work on Ian Prince. He's very different from them."
Aurora spoke calmly.
Her delicate, youthful face was filled with earnestness.
"He's your first friend. Perhaps that makes him special to you?" Kraft narrowed his eyes, his gaze turning wary again.
He'd been so focused on how Aurora's looks could affect boys
that he'd almost forgotten
that the young wizard was exceptionally good-looking, too.
"I know what you're thinking, but it isn't like that."
Aurora shook her head helplessly.
"It's true that I'm curious about him, and interested in him, because he's the first person who dared to befriend me. But that's not why I think Ian Prince is special."
Her heterochromatic eyes held a calmness that seemed beyond her years.
"Oh?"
Kraft looked puzzled.
"You taught me many things, so even from a brief encounter, I can make a judgment. He isn't the sort of person who would have a cause to believe in..."
"He could never become one of you."
Aurora explained, succinctly and plainly.
But Kraft disagreed.
"That's only because you haven't instilled that belief in him yet... Miss, don't overestimate the character of others. Wanting to become the Dark Lord and study under Lord Grindelwald—those are just the deluded fantasies of a child his age, ignorant, arrogant, and full of himself."
"As he grows older, discovers his own weakness, and realizes how ordinary he is...if he's clever, he'll understand that he should draw close to the powerful people around him."
Kraft lectured her meaningfully.
But
Aurora still shook her head, resolute.
"You're wrong."
First, she closed her eyes.
"He won't understand what it means to be ordinary, and he won't learn to draw close to the powerful. Because...he might really become the Dark Lord."
Aurora opened her eyes again.
She turned toward the doorway, as if she'd gone back to that day, back to the moment when the boy walked in, looked around, and caught her attention.
"I've seen him."
This time,
she wasn't speaking to Ian.
She was explaining it to Kraft.
"Huh?"
Kraft didn't understand.
"Not during the day today, but at Diagon Alley. Before I even went into that shop...I'd already seen something."
Aurora spoke softly.
Kraft immediately understood.
"You mean you saw...?!"
His voice turned uncertain.
He stared fixedly at Aurora.
Then,
Aurora slowly nodded.
"My talent isn't as powerful as my grandfather's, but sometimes I can catch a glimpse of the future...I saw him. I saw fragments of his future."
Aurora's voice was low and solemn.
"You saw him become the Dark Lord?"
Kraft's voice trembled. He looked as though he'd heard something too unbelievable to accept, yet somehow couldn't deny it.
"No."
Aurora shook her head,
leaving Kraft confused.
"Speaking in riddles is a bad habit. Don't imitate your grandfather—or that damned Dumbledore..."
Kraft sighed helplessly.
Aurora hadn't meant to talk around the point, either.
Her thoughts seemed to drift back.
She murmured,
"I saw him standing before a tower, raising his wand and casting a spell."
The German Girl looked at the deeply bewildered Kraft with her legendary heterochromatic eyes. The old man and the young girl met each other's gaze, and the words Aurora softly uttered hit like a crashing wave.
Mist obscured my vision, but there was one thing I saw clearly. That was..."
"Dumbledore kneeling at his feet, weeping."