Five minutes before the end of the first Defense Against the Dark Arts class, Grindelwald called a halt. "Let's cut to the chase. How many of you gifted Hogwarts students have mastered it?"
He scanned the bowed heads, pointedly ignoring Harry and his group. "Five?"
"..."
"Three?"
"..."
"Surely, at least two?"
"..."
"Seriously? Not a single one?"
"..."
Grindelwald feigned frustration. "You've been studying for half the class and learned nothing? It seems your talent for Dark Arts isn't quite up to par."
Hearing this, a young wizard bristled. "And are you exceptionally talented, Professor?"
A few students familiar with Grindelwald's true identity shot the speaker warning glances. Does he even know who he's talking to?
Grindelwald smiled thinly. "In my century-plus of existence, my talent for dark magic ranks a close second." Though arrogant, his tone remained humble, yet his confidence was absolute.
At that moment, a curious voice piped up, "Who's number one, Professor?"
Grindelwald shrugged, glancing towards Tom Riddle, who was leisurely sipping tea beside him. "This one."
Tom set down his teacup, allowing it to float back to its place.
The students nodded in fervent agreement. They'd been about to challenge the new professor's boasting, but his praise of Tom quelled their defiance. Of course! The man we, the new generation of Death Eaters, have sworn to follow is that awesome!
"..."
Grindelwald rested his chin on his hand, sizing up Tom and the students. Only after the bell rang did he speak, "Homework: learn at least three of the dark curses on the parchment."
"..."
The young wizards groaned; they loathed time-consuming homework.
"Unless you're genuinely dim-witted – then don't bother."
"..."
"Or perhaps Tom's followers are only this good? If so, I pity him."
"Professor! You can say anything about me, but not that!" Half the Slytherin boys and a third of the Gryffindors present bristled. "Call me a bastard! Call me a coconut! But never say I'm not worthy to follow Professor Tom Riddle!"
"..."
Grindelwald pursed his lips, a complicated expression on his face. These kids are remarkably loyal, if nothing else. Tom's a good influencer. But that wasn't necessarily a bad thing, as long as his goals were achieved. Teaching Hogwarts students dark magic could be beneficial. Certain spells with minimal impact on their emotions might prove unexpectedly useful, even after graduation.
As the professor dismissed them, a small group of students rushed out.
"What's next?"
"Let's see... It's Defense Against the Dark Arts again."
"..."
Before they even reached the spiral staircase, the students turned back.
Grindelwald greeted their return with a smile. "Back already? Take your seats, class is about to begin."
"..."
As the returning students sank into their still-warm seats, taunts erupted from those who hadn't left. Their expressions grew dark, but the break was soon over, bringing blessed silence and a slight improvement in their demeanor.
"Alright, let's get back to the main lesson." Grindelwald adopted a serious expression. "First, you need to understand that we're already lagging far behind Ravenclaw!"
"..."
Hearing the familiar words, Tom looked up, meeting Grindelwald's gaze.
"Where did you learn that?"
"Muggles all teach like this. I figured it was useful, so I thought I'd try it."
"..."
Tom remained silent. This again?
Grindelwald shrugged. He may have once considered Muggles enemies, but he couldn't deny their strengths. He was even willing to adopt "useful things." And the effect was quite potent on these young wizards.
"Hmph! Those Ravenclaws are just a bunch of bookworms!"
"Just because you read a few books doesn't mean you're better than us!"
"So what if you learned a little ahead of time? It's not like it's impossible to catch up!"
"..."
Unlike the young wizards who were motivated by the story, and the old Grindelwald who was impressed by the Muggle teaching method, Tom knew that this approach would eventually lose its effectiveness and might even backfire. With a single sentence, these already unmotivated students could easily give up. How amusing. These were the future flowers that made up his Death Eaters… But he was too lazy to care. He'd let the flowers grow as they pleased – they were just soldiers for Harry to command, anyway.
"So, Professor, which page of Defense of Magic Theory are you planning to teach today?"
"None. Close the book."
"..."
Didn't you say we had to catch up?
Seeing the students' bewildered expressions, Grindelwald digressed. "Teaching you what they haven't learned yet, so you learn what they don't – isn't that the same as surpassing them?"
"..."
He actually makes a point…
The students, unable to refute, listened obediently.
"I want to ask you a question…" Grindelwald waved his wand, conjuring a phantom giant in the classroom. "Faced with a giant, what should you do?"
"..."
Harry and Malfoy exchanged a glance, immediately thinking of Grawp, although Grawp was unusually weak for a giant.
"Can we really handle that?"
Looking up at the crouching giant, its head larger than their entire bodies, the visual impact was undeniably intimidating.
"So...Professor, what you are going to teach us today is..."
"Precisely. I'm going to teach you how to deal with giants." Grindelwald nodded. "And the simplest way to deal with a giant is to kill it directly with the Killing Curse."
The students fell silent.
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