Hearing Tver's calm but commanding tone, Percy's eyes grew brighter.
"Yes. I'll do everything I can to grow stronger."
Tver nodded in satisfaction.
Percy had excellent comprehension, but his family had sheltered him so well that he'd never truly faced the darker side of the magical world. A bit of student-like naivety still clung to him. After this experience, he would surely learn to treat the wizarding world with more caution.
As for his strength, he still had a full year of Tver's guidance ahead of him. Even after graduation, Cynthia could take over his training. There was no rush.
But then Tver remembered something.
He lifted the diary.
"I remember you've already learned Occlumency. So how did you let a Horcrux get into your head so easily?"
Percy's gaze flickered. He stammered, pointing at the diary.
"Well... at first I just wanted to mess with him. He got really flustered and angry, and I got a little carried away feeling proud of myself. That's when my Occlumency slipped."
Tver looked unsurprised.
Marvolio had used this trick on him constantly back when he was still trapped in the ring. The moment you think you're in control, or that you've managed to toy with a Horcrux, it seizes on that instant of arrogance, digs into the cracks of your mind, and pries open your deepest secrets.
Voldemort was a master at playing with people's hearts.
"So he managed to read you?"
Percy nodded, embarrassed, looking as though he'd just confessed to having wet the bed as a kid.
"Heh. He told me everything you planned to do," Tom Riddle rasped. His body trembled, and he looked as if he'd run for miles, weak and exhausted as he let out a cold laugh.
Breaking free of Tver's control had cost him most of what little life force he had left.
"So what?" Tver asked, unfazed.
Riddle ignored his indifference and only grew more smug—the kind of smugness that came from thinking he'd scored a point.
"Your student is scared," Riddle said with a mocking grin, looking straight at Percy. Percy immediately dropped his head in shame.
"He told me he was excited when he first learned you planned to overturn the Statute of Secrecy. But the more he thought about it, the more terrified he became."
"Which makes sense. Even I, the Dark Lord, failed out of nowhere. And you think you can do better?"
Riddle swayed his head, and if he weren't so handsome, the gesture would've been downright punchable.
"When I fought the Order of the Phoenix, plenty of Death Eaters under me were arrested by Aurors—some were even killed."
"Poor Percy got so spooked by the scenes I described that he's been having nightmares every night."
"I have not!" The chocolate gave Percy enough strength to spring to his feet.
He glared at Riddle furiously. If his wand were within reach, he probably would've attacked.
Tver looked at Percy with curiosity.
Worry was normal. Percy's strength wasn't high yet, and their mission was unbelievably difficult. And Voldemort had only magnified the fear in his heart.
But still… did this also mean he doubted Tver's strength?
Caught by that look, Percy hesitated, then whispered:
"I'm just worried about you… Headmaster Dumbledore is so powerful. I was afraid he might—might…"
"Kill me?" Tver finished for him.
Percy didn't answer, but that fear was clearly buried deep inside him.
"Actually, you're still young. You could wait until Dumbledore grows old, and then we could—"
Riddle let out a sharp, unmistakably cold laugh. "By then, it'll be my era—Voldemort's—"
"Enough."
Tver glanced at him with icy indifference. Blue-violet flames curled to life around him, then surged forward, swallowing the body Riddle had struggled so hard to maintain.
He didn't even get the chance to scream.
The diary, of course, remained intact, and Riddle wasn't truly gone.
Percy startled back a step, only to realize the flames were growing brighter and stronger around them.
"I understand your worry, Percy."
To be honest, Tver felt a quiet warmth at the sentiment.
Dumbledore truly was an obstacle—powerful, influential, a figure whose very presence commanded the wizarding world. Whether he could defeat him or not, the backlash or fear that would erupt if Dumbledore were harmed was nothing Tver wanted to deal with.
That was why he had made so many preparations aimed specifically at Dumbledore.
Still, Percy needed to see his strength for himself. At the very least, it would steady his confidence.
Come to think of it, he had never shown Percy that spell...
Tver let out a soft laugh. The flames roared higher, filling half the Chamber of Secrets in an instant and enclosing him and Percy at the center.
His robes billowed without wind, and the slight curve of his lips carried an effortless, almost artistic ease.
He slowly opened his arms—an inviting gesture, yet one that radiated absolute authority.
"Don't worry, Percy. Our cause will burn like this flame—unstoppable."
The moment he finished speaking, the fire surged into the shape of a massive fire dragon.
Its wings swept outward, sending scorching heat rolling toward the oblivious Basilisk. Even the drifting sparks carried such destructive power that Percy's face went pale.
Fiendfyre.
Devastatingly powerful Fiendfyre.
And not only was it completely under the professor's control—it was even more aggressive in his hands.
Faced with such overwhelming might, both Harry and the Basilisk froze.
In that one stunned second, the enormous serpent—once towering like a moving mountain—offered no resistance at all. The fire dragon consumed it instantly.
Harry was swallowed by the flames as well, but the fire moved around him with eerie precision, curling aside to avoid touching him.
Even so, the heat felt as if it were burning straight into his heart, freezing him in terror.
Only after a long, breathless moment, when the heat finally eased, did he slowly turn around.
There was no sign of the Basilisk. Not even ash. If not for the injuries from being thrown aside, he might have believed the creature had been nothing but a hallucination.
On the other side, Percy wore the exact same expression.
He had seen it even more clearly—how the Basilisk had vanished from existence without so much as a twitch.
A ridiculous thought came to him: perhaps the creature hadn't even had time to feel pain.
"Professor… is this Fiendfyre?" he asked numbly.
He had believed he already commanded Fiendfyre freely, convinced he'd mastered the Fiendfyre Curse. But after witnessing this, he realized he would need centuries to reach this level.
"This is the spell my teacher Grindelwald was most proud of." Tver lowered his hands and gently patted Percy's shoulder. "Back then, he nearly destroyed Paris with it."
Percy's mouth fell open.
"Your teacher…"
Tver gave a mysterious smile and stepped beside him, watching as Harry edged toward them, trembling.
"I will surpass my teacher. I will surpass Dumbledore as well. Do you believe that?"
He turned toward Percy, confidence shining in both smile and voice.
Percy remembered the roaring flames from moments before. This time, his gaze held no fear, no hesitation.
"I believe it completely."