[Bonus Chapter for Powerstones!♥]
o(*￣▽￣*)ブMany thanks to Margaritas for their Patronage!♥
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Although Wade had spoken to Dumbledore with the intention of gaining his trust, his words did genuinely reflect his concerns about Ancient Magic.
Everything he said was true.
So Dumbledore's response still gave Wade a lot to think about.
For example, that Ancient Magic itself didn't have any side effects.
His intense craving for Ancient Magic was, in fact, just his own desire at work.
Looking back, when he refused that "senior's" request rather than agreeing to it, and later, even after using Ancient Magic, still managed to suppress the urge to go back and change his mind—these all showed that he had, at the very least, maintained good control over his desire for more of that power.
However… even if Dumbledore believed in his self-control, Wade still had doubts about it himself.
Hadn't that "senior" once told her teacher the exact same thing—that she could handle her own desire?
And things clearly hadn't turned out well for her.
Dumbledore saw the frown on Wade's face and knew that his words hadn't entirely reassured the boy about his own ability to control himself.
"Wade, always remember—you're not facing this 'battle' alone. As your professor, I have a responsibility to help you manage your connection to Ancient Magic."
Wade gave a 'helpless' look. "If I just don't use this power at all, wouldn't that solve everything?"
"The fact that you can restrain yourself from using it at all is already proof of your strong self-discipline, Wade… but in my opinion, suppression is less effective than guidance. Constantly forcing yourself not to use Ancient Magic will be incredibly difficult. Instead, if you allow yourself to use it—but keep control over how much and when—that's much easier."
Dumbledore sighed again. "It's a pity that senior of mine disappeared not long after graduation. Otherwise, she would've been the best person to teach you about Ancient Magic."
Wade fell silent.
He had just come back from seeing that very "senior."
And she hadn't been able to control her craving for Ancient Magic either—her end was tragic. Heck, he didn't even see her as a 'she'. Her face and her voice were all fucked up, distorted.
Now, she was lying like a popsicle in the corner of that stone chamber.
Still… since even Dumbledore had said this much…
Wade figured that maybe it wouldn't be such a bad idea to try using Ancient Magic—after all, he had Dumbledore, a master of self-restraint, keeping an eye on him.
Wade wanted to rule over the world, but didn't want to end up like that 'senior'.
It was worth noting: Dumbledore, in order to avoid becoming someone like Grindelwald, had managed to steer clear of anything related to power for decades. Even after becoming Headmaster and later Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot, he made it a point to keep his involvement minimal whenever possible.
For someone who, in his youth, had once dreamed of reforming the world, that kind of restraint was nothing short of extraordinary.
So when it came to controlling oneself, Dumbledore truly was a master.
Of course, the incident with the cursed resurrection stone ring wasn't really a fault in Dumbledore's self-control.
After all, the very source of his self-restraint had been the memory of his lost loved ones—and the resurrection stone offered him a chance to see them again. It had simply hit his greatest weakness.
…
As for whether Ancient Magic had any harmful side effects, Wade now felt confident in drawing a conclusion.
Given Dumbledore's usual stance on dark magic—if even he believed Ancient Magic posed no danger—then what danger could there possibly be?
A Dumbledore seal of approval carried a lot of weight.
After carefully thinking things through, Wade chatted with Dumbledore for a while longer.
Based on all the pieces of information strung together, Dumbledore was able to more or less piece together what had happened that night:
Wade, drawn by the power of Ancient Magic, had ventured into the Forbidden Forest and come upon a bottle containing that very power.
There, he happened to encounter Aurelius, who had just seen Nagini.
Perhaps Nagini's relapse into confusion had triggered something in Aurelius, causing him to edge toward losing control.
While Wade was on his way back to report the situation, he'd been attacked by the now-mindless Nagini.
Then, using Ancient Magic, Wade had subdued and brought her back to Aberforth.
Aberforth, in turn, notified Dumbledore and brought the now-stabilized Aurelius back…
Of course, Dumbledore had only arrived at this conclusion because Wade had carefully guided the conversation toward it, one step at a time.
Even so, Wade knew he'd still need to find a chance to coordinate stories with Aurelius—if he let anything slip, it could be a problem.
After all, it was still somewhat plausible for someone Wade's age to possess Ancient Magic. But being able to use Apparition proficiently? That would be much harder to explain.
No matter how much of a genius someone might be, there's always a limit.
Thankfully, Aurelius was still unconscious for the time being.
And after Aberforth heard the rough version of events from Dumbledore, he had no intention of questioning Aurelius further. If he brought up painful memories and disturbed Aurelius's hard-won emotional stability, it would only make things worse.
Every transformation into an Obscurial inflicted massive damage on Aurelius.
The only reason he'd lasted this long was thanks to his incredible self-control—he had hardly transformed at all in recent years.
Once Dumbledore had confirmed the general course of events from Wade, he sent him back to rest, while he himself left the Hog's Head with Nagini in tow.
Wade had been right—when it came to tricky problems like this, Dumbledore always managed to find a solution.
…
When Wade returned to his room, Tom was sleeping soundly, and Toby was nodding off in his chair.
Wade wasn't surprised that Tom was sleeping so deeply—he knew exactly why.
As for Toby, the fact that he hadn't noticed Wade was gone for so long clearly meant he'd been affected by the Dreamweaving magic of the "senior". She obviously didn't want anyone to know Wade had left the inn.
Wade patted Toby on the shoulder, gently waking him from his slumber.
"Toby… Toby actually fell asleep!"
The terrified house-elf looked stricken—he had violated his master's orders!
"No, I used a spell to make you fall asleep. There were some things I needed to keep secret from everyone, including you. It's fine now—go get some rest. For breakfast, just make me some porridge. And remember, keep this matter to yourself."
"I… I see! So it wasn't Toby's fault… that's good, that's good… Toby understands! Toby will definitely complete the master's task!"
Still shaken, Toby hurried off.
With house-elves, Wade found that being direct worked best.
Once Toby left, Wade quickly cast the Dreamweaving spell and fell asleep.
As he entered his dream, he became lucid almost instantly and began shaping the dreamscape.
Before long, his dream had transformed into a garden almost identical to the one from the "senior's" dream.
After that, Wade began calling out within the dream.
"Creeper?"
"Dreamweaver?"
"Senior?"
The dreamscape remained silent, his voice echoing softly through the garden.
The lack of any response left Wade a bit puzzled—he wasn't sure if the other party could even hear his call.
"I'm here."
Wade turned around and saw the figure shrouded in black mist—the "senior"—already seated inside the pavilion, though he hadn't noticed her arrival.
"Didn't expect you to come looking for a chat so soon. And… how did you know I liked gardens?"
Wade wasn't sure if it was just his imagination, but her voice sounded noticeably more female-like and cheerful than before.
"Well… your dreamscape was a garden, so I just thought I'd embellish mine a little."
"You called me 'Senior' just now?"
"Uh… I heard a bit about you from one of the professors," Wade replied. "Because I asked him some things about Ancient Magic."
The "senior" was silent for a moment. "But… it seems like you didn't tell him about me?"
"I didn't…"
"Thank you. The way I am now… is far too disgraceful. I don't have the face to see anyone else again… especially not a professor from Hogwarts. Mm, you can keep calling me 'Senior' from now on. After all, it sounds much nicer than 'creeper' and feels a lot more personable than 'Dreamweaver.' Since we're chatting, it's better to use something friendlier."
"…Actually, you could just tell me your name," Wade said. "Can you tell me what your name is?"
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Read ahead: P^treon: Captain69
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