For the Greater Good

"I was just curious about what they were doing. I heard this was a technique you taught them to improve their control over their magic?" Penelope smiled, her expression gentle and beautiful.

In truth, Penelope had not come here merely out of curiosity.

Ever since Kyle had caught her attention in the Great Hall that day, she had been planning this "chance encounter" for quite some time.

Penelope was actually a highly ambitious—or rather, highly aspirational—witch.

However, as a Muggle-born witch, she was at a considerable disadvantage compared to pure-bloods and half-bloods.

Whether in terms of ability or influence.

The Magical World was ultimately a place where strength reigned supreme. If one possessed the power of Albus Dumbledore or Voldemort, then without question, one could command respect and inspire fear.

But how many witches and wizards as extraordinarily gifted as Dumbledore and Voldemort could there be?

The overwhelming majority were merely average.

That was when the importance of resources and influence became apparent.

The founding of Hogwarts had indeed given every Muggle-born witch and wizard in Britain the opportunity to learn magic, but that did not mean they could stand on equal footing with pure-bloods or half-bloods.

Perhaps during their first few years at Hogwarts, all young wizards learned magic at roughly the same pace.

But as their studies deepened, the advantages of pure-blood wizards gradually began to reveal themselves.

Wizards born into wizarding families could learn not only the magic taught at Hogwarts, but also family magic passed down through generations by their ancestors.

The resources accumulated by ancient pure-blood aristocratic families over countless generations were an unimaginable astronomical sum to a Muggle-born wizard starting from nothing.

Like the study notes on the Disillusionment Charm that the Weasley brothers had given Kyle that day, this spell was not part of Hogwarts' curriculum and was, in truth, far beyond the reach of Muggle-born wizards.

Only in their sixth or seventh year might exceptional students obtain a way to learn this spell through their good relationships with professors.

Yet George and Fred were merely second-year students, and they could casually trade the spell to Kyle just for a chance to try out a sniper rifle.

The gap between Muggle-born and pure-blood wizards was simply that vast.

Moreover, the small population of the wizarding world meant that its social order resembled that of Ancient Greece—a society of small states and sparse populations.

It was a self-contained community where almost everyone knew one another, where everyone attended and graduated from the same school, and where a vast web of connections linked every wizard together.

This also meant that within the wizarding world's governing body, the Ministry of Magic, many matters could not escape that web of connections.

In other words, wizarding society was fundamentally a society built on favors and relationships.

Ancient wizarding families had been entrenched in this society for a long time, carefully cultivating their networks. This allowed them to thrive in a Magical World where everything depended on favors and connections.

Muggle-born wizards, on the other hand, were like outsiders who did not belong in this closed society. Without connections to look after them, they found every step difficult.

Every student graduating from Hogwarts had to take the N.E.W.Ts, the Nastily Exhausting Wizarding Tests.

Its status in the Magical World was comparable to China's college entrance examination.

Even with excellent results in such an examination, Muggle-born wizards could only take on what were essentially the lowest-level jobs at the Ministry of Magic.

Penelope Clearwater was certainly not content with that.

The solution to breaking out of this predicament was actually quite simple: find someone powerful enough to rely on.

But Penelope was a proud witch, and ordinary people simply did not catch her eye.

When she heard Cho Chang mention the name Kyle Dumbledore while dining in the Great Hall, Penelope had made Kyle her target.

Her previous target had been Percy Weasley of the Weasley family.

Of course, "target" here did not mean the sort of prey sought by serial romantics. Penelope was ambitious, but not so unscrupulous.

Kyle, as her target, would not go through some melodramatic story of falling for a goddess, becoming one of her many backups, and then being ruthlessly discarded once he had served his purpose. Penelope had never intended to do anything like that.

She simply wanted to build a good relationship with Kyle.

As long as she could learn a few spells from this member of the Dumbledore family that Hogwarts did not teach, or receive a little help from Kyle when she looked for work after graduation, Penelope would be more than satisfied.

Penelope twirled a lock of hair around her finger. The casual gesture was exceedingly seductive. "I know this request is a little presumptuous, but I still wanted to ask—may I learn together with them?"

Kyle steadied himself and tried not to look like someone who had been single since birth. "They're only a few insignificant little techniques. If you want to learn, of course I can teach you."

At Kyle's reply, Penelope broke into a radiant smile. "Then I'll be troubling you."

Kyle glanced at the two brothers in the distance, who had their arms around each other's shoulders, grinning lecherously and occasionally pointing in this direction. He suppressed the urge to chat a little longer with the beautiful senior before him.

"Um... Senior, we'll head back to the castle for breakfast first. We'll meet here again later."

Penelope nodded politely. "Goodbye."

Kyle ran toward the two brothers, who were still whispering among themselves, and gave each of them a smack when he got close.

Judging from how they had looked just now, they had either been gossiping about him and Penelope or talking bad about him. Giving each of them a smack was hardly unfair.

Meanwhile, in Austria, there stood a grim, black tower far from human habitation.

An owl carrying a newspaper dated several days earlier visited the dilapidated old tower.

It landed on a narrow skylight at the top of the tower, and an aged hand took The Daily Prophet from its talons.

The owner of that hand was a thin, withered old wizard. His eyes were deeply sunken in their sockets, making his face resemble a skull.

It was hard to imagine that this ragged, emaciated old wizard had once been a leader who could shake the world decades ago. His fanatical followers had spread across the globe, while those who opposed him feared his name as they would a tiger...

Gellert Grindelwald opened the newspaper in his hands.

After decades of imprisonment, the only remaining pleasure in his life was learning about the outside world through newspapers delivered by owls.

He had thought there was nothing left in this world that could change his expression—until today, when he saw a name in the paper: Kyle Dumbledore.

Complex emotions churned within the old man's heterochromatic eyes before gradually turning cold, as though he had made some decision.

The first Dark Lord slowly rose to his feet and staggered out of the cell he had occupied for forty-five years, leaving the ruined tower behind.

Standing before the gates of Nurmengard Castle, Grindelwald turned to look at the words carved above the entrance. His lips parted slightly. "For the greater good."