After the last student was sorted into Slytherin, the Sorting Ceremony officially came to an end.

Dumbledore glanced toward Grindelwald, who was chatting amiably with the surrounding students—especially with Tom—and immediately lost all desire to give the usual closing remarks on behalf of the Headmaster.

Tom had finally started improving, and if Grindelwald dragged him back to his old ways…

It was hard to nurture goodness, but to lead someone astray—that was far too easy.

Especially when Tom used to be that kind of person…

The thought reignited Dumbledore's anger.

"Let's eat," Dumbledore announced bluntly.

"Albus…" Professor Slughorn looked anxiously toward Grindelwald's side.

After all, those were his Slytherin students.

And the ones Grindelwald was speaking with were precisely his most promising pupils!

How could Professor Slughorn not be worried?

"We must find a way to keep him from having too much contact with the students!" Slughorn said urgently. "You know better than anyone how persuasive he can be!"

Grindelwald's power to sway hearts was undeniable.

So many steadfast, full-grown wizards had been convinced by his words and joined his cause.

How much easier would it be for him to influence students so young?

Of course, Dumbledore understood this perfectly well.

But it wasn't as though he could just march over to the Slytherin table and drag Grindelwald away.

Still, knowing Wade as he did, Dumbledore was certain that one meal's time wouldn't be enough for Grindelwald to sway him.

Otherwise, back in Godric's Hollow, Wade would already have gone with him.

"I trust Wade," Dumbledore said.

Because of Slughorn's question, his emotions gradually began to settle.

His earlier agitation had clouded his judgment, but now that he had calmed down, his thoughts became much clearer.

"Albus… no matter how clever Wade is, he's still just a child!" Professor Slughorn looked at Dumbledore in shock.

He couldn't believe Dumbledore was actually planning to do nothing.

"In fact, Armando and I have even greater expectations for Wade. Horace… I think it's time I told you a few things. Come with me," Dumbledore said as he stood up and walked toward the corridor beside the Great Hall.

Professor Slughorn looked at Dumbledore in surprise, then quickly followed after him.

Ten minutes later, the two returned to the hall.

But anyone could see the displeasure written across Slughorn's face.

In truth, many upper-year students who had attended Hogwarts for years had never once seen the always-amiable Professor Slughorn look this furious.

Dumbledore, on the other hand, looked both apologetic and helpless—but in his eyes, there was unmistakable determination.

Before long, the Start-of-Term Feast officially concluded.

Each House's students followed their prefects out of the hall, heading for their respective common rooms.

Professor McGonagall, her expression stern, walked over to the cheerful-looking Grindelwald.

"I'll take you to your office," she said coldly, lips pressed tightly together.

Grindelwald, pretending not to notice her irritation, thanked her with a smile.

Then he turned to the SMASH Club students and said, "It was a pleasure dining with you all. Your excellence exceeded my expectations, and it's given me great confidence in the coming education reform work. Well then, everyone, good night."

After finishing his words, Grindelwald followed the clearly displeased Professor McGonagall out of the Great Hall.

"Fuaah." Watching him leave, Tom slumped back into his chair, pale and drenched in sweat.

"Tom? You look worse than Alphard… Did Grindelwald curse you just now?" Wade asked in surprise.

"Ha… very funny," Tom replied weakly.

He couldn't exactly admit it was because Wade hadn't helped him out, leaving him sitting there on edge the whole time, unable to eat a single bite.

"Oh! I see now—you're afraid of him," Wade said, suddenly understanding.

"I think being afraid of Grindelwald isn't something to be ashamed of," Tom admitted honestly.

"True…" Charlie wiped the sweat off his own face. "He only glanced at my hand and somehow knew I liked Potions… Talking to him is terrifying. It's like he knows everything."

Henry spoke with a conflicted look, "I can't believe he called my parents brave… said they had revolutionary spirit. Either he's gone mad or I have. My parents? Revolutionary spirit? They're professional fence-sitters!"

Alphard scratched his head. "Strange… he spent the whole night complimenting us. I still get chills when I look at him, but… I can't deny it, he talks so well. He even said I'm the most gifted young wizard in the Black family! I told him I was about to be kicked out, and guess what he said?"

Henry rolled his eyes. "Come on, we were all there. We heard everything he said. Be careful! A man like Grindelwald doesn't hand out praise to a bunch of second-year students for no reason."

"But… he said I was gifted! He even said my parents were being stupid for kicking me out of the family!" Alphard said happily.

There was no doubt that although Grindelwald's words were full of hidden intent, they had made Alphard feel rather good.

Suddenly, Charlie asked, "Hey, Tom, what he said earlier—was that true? Did you really hold a poison gas bomb and try to take him down with you?"

Everyone turned to look at Tom.

They all knew that last year Wade and Tom had taken part in the mission to capture the members of the Alliance, but the exact details were unclear to most of them.

And this business about detonating a poison bomb—they were hearing it for the first time.

Wade nodded. "It's true. I was there, I can testify. And that poison bomb was made by me… I never imagined he'd actually be brave enough to pull the pin."

"Oh my…" Everyone drew a sharp breath, their gazes toward Tom filled with new respect.

"Tom, that's incredible!"

"Yeah… if it had been me, I'd have fainted on the spot…"

Even now, when Grindelwald was acting perfectly pleasant, they still felt suffocated by his presence.

It was hard to even imagine how much pressure Wade and Tom must have been under last year, facing an openly hostile Grindelwald head-on.

Hearing everyone's praise, Tom couldn't help feeling a bit smug.

But when he recalled the cold tip of Grindelwald's wand pressing against his throat back then, his legs suddenly felt weak again.

Soon after, the group followed the rest of the Slytherins toward their common room.

Wade and Tom exchanged a glance, then quietly fell to the back of the line.

"Wade, what do you want to tell me?" Tom asked through a Whispering Charm.

Wade's look earlier had made it clear—he wanted to say something to him in secret.

"I know you were upset just now, that I didn't help you out and left you to face Grindelwald alone."

"I wasn't."

"Really? You sure about that?"

"…Fine. Maybe a little," Tom admitted, his face flushing red.

He didn't mind admitting he was afraid of Grindelwald—but admitting that he'd wanted Wade to step in for him? That was humiliating.

"I'll tell you plainly," Wade said calmly, "I did it on purpose."

"Why?" Tom asked.

"You can't spend your whole life being afraid of Grindelwald, can you? Your talent isn't any weaker than his—your future achievements will surpass his for sure. But you have to understand what a psychological shadow is. If you keep avoiding him, then even if one day you're stronger than he is, you'll still feel fear when you face him. That's what I don't want to see. So you need to confront him directly."

Tom stared at Wade in shock. So that was the reason?

Thinking about it carefully, he realized Wade made sense. In fact, though he still felt uneasy thinking about Grindelwald, it wasn't nearly as bad as before.

Still… was Wade really being sincere, or was he just messing with him again?

It wasn't an unreasonable doubt—Wade had done things like that far too many times.

"This is called desensitization therapy. And it's not just for today. As it happens, I'm not in a position to meet with Grindelwald alone, so… from now on, you'll help pass messages for us. You think he's scary now, but after seeing him enough times, you won't. He's just an old man who's lived a few decades longer than you—what's there to fear? At the rate you're improving, by the time you're his age, one Tom could beat up two Grindelwalds."

When Tom first heard that he'd have to keep meeting Grindelwald alone, every instinct in him resisted.

But he had to admit—Wade's reasoning was sound.

Especially when he heard Wade's last sentence, a strange rush of determination and courage welled up inside him.

Yeah, just an old man—what's there to be afraid of?

"I understand now," Tom said, his tone much firmer this time.

"Good." Wade spoke as he pulled a few tightly wrapped meat pies from his pocket, along with a large bottle of pumpkin juice, and handed them over. "I figured you probably didn't eat enough tonight. Here."

Tom froze when he saw the food, momentarily at a loss for words.

Seeing him hesitate, Wade simply shoved the items into his hands.

The pies were still warm—almost hot to the touch.

"Uh…"

At that moment, Tom felt the silence turning awkward if he didn't say something.

So he hurriedly changed the subject as naturally as he could. "Anne's been missing all night… where did she go? She didn't even show up at the feast!"

"I'm not sure either, but it's probably the Felix Felicis guiding her," Wade said. "Maybe by now, Anne's already managed to avoid Grindelwald and met with Dumbledore."

"So that's what happened…"

"Go back, eat well, and get some rest early tonight. Tomorrow, you'll be helping me recruit new members." Wade suddenly sighed. "I can't shake the feeling that Professor McGonagall and Professor Dumbledore were giving me strange looks tonight… Don't tell me I've got more trouble coming my way."

Tom tucked the pies into his pocket, his expression steady again. "I remember what you said once—'With great power comes great responsibility.' I think maybe they just see that your power has grown great enough."

"That was something I made up on the spot."

"But you also said—Dumbledore likes hearing that sort of thing."

"Tch…"

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